Joyful Raven Studios
Class Performance Showcase
In Person at The Marsh Berkeley Theater
Wednesday, April 8 at 7:30 pm
Thursday, April 9 at 7:30pm
Ticket Information
Tickets: $10 – $35 General Seating sliding scale | $50 & $100 Reserved Seating
Online ticket sales close 2 hours before each performance,
and additional tickets may be available for purchase at the door.
Please do not bring infants to the show
Please read our
Health, Safety and COVID-19 Information
Our commitment to our patrons
About The Show
Join us for two intimate evenings of original stories and solo performance pieces from the heart. These stellar stories were birthed in the Winter 2026 Solo Stories class with Joyful Raven at The Marsh in Berkeley.
Wednesday, April 8 Performance Featuring:
Jessica Rothhaar (she/her)
Benjie Lasseau (she/her)
Destiny Kinal (she/her)
Cynthia Matzger (she/her)
Thursday, April 9 Performance Featuring:
Jess Clarke (they/them)
Shayla Kerr (she/her)
Allan Pleaner (he/him)
Reba Rose(she/her)
Performance Details
Wednesday, April 8 Performance
Jessica Rothhaar’s (she/her)
The Third Third
How do you respond to a midlife crisis? Try hauling rocks up a mountain, fasting for four days…and realizing that’s just the beginning.
Benjie Lasseau (she/her)
Mummy and Me
A story about Mummy, me, dogs, and death. Did I make the wrong call?
Destiny Kinal (she/her)
I’ve Been a Dancer All My life
I was raised in a magical household. Will an incurable case of PAD that turns my feet to insensitive blocks mean I can’t dance again? Or do certain fairytales pave the way back home?
Cynthia Matzger (she/her)
Mirror Image
What happens when your appearance changes overnight and makes you question reality?
Thursday, April 9 Performance
Allan Pleaner (he/him)
It’s the Small Things
When ICE WATCH, teeth and Johannesburg meet in a Home Depot parking lot…it’s the small things that matter!
Reba Rose (she/her)
If I Could Fly
What does it take to soar beyond a small town midwest mindset? Do we stay small or break out?
Jess Clarke (they/them)
Get Out of Jail Free
Arrested for their first time (May 1986) at an anti-war protest, Jess is locked up in the San Francisco County Jail with 25 other civil resistors. What will it take to get all of them out together when some are charged with felonies with heavy sentences? Will Jess bail out, sell out or cop out or learn what solidarity actually means?
Shayla Kerr (she/her)
A BART Train to Heaven
During October 2025, an educator at a creative writing and education nonprofit in San Francisco fluctuates between frenetic moments of mania, chaos, and her childhood memories while grappling with the threat if ICE agents, the longest government shutdown in history, food insecurity, and grappling onto her dreams in a society under collapse, all while nurturing the imagination of San Francisco’s youth.
What Audiences Are Saying About Our Student Performances
“I cannot say enough how wonderfully impressed I was with it all! I was absolutely captivated by each performance and am thankful I had the opportunity to hear and see these wonderful stories.”
— Jody Zacharkiw
“Thank you for a powerful, inspiring, passionate, moving, and intimate evening of personal stories. Transformative.”
— Jill Stephens
“I can’t begin to tell you how powerful and engaging the stories and performances were. Each one was unique, honest, and so well written. The layers were all woven together to show the picture of a whole human being.”
— Sandra Tilles