Pilgrimage

Humaira Ghilzai

is a writer, producer, cultural dramaturg, and dialect coach. She has worked on Broadway, the West End, and with national and regional theaters. Credits include Generative Cultural Advisor and Dialect Coach for Matthew Spangler’s The Kite Runner (World Premiere, UK Tour, Broadway production, and U.S. tour) and Cultural Advisor for Ursula Rani Sarma’s A Thousand Splendid Suns (World Premiere at A.C.T San Francisco and West Coast tour). She also worked on the world premiere of Sheila Silver’s A Thousand Splendid Suns Opera at Seattle Opera. Additional theater credits include Blood and Gifts by Tony-winner J.T. Rogers (La Jolla Playhouse), Gabriel Jason Dean’s Heartland (rolling world premieres and off-Broadway), Sylvia Khoury’s Selling Kabul (Seattle Rep, Northern Stage, Interact Theatre, Signature Theatre), Kevin Artigue’s The Most Dangerous Highway in the World (Golden Thread Productions), and Zealot (South Coast Repertory). Film & TV credits include: Little America, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Merry Friggin’ Christmas, and Away and Together. Humaira is also a speaker and educator, serving as a faculty member for The Immigration Experience in California Through Literature and History at San Jose State University’s 2024/25 National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute. She serves on the Board of Trustees for Golden Thread Productions.

Bridgette Dutta Portman

is a playwright and novelist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. More than two dozen of her plays have been produced locally, nationally, and internationally. She is a member of the Pear Theatre board of directors, the Pear Playwrights’ Guild, the PlayGround SF writers pool and resident playwrights’ program, and the Dramatists’ Guild. She received the 2023 June Anne Baker Prize from PlayGround, and has been a finalist for the Bay Area Playwrights’ Festival, the Theatre Bay Area TITAN award, the PlayPenn Conference, the Kentucky Women’s Theatre Conference Prize for Women Writers, the New Dramatists playwrights’ residency, and more. She holds an MFA in creative writing (Spalding University, 2018) and teaches composition and dramatic writing at UC Berkeley’s College Writing Programs.

Michelle Talgarow

is a Kalmyk/Filipina performance maker in the Bay Area for over 25 years. Recent directing credits include Cuckoo Edible Magic with SFBATCO, Thirty-Six by Leah Nanako Winkler with Shotgun Players, the immersive rock play Darkheart by Golda Sargento with Bindlestiff Studios in SF. Michelle is a proud member of Shotgun Players’ artistic company and a proud member of the all AAPI Bay Area theatre collective, Ferocious Lotus. Michelle has been fortunate to also have worked with many other local companies: The Ground Floor at Berkeley Rep, Central Works, Impact Theatre, Ferocious Lotus, Cutting Ball Theatre, Magic Theatre. Michelle is currently an adjunct professor at University of San Francisco.

Salim Razawi

Bay Area theatre director, actor, and educator dedicated to uplifting diverse voices and building collaborative artistic communities. He is committed to inspiring and creating opportunities for fellow theatre makers. With a background in Theatre Arts and international acclaim as a competitive public speaker. Salim was last seen at Marin Shakes as Sebastian in Twelfth Night. His extensive experience includes acting, casting, producing, consulting, and directing throughout the Bay Area. work. salimrazawi.com

Isabel Alamin

is thrilled to be a part of Pilgrimage. Some favorite credits include: How to Defend Yourself (Mojdeh), Antigone (Antigone), Eurydice (Loud Stone), and independent feature film The Becomers, as well as several projects in post-production. Outside of acting, Isabel loves to dance and is also a visual artist. She was born and raised in the Bay Area, but now lives and works (mostly) in Chicago. Much love to the Pilgrimage team, and to Mom! Rep: Grossman & Jack Talent.

Nora el Samahy

is an Affiliated Artist with Golden Thread Productions and a company member of Campo Santo. She has worked at Oregon Shakespeare Company, Portland Center Stage, Aurora Theatre, Berkeley Repertory, Crowded Fire, Magic Theatre, foolsFURY, Traveling Jewish Theatre, Theatre Rhinoceros, Shotgun Players, The San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, African American Shakespeare Company, among others. In 2013 Nora founded a performance company called Affinity Project with Atosa Babaoff, Beatrice Basso and Emily Hoffman. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees with Golden Thread.

Fatemeh Mehraban

is a queer Iranian performing artist and environmental scientist. She was most recently in A Distinct Society (Weston Theatre Company), Working for Crumbs (B Street Theatre New Comedies Festival), Oriental (ReOrient: Golden Thread), English (Capital Stage), and Georgiana & Kitty (Capital Stage). Fatemeh divides her time between Sacramento, the Bay Area, and Los Angeles, where she works in theater, film, and voiceover. What’s important to her: that her work combines her passion for performance with her passion for advocacy! Instagram: @fatemeow

Leda Rasooli

is an Afghan-American artist, based in California. She had the privilege of participating in English at Capital Stage, and is excited to continue her journey with Golden Thread Productions.

Jeunée Simon

(she/her) is a bicoastal actor, director, and consent educator. Recent acting credits include: Les Blancs (Oakland Theater Project), The Ripple, The Wave That Carried Me Home (u/s, World Premiere, Berkeley Repertory Theatre), Intimate Apparel (Lorraine Hansberry Theatre), La Ronde (Cutting Ball Theater), Men On Boats (u/s, performed, American Conservatory Theater)—as well as the one person shows: Tasha (3Girls Theatre) and Stoop Stories (Aurora Theatre Company). Simon is a proud recipient of the 2017 RHE Artistic Fellowship. jeuneesimon.com

Karen Runk

moved to San Francisco with the intention of only staying for a few months… Well nearly three decades later, she’s still here! This is largely due to the talented folks at the SF Mime Troupe, Word For Word (where she recently became a core company member!!!), and thanks to Golden Thread Productions where she has been an Affiliated Artist since 2018 (aka the before times) – but mostly it’s due to rent control! Runk has also stage managed with the San Francisco Mime Troupe, Word For Word, Magic Theater, SFShakes, Intersection for the Arts, and African American Shakespeare Company.

Tina Mosier

is thrilled to join Golden Thread Productions for this performance! She discovered her love for working “behind the scenes” in theatre during her time at CSUEB. After a brief hiatus, and a few refresher courses at Chabot College, she returned to the world of live performance. She previously was the Assistant Stage Manager for Word for Word productions of The Strange Library and Annunciation.

James Ard

is a noisemaker who specializes in new works, live experiences, interactive media, and immersive stage productions. His work includes sound design for Golden Thread’s productions of The Return, The Most Dangerous Highway in the World, Scenes From 71 Years, On The Periphery*, and various ReOrient short play festivals. Nationally, his work has been featured in collaborations with Under the Radar at The Public Theater, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Guthrie Theater, American Repertory Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ensemble Theatre Company, and Portland Center Stage. Internationally, his designs have appeared at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Sibiu International Theatre Festival. In the San Francisco Bay Area, he has collaborated with American Conservatory Theater, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Aurora Theatre Company, San Francisco Playhouse, Shotgun Players, Cutting Ball Theater, CenterREP, and the Joe Goode Performance Group. He has taught, mentored, or collaborated with students at institutions such as Stanford University, UC Berkeley, Atlantic Theater Company, and Saint Mary’s College of California. Ard is an Affiliated Artist with both Golden Thread and Crowded Fire Theater, where he frequently contributes to innovative and socially engaged performances.

Amy Benjamin

draws from an extensive background in multidisciplinary art to create theatre magic. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Design Studies from San Jose State University and has been mentored in scenic design by Nina Ball. She’s most recently designed properties for My Fair Lady, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, and Fat Ham for San Francisco Playhouse, along with Word for Word’s adaptations of Annunciation and The Strange Library.

Ray Oppenheimer

is a San Francisco Bay Area based lighting designer, educator, and creator who has been bringing his boundless curiosity, chimerical aesthetic, and Sisyphean perseverance to lighting design and education since 2005. He is excited to be working with Golden Thread on Pilgrimage.

Mikiko Uesugi

has designed several productions for Golden Thread Productions, including Drowning in Cairo, Our Enemies, 444 Days, Language Room, Night Over Erzinga. Other theater credits include Cuckoo Edible Magic and Sign My Name to Freedom for San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company; The Strange Library, Stories By Tobias Wolff, Immortal Heart, Four Adverbs for Word for Word; Fallen Angels, Wives, the Children, Detroit, Our Practical Heaven, Fat Pig, Salome for for Aurora Theatre Company; Monument, or Four Sisters (A Sloth Play), A Common Vision for Magic Theatre; Elevata, Kill the Debbie Downers! Kill Them! Kill Them! Kill Them Off! for Shotgun Players; and This Lingering Life for Theater of Yugen. She has also designed for Marin Theatre, Ross Valley Players, Crowded Fire, Theater Works, A.C.T. MFA program, Berkeley Repertory Theater, Chanticleer, among others. She is an Affiliated Artist at Golden Thread Productions, a recipient of SF Bay Area Theater Critics awards, the NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Designers, and The Isadora Duncan Dance Award.

Fatima Yahyaa

(she/hers) is filmmaker and artist from the Bay Area, who is passionate about spirituality and the subconscious. Fatima grew up in Yemen, in the valley of Tarim, where she discovered her interest in storytelling. In addition to personal creative goals, Fatima is eager about supporting others in their work, and passing on the knowledge to the next generation. She recently started dabbling in theater as a costume designer. Fatima has collaborated on Collective Rage at Shotgun Players, AZAD (the rabbit and the wolf) at Golden Thread Productions, and Do You Feel Anger at Marin Theatre.

Colm McNally

is an Irish designer based in San Francisco. He is the Director of Technical & Production at Z Space, where his design credits include Rime of the Ancient Mariner alongside Oliver di Cicco; Baba: The Life and Death of Stana; and Ripped. 

Irish credits include co-founder & lead designer of Sugarglass Theatre: the Irish premiere of Tender Napalm (Project Arts Centre); Five Minutes Later (The Lir); All Hell Lay Beneath (Irish Times “Cultural Highlight of the Year”); Ethica: Four Shorts by Samuel Beckett (Áras an Uachtaráin, Dublin – Human Rights Day; Happy Days Festival, Enniskillen). Other work: Brothers Karamazov and Distance from the Event (Samuel Beckett Theatre); Monster Clock (national tour); Love and Information and Caucasian Chalk Circle (The Lir); Waiting for Godot and Pygmalion (Smock Alley); The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle (international tour); The Lesson (Project Cube). MFA from The Lir Academy, Trinity College; Chief Electrician at Gate Theatre, Dublin.

New York credits include The Irish Rep’s The Beacon; Outlying Islands (The Connolly Theater; Samuel Beckett Theatre, Dublin); and the inaugural production of Last Night in Inwood by Alix Sobler (Signature Theatre).

In addition to his theatrical work, Colm has practiced exhibition design (Science Gallery Dublin’s Design & Violence, Illusion, and In Case of Emergency), production design for film (Interview with Traveler #582, Lisa Steindler & Jon Bernson), custom furniture design, and woodworking commissions for restaurants, venues, and private clients.

His work has been described as “exceptional use of space” — Irish Theatre Magazine, “too beautiful” — The Irish Times, “Draws patrons in…sensorially, almost hypnotically” — SF Examiner, and “gives life to everything” – Charles Passy.

Sarah Phykitt

(she/her) has been managing productions around the Bay Area for the past 17 years and is thrilled to have made a permanent home at Z Space as Associate Director of Technical and Production. She has worked with a variety of companies including A Traveling Jewish Theatre, Custom Made Theatre Company, American Conservatory Theater, Oasis SF, and several others. Sarah also works as a Scenic and Video designer and her work could most recently been seen on Z Space’s Steindler Stage for The Day the Sky Turned Orange.

Wendy Reyes

(she/ella) is Golden Thread’s Production Associate. Proudly from the city of St. Louis, Missouri, Wendy is a Mexican-American multimedia artist with a Bachelor’s degree in Media Studies from the University of San Francisco. With her skills in video and audio production, Wendy is passionate about creating engaging stories that raise awareness about social injustices while promoting a healthier, more just path for marginalized communities. Currently based in the Bay Area, Wendy brings her technical expertise to Golden Thread’s team, contributing to the realization of their artistic endeavors. Additionally, she is a participant of KALW Public Media’s year-long Beat Reporting Fellowship, further expanding her impact within the realm of multimedia storytelling.