FALL 2024: LEGALLY BLONDE

October 25–November 3, 2024 – 6 performances only!
The Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts in Oakland

Music and lyrics by Neil Benjamin and Laurence O’Keefe, book by Heather Hach, based on the 2001 film of the same name

LA sorority girl Elle Woods has it all – beauty, brains, and Bruiser the chihuahua. When her perfect boyfriend dumps her and she follows him to Harvard Law School, she discovers she has a passion for something way more fabulous than clothes – justice! Filled with heart, memorable songs, dynamic dance numbers, and a stereotype-defying heroine, Legally Blonde shows the audience that being true to oneself never goes out of style.

CREATIVE TEAM

CELESTE KAMIYA
Director

Celeste (she/her) is a San Francisco-born, Oakland-based actor, singer, and teaching artist. She began her professional vocal training with the San Francisco Girls Chorus at age 7 and performed with the group for 6 years, appearing during that time in multiple productions with the San Francisco Opera as a member of the children’s chorus. As a Korsa student, Celeste appeared in and worked on twelve productions, from Anything Goes in 2010 to Carousel in 2016 – and she credits Jennifer, Dave, and Pam with enlightening her to just how wonderful teaching theater can be. After obtaining her BA in Theater at The New School in New York City and studying acting at the British American Drama Academy in London, she returned home to Korsa joined the staff in 2018 and hasn’t left since! She was Resident Stage Manager from 2018–2022, becoming Casting & Outreach Director in 2021, and adding Communications Director to her many titles in 2022. She co-directed Matilda the Musical (2022) and The Sound of Music (2024) with her boss-mentor-life coach Jennifer Boesing and made her solo-directing debut with Little Shop of Horrors last fall. Being a part of Korsa has been the joy of her life, and she has loved working with the young people in the company to bring you this explosion of joy, passion, and sisterhood.

When not working at Korsa, Celeste holds a variety of odd jobs, but always keeps performing. She has performed, stage managed, and taught at many theater venues and companies over the years – most recently you may have seen her onstage as Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Shotgun Players or as Little Red Ridinghood in Into the Woods at The Mountain Play, or your child may have played Zip Zap Zop with her as an elementary school drama teacher with NCTC!

TIMOTHY FLETCHER
Music Director

Tim (he/him) is a freelance music director and musician and works with companies throughout the Bay Area. Credits include:  Waitress (Keys 2),  Evita (Assistant Music Director/Keys 2) and A Chorus Line (Keys 2) with San Francisco Playhouse, Carrie (Music Director) with American Conservatory Theater’s Young Conservatory, the world premiere of Larry at Brava Theater (Rehearsal Pianist), Mame (Music Director) and Forever Plaid (Associate MD) with 42nd Street Moon, and Head Over Heels with Theatre SilCo in Silverthorne, CO. He holds an MFA in Music Direction from University of California, Irvine. www.timothyfletchermusic.com

RUSSELL WRIGHT
Choreographer and Musical Staging
Correct Pronouns: He, Him, They, Them, Ze, Tree)

Russell Wright is a native of Berkeley, California. He has had the great joy of teaching young people theatre in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 30 years. Professionally in Berkeley, Russell has been affiliated with the Korsa Musical Theatre Company, Walden Center and School, and as a board member and showrunner at the Julia Morgan Theatre. He has produced, directed, and choreographed musical theatre for programs with the Jewish Community High School of the Bay, the Jewish Community Center, the Marsh Youth Theatre, and the Day School, all in San Francisco, as well as at the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts in Richmond, and the Performing Arts Academies in Castro Valley and Lafayette.  He specializes in many facets of performing arts education that include acting technique and character development, choreography, dance instruction, directing, playwriting, singing, songwriting, hip-hop and spoken word, and teamwork and ensemble building. Along the way, he has worked with students from kindergarten to early college and taught a variety of curricular subjects from mindfulness and relaxation, to spelling, handwriting, poetry, and selected works of William Shakespeare, and as a substitute teacher.  As a high school teacher, he taught acting techniques, playwriting, and scene study, and was a senior thesis advisor. Russell was voted “Best Teacher, Kindergarten – 12th grade,” in the East Bay Express for 5 consecutive years until the award was retired.

JENNIFER BOESING
Producing Artistic Director

Jennifer (she/her) worked professionally as a singer and actor in Minneapolis from the age of nine. Before graduation from high school, she had performed with At the Foot of the Mountain Theater Company, Mabou Mines Theater, Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the Minnesota Opera. Jennifer studied acting at the Northwestern Summer Theater Institute, with Wesley Balk at the New Music Theater Institute in Minneapolis, and with Sanford Meisner and Richard Pinter at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater in New York City. In 2002, she earned a master’s in music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she received the award for Outstanding Achievement in Operatic Performance. Locally, Jennifer has performed opera, oratorio, and musical theater. Professional credits include work with San Francisco Opera Center, San Francisco Lyric Opera, Pocket Opera, Berkeley Opera, Oakland Opera Theater, Festival Opera, North Bay Opera, 42nd St. Moon, and Mountain Play. Jennifer began working as a director and educator with Korsa in 2000, when it was called Youth Musical Theater Commons. She has served as founding artistic director for Korsa since the company became a nonprofit organization in 2004.

DAVID MÖSCHLER
Resident Music Director

David Möschler is an award-winning conductor based in Oakland who has been the Resident Musical Director for Korsa since 2012, where he has worked on over 35 productions. In addition to this, he has music-directed over 140 professional theater productions with companies such as Berkeley Repertory Theatre, American Conservatory Theatre, Guthrie Theater, Shotgun Players, West Edge Opera, Ray of Light Theatre, Mountain Play, Lamplighters Music Theatre, SF Playhouse, San Jose Repertory Theatre, and Center REPertory Theatre among many others. Möschler has also toured with bands like The Dear Hunter and Pop Up Magazine throughout North America. Next spring you can find him music directing Heathers with Korsa. He has served on the the music staff at College Light Opera Company in Cape Cod since 2005. In 2013 he founded Awesöme Orchestra Collective, which he conducts every month. www.davidmoschler.com.

BERTRAND BLANK
Sound Engineer

Bert (he/him) is a sound engineer, DJ, and event producer in the Bay Area.  He is the founder of By the Bay Productions, an innovative entertainment production company that specializes in sound design, lighting, and audio-visual effects. Bert has designed the sound for productions of Little Shop of Horrors, Be More Chill,  Heathers: The Musical, Into the Woods, Matilda, Sunday in the Park With George,  Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Lightning Thief: Percy Jackson Musical, Once Upon a Matteess (musical), Don’t Stop Me, Fun Home, Urine Town and Sound of Music.  He is thrilled to be working with Korsa again, and very excited to be part of the team bringing Legally Blonde to bay area audiences. Visit bythebayproductions.com for more info.

BILL BREWER
Facilities Manager, Build Assistant

Bill has been working with Korsa in a variety of production roles for several years. His background in design and manufacturing has integrated well with assisting in the production of nearly two dozen Korsa performances. He is excited to be part of Sound Of Music, and the attendance of his mother at this production, who has met and visited with some of the depicted Von Trapp family members. BS, MS University of Oregon

JASON COALE
Technical Director

Jason Coale (he/him) has been involved in theater and education for over 15 years, with a focus on design and production. Jason’s background spans teaching theater to students of all ages, from elementary school to university, as well as designing for theme parks like Busch Gardens and SeaWorld. He holds an MFA in Scenic Design from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and loves using his creativity to bring shows to life. Jason is excited to join Korsa as the Technical Director and can’t wait to dive into another fantastic production.

LAURA CORNWALL
Stage Manager

Laura Cornwall (they/she) began their theater career as a student stage manager with Korsa 2006–2011, and is delighted to return as Korsa’s Resident Stage Manager. They have a BA in Stage Management and Dramaturgy from Oberlin College and an MFA in Theater Management from the Yale School of Drama. Laura spent a number of years creating theater in New York City with partner Philip Waller, has worked as an Access and Sensory Consultant—including with National Disability Theater—and has a passion for bringing Disability Justice work and the performing arts together. 

RICHARD FONG
Lighting Designer/Projection Artist

Richard Fong (he/him) is a Bay Area based designer specializing in Lighting and Video Design for live entertainment. With a background in theatrical design, he strives to find the story at the core of his work, whether it’s a musical, play, or rock-and-roll concert. He is excited to collaborate with Korsa again after previously designing Sound of Music, Don’t Stop Me, Little Shop of Horrors, and Sunday in the Park with George. When not designing for theatrical productions, you can find his work on concert stages with indie rock bands such as Joywave, Misterwives, I Don’t Know How But They Found Me, and Cavetown. He has also served as a programmer and electrician for various Bay Area theaters including California Shakespeare Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and American Conservatory Theater. Visit rfongdesign.com to learn more about his work.

LUCRETIA FROKE
Hair and makeup 

Lucretia (she/her) is excited to run her 5th show with Korsa and has been running and designing hair and makeup as well as set building, scenic painting, and prop fabricating in the Bay Area for the past 7 years, for Korsa she worked on Matilda, Sunday in the Park with George, Hunchback of Notre Dame. However her favorite and most recent show was Little Shop of Horrors where she designed and built the giant Audry 2 and is excited to bring magic to the stage again for Sound of Music.

RACHAEL HEIMAN
Costume Designer 

Rachael Heiman (they/she/he) graduated from the California College of the Arts in 2018, diving into a decade-long career as a Bay Area Production Designer and Fabricator that specializes in historical recreation costumes for opera and musicals. Their individualized BFA, a blend of textiles, sculpture, and fashion, fuels their creative practice, especially in productions like this one. They’re celebrating their 14th collaboration with Korsa and third season as a resident costumer pouring their heart into shows such as Les Misérables, The Light in the Piazza, and Sweeney Todd. Beyond the sewing machine, Rachael’s journey has led them to explore performing, modeling, props artistry, and more. They’ve worked with a myriad of other Bay Area theatre companies including The Great Dickens Christmas Fair, African-American Shakespeare Company, The SF Speakeasy, and the San Francisco Playhouse.
@Rachaelheimanproductions

DAWN NAKASHIMA
Properties Designer/Scenic Artist

Dawn is so pleased to have found a niche in theater stagecraft (props, set dressing, paint & build). One of her favorite pastimes is to “make things” and as the property master she gets to flex her creative, problem solving and resourceful-ness muscles. Turns out Dawn is well suited for this type of work with a BS in Industrial Design (SJSU) and an MFA in Studio Arts (Mills College). Some of Dawn’s favorite Korsa shows to work on for their unique challenges – Light in the Piazza, Shrek the Musical & Matilda. Check out Dawn’s website for her latest creations: www.nakfinearts.com

THOMAS SOTO
Resident Sound Designer/Mixer

Thomas is excited to join Korsa again the 24/25 season. He has mixed and designed SFX for Korsa since the summer of 2022. Notible performances include Sound of Music, Matilda, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Korsa’s comissioned show Don’t Stop Me. He also has workee with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music on various musical projects such as The Apple Tree and Little Women, and with ACT on their youth production of Carrie. He currently works at the Fairmont Hotel as an A/V specialist, A1, and Assistant Project Manager. During his down time you can find him hosting game nights, designing D&D content, and trying to be social.