Codornices Park: Sept. 5-6, 2026
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 give kids 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 the kind of theater my own daughter would treasure. It grew out of decades of collaboration with some of the wonderful artists you'll see today. It grew out of the deep goodwill of everyone involved.
It also grew out of the ground itself—out of the magical possibilities of this beautiful park.
Some of my most vivid childhood memories are those spent outdoors. Now, my deepest joy as a mother is witnessing my own daughter, imagination ignited by the world around her, so fully engaged that I can see her memories being made in real time.
I hope this adventure creates treasured memories for your family too—and that every time you return to this park, you'll feel the joy humming all around, welcoming you back as a collaborator.
In wonder,
Juliana Frick
Pinecones and Portals Founder and Director
Molly Armstrong - Pip the Narrator
Molly (they/them) is a Midwesterner with the heart of a California poppy. Their professional titles have included: Theatre Performer, nanny, punk musician, elementary school teacher, bartender, janitor, grocer, postpartum doula, mother, beer brewer and medical clown – to name only a few. 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, Molly is now based out of Oakland. They have worked theatrically in Denmark, Haiti, Italy, Columbia, and all around the U.S. They are a medical clown with the Medical Clown Project, bringing joy and laughter to hospitals around San Francisco.
Juliana Frick - Alice
Juliana (she/her) is a Deaf performing artist, director, producer, and mother based in Berkeley, CA. She is the Founder and Director of Pinecones and Portals Hiking Theater Company. 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
Ilya Kreymer - Musician
Ilya is a first time Wander Lander excited to be joining the team!
Kendra Ferguson - White Rabbit & Queen of Hearts
Kendra (any) is a roller skating clown and a steward of delight! You can find them romping around the Bay Area: clowning for children, making balloon hats for elders, miming with the trees, dancing with the lake, juggling in a hammock, and roller skating to the moon and back. They are excited to be back for the third year in Wanderland and hope to facilitate a place for children and their families to connect with themselves and the world around them.
Amalia Luma Kessinger-Frick - Little Alice & Dormouse
Amalia (she/her) is excited AND thrilled to reprising the roles of Dormouse and Little Alice. She is a rising 4th grader at John Muir Elementary and she is the founder and director of Happy Animals Hiking Theater Company. 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.
Alan Coyne - Caterpillar, Cheshire Cat & Mad Hatter
Alan (he/him) is performing with Pinecones and Portals for the very first time, though he has played the Mad Hatter before, in We Players' ADVENTURES WITH ALICE. He has also worked with Shotgun Players, SF Shakes, and the ACT school tour, among others. He may be best or possibly least known for his two-person Shakespearean adaptations: 2EFLth NIGHT (with Adrian Deane, at the 2019 Edinburgh Festival Fringe), 2EMPEST (with Anjoli Aguilar, at Eclectic Box in 2024), and MACBOTH (with E.M. Ervolina, BARD Theater, 2025). You can next see him this December, loitering with intent among the ensemble at Center Rep's A CHRISTMAS CAROL. He would like to thank his puffin, Danielle, and their cat, Toblerone, who is more Swiss than Cheshire, but still holier-than-thou.
Ava Magg - Caterpillar, Cheshire Cat & March Hare
Ava (she/they)’s favorite theatrical credits include Martha in The Secret Garden with Circus Center, Pippin with Berkeley Playhouse, Time in She Persisted with Bay Area Children’s Theatre, Karel Capek in Universal Robots with Quantum Dragon, and the devised work Not Not But Also. As a voiceover artist, Ava worked on a regional radio commercial for Cumberland Farms and on the serialized audiobook podcast Elixir. Ava also writes songs, practices Contact Improvisation, and experiments with sound.
April Garro - Card Knight
April (she/they) has been a professional clown, improvisor, and performer for over 10 years! On top of that they've had the pleasure of teaching clowning, improv, and musical theatre to children and adults in the last 3 years! It’s a great passion of her's to cultivate fun, joy, laughter, and play to this world!
Krystal Harfert - Scenic, Props, Costume & Puppet Design
Krystal (she/they) is a highly skilled multidisciplinary artist based in Berkeley, CA. With over a decade of experience in nonprofit arts and movement education, Krystal has established themselves as an ever-evolving individual in various creative fields. Their expertise spans costume design/fabrication, fiber arts, large-scale art, movement education, dance, photography, arts production, and massage therapy. More works and details can be found at www.krystaling.com
Special Thanks:
Vitalli Konorov - Stage Hand
Bela Watson - House Manager
Kat Lopez-White - Puppet Design, Cheshire Cat
& The Mariposa Grove Community
Our Portal Guardian:
Our Pathfinder:
Additional Support:
Providing ASL interpretation coordination!
