Meet cast, crew, and community!
Director’s note
Get ready to go on a journey, a jaunt, an epic quest!
This show grew out of a desire to provide kids with more opportunities to be outside and moving, harnessing their innate sense of exploration and imagination to make meaningful connections with their surroundings.
It grew out of a desire to make theater my own daughter would treasure. It grew out of years of careful logistical planning and joyful artistic iteration. It grew out of decades of collaboration with some of the wonderful artists you'll see today, and it grew out of the deep goodwill of everyone involved.
It also grew out of the ground, in the magical possibilities of this beautiful park.
Some of my most vivid memories of childhood are the ones outdoors, reality blurred by my own imagination. Now, my deepest joy as a mother is when I witness my own daughter, imagination ignited by the world around her, so fully engaged I can see her own memories being made in real time.
I hope this adventure will create treasured memories for your family, too, and that every time you come back to this park, you'll still feel the joy humming all around, welcoming you as a collaborator.
I also hope you'll keep in touch with us! There's more that's growing …
In wonder,
Juliana Frick
Pinecones and Portals Founder and Director
Molly Armstrong, Pip the Narrator
Molly (she/her) is a Midwesterner with the heart of a California poppy. Her professional titles have included: Theatre Performer, Nanny, Punk Musician, Elementary School Teacher, Bartender, Janitor, Grocer, Post-Partum Doula, Mother, beer Brewer and medical clown – to name only a few. Molly is now based out of Oakland after graduating with a BFA in original work from Cornish College of the Arts, interning for a season at The Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, attending Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre and The National Shakespeare Conservatory. She has worked theatrically in Denmark, Haiti, Italy, Columbia, and all around the U.S. She is a medical clown with the Medical Clown Project, bringing joy and laughter to hospitals around San Francisco. Molly is an artistic board member of Pinecones and Portals and is leading the development of our still-incubating educational programs.
Jonathan Kipp, Kipp the Composer
Jonathan is a percussionist, accordionist, and accordion repairman based in Oakland. He has played for everything from classical to improvised, folk to electronic, popular to avant-garde. He can currently be found with Saul Goodman's Klezmer band, and the Turkish duo Nakarat
Juliana Frick, Alice
In addition to playing Alice, Juliana oversees the creative direction and production of Pinecones and Portals Hiking Theater Company, project schedules, budgets, and operations. She has a BA in Music and Storytelling from Hampshire College, MA, completed the professional training program at Dell’Arte International, and trained at the Flying Actor Studio. She is a founding core member of the dramatic acrobatic troupe UpLift Physical Theatre. Her work has been supported by Theatre Bay Area’s CA$H Creates program, the NET/TEN virtual exploration program, and has toured nationally and internationally. In 2022 she received an award for “Original Application of a Physical Language” at the Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theater in Egypt, for UpLift Physical Theatre’s original acrobatic show Through The Waves. You can learn more at www.julianafrickperformance.com
Kendra Ferguson, White Rabbit and Queen of Hearts
Kendra is a roller skating clown and a steward of delight! She is a Bay Area native living in San Francisco – you may see her roller skating and juggling in Golden Gate Park, biking through the city, or performing mime acts across the Bay. She debuted her solo show “Just Be Happy” (directed by Dan Griffiths) last September as a part of the Church of Clown’s inaugural Flop Fest. She is forever striving to maintain balance, move in meaningful ways, and practice self-love, and is passionate about supporting others in doing the same.
Amalia Luma Kessinger-Frick, Little Alice
Amalia thrilled to be reprising her role as Little Alice this summer, right alongside her mom, Juliana, who plays Big Alice.
Amalia enjoys that this performance gives her the opportunity to eat cookies and play with her fellow cast mates, and ALSO that it allows for prime squirrel watching while she is waiting for the show to start.
She recently co-wrote a play with her fellow 1st graders called "The Acorn Fight" and performed the role of Copper the Squirrel.
Aside from her role as actor, she is also on Pinecones and Portals' scout team and in charge of Production Hospitality, most notably crocheting each actor their own personalized rehearsal souvenir
Nick Dickson, Caterpillar, Cheshire Cat, Mad Hatter, and Dormouse
Nick Dickson is an actor and clown performing in the Bay Area. He graduated from UCSC with degrees in Literature and Theatre Arts and studied at the Clown Conservatory at the SF Circus Center. Most recently, Nick has performed as the White Knight in We Players' production of Adventures With Alice in Golden Gate Park, Philip Marlowe in 13th Floor's immersive show, The Lost Inn at SF Mint Building, and Leland Mahoney in Boxcar Theatre's immersive show The Speakeasy. Nick is shamelessly pleased that nepotism allows him to continue working on projects with his incredible cousin, Juliana.
Carolina “CoiCoi” Duncan, Caterpillar, Cheshire Cat, March Hare
Carolina is a social circus teaching artist and circus performer. She has worked with Prescott Circus Theatre, Oddfellows Playhouse Youth Theatre (Middletown, CT), and Circo Latino (Albuquerque, NM). In 2014 she made history as the first female Colombian clown to work for Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus. In 2017 she created and managed Almar Ola de Circo, a social circus project operating in her home country, Columbia, that provides training for adults and youth. You can learn more at www.duncanplayfulcircus.com.
Ava Maag, Caterpillar, Cheshire Cat, March Hare
Since earning a BFA in Musical Theatre at Emerson College, Ava has found joy in performance in many different forms, from performance art to musical theatre, from medical voiceover to punk rock. Favorite credits include As You Like It (Celia/Phoebe/Adam) with SF Shakespeare Festival, Pippin with Berkeley Playhouse, Universal Robots (Karel Capek) with Quantum Dragon Theatre, She Persisted (Time) with Bay Area Children’s Theatre, Not Not But Also: an Installation-Based Performance Piece, and the serialized podcast audiobook Elixir. Ava also writes songs, experiments with sound collage, and practices Contact Improvisation.
Anna Kritikos, Stage Manager
Anna Kriitkos has been a theater enthusiast since she was about 8 years of age. Since then, she’s been acting, writing, and stage managing with modest regularity. She also loves working with children in the arena of education. She’s inspired by the work Pinecones and Portals does to make theater come alive for audiences old and young.
Jessica Ferris, Producer
Jessica probably greeted you at the Welcome Tent, but she’s also been at rehearsals and production meetings and prop repair sessions going, “Okay, what needs doing? I’ll do that.” She’s been collaborating with Juliana Frick for 13 scrappy, inspired, and deeply fun years, and she brings a couple decades of experience producing, directing, writing, choreographing and performing devised and immersive theater.
In addition to helming her own productions and helping to anchor Pinecones and Portals, Jessica has also collaborated with UpLift Physical Theatre, 13th Floor, Deborah Slater Dance Theater, and Odyssey Works. In her quieter creative hours she sculpts little talismans in collaboration with Bay Area flora and fauna.
We would also like to thank
Matt Chapman Assistant Director
Krystal Harfert Puppet Designer: The Red Queen, Caterpillar, and Dormouse
Kat Lopez-White Puppet Designer: Cheshire Cat
The Mariposa Grove community, especially James Frank, for helping with set building.
And a big THANK YOU to Urban Jazz Dance Company, Athletic Playground, and
Power Up Parties!
Each is a warm-hearted and vibrant anchor in our Bay Area performing community!
