IT'S BACK! Oct 14-16, 2022.
The 2nd New Roots Theatre Festival
3 days. 8 projects. 20 performances.
Produced by the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company (SFBATCO), the inaugural New Roots Theatre Festival is a cultural festival that represents the global community in the Bay Area and celebrates artistic works dedicated to the stories of Black, Indigenous and People Of Color (BIPOC) and and LGBTQIA+ voices.
The idea was born in 2020, when SFBATCO Artistic Director Rodney Earl Jackson Jr. read a post in the Bay Area Theatre Facebook group from a local artist who asked, "Where are all the BIPOC organizations?" Jackson and SFBATCO Literary Manager Aidaa Peerzada then set out to design a festival that would unite various arts organizations and provide a platform for experimentation and creative exchange. The 2021 festival did exactly that, as it brought together over 100 theatre workers and 6 organizations all producing under one roof at Brava Theater Center.
This year's festival will feature eight original projects, three of which are produced by SFBATCO and 5 of which are produced by other "Legacy" companies. This year's collaborating organizations are Crowded Fire Theater Company, the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Dimensions Dance Theater, African Arts Academy, and SF Recovery Theatre.
~~~~~~~~
NEW ROOTS THEATRE FESTIVAL 2022 LINE-UP:
Kaleidoscope
Written By Julius Rea
Produced by Crowded Fire Theater
Crowded Fire Theater will be presenting a staged reading of a work from their Resilience and Development Playwriting Lab. Tinged with humor and nostalgia, Kaleidoscope by Julius Rea follows the story of an industrious engineer, Ervin, who creates a machine that lets him relive his memories of growing up among a found family that is queer, brown, and unabashedly resilient.
Halie
Written by Wendy E. Taylor
Directed by Darryl V. Jones
Produced by Lorraine Hansberry Theatre
Lorraine Hansberry Theatre presents an excerpt from the upcoming production of Halie, celebrating the life of gospel legend and activist Mahalia Jackson. Written by Wendy E. Taylor and edited by Darryl V. Jones, this foot-stomping and uplifting new musical is set for its world premiere in December 2022.
ruminations. [re]visited.
Choreographed by laura e. ellis in collaboration with Dimensions Dance Theater
Original text written and performed by Jordon E. Dabney and Atiya Ziyad
Produced by Dimensions Dance Theater
Dimensions Dance Theater presents an excerpt of ruminations. [re]visited., a powerful performance of movement and poetry traversing moments in time, in body memories, in fever dreams; expressing resilience, grief, loss, and hope in being...black, woman, mother, child.
Reflections n Black 2022
Written By Geoffrey Grier
Produced by San Francisco Recovery Theatre
In their performance of Reflections n Black 2022, ensemble members of SF Recovery Theatre will explore scenes and stories that reveal the real causes and harsh impact of the exodus of African Americans from San Francisco over the past five decades.
The Legend of Zaouli
By Fely Tchaco
Produced by African Arts Academy
African Arts Academy Artistic Director Fely Tchaco will be performing an excerpt of The Legend of Zaouli, a performance, based on an oral history that traces the story of a beautiful dancer whose spirit becomes the embodiment of excellence and mastery in traditional West African Dance.
Sign My Name to Freedom: The Unheard Songs of Betty Reid Soskin
Conceived by Jamie Zee
Book by Michael Gene Sullivan
Music and Lyrics by Betty Reid Soskin
Sign My Name to Freedom: The Unheard Songs of Betty Reid Soskin explores the life, music, and activism of Bay Area legend and America's oldest living park ranger Betty Reid Soskin.
The Day The Sky Turned Orange
Conceived by Rodney Earl Jackson Jr.
Music and Lyrics by Olivia Kuper Harris and David Michael Ott
The Day the Sky Turned Orange is a theatrical concept album that examines the events of September 9th, 2020, when the sky across Northern California appeared a troubling shade of amber.
Every Saturday Night
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Danny Duncan
Every Saturday Night takes audiences on a trip back to San Francisco's Fillmore District in the 1950s, where Ardella runs the neighborhood's hottest after-hours club out of her basement. Inspired by true events, this new musical by acclaimed Bay Area playwright, composer and director Danny Duncan offers a boisterous and heartfelt glimpse into the "Harlem of the West" that once was.
IT'S BACK! Oct 14-16, 2022.
The 2nd New Roots Theatre Festival
3 days. 8 projects. 20 performances.
Produced by the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company (SFBATCO), the inaugural New Roots Theatre Festival is a cultural festival that represents the global community in the Bay Area and celebrates artistic works dedicated to the stories of Black, Indigenous and People Of Color (BIPOC) and and LGBTQIA+ voices.
The idea was born in 2020, when SFBATCO Artistic Director Rodney Earl Jackson Jr. read a post in the Bay Area Theatre Facebook group from a local artist who asked, "Where are all the BIPOC organizations?" Jackson and SFBATCO Literary Manager Aidaa Peerzada then set out to design a festival that would unite various arts organizations and provide a platform for experimentation and creative exchange. The 2021 festival did exactly that, as it brought together over 100 theatre workers and 6 organizations all producing under one roof at Brava Theater Center.
This year's festival will feature eight original projects, three of which are produced by SFBATCO and 5 of which are produced by other "Legacy" companies. This year's collaborating organizations are Crowded Fire Theater Company, the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Dimensions Dance Theater, African Arts Academy, and SF Recovery Theatre.
~~~~~~~~
NEW ROOTS THEATRE FESTIVAL 2022 LINE-UP:
Kaleidoscope
Written By Julius Rea
Produced by Crowded Fire Theater
Crowded Fire Theater will be presenting a staged reading of a work from their Resilience and Development Playwriting Lab. Tinged with humor and nostalgia, Kaleidoscope by Julius Rea follows the story of an industrious engineer, Ervin, who creates a machine that lets him relive his memories of growing up among a found family that is queer, brown, and unabashedly resilient.
Halie
Written by Wendy E. Taylor
Directed by Darryl V. Jones
Produced by Lorraine Hansberry Theatre
Lorraine Hansberry Theatre presents an excerpt from the upcoming production of Halie, celebrating the life of gospel legend and activist Mahalia Jackson. Written by Wendy E. Taylor and edited by Darryl V. Jones, this foot-stomping and uplifting new musical is set for its world premiere in December 2022.
ruminations. [re]visited.
Choreographed by laura e. ellis in collaboration with Dimensions Dance Theater
Original text written and performed by Jordon E. Dabney and Atiya Ziyad
Produced by Dimensions Dance Theater
Dimensions Dance Theater presents an excerpt of ruminations. [re]visited., a powerful performance of movement and poetry traversing moments in time, in body memories, in fever dreams; expressing resilience, grief, loss, and hope in being...black, woman, mother, child.
Reflections n Black 2022
Written By Geoffrey Grier
Produced by San Francisco Recovery Theatre
In their performance of Reflections n Black 2022, ensemble members of SF Recovery Theatre will explore scenes and stories that reveal the real causes and harsh impact of the exodus of African Americans from San Francisco over the past five decades.
The Legend of Zaouli
By Fely Tchaco
Produced by African Arts Academy
African Arts Academy Artistic Director Fely Tchaco will be performing an excerpt of The Legend of Zaouli, a performance, based on an oral history that traces the story of a beautiful dancer whose spirit becomes the embodiment of excellence and mastery in traditional West African Dance.
Sign My Name to Freedom: The Unheard Songs of Betty Reid Soskin
Conceived by Jamie Zee
Book by Michael Gene Sullivan
Music and Lyrics by Betty Reid Soskin
Sign My Name to Freedom: The Unheard Songs of Betty Reid Soskin explores the life, music, and activism of Bay Area legend and America's oldest living park ranger Betty Reid Soskin.
The Day The Sky Turned Orange
Conceived by Rodney Earl Jackson Jr.
Music and Lyrics by Olivia Kuper Harris and David Michael Ott
The Day the Sky Turned Orange is a theatrical concept album that examines the events of September 9th, 2020, when the sky across Northern California appeared a troubling shade of amber.
Every Saturday Night
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Danny Duncan
Every Saturday Night takes audiences on a trip back to San Francisco's Fillmore District in the 1950s, where Ardella runs the neighborhood's hottest after-hours club out of her basement. Inspired by true events, this new musical by acclaimed Bay Area playwright, composer and director Danny Duncan offers a boisterous and heartfelt glimpse into the "Harlem of the West" that once was.
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