Scholars in Residence
Nick Ishimaru is a co-founder of Kunoichi Productions. Prior to working with Kunoichi, he served as the Artistic Director of Theatre of Yugen from 2016 to 2020. He holds a BA in Performing Arts from Colorado State University, where he directed a kabuki adaptation of Macbeth, a Masters in Drama from San Francisco State University, and did additional doctorate work at the University of Hawaii. He has trained in noh and kyōgen for over 10 years with Theatre of Yugen, and Theatre Nohgaku and the Kita school noh master Oshima Teruhisa in Tokyo. Ishimaru has also studied kabuki, jingju (Beijing Opera), and nihon buyo (traditional Japanese dance). He also has led master classes for all levels from elementary school through university and has presented work at conferences and university lectures both in the Bay Area and internationally.
Dr. Yining Lin is a theatre educational administrator and freelance dramaturg based in northeast Ohio. Yining works as the Manager of Partnerships at Cleveland Play House, where she works with organizations and schools in Cleveland to bring programming to over 3000 students. As a dramaturg, yining specializes in AAPI and traditional Chinese theatre and has worked in San Francisco, Cleveland, Honolulu, Florida, and Milwaukee.
She holds a BA in theatre and classical studies from the College of Wooster, a masters of Drama from San Francisco state university, and a phd from university of Hawaii at Manoa where she specialized in Asian/western comparative theatre. Her dissertation focused on the intercultural nature of jingju (Beijing Opera) adaptations from the 21st century. She is a member of the Association of Asian Performance and has been published in the Journal of Dance Education and the Asian Theatre Journal.
Jessica Bejarano is the Founder and Music Director of the San Francisco Philharmonic and serves as board member of the Association of California Symphony Orchestras (ACSO). In 2019 Jessica was featured on NBC’s The Today Show with Natalie Morales as the “Woman Breaking Barriers as a Trailblazing Symphony Conductor”. PBS News Hour Weekend also featured Jessica as an emerging female conductor and KQED named Jessica one of 10 artists to watch in KQED Arts’ Bay Brilliant Top 10 Artists of 2018. Jessica was featured on ABC’s hit show, To Tell the Truth and in addition, Lil’ Libros (book company) is excited to announce that they will publish Jessica’s first bilingual children’s book Winter 2024.
In 2022 Jessica and the San Francisco Philharmonic had the extreme honor of partnering up with Remezcla and Tecate beer company to put on a unique and groundbreaking performance of Urban Latino sound meets the symphonic orchestral arena for the creation of Tecate Alta. In 2019 Jessica was the first woman in history to guest conduct the American Youth Symphony in Los Angeles. She was also the featured guest conductor and clinician at the San Diego State University’s Women in Music, Diversity and Leadership Conference. In January 2018, she was one of twelve female conductors selected from around the world to attend and conduct at the International Women’s Conference in New York City.
Jessica received her Master of Arts in Choral and Orchestral Conducting from the University of California Davis, Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Wyoming and Associates of Fine Arts in Music Education from Casper College.