Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor
Meet the Cast
Norman Gee (Mr. Ford)*
Norman Gee is delighted to again join SPARC for a bit of summer Shakespeare, having trod the Livermore stage as Leonato in Much Ado, Iachimo in Cymbeline & Berowne in Love’s Labour’s Lost. Norman is also the Artistic Director of Oakland Public Theater (OPT) and an Associate Producer with PlayGround-SF. His work with other Bay Area companies including A.C.T., SF-Shakes, Word for Word, SF Playhouse, Lorraine Hansberry, Shotgun Players, CentralWorks, Oakland Theater Project, the San Jose Stage Company, and the SF Mime Troupe. Last summer Gee produced, directed & acted in OPT’s INVENTORY: James Baldwin Abroad, celebrating that writer’s centennial.
Gwen Loeb (Quickly/Shallow)*
Gwen Loeb is delighted to be making her return to SPARC where she was last seen as Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest and Mrs. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. In addition to her love of the classics, Gwen is also an avid supporter of new works and has originated roles in numerous new plays, including: Maybelle in Cow Pie Bingo by Larissa Fasthorse, and Zetta in Dog Act by Liz Duffy Adams. Some of Gwen’s other favorite roles include: the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet (San Francisco Shakespeare), Columbina in Truffaldino Says No (Shotgun Players); and Pauline in A Bright New Boise (Aurora Theater). By day, Gwen is the founder of World Builders Incubator, a nonprofit developing mass-market entertainment (all mediums and genres of fiction) created around social and environmental solutions at www.wbistories.org — because the stories we tell can save the world!
Nic Moore (Fenton/Caius/Pistol)
Nic Moore (He/Him) is excited to be back at SPARC after playing Romeo in last year’s reading of Romance and Juliet. He has also performed at the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, the Curtain Theatre, 6th Street Playhouse, Theatre Rhinoceros, Alter Theater and New Conservatory Theatre Center. He has trained at Shakespeare & Company in Massachusetts, the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York, and the Meisner Technique Studio in San Francisco.
Carolina Morones (Mistress Page/Host)
Carolina Morones (she/her) is an Actor and Bilingual Teaching Artist. She is honored to be an Associate Teacher with Great Lakes Michael Chekhov Consortium and a Studio A.C.T. faculty member. Most recently she was in the A.C.T. OUT Tour of Julius Caesar. Other notable credits include: Citizen, Word for Word at ZSpace; Electricidad, SCU Presents; Fade, PCPA’s InterPlay series; Pericles, Prince of Tyre, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival; Elliot A Soldier’s Fugue, The Pear Theatre; Much Ado Para Nada, Shakespeare in Detroit; She Persisted the Musical, Bay Area Children’s Theatre; Ward 6, Central Works; and The Tenth Muse, Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
Malcolm Rodgers (Falstaff)
See “Production Team” section for bio.
Mary Ann Rodgers (Mistress Ford/Slender)
Mary Ann Rodgers is celebrating her sixth season with SPARC! She has worked locally with Shotgun Players, Ross Valley Players, Central Works, Theatreworks, El Teatro Campesino, Symmetry Theater, Latin American Theater Artists, Napa Valley Shakespeare Festival, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Santa Cruz Shakespeare Festival, and others. Her initial training was at San Francisco State University and U.C. Santa Barbara. Most recently, she is grateful to have studied with Richard Seyd. Mary Ann also taught high school and middle school English, Spanish, and Theater until 2017.
Lucy Swinson (Anne/Robin/Nym)
Lucy Swinson is thrilled to be in her first show with SPARC. Lucy graduated in May from Chapman University with her BFA in Theatre Performance and has come back to the Bay to begin her theatre career! Recently she has been in The Play That Goes Wrong at San Francisco Playhouse, Jesus Christ Superstar at Berkeley Playhouse, and The Importance of Being Earnest at B8 Theatre Company. Favorite roles include Hamlet in Hamlet and Malvolio in Twelfth Night (Prague Shakespeare Company), Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Phoebe in As You Like It (Chapman University). This has been a dream company to work with and Lucy could not be more excited to spend the summer with them!
Mark Vashro (Mr. Page)
Mark Vashro is an actor, cyclist and Sundance award winning producer. He was last on stage as Benedict in “Much Ado About Nothing” (SPARC 2023) and Robert in “The Book Club Play” (Ross Valley Players 2024). Currently in postproduction for a fictional audio story titled BlueLife which will be coming out in 2025. www.bluelifeworld.com
* Member of Actors Equity Association
Production Team
Lisa A. Tromovitch (Director / Producer)
Lisa A. Tromovitch, Founding Artistic Director, is also a tenured professor in Media X at University of the Pacific. She began her career at The Old Globe Theater and has directed in six states. She is a Backstage West Garland Award and Indy Award winner for her direction of Amadeus at PCPA TheatreFest. Most recently she directed The Winter’s Tale, The Tempest, and her own adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac for SPARC. Past President, Shakespeare Theatre Association. MFA, Southern Methodist University; BA magna cum laude, Dartmouth College; Phi Beta Kappa.
Callie Floor (Costume Designer)**
Callie Floor returns after having designed SPARC’s productions Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, The Comedy of Errors, Othello, Sense and Sensibility, and Persuasion. Recent credits include The Sorcerer for Lamplighters Music Theater and Otello for West Bay Opera has a BFA from the University of Utah and a Higher Diploma in Theater Design from the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London.
Grant Huberty (Sound Designer)
Grant Huberty, Associate Artist, is pleased to return for another great Shakespeare in the Vineyard season. In addition to sound design for theaters, schools, and church groups, Grant also designed and installed the in-the-round sound system for the festival when it was at Wente Vineyards.
Gregg Le Blanc (Associate Artist / Promotional Photographer)
Gregg Le Blanc has helped capture SPARC’s magic over the years. You also might have seen him on stage in SPARC’s production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night as Sir Toby / Antonio, and LSF’s Much Ado About Nothing! Gregg is a master’s degree Chemical Engineer from University of California Santa Barbara with a 2nd Year certificate from University of Edinburgh. For more photography, visit CumulusLight.com
Emma Ledesma (Production Stage Manager/Props Master/Housing Host Coordinator)
Emma Ledesma is a passionate theater professional and experienced stage manager with a dual BA in Performance & Theater History and Technical Theater & Design from Saint Mary’s College of California. Emma began her journey with SPARC Theater as a teaching artist for the second-grade program, So Wise So Young, where she quickly developed a connection to both the company’s mission and the community. She made her stage management debut with SPARC in the summer of 2024 with Twelfth Night, and started full-time in the SPARC office this January.
Evan Lopes (Lighting Designer)
Evan Lopes (he/him) has been illuminating stages as a theatre lighting designer since 2011, bringing a decade-plus of creative vision to every production. In addition to his theatrical work, Evan is also a manager at VIP Audio Visual Company and is currently furthering his studies at California State University East Bay.
Finlay Norton-Lindsey (Technical Director)
Bio coming soon.
Karen Riley (Scenic Carpenter / Tech Advisor)
Karen Riley has been with SPARC since 2008 working in a variety of technical positions. She spent several years as a student and then a volunteer learning technical theater through the Las Positas Collage Theater Program. She retired from LLNL in 2015 after almost 25 years of service.
Malcolm Rodgers (Stage and Set Designer)
Malcolm Rodgers is an Associate Artist with SPARC and is going on 10 years as the resident scenic designer for “Shakespeare in the Vineyard”. He was last seen on-stage with the company as Clown #1 in The 39 Steps, Iago in Othello, and Sir Walter Elliot/Admiral Croft in Persuasion. Recent design credits include production design for Michael Che-Shame the Devil on Netflix, Triumph of Love at Shotgun Players, and Native Gardens at Ross Valley Players (A BATCC set design award winner). He has received three Emmy Awards for scenic and graphic design. As an actor, Malcolm has also performed with Shotgun Players, Marin Shakespeare, Custom Made Theatre, CCCT, Arabian Shakespeare, Napa Valley Shakespeare, and Ross Valley Players. Malcolm studied theater performance at PCPA, and stage design at San Francisco State University.
Design: www.bowmanrodgersdesign.com Performance: www.malcolmrodgers.com.
Design: www.bowmanrodgersdesign.com Performance: www.malcolmrodgers.com.
** Denotes a member of IATSE
Production Staff
Dorothee Catipon (Assistant Stage Manager)
Dorothee Catipon is a rising third year at UC Irvine, majoring in Drama with an emphasis in Stage Management, and Sociology. Highlights include The Waiting Period (UCI), Fairview (Black Door Theatre, UCI), and The Transit Trilogy (Heartstrings Theatrical Troupe).
EJ Agata (Sound Board Operator/Danville Front of House Manager)
EJ Agata (he/they/she), is a recent graduate of UC Davis, originally from Los Angeles. He has spent the last eight years specializing in technical theatre both as a vital part of technical crew, ranging from board operation to being a stagehand, as well as stage management and theatrical design (scenic, sound, and lighting). When EJ isn’t in a theatre, she loves spending time with friends or their cat, baking, cooking or playing life sim games like Stardew Valley or Minami Lane. They are very excited to join SPARC this summer and can’t wait to work with everyone!
Sheryl Lim (Dresser)
Sheryl Lim (she/her) is a theatre performer, designer, and technician from Fremont, CA. Acting highlights: “The Prom” (Woodland Opera House); “As You Like It,” “She Kills Monsters,” “Open, Stay” (UC Davis). Costume design: “Iscariot” (Theatre for Social Change at UCD). She will graduate from UC Davis in Fall 2025, where she has also worked as the costume shop assistant for the past four years. When she is not performing or sewing, she enjoys running her small Etsy business “SherStitches” and watching procedural dramas.
Lily Engelsgjerd (Dresser)
Lily Engelsgjerd (she/her) is a student at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, majoring in theater and music. Recent performances include Constellations (Marianne) at the Patrick Quade One-Act Festival, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hermia), and Ghosts (Regina Engstrand), all performed at St. Olaf College. She was also recently in award-winning student short film Predictable. She is a proud teaching artist with Pleasanton Youth Theatre Company for the summer, and is thrilled to be a part of SPARC’s college apprenticeship program.
Juno Bellantoni (Vineyard FOH Manager)
Juno (they/them) is a theater major at Whitman College. They work in the production shop during the school year and has been crew on several shows there, including The Spitfire Grill, Rhinoceros, and the dance show Two Truths and a Lie. Outside of the theater, they are an avid birdwatcher and spent two months banding birds in the Peruvian Amazon.
Additional Staff and Volunteers
Natalia Custodio – Scenic Painter
Thomasin Dewherst – Volunteer Painting Assistant
Kiku Nitta-Dong – Volunteer Painting Assistant
Laura Batti – Graphic Designer
Meredith Sarboraria – Volunteer Props Assistant
Laura Batti – Graphic Designer
Meredith Sarboraria – Volunteer Props Assistant
Board of Directors & Administrative Staff
Board of Directors
Bryan Balazs, Co-Treasurer
Laura Batti
Bob Carling
Apryl Chauhan
Valerie Jonas, Chair
Steve Lanza, Co-Treasurer
Trish Keer Munro
Mary Sweeney
Lisa A. Tromovitch
Beth Trutner, Vice Chair
Administrative Staff
Lisa A Tromovitch, Producing Artistic Director
Felicity Cowlin, Development Director
Emma Ledesma, Production Stage Manager
Leslie Martinson, Grant Writer
Laura Batti, Metier Marketing Communications, Graphic Design
Michael Wayne Rice, Science@Play Program Director
Stephanie Prentice, Engagement Officer
Shakespeare 101
Director's Notes
Articles
Director’s Notes:
Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor
Adapted and Directed by Lisa A. Tromovitch
At SPARC Theater, we often ask: how can we make Shakespeare feel as alive today as it did in the bustling theatres of Elizabethan London? This summer, our answer lies in the dusty promise of the American West, the optimism of a newly-formed state, and the resilience of communities forging new lives in a time of great change.
Why a New Title?
The renaming of this play to Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor is a deliberate shift of focus. While the original title centers the “merry wives” themselves—a deserving spotlight—the addition of the infamous Sir John Falstaff more accurately signals the delightful tug-of-war at the heart of the story. Falstaff’s ego and antics are so large, so brazenly misguided, that he demands mention. Yet it is truly the wives—Mistress Ford and Mistress Page—who lead the dance and steer the chaos with intelligence and flair. This title invites audiences to watch both forces at play: the scheming of a man whose best days are behind him, and the clever retaliation of two women very much in their prime.
Setting the Scene: 1870s California
Shakespeare himself was a man of the moment. He wrote plays that were responsive to the tastes, politics, and even gossip of his time. Our production follows in this spirit, relocating the action of Windsor to the American West in the late 1800s—a time when Livermore, California, was just taking root.
California was admitted to the Union in 1850, and the decades that followed were marked by rapid transformation: the Gold Rush, the Civil War, the expansion of the railroads. In 1870, the first railway station opened in Livermore, ushering in a wave of change, ambition, and cultural collision. People arrived from around the world seeking fortune and fresh starts. This setting, full of hope and tension, perfectly mirrors the vibrant social landscape of Shakespeare’s Windsor—a place where reputations mattered, love was pursued with gusto, and no one was safe from public jest.
Music of the Time
In adapting the play, I have made select edits to references that no longer land with a modern audience. Shakespeare’s original included jokes and nods to news items specific to his era—clever, but now obscure. Instead, we’ve integrated music from mid-19th century America, including songs that many audience members might be surprised to recognize, like “Listen to the Mockingbird” (1854). These melodies create a bridge between history and memory, drawing on the emotional residue of a shared cultural past.
For me, this discovery was personal. I realized that many of the lullabies and songs my own mother sang to me had their roots in this era. It was a revelation—and a confirmation—that we are never too far from history. Our production honors that through a live score steeped in the sounds of frontier America.
The Comedy of the Human Condition
At its heart, Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor is a play about the enduring foolishness of human beings—and our equally enduring capacity for joy, cleverness, and camaraderie. Falstaff believes he can seduce not one, but two respectable women with the same recycled love letter. He believes his wit is unmatched, his schemes unfailing. But the wives—played in our production by SPARC regulars Mary Ann Rodgers and Carolina Morones—have other ideas. Their revenge is playful, strategic, and ultimately redemptive.
Young love, too, has its moment. Anne Page finds herself at the center of a classic comedic triangle (or perhaps quadrangle), as various suitors clamor for her affection. And in a time and place where choice—especially for women—was not always guaranteed, Anne’s assertion of her own heart is both touching and timely.
This production, then, is about confidence. The confidence of women who know their own minds. The confidence of lovers who believe in the power of affection over arrangement. The confidence of a community that can laugh at itself, even as it grows and changes.
A Theater Without a Roof
Shakespeare in the Vineyard is a tradition born of sunlight and laughter, of the gentle hush that falls as the stars begin to emerge. At Darcie Kent Vineyards, where the play first opens, theatergoers sip wine, feel the breeze, and relax into an experience that is both intimate and epic. There’s a reason we sometimes call it “the spa version of outdoor Shakespeare”—the beauty of nature provides a kind of balm that enhances every scene.
For those who prefer an indoor venue, we bring the same warmth and wit to Danville’s Village Theatre and Art Gallery in August. There, with the comfort of air conditioning and Sunday matinees, we continue our mission of bringing accessible, regionally-rooted professional theater to diverse audiences throughout the East Bay.
Community and Continuity
This year’s production comes on the heels of a great loss in the regional theater landscape: the closure of CalShakes. We are mindful of what their absence means to our shared artistic community. SPARC is committed to filling some of that void—not by imitation, but by honoring the same principles: excellence in performance, meaningful connection to audience, and the courage to experiment.
To that end, we’re expanding programming to include pre-show talks and three family nights, offering reduced ticket prices and child-friendly activities. Theater should be a space for everyone, and nothing thrills us more than the sight of multi-generational audiences discovering Shakespeare together.
Final Thoughts
Falstaff is a fool, yes. But like all of Shakespeare’s best fools, he holds up a mirror. We see in him our own overreaches, our delusions of grandeur, our refusal to age quietly. But we also see the people who love us anyway. Or trick us lovingly. Or laugh with us while pushing us into a laundry basket.
In Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor, joy is the final word. And in an age like ours, joy—rooted in tradition, adapted for today—is a gift worth giving.
Come laugh with us under the stars.
Lisa A. Tromovitch
Artistic Director, SPARC Theater
Director & Adaptor of Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor
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