Post-show Talkback

Join us for post-show talkbacks with community leaders, gun rights/gun safety advocates on both sides, gun violence prevention leaders, and more, as we plumb the depths of America’s fascination with guns.

Talkback Schedule

• Saturday, March 18 (Matinee) – “Religious Viewpoint on Gun Violence” with Rabbi Benj Fried
• Sunday, March 19 – “A Survivor Speaks Out” with Liz & Carlos Muñozand Essie Mae Horne
• Saturday, March 25 (Matinee) – “A Look at Upcoming Legislation” with Therese Hymerand Ron Marcus
• Sunday, March 26 – “Restorative Justice for the Community” with Azim Khamisa, Zander Gold, and Rabbi Matt Marko
• Saturday, April 1 (Matinee) – “A Gunowner Perspective” with Gary Beals  and Janessa Goldbeck
• Sunday, April 2 – “A Look at Upcoming Legislation” with California State Assemblymember Brian Maienschein and San Diego Councilmember Marni VonWilpert

Click here to read our Speaker's bios

Critic's Reviews

"Twilight Zone, 2023, fresh and awesome"
Kathy Carpenter, East County Magazine

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"This Twilight Zone-esque production is fresh and awesome, offering a thought-provoking commentary on gun control and social issues in our society." - Kathy Carpenter, East County Magazine

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“gUnTOPIA” is satire. It’s funny, thought-provoking, and extremely strange, and it needs to be seen." - Jean Lowerison, San Diego Stage and Screen

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"Do go. You’ve never seen anything like this, I can guarantee that." - Jean Lowerison, San Diego Stage and Screen

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"Co-directing with hard-hitting imagination are Rosina Reynolds and Kate Rose Reynolds. The thought-provoking work interpreted by a fine-tuned ensemble..." - Christene Meyers, Critic



“This is not a play for sissies but is rewarding, intriguing and, as all worthy art should do, it’s bound to make us ponder.” - Christene Meyers, Critic

Meet the Cast

Phil Johnson

Actor (Harry Nelson)

Phil Johnson is the Artistic Director and proud co-founder of The Roustabouts Theatre Co. He’s directed for The Roustabouts, Scripps Ranch Theatre, Playwrights Project, and started the new Great Jewish American Playwright Series/JPlays at the JCC. He’s appeared at almost all San Diego theaters and in numerous original solo shows including A Jewish Joke which opened Off-Broadway in NYC in 2019. As an actor, he’s played in Les Misérables on Broadway and on tour; Canadian production of Sunset Boulevard; and the 1st National Co. of Miss Saigon. He is a two-time winner of the SD Critics Circle Craig Noel Award for acting, and he is a founder of the San Diego Theatre Alliance. He last appeared in North Coast Rep's ‘The Remarkable Mr. Holmes' with Guntopia's Katie Karel.

Katie Karel

Actor (Mary Nelson)

Katie Karel, Roustabouts Debut. Off Broadway: Lucky Duck. San Diego - The Remarkable Mr. Holmes, Always...Patsy Cline, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, Sherlock Holmes, and...The Great Nome Gold Rush. Selected Regional: Skylight, Indecent, The Humans, Chesapeake, You Can’t Take It With You, Valhalla, Heathers, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Into The Woods, Godspell, Addams Family, Sunday In The Park With George, Sweeney Todd, 1776, Rocky Horror, In Trousers, Evil Dead, a few Hairspray’s, and a couple more Patsy Cline’s. www.katiekarel.com

Walter Murray

Actor (Detective Rheingold/Ed)

Walter Murray has appeared on stages in NY, SD, and LA. He was the executive director of the SD Black Ensemble Theater and served on the board of the Actors Alliance. He worked at SRT before in Rounding Third and Flemming. Films include; “Your Name Here” & “The Case Regarding Joan of Arc.” Thank you to Drs. Stanton, Epston and, Levine. This one's for Vin.

Veronica Burgess

Actor (Consuela)

Veronica graduated with a BA in Theatre Performance from SDSU. She has worked on stages across San Diego County, from New Village Arts & La Jolla Comedy Store to OnStage Playhouse & The Laugh Factory San Diego. As a local actor, comedian, and teaching artist, Veronica shares her time between acting, standup comedy, and teaching for The Old Globe. Having also taught playwriting to youth with Playwrights Project, she also teaches improv. A student of Second City Chicago and Finest City Improv, Veronica has enjoyed the improv stage for over 10 years. She is looking forward to sharing the stage with new friends, in her debut with Roustabouts Theater.

Elena Bertacchi

Actor (June/Alice)

Elena Bertacchi is honored to be making her debut with The Roustabout Theater Co. Elena's recent credits include Annie in Annie (Star Theater Company), Young Polly Walker (lead) in Our Story Untold film (Staged Rebellion Productions), and Winnie Foster in Tuck Everlasting (JAC). She was also Alice in Alice in Wonderland (JCompany Youth Theater) as a touch of foreshadowing perhaps... shhh! no spoilers. Elena is 12 years old. She loves acting, singing, and dancing and has placed first in the San Diego 2022 Fall NATS Children‘s Musical Theater competition. Last but not least, she would like to thank the most wonderful cast and creative team of gUnTOPIA and the audience for supporting live theater.

Eben Rosenzweig

Actor (Bobby)

Eben Rosenzweig (he/him) is fairly new to theatre but first caught the acting bug while attending summer camp at TS@NCRT when he was 7 years old and played Woody in Toy Story. He recently wrapped up the production of The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge (Bob Cratchit/Jacob Marley) at TS@NCRT. Eben is in the 4th grade at La Costa Heights Elementary School and lives in Carlsbad with his parents and two older siblings. Eben is 10 years old.

Meet the Creative Team

Will Cooper

Playwright

Will Cooper is a playwright based in San Diego and Chicago and co-founder of The Roustabouts Theatre Co. His plays Book of Leaves, Jade Heart, and Margin of Error received widespread acclaim from critics and audiences alike. Jade Heart was last produced at San Diego’s award-winning MOXIE Theatre in 2014. His drama Margin of Error kicked off The Roustabouts' premiere season at the Lyceum Theatre in downtown San Diego and was selected as "Critic's Choice" by The San Diego Union-Tribune. It was also chosen as a Best Play finalist in the 2017 Craig Noel Critics Circle Awards. Following its run, the play was honored to be read at UCSD as a teaching tool for the Departments of Philosophy, Theatre, and Ethics & Sciences. Will is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild.

Rosina Reynolds

Co-Director

The Roustabouts Theatre Company: Roosevelt: Charge the Bear: Margin of Error. Backyard Renaissance: Abigail’s Party: American Buffalo: Zoo Story. New Village Arts: The Secret Garden. North Coast Repertory Theatre: Blithe Spirit; The Cocktail Hour; Fallen Angels; Broken Glass; Glorious; Don’t Dress for Dinner; Relatively Speaking; Importance of Being Earnest; Travesties; An American Daughter; The Sum of Us; Blithe Spirit; Corpse. San Diego Repertory Theatre: Bad Dates. Cygnet Theatre: Atwater, Fixin’ to Die. Renaissance Theatre: Caretaker (San Diego Critics Circle Award). Diversionary Theatre: 2.5 Minute Ride; Marriage Bed; Happy Endings are Extra; Twilight of the Golds; Beautiful Thing; Wrinkles; Another American; Asking and Telling; Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde; Breaking The Code; Lot's Daughters... Compass Theatre: Three Days of Rain. Fritz Theatre: Vigil. Gaslamp Quarter Theatre: Marvin's Room. Founding Artistic Director of Chequamegon Children’s Theatre in Wisconsin, now in our 35th season.

Maya Aizenman

Stage Manager

Maya Aizenman (she/they) is a 22-year-old stage manager working with Diversionary for the first time! After graduating from San Diego State University in Spring ‘22 with a BA in Theatre Arts and a second BA in Linguistics, she’s excited to work with Roustabouts Theatre for the first time. When she is not stage managing, Maya is also the production manager at Mesa Community College where she has just finished her first semester as staff. Credits include Eighty-Sixed (Diversionary Theatre, Assistant Stage Manager) Passion (Turnkey Theatre, Lead Production Manager), Miku, and the Gods (San Diego State University, Stage Manager), Cloud 9 (San Diego State University, Stage Manager).

Josie E. Gerk

Assistant Stage Manager

Josie E. Gerk (she/her) is thrilled to be joining The Roustabouts Theatre Co. for this production. Credits include: Finding Avi (La Jolla Playhouse WoW Festival); Dido & Aeneas (Bodhi Tree Concerts); Something Blue (Diversionary Theatre); Cabaret (Ion Theatre); Father Comes Home from the Wars; Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (Intrepid Theatre).

Michelle Miles

Lighting Designer

Michelle Miles is pleased as a peach to collaborate with the Roustabouts again at the MOXIE! Recent favorites include: The Roustabouts Theatre Co's Iron; Backyard Renaissance's Steel Magnolias; CCAE Theatricals' Once; San Diego Musical Theatre's Little Shop of Horrors, In The Heights, Young Frankenstein; The Stagehouse Theatre’s James & the Giant Peach and To Begin With. When she's not tinkering with electronics, scaling the walls, and vigorously tapping keys on the light board she can be found somewhere in the wilderness - searching for that moment where the world feels big and she feels small. Unending love and respect for her Family, the Longfellow Clan, the Peirsons, and her Motley Crew. Go Griffins.

Alyssa Kane

Props Designer

Alyssa Kane (she/her/hers) is excited to be working with The Roustabouts once again. She works full-time in scenic design, props design, and scenic painting. Recent projects include The Mystery of Irma Vep (Diversionary), Extreme Home Makeover (Scripps Ranch Theatre), The Yellow Wallpaper (Write Out Loud), The Great Khan (SD Rep), and Sapience (Moxie). Alyssa is an operational board member at Scripps Ranch Theatre. She is also a performer and founding member of a burlesque and variety troupe in Southeast Alaska. AlyssaKaneScenicDesign.com

Dan R. Cheatham II

Armorer

Dan R. Cheatham II’s film and performance interests began with a childhood involved with the school orchestra, traveling church choir stage performances, and a management job at a local movie theater. Dan’s first stage of training and acting reaches back to 1984 and started at the University of Regensburg in Germany. Having produced and directed his first staged historical play in Colorado in 1986 he has since written, directed, acted, stunted, and consulted for a wide range of theatrical plays, Medieval and Renaissance acting and fight performances, television series, and cinema production in Europe and the U.S.A. Dan specialized his abilities in the “hard-core” acting arenas of stunt, swordsmanship, martial arts, equestrian work and professional jousting in historical settings across central Europe. His German company became specialized in supplying people, props, and places for corporate events, and in consulting for TV and Film productions. Since returning to the U.S. in 2007 Dan has been professionally engaged in Colorado and California in acting, assistant directing, stunt coordination, fight and stunt choreography and as an armorer. Dan is a California film set armorer and a certified firearms trainer. Dan also performs in fluent German and English.

Nathan Waits

Set Construction

Nathan Waits has been set-building and stage-managing productions around San Diego for 9 years. Previously, he has served as the master carpenter for 1222 Oceanfront Ave, as stage manager for Desert Rock Garden, and is currently stage managing The Ferryman (New Village Arts). He is the resident set builder for Scripps Ranch Theatre (including shows such as Extreme Home Makeover, The Outsider, I Hate Hamlet, The Taming, and more) the resident set builder/designer for Sage Creek Highschool (Much Ado, Les Miserables, Chicago, and more), and served as the technical director for Mother of the Maid (MOXIE Theatre). Other credits include serving as the stage manager for Mary Poppins, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Lion King (Carlsbad Community Theatre); Shrek the Musical, A Christmas Carol, Bye Bye Birdie, and Beauty & the Beast (Oceanside Theatre Company). He is very happy to be continuing his work in the theatre world and he hopes you enjoy the show!

“Religious Viewpoint on Gun Violence” - Saturday, March 18

Rabbi Benj Fried

Rabbi Benj Fried is the associate pastor of Temple Emanu-El of San Diego. While in school, Rabbi Benj served as student rabbi at Congregation Shir Ami in Castro Valley, Shir Ha-Ma’alot in Irvine, and Temple Judea in Tarzana. During the summer months, he worked for the Religious Action Center, URJ Camp Kalsman, and pursued a graduate certificate in nonprofit management. 

“A Survivor Speaks Out” - Sunday, March 19

Liz & Carlos Muñoz

Carlos and Liz Muñoz lost their son, Junior, to gun violence in 2015. In his memory, they founded  Junior’s Trauma Care Initiative a trauma recovery center that supports survivors in their healing journeys. Junior’s Trauma Care Initiative maintains a mission to connect individuals to community resources including mental health services. We strive to provide mental health support for individuals and families. Our programs also include fostering healthy avenues for our youths and providing instant support to victims of crime. To find out more, please visit: jrstraumacareinitiative.org

Essie Mae Horne

Essie Mae Horne is a native of San Diego.  She is a Widow, Sister, and devoted single mother to her 2 children, Dominique and Andre Jr. 

In 2006 Essie Mae lost her husband and in 2016 lost her twin brother both to senseless gun violence at no fault of their own. Essie Mae is also a survivor of gun violence. In March 2016, Essie Mae founded a Foundation called T.W.E.E.N.S.W.A.G (TOGETHER WE ELEVATE EACH (OTHER IN OUR) NEIGHBORHOOD, SIMPLY (WITH) A (LOT OF) GRACE. Essie Mae dedicates her time and testimony in hopes of helping others who struggle with Devastating Trauma, Mental Illness, and Loss of a loved one.

“A Look at Upcoming Legislation” - Saturday, March 25

Therese Hymer 

Therese Hymer is an attorney who has been active with San Diegans for Gun Violence Prevention since 2017, and currently serves on its Board and Leads its Legislation & Advocacy Team. Therese additionally serves as Secretary on the Board of High Tech High Foundation, and in the past has been President and Secretary of the Explorer Elementary Charter School Board of Directors, President and Treasurer of the Unitarian Cooperative Preschool Board, and served on the Board of Big Sister League of San Diego. Ms. Hymer received a Bachelor's in Economics from Miami University and her JD from Stanford University.

“Restorative Justice for the Community” - Sunday, March 26

Azim Khamisa 

Azim Khamisa founded the Tariq Khamisa Foundation, for Restorative Social Justice in 1995 after his 20-year-old son Tariq Khamisa was killed by a 14-year-old gang member, Tony Hicks. Tony was tried as an adult and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Recognizing victims on both sides of the gun, the families came together in the spirit of healing to launch TKF. In compassion and true restorative justice, TKF worked tirelessly to secure Hicks’ release from prison in 2019. TKF is a true testament to the healing power of forgiveness as a catalyst for humanity’s greater good

Zander Gold

Zander is an 11th-grade student from the San Diego School Of Creative And Performing Arts (SDSCPA) where he majors in jazz. He joined the coalition San Diegans For Gun Violence Prevention (SD4GVP) to put an end to gun violence and school shootings. Considering the number of school shootings rising every year, as a student, he worries worrying that his school may fall victim to another mass shooting. In Zander’s own words: “I should be worrying about my homework, not about getting shot!

Rabbi Matt Marko

Rabbi Matthew Marko is currently Rabbi at Tifereth Israel Synagogue before which he served as Senior Rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel of Greenville, South Carolina for six years. He hails from Brooklyn, New York, and survived 20 years in Los Angeles. His career adventures have included acting professionally at the Hippodrome State Theatre in Florida, various theaters in New York City, and The Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles, development and fundraising, teaching students as a much-demanded substitute teacher in LA’s school district, and the proprietor of a fine carpentry and custom furniture shop in Los Angeles.

"A Gunowner Perspective” - Saturday, April 1

Gary Beals

Gary Beals is a California marketing specialist, publisher, writer, photographer, numismatist, and living history developer. Gary is a gun owner and believes in his own words: “The primary civilian purpose of a gun is to assist in the time between the start of certain emergency criminal situations and the arrival of law enforcement.  In recent years he has become increasingly concerned with the irresponsibility of private gun owners and became active with the Brady Campaign to prevent gun violence.

Janessa Goldbeck

Janessa Goldbeck was born and raised in San Diego County and has built her career around creating a safer and more equitable world for all. She is the CEO of Vet Voice Foundation, a national nonprofit organization with over 1.5 million members. Led by veterans, VV Foundation mobilizes veterans and military families to have a voice in our democracy by providing them with the support, training, and tools to shape policy and impact outcomes in their communities. Her advocacy work against gender discrimination in the military led to the 2015 Secretary of State's decision to open all military occupations to qualified applicants, regardless of gender.

“A Look at Upcoming Legislation” - Sunday, April 2

Brian Maienschein

Brian Maienschein has represented California’s 76th Assembly District since 2012. Before joining the Assembly, Brian served eight years on the San Diego City Council, and as the city’s first Commissioner on Homelessness. Brian was named the March of Dimes California Legislative Champion for his work to improve Maternal Mental Health. He also received the Easter Seals California Assembly Champion Award for his work with the developmentally disabled community and the San Diego Humane Society’s Humane Hero Compassion Award for championing animal rights. Brian is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and California Western School of Law, Brian also teaches a course on Election Law at USD School of Law.