MARSHSTREAM Continues With Live Performances by Maureen Langan, Diane Barnes, Steve Budd and More

As the Bay Area's shelter-in-place continues, The Marsh San Francisco offers a variety of programming at 7:30pm nightly on MarshStream, its popular broadcast platform. Offerings this month include fascinating tales from the Formerly Incarcerated Peoples Project (FIPP), captivating story-tellers describing everything from the supernatural to navigating mental illness, to a survey of attitudes about sex, plus a spellbinding look at the upside of having a stroke, a visit with a top standup comic, and much more (see latest schedule below).

The program launched in April and has received overwhelmingly enthusiastic response, with hundreds flocking to view and participate each night. MarshStream programming varies daily, with Monday Night MarshStream (short performances by a variety of artists), Wild Card Tuesdays (everything from book/writer discussions, sing-a-longs, Tell It On Tuesday, to Sound Healing and Restorative Yoga), Wednesday Solo Arts Heal (offering stories of health, advocacy, and inspiration), Stephanie's MarshStream on Thursday nights (interview, bantering, Q&A, and performance excerpts with Marsh favorites, moderated by Marsh founder Stephanie Weisman), plus Game Nights hosted by Josh Kornbluth, live full-length performance concert readings, archived performance streams, performance development classes, and a noon series, including a fitness/singing class on Fridays, a Super Slow Weight Training and Zoomba Rooms. Content is being offered at 7:30pm nightly as well as mid-day throughout the week (see schedule below) via Zoom, YouTube, Instagram, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and iTunes. MarshStream viewers are asked to contribute whatever they can afford. Donations can be made via a virtual "tip jar" on the website, with funds going to support and sustain The Marsh and its performances. For more information, the public may visit www.themarsh.org/marshstream. NOTE: Most past shows from earlier MarshStream dates are also available on the website for viewing.

Monday MarshStream

7:30pm, Monday, May 25
SPECIAL EDITION - Featuring short story performances from the Formerly Incarcerated Peoples Project (FIPP). Directed & Produced by Mark Kenward, Rebecca Fisher, and Wayne Harris with Consulting Producer Toni Weingarten

Tony Cyprien's THE BUS RIDE & THEN SOME!: Tony Cyprien was born and raised in Watts, California by his loving mother and grandmother - and neighborhood gang members. He soon was in juvenile hall and the California Youth Authority. Cyprien returned home to find strangers living in his house after his mother suddenly died. Months later, at age 17, he was sentenced to San Quentin. While incarcerated, Cyprien learned to weld, completely unaware of where this skillset would eventually take him in life. Twenty-six years and eight days later, he was paroled to Berkeley, where he got a job assembling robotic arms used in medicine. Cyprien has also discovered a passion for improv and storytelling. He won the very first Moth StorySLAM that he entered, and has been featured at two Moth Mainstage events, as well as two broadcasts on NPR.

Ronnie Muniz's CEO PASTOR: A recognized leader in faith-based supportive services, Pastor Ronnie Muniz has worked tirelessly to help the homeless, youth, and formerly incarcerated people of San Francisco. Since his release from prison in 1989, Muniz has worked with a number of high-profile organizations as a gang prevention coordinator and youth advocate, with a focus on overcoming criminal and addictive thinking, anger management, life skills, and relapse prevention. He is the founder and CEO of Saved by Grace Re-Entry Ministries, which helps formerly incarcerated youth and adults with services for employment, education, housing and recovery.

Wildcard Tuesdays: Tell It On a Tuesday (TIOT)

7:00pm, Tuesday, May 26

The Marsh Berkeley's long-running monthly storytelling series returns for its first Zoom performance. The evening kicks off with music performed by Forest and David Giulietti, followed by performances from Kirk Waller, Pamela Ann Keane, and Steve Budd

Kirk Waller's I KNOW MOONRISE: Kirk Waller tells an old folktale, new for him, as it delves into the supernatural down south in the marsh, under the moonrise.

Pamela Ann Keane's HIGH AND LOW: Pamela Ann Keane shares her reasons through how, over time, she struggled with mental illness, ended up homeless, and involved in criminal activity.

Steve Budd's WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT SEX: Steve Budd wondered what other people knew about sex that he didn't... so he asked them. In What They Said About Sex, audiences will meet a gay man, a polyamorous woman, a transsexual, and an octogenarian, and take a wild tour of their stories and secrets - and Steve's.

Solo Arts Heal

7:30pm, Wednesday, May 27

Performed by Diane Barnes

MY STROKE OF LUCK: A captivating tale of a harrowing recovery, Diane Barnes returns to perform excerpts of her hit solo show My Stroke of Luck. As a radiologist who diagnoses strokes, Barnes did not deal with having a stroke very well; it was more than 20 hours before she went to the hospital. My Stroke of Luck follows Barnes as she recounts her experience of having a stroke, her path to recovery, and more. A spellbinding and funny look at love, family, and seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Barnes shares the story of a single adoptive mother of special needs and gifted sons and how she forges a new identity after a debilitating stroke.

Stephanie's MarshStream

7:30pm, Thursday, May 28

Hosted by Stephanie Weisman. Featuring special guest Maureen Langan

Stephanie's MarshStream will feature an interview with radio host/standup comic Maureen Langan, bantering, Q&A, and performance excerpts. She was last seen at The Marsh in February for a limited engagement of her 2017 smash hit, Daughter of a Garbageman.

Game Night: BINGO!

7:30pm, Fridays in May
Hosted by Josh Kornbluth
Audience members are invited to play five FREE games of BINGO! with prizes for the winner of each round.

YouTube Weekend

Saturday, May 23 and Sunday, May 24
The Marsh invites theatre-lovers to catch up on all MarshStream episodes available on its YouTube channel from the past eight weeks at: youtube.com/user/TheMarshTV/videos

To simulate the feeling of waiting in the lobby until a theater opens, The Marsh has created the MarshStream Studio Waiting Room. Available 30 minutes prior to each performance/event for Marsh members, and 15 minutes prior to the general public, the Waiting Room can be joined via Zoom Room where guests can mix and mingle, or viewed on YouTube live, with additional entertainment such as unique content, live music, and even prizes.

In addition to nightly program offerings on MarshStream, The Marsh has also launched Marsh Youth Theater (MYT) MarshStream, classes offered at 4:00pm daily taught by MYT instructors. From Creative Dramatics to Storytelling, Dancing, and more, class types, instructors, and age levels vary for each class. For weekly class schedules and additional information, please visit themarsh.org/mytmarshstream.

Photo Credit: Bitten By A Zebra