SFBATCO & SF Arts Education Project present "I, Too, Sing America: The Next Gen," an original revue co-conceived by Jamie Yuen-Shore, Christine Chung, and Othello Jefferson, who also wrote the original score. Originally produced by SFBATCO in 2018, the show was named Theatre Bay Area’s Outstanding Musical of 2019.

I, Too, Sing America is a soulful symphony that celebrates the diversity of BIPOC American life through music, dance, and the poetry of great authors including Langston Hughes, Frances Chung, and Vince Gotera.

Featuring a diverse ensemble of young people ages 10-18 from SFArtsED’s summer Broadway Bound program, alongside members of the original cast and SFArtsED alumni.

July 31, 2023
Presidio Theatre, San Francisco

SFBATCO’s award-winning I, TOO, SING AMERICA, filled with inspiration, hope, and drama, gives a full view of the BIPOC experience beyond pain and oppression.

I, TOO, SING AMERICA, conceived, and musically composed by Othello Jefferson, is directed by Jamie Yuen-Shore, with movement direction by Christine Chung. It is an inclusive song of America. Celebrating the diversity of BIPOC American life featuring a diverse ensemble of 25 performers, I, TOO, SING AMERICA brings the poetry of great American authors such as Langston Hughes, Frances Chung, and Vince Gotera to life through original music and dance.

Born out of inspiration from Othello Jefferson, I, TOO, SING AMERICA, began as a love letter for his two daughters to show that their lives can be as large as the creation in which they were born. In the 2018 and 2019 season, the play won three Theatre Bay Area Awards including Best Musical, Outstanding Direction, and Outstanding Choreography.

After months of live-streaming virtual shows to audiences at home, we brought our virtual show “Live With Rod & Marce” to the Main Stage at the Brava Theater Center for a one-night-only performance. We were so grateful to share this musical variety hour with our audience.

HOSTED BY Rodney Earl Jackson Jr. & Marcelo Javier
GUEST PERFORMANCES BY Alex Akin, Katrina McGraw, Angela Travino
MUSIC DIRECTION BY Jon Gallo

Friday June 11, 2021
Brava Theater Center & Twitch.tv/sfbatco

La Posarela based on the Mexican traditions of “la posada” and “las pastorelas”. Directed by Marcelo Javier Pereira, it is a heartwarming “teatronovela” of José y María (Joseph and Mary) who, after leaving their home behind to find a safe life for their baby Jesús, must obey the absurd immigration orders of a mad Emperor. This musical comedy tells the story of how these two immigrants overcome their difficult journey battling racism, xenophobia, gentrification, misogyny and fear. Originally commissioned and produced by the Community Music Center, this revamped tradition is great for all ages, especially for some of you veteranas y veteranos.

CREATED BY Carlow Barón
DIRECTED BY Marcelo Javier
ASSOCIATE DIRECTED BY Adam Maggio
CHOREOGRAPHED BY Rodney Earl Jackson Jr.

Dec 15-17, 2017
Brava Theater Center, San Francisco

FEATURING Linda Giron, J. Adan Ruiz, Tony Ortega, Adan Faudoa, Maya Vilaplana, Etta Washburn, Natasha LaGrone, Isa Manon Musni, Stacie Lackler, Justin Cavazos

Stage Manager/Lighting Designer: Claudio Silva Restrepo
Costume Designer: Kiara Montgomery
Assistant Stage Manager: Camilla Dwyer
SFBATCO Apprentice: Isabel Hansen

In The Crooked Room, a woman takes a vow of silence as she grapples with being Black, Queer, and a Woman. But are these identities mutually exclusive? How can she quiet her mind in a world where “closed mouths don’t get fed?” Created by A.C.T. Alumnae Jerrie Johnson and Adrianna Mitchell, The Crooked Room is a one-woman show/spiritual awakening that explores how we own and celebrate the many identities we carry.

WRITTEN BY & STARRING Jerrie Johnson
DIRECTED BY Adrianna Mitchell

June 28-29, 2019
African American Art & Culture Complex

Created by writer, comedian and cultural humility educator Luna Malbroux, How to Be a White Man is a dynamic story about a journey to self-discovery amidst the challenges of navigating identity, power and privilege. W.E.B. DuBois' theory of double consciousness gets revisited in this theatrical comedy that positions two institutional opposites together. Determined to get ahead, no matter what, Michelle attempts to land her dream job while grappling with the concept of white male privilege. A unique approach to unpacking power and identity, How to Be a White Man unapologetically raises critical questions in tangent with exploring the role of casual racism.

CREATED BY Luna Malbroux
DIRECTED BY Rodney Earl Jackson Jr.
ASSISTANT DIRECTED BY Isabel Hansen

March 23- April 1, 2018
African American Art and Culture Complex

This modern adaptation of “ The Thousand and One Nights” or “The Arabian Nights” adapts the frame tale of the classic to a contemporary university where a Muslim American multi-ethnic Creative Writing student, “Sher,” is fielding the twists and turns of her freshman year. Sher comes into conflict with her history professor over his curriculum, which seeks to reveal colonial damage, but fails to highlight the advancements of People of Color. Sher draws strength from the character for which she is named, Scheherazade, a superheroine of the Islamic golden age street stories, encapsulated in ‘The Nights.'

WRITTEN BY Aidaa Peerzada
MUSIC BY Lisa Quoresimo
DIRECTED BY Aidaa Peerzada & Marcelo Javier

December 7-22, 2018
Brava Theater Center, San Francisco

FEATURING Aidaa Peerzada, Linda Maria Giron, Natasha LaGrone, Lisa Hu, Isa Musni, Jocelyn Thompson, Adela Fornes, Mercedes White, Emon Elboudwarej, and Tonalli Vargas.

The production team features music composed by Lisa Quoresimo, set & lighting design by Claudio Silva Restrepo, movement choreographed by Lauren Unbekant with costume design by Sehar Peerzada.

SALT PEPPER KETCHUP is a bitter comedy centering on John and Linda Wu, two newly minted American citizens who’ve hewn their piece of the American Dream out of plexiglass and chicken wings, smack dab in the middle of the hood. Enter a new supermarket Co-op and its vanguard- the pioneers for the “new generation” to come. Salt Pepper Ketchup is a contemporary dissection of what happens to people when you threaten where they belong.

WRITTEN BY Josh Wilder
DIRECTED BY Thomas Pang
ASSOCIATE DIRECTED BY Aidaa Peerzada

Sept 29-Oct 8, 2017
Buriel Clay Theater, African American Arts and Culture Complex

FEATURING Will Way Chen, Weijen Liao, Craig King, Ashley Raggs, Alanna Darby, Jess Rankin, Geoffrey Malveaux, Ron Chapman.

Scenic Designer: Hector Zavala
Lighting Designer: Lauren Tannous-Weisgerber
Fight Choreographer: Kai Young
Stage Manager: Jamila Cobham
Assistant Stage Manager: Adan Faudoa

A searing one-act play interrogating the collision between privacy rights and our intimate relationships.

Georgia’s husband Corbin has landed his dream job as a product engineer working under a tech superstar. Georgia is thrilled–that is, until she learns that the company demands round-the-clock monitoring of their devices. Mona Pirnot’s dynamic one act relentlessly dissects a relationship brought to the brink of ruin by an exposed lie, and raises the question of how much personal privacy we should expect from our friends, employers, and partners in the digital tech era.

2023 Helen Hayes Nominee for Outstanding New Play or Musical

WRITTEN BY MONA PIRNOT
DIRECTED BY PETER J KUO

FEATURING Aidaa Peerzada, Sedrick Cabrera, Adam Maggio, Risa Ferrer

De Mangangá: An Afro-Brazilian Musical is a movement-driven retelling of the folklore of Besouro Mangangá, an early 20th century Brazilian Capoeira legend who was so prolific in his art and so fruitful in his fight against oppression and injustice that he was believed to have supernatural abilities. Take a journey through the vibrant culture of Bahia, Brazil as we uncover the legend of Besouro and celebrate authentic Afro-Brazilian pride, love, legacy.

SeQuoiia / Co-Director, Music Director, Co-Choreographer
Tania Santiago / Co-Director, Co-Choreographer
Nasha Harris Santiago / Coordinator

This video recording includes a talkback with the creative team.