Artistic/Managing Collective:

click here for production bios

Velina Brown, Actor/Contributing Lyricist, has been a principal actor for the Mime Troupe in such shows as Social Work, Escape to Cyberia, Coast City Confidential, Soul Suckers from Outer Space, Killing Time, Damaged Care, City for Sale, Eating It, 1600 Transylvania Avenue, Mr. Smith Goes to Obscuristan, and Showdown at Crawford Gulch. She was Veronique in Veronique of the Mounties, she's played Condoleeza Rice three times, and was both an actor and Contributing Lyricist on GodFellas and Making a Killing. Velina's most recent shows with the Troupe include Red State, Too Big to Fail, and Posibilidad: Or Death of the Worker for which she won Best Principal Actress by the Bay Area Critics Circle. Other credits include A.C.T., Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Denver Center Theatre Company, Word for Word, Lorraine Hansberry Theater, Thick Description, SF Playhouse and Theatreworks, as well as film (Bee Season, Milk) and television (Party of Five, Nash Bridges and Trauma). Velina is also The Business of Show Biz Columnist for Theatre Bay Area Magazine and a Biz Coach for Actors.

Ellen Callas, Teacher/Writer/Director, in 1976 co-founded Hit and Run Theater, a political sketch comedy troupe that toured rural northern California for many years. Since joining the Mime Troupe in 1986, she has worked as a writer, actor, director, teacher, production, company & stage manager and project director/teacher for the company's ongoing Youth Theater Project. Ellen also continues her long career as an improvisational theater performer.

Michael Carreiro, Actor/Technical Director, first came to the Mime Troupe in 1998 as a participant in summer workshops for actors. He continued his studies in Commedia and improvisation in Los Angeles, returning to the Mime Troupe in 1999. He has performed with the Troupe in City for Sale, Eating It, The Independent Female or A Man Has His Pride, 1600 Transylvania Avenue, and Mr. Smith Goes to Obscuristan. Michael has also constructed the sets for several Troupe shows and he designed the traveling set used during the Berlin tour for 1600 Transylvania Avenue. Additionally Michael enjoys acting with other alternative companies including Black Artist Contemporary Cultural Experience and Theater Rhinoceros.

Keiko Shimosato Carreiro, Actor/Director/Designer, was born in Cambridge Massachusettes. Keiko holds a BFA in Interdisciplinary Arts and an MA in Multimedia from the University of Iowa. She arrived in San Francisco with the Horse Drawn, Caravan Stage Company of Canada. She has been an actor, designer and director for the Mime Troupe since 1987. Keiko has also designed costumes for many other Bay Area Theater companies including, The San Francisco Circus School, Berkeley Rep, S.F. Shakespeare in the Parks, The Asian American Theater Company. She has directed City for Sale, and Gotta Getta Life for the Mime Troupe, and Cowboy versus Samurai for the Asian American Theater Company. After a three year hiatus from the Mime Troupe Stage, Keiko is very happy to be back on the deck.

Ed Holmes, Director/Actor/Teacher, has been performing and teaching in the bay area for the past 36 years. Ed has performed with the Berkeley Mime Troupe (yes, that kind of mime), Fratelli Bologna, Antenna Theater, SF Opera, Oakland Symphony and Young Audiences. He has taught at ACT, CSUH, Mills College, and given numerous workshops to students of all ages as well as to animators at Sony, Dreamwrks and PDI. Ed has performed his one man show SUBHUMAN-True Tales from Beneath the Sea at bars and VFW halls throughout California. As Bishop Joey, he has instigated the annual St.Stupid's Day Parade since 1979. Ed has been a performing/directing member of the Troupe since 1986.

Lisa Hori-Garcia, Actor/Director/YTP Project Director/Teacher/Miss Flower's owner, joined the Mime Troupe and Collective in 2004. Originally from California, Lisa moved to Massachusetts where she received her BA from Smith College. Upon graduation, Lisa landed her first professional theater job as an ensemble member/Production Manager with New WORLD Theater in Amherst, MA. Since moving to San Francisco in 2002, she has worked exclusively as a theater artist, performing with Asian American Theater Company, Magic Theatre, Woman's Will, Impact Theater, and Word for Word to name a few. For three years, Lisa was the program director of the Mime Troupe's Youth Theater Project. This past fall, she moved to Los Angeles to attend USC for graduate school.

Will McCandless, Sound Engineer/Designer, began working with the Troupe in 2006 as the sound engineer for the California tour of Godfellas. Since then, Will has been the Troupe's sound engineer as well as the sound designer for the SFMT Youth Theatre Project. During the off-season, Will designs sound for several Bay Area Theatres - Magic Theatre, Center REP, Marin Theatre Company, Solano College Theatre, A.C.T. Conservatory, Alter Theater, Actors Ensemble of Berkeley, and Custom Made Theatre Company.

Pat Moran, Composer/Lyricist/Musician/Teacher, first worked with the Mime Troupe on 2005's Doing Good and he's been hanging around ever since then. In addition to his work on the summer show, Pat is a teacher with the Mime Troupe's Youth Theater Project, a freelance musician, and a private guitar instructor. He can be seen performing regularly with a number of bands including Lord Loves a Working Man (2008 SF Weekly Best Soul/Funk/R&B Award Winner) and Khi Darag (middle-eastern psychedelic dance party music). Pat was a guest artist composer and sound designer with the University of San Francisco in 2009.

Michael Gene Sullivan, Actor/Writer/Director, joined the Troupe in 1988. In 1992 he became a Contributing Writer, and Resident Playwright in 2000. His scripts include Red State (2008 nominee, Best Original Script, San Francisco Bay Area Theater Critic's Circle), and Too Big To Fail (2009 nominee, Best Original Script, San Francisco Bay Area Theater Critic's Circle.) Michael has performed in, written, and/or directed over twenty SFMT productions. As an actor, Sullivan has also appeared in productions at the American Conservatory Theater, Denver Center Theater Company, Magic Theater, Theaterworks, Lorraine Hansberry Theater, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Berkeley Repertory Theater, and San Jose Repertory Theater, among others. He is also the author of his award winning one person show, "Did Anyone Ever Tell You - You Look Like Huey P. Newton?", and 1984, the critically acclaimed adaptation of George Orwell's dystopic novel, which opened at the Actor's Gang Theater under the Direction of Tim Robbins. Michael is also a blogger for the political website, The Huffington Post.

Wan-Yin Tang, Tour Manager/Teacher, is a recent graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz, a performer, director, and most recently teacher of theater. In the past, she has been heavily involved with UCSC's multi-cultural theater troupe, Rainbow Theater, and has also served as artistic director for UCSC's student theater company, BarnStorm. She started off as an intern and workshopper at the troupe, and is now currently ecstatic to be working with the Youth Theater Project and the Troupe's summer season. The Troupe is her wacky family and home away from home, and she is so glad to be working here as an artist as well as a member of the staff!

Victor Toman, Actor/Choreographer/Director/Teacher, was born and raised in Oregon City, Oregon. After completing his B.A. in Dramatic Arts from the University of Oregon, Victor moved to San Francisco. He joined the Tony Award-winning San Francisco Mime Troupe in 1997 and has appeared as a principal actor in Making A Killing, GodFellas, Showdown at Crawford Gulch, Mister Smith Goes to Obscuristan, 1600 Transylvania Ave, Eating It, City For Sale, Damaged Care, The Independent Female, and Revenger Rat. In addition he has choreographed many of the Troupe's musical numbers for the past 10 years. In 2005 he had the honor of directing Doing Good. He has also performed locally with Sideshow Physical Theater, El Teatro de la Esperanza, Berkeley Repertory Theater, The Joe Good Performance Group, The Dance Brigade, Intersection for the Arts, The Ellen Bromberg Ensemble and Elbows Akimbo to name a few. Outside the area he has performed with The Caravan Stage Company in Toronto, and Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis. In 2008 Victor graduated from UC Davis with an MFA in Dramatic Arts.

Photographer: DavidAllenStudio.com
SFMT COLLECTIVE - 2011
Click on photo for 300dpi version

Standing, left to right: Ellen Callas, Keiko Shimosato Carreiro, Michael Carreiro,
Pat Moran, Velina Brown, Victor Toman

Sitting, left to right: Michael Gene Sullivan, Julian Carreiro, Zachary Brown Sullivan, Lisa Hori-Garcia, Wan-Yin Tang

Not photographed: Ed Holmes, Will McCandless

Alumni:

View an on going list of names tallying everyone who has worked
at the Troupe over the past 50 plus years!

855 Treat Ave. - San Francisco, CA 94110 - 415-285-1717 - info@sfmt.org