NEW ROOTS THEATRE FESTIVAL 2021

The inaugural 2021 New Roots Theatre Festival was a two-day theatrical experience that represented the global community in the Bay Area and celebrated performance works dedicated to the stories of marginalized identities. Featuring eight original projects by BIPOC artists and organizations, the festival included 3 original projects by SFBATCO and 5 projects by Bay Area legacy companies African-American Shakespeare Company, AfroSolo, Cuiccacalli Ballet Folklórico, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, and PUSH Dance Company.

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San Francisco: Variations on Black Joy, White Supremacy, and Hope!

Legacy Performance by AfroSolo.

Based on true experiences of performer, creator and Artistic Director Thomas Robert Simpson, this solo show, which follows with video projections, explores issues around race, self acceptance and hope for the future.

Sign My Name To Freedom: The Unheard Songs of Betty Reid Soskin

Original Project by SFBATCO. In memory of Marjorie Charbonnet Brooms & Cameron Yee.

This piece explores the original music and metamorphic life of Bay Area legend Betty Reid Soskin, the oldest living park ranger in the U.S. Lead artist Jamie Zimmer (2020 California Jazz Conservatory graduate) has pulled from 50+ year-old musical recordings, interviews, and articles to create the first presentation of this musical, whose heroine turned 100 years old this September. Inspired by the book Sign My Name to Freedom by Betty Reid Soskin.

EMME YA: Expedition

Legacy Project presented by PUSH Dance Company.

EMME YA: Expedition is an immersive dance piece that fuses elements of diaspora and Afrofuturism in order to expose our connection to the land and Black indigeneity. This piece is a small component of a larger 2-year research piece by PUSHDance Artistic Director Raissa Simpson.

SHINING

Original Project by SFBATCO.

SHINING is the story of a child of the Sun God, setting the world on fire as he works to prove himself to his estranged father. Written in contemporary verse by Aidaa Peerzada, this Afro-futurist innovation on the myth of Phaeton, explores the origin of state-sanctioned violence in western culture through “classical” archetypes and fantasy.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare {Abridged} [Revised]

Legacy Project Presented By African-American Shakespeare Company.

Three actors review the complete works of Shakespeare in a hilarious composition with audience engagement. If you hate Shakespeare, this is for you; if you love Shakespeare this is for you. If you don't know what or who Shakespeare is . . . this is for you.

In the Evening by the Moonlight

Legacy Project Presented by Lorraine Hansberry Theatre.

Set in 1963 at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, In the Evening by the Moonlight imagines a magical moment in the life of award-winning playwright and activist Lorraine Hansberry. On this night, at her Waverly Place flat in New York, Lorraine shares a rowdy scotch filled evening debating, confronting fears, and celebrating the hope of revolution with her two close friends- the incomparable musician Nina Simone and the prolific writer James Baldwin.

México Lindo y Querido

Legacy Project Presented By Cuicacalli Ballet Folklórico ft. Mariachi La Misión

México Lindo y Querido will take the audience on a magical journey around the many states of México through music and dance. Inspired by the rich traditions of México, Founder, Artistic Director and Choreographer Mr. Jesús Cortés combines traditional Folklórico with contemporary dance with the mission of keeping the enigmatic dance traditions of Mexico alive.

I, Too, Sing America

Original Project by SFBATCO.

I, Too, Sing America celebrates the spectrum of human experience authored by great American artists of color, in word, song, music, and movement. The show, inspired by composer and music director Othello Jefferson’s wish to create something meaningful for his daughters, is a collaborative piece, created with an ensemble of local singers, dancers, and poets.