Bay Area Theatre Cypher is a creative hub for multi-hyphenate hip hop theatre artists that prioritize equity, radical discussion, and social justice. We live at the crossfader of theatre and hip hop as a means to dismantle the traditional power structures found within the theater-making process by channelling the Hip Hop Cypher as a conduit for inclusive storytelling. We are an artist centric collective that creates film, live performance, and full length theatrical projects (virtual and in-person).
The Collective
RyanNicole
Community, 8Bars, Just The Facts, Currency, Tell Tale Hearts
RyanNicole’s most fulfilling experiences intersect art and activism, using her career in music and media to empower community. Ryan is featured on Alphabet Rockers’ GRAMMY-nominated album The Love, TEDx San Francisco, ESPN’s NBA Christmas, & has performed for such notable figures as President Barack Obama.
Davied Morales
Community, 8Bars, Tell Tale Hearts
Davied Morales is a theatre, film, voice actor, rapper, writer , model, teaching artist that goes by artist name of Dav @activepoet. He has been rapping for over 10 years but before that he spent most of time working on his acting career, getting his AA Degree in Theatre Arts from Foothill College and starring in short films, commercials, and in various lead roles all around theaters in the Bay Area.
Rahman Jamaal
Community, Tell Tale Hearts
In the year 6245, a cinematic experiment creates an alternate timeline through a creative vessel for the purpose of translating 5th dimensional reality to 21st century language. This is the encoded frequency of that experience.
Phil Wong
Co-founder
Phil Wong is an actor, writer, and musician from Oakland, CA aka xučyun (unceded Chochenyo Ohlone territory). Phil has been a member of the Bay Area Theatre Community since he was very young, and he is actively working to make his art more conscious, empathetic, relevant, and revolutionary.
Tommy Soulati Shepherd
Community, Tell Tale Hearts, 8Bars Supermix
Tommy Soulati Shepherd is the GRAMMY-nominated Music Director of Alphabet Rockers. He tours internationally in hip hop theater (Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Campo Santo) and is the recipient of the Isadora Duncan Award. From the Kennedy Center, The Smithsonians' African American History Museum, Lollapalooza straight to your hood, Tommy bridges communities and art forms through his work as an actor, composer, beatboxer, rapper, playwright, and drummer.
Keith Pinto
Community, 8Bars, Just The Facts, Currency
Keith Pinto is a multi disciplinary artist from the Peninsula. As an actor, choreographer, director and musician he’s worked all over the Bay Area as well as out of New York. Keith is a proud collaborator with the Bay Area Theatre Cypher as well as co-founder of the award winning hip hop band and theater company, Felonious.
Dan Wolf
Co-founder
Dan Wolf is a hip-hop artist who works with rap, theater, personal narrative, and history to give voice to the problematic world we live in. His projects have travelled all around the world from concert halls to museums to schools and memorial sites where he engages history and culture as a prompt to make vital music and theater that can only live in this moment.
Alicia Piemme Nelson
Tell Tale Hearts, 8Bars
Alicia Piemme Nelson is an award-winning San Francisco/Bay Area based physical actor and teaching artist. She was raised by well-known Bay Area actor, director, and creator Karen Altree Piemme of Red Ladder Theatre Company, and found her love of performance at a young age thanks to her mother's inspiration. Originally a ballet dancer, she eventually turned to musical theatre, and finally found that her heart lies in physical comedy.
Carlos Aguirre
Tell Tale Hearts, 8Bars, Indigenous Excellence
Carlos Aguirre aka Infinite Carlos Aguirre is an actor, musician, vocal percussionist, and educator. He has been performing both as an actor and hip-hop artist in the Bay Area for over 19 years. He has shared the stage with The Roots, Eryka Badu, Black Eyed Peas, Mary J. Blige, Jam Master Jay, L.L. Cool J, Macy Gray and George Clinton among others. Carlos shares his experience by teaching at various schools and at-risk environments throughout the Bay Area.
Tasi Alabastro
Livestream Overlord
Tasi Alabastro aka KREENPANANAS is an award-winning actor and art maker. His channel ISLAND TIME is an extension of a life dedicated to creating safe and inclusive spaces where art, gaming, and communal gathering is celebrated and cherished.