A Streetcar Named Desire at Tenth Avenue Arts Center

Jessica John

Jessica is the co-founder and executive director of Backyard Renaissance. She has performed as an actor in Backyard Renaissance’s The Dark Heart of Dooley Stevens, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, August: Osage County (SD Critics Circle – Outstanding Featured Performance), God of Carnage, The October Night of Johnny Zero, Abigail’s Party, Dry Powder, The Dazzle, An Experiment with an Air Pump (SD Critics Circle - Outstanding Featured Performance), Smokefall, Abundance, The Elephant Man, and Parlour Song. Other select work includes The Roustabouts: No Way Back; North Coast Rep: Gabriel, School for Lies, A Shana Maidel; Lambs Players: Noises Off, The Explorer’s Club; Cygnet Theatre: Private Lives, Desire Under the Elms, Mauritius, Communicating Doors, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (SD Playbill - Best Actress), Burn This (SD Critics Circle - Outstanding Lead Performance); ion theatre: Angels in America; New Fortune: Dangerous Liaisons; New Village Arts: The Playboy of the Western World (Patte - Best Actress); and Renaissance Theatre: A View from the Bridge (SD Critics Circle - Outstanding Lead Performance).

Francis Gercke

Francis has been an actor, director and producer in San Diego for the past 20 years. He is currently the artistic director of Backyard Renaissance which he co-founded with his wife Jessica John in 2015. He is a graduate of the Actors Studio Drama School. He most recently performed the role of Robert in BYR’s Proof and directed BYR’s August: Osage County (Winner – 2023 SD Critics Circle Award for Best Production). Select additional roles include: God of Carnage, Abigail’s Party, The Dazzle, American Buffalo, An Experiment with an Air Pump, Smokefall, The Zoo Story, Abundance, The Elephant Man, Parlour Song (Backyard Renaissance); Noises Off, Camping with Henry and Tom, The Explorers Club, Equivocation, Freud’s Last Session (Lambs Players); Stupid F***ing Bird, True West, Fool for Love (Cygnet Theatre); The Behavior of Broadus (Capital Stage Company); In the Next Room, Honky (San Diego Rep); Accomplice, Suzette Who Set to Sea (La Jolla Playhouse WOW and POP Tour); A Life in the Theatre, Time Stands Still (NCRT); The Pride (Diversionary Theatre). He is a resident artist with Cygnet Theatre and recipient of the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Award for acting and directing. He teaches at Palomar College and privately through ActorsApproach. His first play The October Night of Johnny Zero received its stage debut in November of last year and his second play The Dark Heart of Dooley Stevens will receive its premiere reading with BYR on November 27th, 2023.

Megan Carmitchel

Megan was last seen at BYR as Li'l Bit in How I Learned to Drive and before that as Ivy in BYR's Award Winning August: Osage County. Other recent theatre credits include - Cygnet Theatre: Natasha Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Cabaret, Life Sucks, A Christmas Carol (6 seasons), Rock of Ages, and A Little Night Music. Moonlight Stage: The Wedding Singer. The Welk Resort Theatre: The Marvelous Wonderettes. Lamb’s Players Theatre: Once, Alice!, Persuasion, Big Fish, OZ (world premiere), You Can't Take it With You, Quilters, and Fiddler on the Roof. Diversionary Theatre: Significant Other, A New Brain, and Pippin. New Village Arts: Into the Woods and Beehive: The 60’s Musical. The Old Globe: The Last Goodbye (world premiere) and Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. La Jolla Playhouse: Weatherman (reading) and Without Walls Festival. San Diego Repertory Theatre: The Who's Tommy. CCAE Theatricals: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. She attended San Francisco State University where she studied vocal performance and theatre. She is also a founding member of Chalk Circle Collective, an artist-led theatre production company. www.chalkcirclecollective.com

MJ Sieber

Recent credits include: The Dark Heart of Dooley Stevens, God of Carnage and The Beauty Queen of Leenane at Backyard Renaissance, and for Cygnet: Life Sucks and the world premieres of Sharon and The Little Fellow (SD Critics Circle Award for Featured Actor). Last year In Seattle he originated the role of ‘Benny’ in Keiko Green’s The Bed Trick and played Mr Zero in The Feasts adaptation of The Adding Machine, which The Seattle Times hailed as the performance of the year. Last season he directed BYR’s production of Misery.

Markuz Rodriguez

A San Diego native, Markuz has been acting, writing and directing professionally for 20 years in this beautiful, dynamic community, and throughout the country. Favorite local credits include: Good People, A Bright New Boise, All in the Timing, Knock Loudly! (Onstage Playhouse); Normal Heights (Loud Fridge Theatre Group); Witchland, Stage (Backyard Renaissance); Las Cuatro Milpas (Tuyo Theatre); Sweat, A Christmas Carol, Corridos REmix (San Diego Repertory Theatre); The Madres (Moxie Theatre); Under Construction (Sledgehammer Theatre); Speech & Debate (Diversionary Theatre); Seven Spots on the Sun (InnerMission Productions); Punks (Ion Theatre); Wally & His Lover Boys, Midnight Alley, Bedrooms & Boyfriends (Compulsion Dance & Theatre); Romeo y Julieta (Southwestern College); Stoneheart (Camino23). Mr. Rodriguez has studied on-camera performance with Robert Dahey, commedia dell'arte with Gale McNeeley, and the Meisner technique at Studio 4/Playhouse West in North Hollywood, California, leading workshops in the technique at high schools throughout San Diego county since 2017. He devotes most of his time to the development of new work for stage, film, television, radio/podcast, and the interwebz at large. He is a longstanding member of Amigos del REP and a founding member of the Latinx theatre collective Camino23. Instagram: @markuz_ohreallyus

Layth Haddad

Layth Haddad: Regional SD: HENRY6 [Plays1&2] (The Old Globe). The Ferryman, Into The Woods (New Village Arts). Collegiate: 809 Almond, X, I Found A Zipper (UCSD) All My Sons*, The School for Scandal, Waiting for Lefty, Tiny Beautiful Things*, The Pirates of Penzance, Antigone, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Edward II (MCC) (*KCACTF nomination). BA in Theatre from The University of California San Diego. AA in Theatre from MiraCosta College. University of Houston MFA Acting Class of ‘28.

Faith Carrion

Faith (she/they) is thrilled to be back at Backyard after playing Johnna in August Osage County. She was last seen in the WOW Festival at La Jolla Playhouse with Blindspot Collective. Their favorite credits include “Eddie” in The Rocky Horror Show (Cygnet), “Henrietta/Percussion” in TL;DR: Thelma Louise; Dyke Remix (Diversionary), “Pythio” in Head Over Heels (Diversionary), and “Dromio of Ephesus” in Comedy of Errors (The Old Globe). She is currently the Head Trainer for Ans Gelato, the #1 ice-cream shop in America (USA Today). Love to her beautiful community and wife! Follow them on IG: Faithecarrion

Dianne Yvette

Dianne Yvette is thrilled to be making her Backyard Renaissance Theatre debut. Some of her local regional credits include Manny and the Wise Queens (Oceanside Theatre Company); Primary Trust (u/s La Jolla Playhouse); The Colored Museum (Common Ground Theatre); The COVID Monologues (Online/ Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble); Old Globe Community Voices series. Other regional performances have included favorites, such as Man in Love (Kansas City Rep); By the Way Meet Vera Stark, Eclipsed (Unicorn Theatre); Nine Who Dared (Coterie); Hamlet (Kansas City Actors Theatre). Dianne holds a degree in Theatre and Film from the University of Kansas.

William Huffaker

William Huffaker is a recent addition to the San Diego theater scene. This is his third appearance with Backyard Renaissance Theatre Company, where he has performed: How I Learned to Drive and Proof (Hal). He has also starred in productions by Loud Fridge Theatre Group: Starspeare (Luke Skywalker) and Bocón Theater: BRAT. William made his international debut with the Prague Shakespeare Company in King Lear (Edmund). Other theater credits include - UC Santa Barbara: Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, La vida es sueño (Segismundo) and Under Normal Circumstances (Christopher). College of the Sequoias: Stupid F***ing Bird (Conrad) and columbinus (AP). While attending UCSB, William founded and produced: DOUBLES. An annual one-act festival that provides production opportunities for undergraduate playwrights. It has just completed its fourth year. He would like to dedicate his performance to his good friends: Asa and Habakkuk!