Creative team
Mika Kauffman (Director)
Mika (they/ze, “he” as a treat) is a queer, trans and neurodivergent director, choreographer, musical writer, playwright, dramaturg, performer and producer based in Brooklyn. Hailing from Baltimore, they hold a BFA in Acting from Towson University and an MFA in Musical Writing from Tisch. Mika creates collaborative trauma-informed spaces with a focus on community building to cultivate new work. They are affiliated with Musical Theatre Factory and Poetic Theater Productions. Ze is also a member of the Dramatist Guild, Parity Productions, RISE and Breaking the Binary Theatre, and he is the co-founding Artistic Director of the Trans Entertainment Guild, an organization dedicated to bettering the working conditions and lives of trans and gender expansive people in entertainment. Some credits include Pompeii; a Gender Explosion (director), The Hills (director), Turning Krasniqi (director & choreographer), The Civility of Albert Cashier (director, choreographer & producer), OPPY: A Mars Rover Story (director & choreographer), #adulting, a millennial opera (director & choreographer), Afterglow (associate director, script consultant). You can find more of their work at mikakauffman.com, IG: @mikakauffman.
Sid Quinsaat (Music Director)
Sid (they/them) is a queer human being hailing from the Philippines, currently residing in upstate New York by way of Texas, Michigan and Oakland, California. They love singing, making music, playing tennis, writing code and poetry, and staying up late to have long conversations with their friends. They hold a bachelor of choral music education, and have been lucky to serve many roles as music educator, music director, choir conductor/ accompanist, carpenter, board member, cat parent, and coder. They’re super happy to be working with Reina and Matt again and hella stoked to rock out to more of their awesome songs. Sid would also like to thank the support of their amazing community including: Ellen, Zak, Rose, Jord, Yelena, Basil, Gigil and Finch.
Hannahjo Anderson (Stage Manager)
Hannahjo (they/them) is an actor, director, and stage manager in New York City. They have worked on projects such as Apologies Left Unsaid (Party Line Productions), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Script Club NYC), The End of the Party Line (Party Line Productions), and so much more. They love working on new projects that help make a difference in peoples lives, so they are very excited to work on this new musical! @hannahjo_anderson
Reina Bracha (Lyrics, music + book)
Reina (she/her) is a playwright and composer based in Philadelphia, PA, Reina is the writer and co-composer of The Red Shades: A Trans Superhero Rock Opera (nom. BATCC Best Original Music, funded by National Endowment for the Arts, MAP Fund), which premiered at Z Space theater in San Francisco in 2022. Her plays have been featured in festivals including Trans Plays of Remembrance, Music/Scene, Pint Sized Plays, Shotz, and Mutiny Radio's play festival. She was accepted into the Bay Area Asylum Arts Retreat in 2019. Reina has also been an educator for 18 years, working as a high school English teacher, teaching artist, and Program Coordinator for an LGBTQ youth center. Her creative work also includes standup comedy, radio DJing, and serving as singer/songwriter of the band Peach Thief.
Matt Fukui Grandy (Music)
Matt (he/him) is a pianist/keyboardist, music director, and composer from Oakland, CA. He is currently based in Boston, MA. He is the composer of Shoshana in December, a new queer Hanukkah musical (production at Custom Made Theater in 2022) and co-composer of The Red Shades: A Trans Superhero Rock Opera (premiered at Z Space Theater in 2022). He co-orchestrated Tinderella: the modern musical, and was Associate Music Director for its world premiere at Custom Made. He co-wrote and recorded the theme song for NPR’s Live from the Poundstone Institute podcast, hosted by Paula Poundstone. He is a company member of PianoFight Theater, and plays keyboards in the funk/soul/rock band Californicorns. He was the resident theater music director at Salesian Boys’ and Girls’ Club, a non-profit after-school organization. He is currently studying at Berklee College of Music. As a proud Japanese-American hapa, he is passionate about increasing representation and diversity in historically monolithic fields.
Kelly Anneken (Book)
Kelly (she/her) is a writer, comedian, and producer based in the SF Bay Area. Kelly has appeared “in conversation” with Tig Notaro, Amy Schumer, Cary Elwes, Guy Branum and John Waters. Her Lack of Variety solo show raised over $6k for charity at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. You can check out her freewheeling feminist recaps of The Handmaid's Tale (Red All Over), Yellowjackets (Blood Hive), and Downton Abbey (Up Yours, Downstairs!) wherever you listen to podcasts. cRonieZ, a new podcast celebrating body horror cinema pioneer David Cronenberg, will launch in October 2024. Kelly’s debut comedy EP Twenty Minutes to Sell is available on Spotify, and her latest pop culture writing is available (for a price) on Kelly Anneken’s Hilarious Patreon. Her writing has also appeared on The Mary Sue, KQED Pop and The Tusk. An experienced UX content designer and comedy curator, Kelly has also held leadership positions with feminist sketch troupe Femikaze (Executive Director), lo-fi absurdist humor journal Hobo Pancakes (Managing Editor), indie film I Met the Man Who Wasn’t There (Executive Producer), and San Francisco’s premiere sketch comedy nonprofit Killing My Lobster (Board Secretary). Kelly is a graduate of Wright State University’s Professional Actor Training Program. Learn more about her limited HTML skills at www.kellyanneken.com.
Achilles Mulkey (Percussionist)
Achilles (he/they) is originally from NW Arkansas. Achilles holds a BFA in Music Theatre from Viterbo University and trained with RAD Ballet. He made his Off-Broadway debut as Young Albert in The Civility of Albert Cashier and was featured in all three Ring of Keys Queering The Cannon cabarets at Joe's Pub in 2022. More recently, he played Elliot in The BachelorX for the upcoming season of Playwright Horizon’s Soundstage, was featured in Theatre Now’s Sound Bites playing Atto in Sparks, and was seen on Playbill’s Songwriter Series singing from Will Shishmanian’s Amberland. Other favorite credits include Mr. Mistoffelees in CATS, Connor in Talk To Me, and Sky in Polkadots. Achilles is also a composer, instrumentalist, and playwright with a passion for intersectional storytelling, exploring nature, and a good cup of tea. Endlessly grateful for his family, friends, and Stevie. IG: @achillesmulkey // www.achillesmulkey.com