San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company Will Present SFBATCO Live with Rod and Marce

Co-founders of the Theatre Bay Area (TBA) award-winning company San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company SFBATCO, Rodney Earl Jackson, Jr. and Marcelo Javier, present a virtual variety show: SFBATCO Live with Rod and Marce, streaming Thursdays at 6 pm (PDT) on the Twitch platform.

SFBATCO Live with Rod and Marce features songs from a variety of genres, including an original COVID-19 inspired piece, songs from both the African-Ameican and Latin American diasporas, as well as personal stories and banter that make for an engaging, funny, and deeply heartfelt evening of virtual theatre. The event features San Francisco cabaret favorite G. Scott Lacy on the keys. Claudio Andres Silva Restrepo serves as Technical Director.

Founded in 2014, "SFBATCO is a BIPOC led theatre company that unites emerging artists and audiences through the power of live theater that reflects the distinctive voices of the SF Bay Area." Currently in residency at Brava Theatre Center, and previously at the African American Art and Culture Complex, SFBATCO produces works both new and old that highlight the experiences of marginalized communities, and give voice to those who have historically been voiceless. Its flagship production, I, Too, Sing America, won three Theatre Bay Area Awards in 2019, including Outstanding Production of a Musical (Tier 3).

With its season of programming postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, Jackson and Javier are committed to producing work that both gives audiences another option for in-home entertainment, while also addressing the complexity of the social moment in which the country finds itself.

"Where else can you find 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' and 'Abrazame' in a live virtual show together?" says co-founder Rodney Earl Jackson Jr. "We wanted to give a little light to folks at a time when we cannot physically be together. Everyone deserves to smile at least once a week, and what better way to do it then by showcasing homegrown BIPOC talent from the SF Bay Area?"

SFBATCO Live with Rod and Marce
Thursday, September 3rd
6 pm (PDT)
https://www.twitch.tv/sfbatco

Rodney Earl Jackson Jr. is the Co-Founder of SFBATCO. He made his Broadway debut in The Book of Mormon and was last seen at American Conservatory Theatre in the West Coast premiere of Toni Stone. Prior to that, he traveled North America in the first national tour of Motown: The Musical. Rodney is a San Francisco native who built his love and foundation for art and theatre in public city organizations such as SFArtsEd, San Francisco Recreation and Park's Young People's Teen Musical Theater Company, and the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts, where he graduated from the Theatre Department. He is now the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company. Other theatre credits: Berkeley Repertory Theatre: Ain't Too Proud: the life and times of the Temptations; SFBATCO: I, Too, Sing America. @rodneyearljacksonjr

Marcelo Javier co-founded the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company (SFBATCO) in 2014. Acting credits include Riff in West Side Story; I, Too, Sing America; Not Another Holiday Show!; Home for "all of" the Holidays (SFBATCO); Skippyjon Jones (Theatreworks USA); Rent (Syracuse Stage); A Midsummer Night's Dream (Bathwater Productions). Directing credits include Death and the Artist and One Googol and One (SFBATCO); Celebrate 12th Night Joyfully With Kathryn Crosby (NYPL at Lincoln Center); Cinderella (African American Shakespeare Co.) Not Another Holiday Show! (SFBATCO); La Posarela (SFBATCO 2017 & Community Music Center 2015).

Angela Travino was raised in San Francisco, but has called NYC her home for 8+ years. Angela's theater credits include the 2nd National Tour of South Pacific, Tim Rice's From Here to Eternity, Anne of Green Gables at The REV Theatre Company, and Beehive - also at The Rev, to name a few. Before the Covid shutdown, Angela was slated to play "Big Alison" in Theatre Raleigh's 2020 production of Fun Home, which is now scheduled for summer 2021. Upon graduation from Syracuse University, Angela and her fellow alumnifounded the premiere a cappella group RANGE a cappella. RANGE has performed on the Oscars, opened for Kelly Clarkson at Radio City Music Hall, and has collaborated with Billboard, Sesame Street, and Nickelodeon. She also prides herself on being a part of SFBATCO's very first show, It's Not Easy Being Green. You can check them them all out at www.rangeacappella.com, www.sfbatco.org, and www.angela-travino.com.

Alex Akin is a singer and actress born and raised in San Francisco. She graduated with a BFA in Musical Theatre from The University of Michigan. After graduating, she moved to New York City where she spent the next 5 years performing in various concerts, workshops, festivals and shows. She is now back in SF teaching and working in schools and seeing where life takes her!

G. Scott Lacy is a multi award winning musical director and one the country's most sought after talents. He has musical directed over 165 productions in a professional career spanning 25+ years, and has worked with companies such as the Tony Award-Winning La Jolla Playhouse, the award winning Lamb's Players Theatre, the Musical Theatre Guild of Los Angeles, Diversionary Theatre, New Conservatory Theatre, Diablo Theatre Company, 42nd Street Moon, San Diego Repertory Theatre, San Diego Opera, North Coast Repertory Theatre, the Emmy Award Winning Malashock Dance Company and many others. Mr. Lacy is a successful vocal coach whose clients include Tony, Emmy, Grammy and Golden Globe Award Winning performers. Mr. Lacy spends much of his time as a cabaret and recording artist. He has musical directed 40+ cabaret shows with various artists. Mr. Lacy has spent much of his career raising money for such charities as Outreach International, Habitat For Humanity, Many Hands, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He lives with his husband of 29 years, Christopher M. Nelson.

Claudio Andres Silva Restrepo is a director, actor, stage manager and designer originally from Santiago, Chile. He studied at Loyola University Maryland, where he earned numerous honors for Acting, Design, and Direction. He spent three years teaching and working at StarStruck Theatre & Academy in Stuart, FL before moving to San Francisco. Since moving to the Bay Area in 2017, Claudio has become Technical Director/Production Manager for San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company (SFBATCO). As an independent Design Artist and Technician he works with many professional companies including Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Those Women Productions, 42nd Street Moon, and Brava For Women in the Arts, with specific care to create works that represent the diverse community of the Bay Area and address social issues relevant to his community. Selected Credits: I, Too, Sing America (Set/ Lights); Death and the Artist (Lights); The Crooked Room (SM, Lights); One Googol and One (Set, Lights); How To Be A White Man (SM, Lights); La Posarela (SM, Lights).

Photo Credit: Steve Underhill