Brenda Wong Aoki - Brenda Wong Aoki creates monodramas. Her work synthesizes Japanese Noh and Kyogen theater, Commedia Dell'arte, modern dance and everyday experience. She is acclaimed as one of America's foremost soloists, performing in such venues as the Kennedy Center, New Victory Theater on Broadway, Hong Kong Performing Arts Center, the Adelaide Festival in Australia, the Esplanade in Singapore, the Graz Festival Austria and the Apollo.
Twice a National Endowment for the Arts Fellow, she has received four Dramalogue Awards for her original work, a Critics' Circle Award, and continues to receive ASCAP support for innovation in new libretto. Brenda’s book/CD, Mermaid Meat and Other Japanese Ghost Stories will be released in Tokyo 2007 where she is currently a Japan-US Creative Arts Fellow doing research on the prequel to her play "Uncle Gunjiro's Girlfriend." Her two CDs, "The Queen's Garden" (1999) and "Tales of the Pacific Rim" (1990), won INDIE awards for Best Spoken Word Album of the Year.
Jim Berenholtz - Jim Berenholtz is a multifaceted artist who has been training with native cultures in the living wisdom of the Earth for over thirty years. Whether as musician or dancer, writer or speaker, painter or photographer, ritualist or bodyworker, he is devoted to bringing forth the organic intelligence that is natural to our species and forging a passionate blend of arts and activism, thereby celebrating unity in diversity and building bridges for peace.
Gregangelo Herrera - Gregangelo is the founding and artistic director of Velocity Arts and Entertainment and Velocity Circus as well as an active board member and major donor of Velocity's affiliate non-profit organization C.U.E. (Children United by Experience). A genuine San Francisco native, Gregangelo was born, raised, educated and established his professional world headquarters in San Francisco. He is a graduate of the California College of the Arts and has over three decades of extensive training and performing experience in visual arts, dance, music, circus arts, costume and theatrical production design.
Robert Melton - Robert Melton is the College Night Program Organizer for the de Young Museum in San Francisco.
Our biannual College Night hosts a variety of projects by Bay Area universities, college students and faculty members, and community-based art centers, bringing to light the special and unique contributions of world cultures. Participating institutions include California College of the Arts, San Francisco Art Institute, Academy of Art University, Art Institute of California–San Francisco, Berkeley City College, U.C. Berkeley, San Francisco State University, City College of San Francisco, San Jose State University, Chico State University, John F Kennedy University, Smith College, University of Arizona, Hospitality House, and Shih Yu-Lang Central YMCA.