Tonya (She/Her), made her theatrical debut in The Passion of Dracula in high school. She continued her education at the University of California, Irvine, where she earned a B.A. in Drama, with a minor in English. She moved to the Bay Area in 1996, and after many years as a Technical Writer, she decided to jump back into her first love: theatre! In 2010, she joined the cast of Into the Woods as the Witch, and has worked on or performed in 25 Playful People Productions since. She takes inspiration from her late high school drama teacher, Ed Hollingsworth, who coined the saying: “To simply try immediately gives you a chance at success!” She is grateful for the eternal positivity and encouragement of Ed and her entire family, and enjoys sharing her deep love of theatre with people at every stage of their journey. Thank you for showing up for the Artists in your life!
Katie cultivated a love of theater at a very young age and was intimately involved with her drama and performance programs in school. She took a hiatus from performing as a young adult to develop her skills in technical, administrative and management functions, while traveling and exploring life in multiple cities - mostly in California! She reignited her passion for performing when she joined the cast of Beauty and the Beast Jr. as Mrs. Potts, and has since performed in several productions with PPP and other Bay Area theater groups. Her most treasured experience is the moment that her son decided that he TOO wanted to play on stage and she was able to join him in the cast of Peter Pan Jr. - pirates against lost boys! Sharing this amazing gift with her family is just one of the many reasons she adores this company. She officially joined the team in 2019 and is thrilled to serve the community in this new role. She brings over a decade of experience in the non profit sector and is ecstatic to use her knowledge and skills to uplift such a wonderful company. Thank you for supporting the creative arts!
Katie D'Arcey grew up in the Bay Area playing and working in local theater groups, training with local greats, and building on a passion for community theater with families of all ages. In 2010 Katie and her mom, Barb Galiotto, started up Playful People Productions as a positive place for all ages to experience the pure joy and magic that happens on a stage (and off). In the last 12 years Katie has worked with this passionate, joyful, and loving group of people who make up the staff, board, and Playful People community, and is so very grateful! Theater is a place to share stories, develop empathy, explore identity, make mistakes, find creative solutions, share experiences, and PLAY! Katie wants to thank the community for supporting us through these last 12 years, and sharing in the belief that through theater we can create magic!
Logan has been designing Playful People’s lighting and acting as technical director since the beginning. About every other year the urge to sing hits, and he has a blast playing with “his people” on stage! When he isn’t working on a Playful People Production, he is usually building sets at Cabrillo Stage and other local theater companies. He would like to give a special thank you to his awesome sons Wyatt and Gryffin, and his amazing, beautiful, talented wife Katie, who is extremely proud of him, and hopes he will start writing his own bios. 🙂
Susan discovered her love of theater when her youngest daughter was cast as Iago in her school production of Aladdin Jr. in 2008. She has over 12 years of experience in children’s community theater, both in the office and behind the scenes. In addition to theater, she enjoys going to concerts, traveling, good food, spending time with her family and everything Disney!
Stephanie has been a self-described theatre addict since the age of 13. In addition to performing and designing costumes, she’s been a publicist for performing arts companies for the past 25 years. Although currently living in Washington state, she does marketing for a handful of Bay Area companies and is delighted to be working with Playful People Productions.