About
The Chikahan Company (ChikaCo for short) is a new Filipinx American theatre company based in the San Francisco Bay Area. ChikaCo was founded by its three Co-Artistic Directors: Ely Sonny Orquiza, Krystle Piamonte, and Alan S. Quismorio. They have a long standing history of relationships rooted in community theatre and all come with various degrees of experiences on and off stage. Together, they merge years of administrative and creative experiences as well as intergenerational and institutional knowledge to inaugurate a contemporary enterprise.
Mission
Exploring Filipinx history, politics, psychology, and diaspora through the craft of theater and the performing arts, ChikaCo strives to develop the unique voices of and uplift the robust Filipinx narratives and artistries, and advocate its influence to the American theater.
Vision
To reclaim and to reveal the multifaceted experiences of the Filipinx community in the San Francisco Bay Area. To amplify the complex and dynamic narratives that have long been pushed to the margins and to actively challenge the stereotypes about our kababayan (people), our kuwento (story), and our kasaysayan (history).
What does Chikahan mean?
Chika is Filipino slang for either something that is not entirely true (gossip, rumors, etc.) or new information that friends are expecting to hear from you. Chikahan is the term for the conversation or chit-chat involving the chika.
Through our work, ChikaCo invites audiences and artists to conversations about the perceptions and issues of the Filipinx experience, to dispel what’s not entirely true and to present authenticity as a way to introduce our languages, culture, history, and stories into the mainstream.
Our Company
Ely Sonny Orquiza,
Co-Founder & Co-Artistic Director | he/him/his
Ely Sonny Orquiza is a multidisciplinary Queer Filipino artistic director, stage director, and arts educator and advocate based on the unceded territory of the Ramaytush Ohlone People colonially known as San Francisco Bay Area. Through theater and the performing arts, Orquiza explores the role of the Asian diaspora, Asian American experience, ancestral ghosts, and the politics of Queer/ness for the American stage. He champions new works by Black, Indigenous and Artists of Color, examines previously untold folklore, and advocates for undiscovered works highlighting the narratives of People from the Global Majority. He believes in the remarkable power of equity and representation in storytelling to bridge the divide and differences amongst us.
Orquiza has been in various work at the Academy of Art University School of Acting, African-American Shakespeare Company, American Conservatory Theater, ARC Repertory Theatre, Bindlestiff Studio, Cal Performances, California Shakespeare Theater, Campo Santo, Crowded Fire Theatre, Custom Made Theatre Co., East West Players (Los Angeles), FOGG Theatre, Gritty City Repertory Company, Leviathan Lab (New York, NY), Magic Theatre, New Conservatory Theatre Center, PianoFight, PlayGround, Playwright’s Foundation, Playwright’s Center of San Francisco, San Francisco Opera, Studio 52nd (Amsterdam, NL) and Theatre Rhinoceros. For more: elysonnyorquiza.org
Krystle Piamonte,
Co-Founder & Co-Artistic Director | she/her/hers
Krystle Piamonte is a stage and screen actor in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has worked with multiple Bay Area theatre companies including San Francisco Playhouse, Z Space, Ferocious Lotus, PlayGround, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, TheatreFirst, and Bindlestiff Studio. She is a two- time Theatre Bay Area Awards finalist for Outstanding Performance in a Principal Role in a Play for her work in the world premieres of RIPPED (Z Space) and INSIDE OUT & BACK AGAIN (Bay Area Children’s Theatre). In 2019, KQED named her as one of four MVPs of Bay Area theatre.
Her screen credits include MEDIAN, SORRY TO BOTHER YOU, BOUND 4 HEAVEN (Scary Cow Film Festival winner for Outstanding Acting), and LUMPIA WITH A VENGEANCE.
Prior to working in the Bay Area, she was a longtime company member of Sinag-tala Filipino Theatre & Performing Arts Association (SFTPAA) in Sacramento (2001-2012). She started with SFTPAA as a principal performer of the annual theatrical revue and year-round touring ensemble. Over the years, she took on more prominent behind-the-scenes roles, such as Cultural Consultant, Souvenir Program Lead Editor, and helping to create the performance programs for the theatrical revue and touring ensemble. She ended her artistic journey with SFTPAA as the company’s Assistant Director and as one of its Resident Choreographers.
Krystle is a company member of PlayGround and a member of Actors’ Equity Association. For more: www.krystlepiamonte.com
Alan S. Quismorio,
Co-Founder & Co-Artistic Director | he/him/his
Alan S. Quismorio was Bindlestiff Studio's Artistic Director from 2011-2015, overseeing the inaugural years of its new theatre space in the South of Market district of San Francisco. Previous to this tenure, he was Co-Artistic Director of the Asian American Theatre Company (2008-2010). He helped create AlchemySF, the emerging playwrights program at the Jon Sims Center (1999-2004) where he developed new works by Bay Area LGBT playwrights.
An alumni of Crowded Fire Theatre Company, he appeared in their productions of 49 MILE, SLAUGHTER CITY, and ONE BIG LIE. He HAS performed extensively in the Bay Area, with Magic Theatre, Oakland Public Theatre, Brava! Women in the Arts, Shotgun Players, and Word for Word.
As a director, his works include DOOLEY, THUNDER ABOVE, DEEPS BELOW, and, most recently, Theatre Rhino's inaugural pop-up theatre production of THE UNDERPANTS GODOT. He was last seen in Theatre Rhino's World Premiere of Boni Alvarez's DRIVEN.
Marissa L. Ampon, Company Member | she/her/hers
Marissa L. Ampon is a technical creative artist in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her recent projects include, Voiceover Actor, Assistant Director, and Zoom Stage Manager for the live stream world premiere of THE EMERYVILLE HORROR (Same Boat Theater Collective) and Stage Manager and Light and Sound Tech for the world premiere of DRIVEN (Theatre Rhinoceros). She has been seen in the world premieres of BELOW SYCAMORE (Shelton Theater) and WELGA (Bindlestiff Studio). She has worked with Bay Area theatrical organizations on new works from Same Boat Theater Collective, Playwrights Foundation, Theatre Rhinoceros, The Playwrights’ Center of San Francisco, Z Space, and Bindlestiff Studio. She is also a member of the Same Boat Theater Collective since 2019. Her short film credits include NANAY’S LULLABY (Sunny Owl Productions) and LITCHFIELD COURT. Her technical background comes from her science degree and years of working in the biopharmaceutical industry, her eagle eyes developed in her 20+ years of quality assurance in biotech, and her MS in Project Management complements her passion for stage managing. She has trained with Voice One and various voice acting coaches and is currently preparing to record her eLearning demo in order to expand her voiceover business, AmpOnTheAir, LLC. Prior to fully immersing herself in voice, stage and screen acting, she developed her performance skills by dancing and competing with Manuia Polynesian Revue.