Bora "Max" Koknar - "The Creature"
Bora “Max” Koknar (The Creature)
(he/him/his) is a Turkish-born actor, director, writer, educator, producer and the Co-Artistic Director of the Dragon in Redwood City, CA. Over a professional career of 15+ years, Max has entertained over 500,000 people as a performer; produced a touring program serving over 100,000 children a year across the west coast; founded an education program designed to increase language fluency and communication skills of 100s of at risk youth in partnership with local elementary schools and the Ohio State University; presented lectures at venues including UC Berkeley and Developer Week 2020; created site specific and immersive experiences entertaining 1000s of people in partnership with venues including the SF MOMA, Fort Mason, and San Jose Japan Town with Epic Immersive and collaborated with international tech giants such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Box, Intuit, Genentech, and Paradox Interactive as director, performer, executive coach, training facilitator and experience designer. Max would like to say that Black Lives Matter, and that he is grateful to be able to keep making art to serve his community.
Filip Hofman - "Captain Walton" & More, Video Producer
Filip Hofman (Captain Walton et al)(he/him/his) BLACK LIVES MATTER. Filip is excited to return to the Dragon as a part of this devised piece! His interest in acting and the arts began at an early age, and his formal acting education includes studying in Prague at the celebrated DAMU theater conservatory, as well as obtaining a BFA in Acting from CALARTS. Fluent in English and Czech, Filip’s been performing all over the world, including Edinburgh, Prague, New York, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area. You may have seen him recently in The Baltimore Waltz (Dragon Productions), One Hour Star Wars (Dragon Productions), Never Swim Alone (Dragon Productions) and The Glass Menagerie (Role Players Ensemble), or perhaps remember him as Orlando in As You Like It (Silicon Valley Shakespeare). Other credits include The Rover (Role Players Ensemble), 1984 (Los Altos Stage Company), The Winter’s Tale (California Shakespeare Company), Spending the End of the World on OK Cupid (Pear Theater), and The Hood of Sherwood (Silicon Valley Shakespeare). Filip’s also a part of the Dipsy Doodle Dragons, a new sketch comedy group! In his spare time, he enjoys long walks, playing the piano accordion, games, and reading a good book (he recommends Terry Pratchett).
Paul Rosenfield - "Victor Frankenstein"
Paul returns for his sophomore production with the Dragon, where he previously acted in Equivocation. Most recently, he starred in Silicon Valley Shakespeare's Macbeth. Still new to the theatre world, Paul's only other credit is a staged reading of The Life of Galileo at the Stanford Repertory Theater. When he isn't acting, Paul works as a Data Scientist for a San Carlos-based startup called the Farmers Business Network.
Trevor Allen - Playwright
Trevor Allen (Playwright) is an award-winning Bay Area playwright. Productions include: Lolita Roadtrip (San Jose Stage Company), The Creature (Black Box Theatre Company, Bay Area Critic's Circle award) Tenders in the Fog (San Jose Stage Company, Dean Goodman Award, Original Script), Working for the Mouse! (Impact Theatre), 49 Miles (Crowded Fire Theater), Chain Reactions, (Theatre of Yugen, CAFÉ and The Cutting Ball). He received a San Francisco Arts Commission grant for his play, Zoo Logic. He is a Bay Area Playwrights Festival alumni and his play, One Stone (Einstein), a collaboration with Lunatique Fantastique was developed through their “Incubator” and “In the Rough” programs. Two of his plays have received the SF Fringe Festival’s “Best Of” awards. His short play, Mamlet, won American Conservatory Theatre’s “Mamet” contest. He received PlayGround's Emerging Playwright Award, Playwriting Fellowship and two Alumni full length play commissions for Lolita Roadtrip and Golden Gate Fair. He was a Playwright in Residence at the Djerassi Resident Artists Program. He is currently working on scripts for Valley of Sand, a new play about Silicon Valley originally commissioned by San Jose Repertory Theatre and PlayGround, A Treasured Island, his adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel set in a Children’s hospital and other projects. A book length collection of five of his professionally produced plays was recently published by EXIT Press. He holds a BA in Theatre from UCLA and a MFA in Creative Writing from SFSU. He is a member of the Dramatist’s Guild of America.
Alika U. Spencer-Koknar - Director
Alika is eager to make her directing debut with the Dragon and with such a classic story along with a group of phenomenal artists. Creating during this pandemic has its challenges, and Alika is honored to keep the spark of creation alive during these unprecedented times and is bursting with pride for her skillful and gifted team behind this podcast. Alika is a Bay Area native and graduate from Pacific Conservatory Theatre in Santa Maria CA. She is Co-Artistic Director of Dragon Theater with her husband and creative partner, Bora “Max” Koknar. Her past credits include, Princess Leia in The Star Wars Trilogy: Live, Euphonia Riggstone in Shoggoths on the Veldt, Judith in Equivocation, Boshka/Magda Goebbels in Cirque Exotique Du Monde with Dragon Theatre, with Northside Theater Company as Maureen in The Beauty Queen Of Leenane, with City Lights as Johnna Monevata In August: Osage County with City Lights Theater Company and Alice Bloomfield in Kinan Valdez’s production of Zoot Suit with El Theatro Campesino. Alika would like to say, Black Lives Matter and thank you for supporting the arts, I am grateful to serve you.
Gregory Holmes - Sound Engineer & Composer
Greg is a freelance sound and lighting technician, working in the South Bay Area with local school districts and theatre companies to improve the performance quality and production value of various concerts, musicals, and operas.
Miranda Whipple - Stage Manager
Miranda Whipple has worked as a props designer and stage manager in the Bay Area for the past five years. Recent Dragon productions include Hickorydickory, Confession, and The Baltimore Waltz. She has also worked at City Lights Theatre Company, South Bay Music Theatre, Los Altos Stage Company, and Silicon Valley Shakespeare. Other stage management credits include Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (American Conservatory Theater), 1984 (Los Altos Stage Company), and La Llorona (Opera Cultura). Miranda was recently named as a TBA finalist for Outstanding Properties Design for her work on Mothers and Sons. She is a proud graduate of the Cal State University, Fullerton theatre arts program.