Julietta Blogs: My Interview with Mitali Perkins

BACT Blogger Julietta had the opportunity to interview Mitali Perkins, author of the book Rickshaw Girl, at the show's San Francisco opening! She shares her experience below!

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The Rickshaw Girl play was super cool! It is about a girl named Naima. She wants to help her dad get some rest while still making enough money to pay back a loan for buying a new rickshaw, so she tries to drive the rickshaw. Instead, she crashed it. It will be very hard to fix such a beaten up Rickshaw, but if they don't fix it, her dad won't get any business with it.

 

A rickshaw built by actors with props!

 

I liked the book because it inspires girls to help them know that they can do anything. I liked how Naima's passion for art turned out to not be useless, but very important for her family. In the stories beginning, Naima really likes art, but she thinks because she cannot help make money, she is useless for the family. At the end, she realizes that it is a good thing that she was a girl, or else she would have not been given a chance to paint Rickshaws in exchange for the repairs of her dads Rickshaw.

To bring the play to life, they had to make a Rickshaw for the actors to use. At first, the Rickshaw is just a bunch of pieces, but when actors held up the pieces while moving it, you could see the rickshaw, and I thought that was a great idea. There was even live music for the play!

After the play, I got to meet the author of Rickshaw Girl, Mitali Perkins, to interview her. Her favorite part to write in Rickshaw Girl was when Naima's dad says "its a good thing you turned out to be a girl." She liked that part because she had two older sisters and everyone cried because she wasn't a boy and now her parents say that to her. She was inspired to write the book because of the Rickshaws she saw and she also learned how it was hard for girls to make money in Bangladesh. She thought it would be a great idea to show in her book how it is changing now. Besides Rickshaw Girl, Mitali wrote 9 other books! She is also working on a novel and a picture book. Mitali is local to Bay Area in Orinda. Rickshaw Girl is not yet popular in Bangladesh yet. The book is not translated yet, either. Mitali started writing books because she loved reading and she wanted to write books for other people to enjoy just like she enjoyed reading. She set the story in Bangladesh because that was where her parents were born. She likes art a lot. Her favorite tool to draw with is colored pencils. She especially likes to draw alpanas because they are really simple and easy. It was great getting to meet Mitali and it was really great getting to interview her.

Author Mitali Perkins (L) with BACT Blogger Julietta (R)

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Rickshaw Girl continues for one more weekend at the Children's Creativity Museum Theater before heading to the Osher Studio in Berkeley. Purchase your tickets today!

The World Premiere of Rickshaw Girl

Emily Alvarado as Naima, painting a traditional alpana.
Photo credit: Joshua Posamentier

Bay Area author Mitali Perkins’ award-winning children’s book, Rickshaw Girl, tells the heartwarming story of Naima, an artistic ten-year-old in an impoverished Bangladeshi village who yearns to help her hard-working father, a rickshaw driver, earn more money for the family. 

Perkins grew up speaking Bangla and hearing her parents’ stories about their life in the part of the world we know today as Bangladesh.  Later, she spent three years in Bangladesh, meeting the people, learning what they hold dear, and observing the impact of changes, like the advent of microcredit, on local customs and culture.

“When I read Mitali’s beautiful book, I knew immediately that I wanted to bring Naima’s daring adventure to the stage for children and their families to see,” said BACT Executive Director Nina Meehan. “Naima’s story opens a window on a different culture for our young audiences, which is so important for their experience, yet it has universal appeal in its depiction of courage, duty and caring.”

BACT commissioned critically acclaimed playwright Aditi Kapil to adapt Perkins’ novel, and the world premiere of Rickshaw Girl was born!  Of Indian and Bulgarian descent, Kapil was raised in Sweden and resides in Minneapolis, MN.  In addition to her work for BACT, she is currently working on commissions with Yale Repertory Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, South Coast Repertory Theatre, and Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Directed by Vidhu Singh, with live music by vocalist Sonali Bhattacharya, percussionist Amit Sharma, and others, Rickshaw Girl whirls with color and song, as it welcomes families into the world of Bangladesh.

Perkins has worked with Singh and Kapil to help them develop the show, contributing to the authenticity of the production by contacting a friend, an educator in Bangladesh, to learn what songs daughters of rickshaw pullers sing these days and what games they play. These songs—everything from a lullaby to a patriotic song—are sung in Bangla. Perkins also brought her mother to rehearsal to teach the actors how to paint alpanas, the traditional designs that figure prominently in the story!

Mitali Perkins’ mother, Madhusree Bose with cast members, after teaching them how to paint alpanas

Describing the rehearsal process, Perkins said, “It’s magical! When I watch these fabulous actors and see the story in the flesh on the stage, I find myself being curious for Naima and wondering what’s going to happen to her, and I have to remind myself that I know what happens to her—I wrote the book!” 

Director Singh of San Francisco has devoted her career to nurturing South Asian theatre and bringing work from around the globe to the stage.  Born and raised in India, she holds a master’s degree in Dramatic Art from the University of California at San­­­­­­ta Barbara and a doctorate in Asian Theatre from the University ­­­of Hawaii at Manoa, specializing in contemporary Indian theater.

“This play is so up my alley,” Singh said.”I’m so grateful it came to me. When I heard about it, I got a copy of the book—it’s one of the best children’s books I’ve ever read.  It is a sweet, empowering story that is important for girls all over the world. The story is a window to another culture but it’s also a mirror—Naima learns that, with a little ingenuity and a lot of courage and grit, she can recover from a terrible mistake and make things right for herself and her family. Kids can see that they have so much in common with her.”

Artists at Rickshaw Girl workshop, l. to r., actors Radhika Rao and Salim Razawi, Director Vidhu Singh, Author Mitali Perkins, Playwright Aditi Kapil

The play, Singh explained, is “an ensemble piece” that blends theatre, dance and Bangla songs.  Five actors play the primary characters as well as secondary roles. The ensemble also functions as a chorus, becoming school children learning the Bangla alphabet, villagers celebrating International Mother Language Day, vendors selling wares, farmers toiling in the rice fields, town dwellers—a vibrant microcosm of life in Bangladesh.  

“This is very important work,” Singh said, explaining that Bangladeshi culture has rarely been reflected in American theatre or even in South Asian theatre.  “What makes the story remarkably powerful is its universality and its ability to inspire children as well as adults across cultures. I’m from India, not from Bangladesh, and I’m very particular about reflecting Bangladeshi culture and creating the world of Bangladesh. As a director of Indian descent, I take that responsibility very seriously.”

Rickshaw Girl is recommended for audiences aged 6 and up.

NOTE: Families can meet Mitali Perkins in person at Rickshaw Girl performances on Saturday, April 16, in San Francisco, and on Sunday, May 22, in Berkeley!

Purchase your tickets at: www.bactheatre.org

Julietta Blogs: Meeting Nick Bruel and the Kitty Creative Team!

BACT Blogger Julietta shares her perspective on a special donor event during which author Nick Bruel and members of the Bad Kitty On Stage creative team spoke about the show's creation.

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The Bad Kitty BACT donor event was really cool! Donors who give money to BACT support them because they appreciate the work they put into making a play. BACT gives back by writing plays and musicals for the whole bay area to enjoy! Donating to BACT helps them to create these plays and musicals for school kids who have never seen a play before. Nina Meehan, the executive director, said that at one of their school day matinee performances, almost everyone raised their hand when they asked who had never seen a play before. Even donating a small amount can make a huge difference.

Julietta gets her book signed by Nick Bruel!

At the donor event, they had the Bad Kitty author, Nick Bruel, the Bad Kitty On Stage costume designer, Amy, the director, Benjamin Hanna, and Min Kahng, who is the one who brought bad kitty to stage, talk about how they made Bad Kitty On Stage! The actor playing Bad Kitty even stopped by while on lunch break! Bad Kitty is a book series by Nick. He creates a character by drawing it and using a pen instead of a pencil so he isn't tempted to erase anything. Nick said it was easiest to find what bad kitty looks like because he had a cat named Zuzu who was all black, except for a patch of white on her chest. It took him 9 months to make the first book in the series, and now it takes him 6-7 months because now he knows the characters and what they look like so he only needs to make up a story with these characters.

I had never heard of Bad Kitty before, and now I'm a huge fan and cannot wait to see the play! At the end, I had my book, Happy Birthday, Bad Kitty! signed by Nick Bruel, and I also got a Bad Kitty mask signed! I was so excited to read the book after that, so I read my book all the way home and it is one of my most favorite books now! If BACT hadn't chosen great books like Bad Kitty, I wouldn't had known about Bad Kitty and a lot of the other books BACT turned into such great plays! I like that even the authors appreciate the plays BACT makes from their books! BACT makes the best plays I know and I cannot wait to see Bad Kitty On Stage soon!

Charlette Blogs: Meeting Nick Bruel and the Kitty Creative Team!

Sango Tajima & Nick Bruel signing posters at the show!

When I was invited to see the author Nick Bruel I was so excited. I heard him talk about his books Bad Kitty, and I heard the BACT theater people talk about the play that they made from his books. The author Nick Bruel has 2 cats now, but he had one when he was a child. Bad Kitty looked like his childhood cat named Zou-Zou. The cat was black from the tip of his ears to the the very tip of his tail, but just a big clump of white on his chest.  It took Nick Bruel nine months to finish his first book. He went to college and got a degree in English. Nick Bruel started out with board books for younger children and he really really wanted the kids to continue loving Bad Kitty books even when they're older.  So he started making chapter books of Bad Kitty, so older kids can read Bad Kitty too.

 

Amy Bobeda was the costume designer for the play. Some white feathers was used for Bad Kitty's chest of its costume. She clipped it onto overalls that Bad Kitty wore in the play. I am so excited to see the costumes that everyone will be wearing. I think maybe it was really hard to sew and put together all the costumes. I think she is very talented. 

Sango Tajima played Bad Kitty in the play. She came in on her lunch break so she couldn't stay there the whole time because she had work still, but I still think it was nice of her to come. Bad Kitty does not talk. She makes cat noises like purr or meow. She had to practice making the cat noises. She also had to look in the book and see how the cat positions looked like. I think it was hard for her to make cat noises to go with the feelings of Bad Kitty.

 

Min Kahng wrote the play Bad Kitty.  Min Kahng really really wanted for the audience to be excited and wowed during the play. He mentioned that in a comic book, on every page you see a pow or a boom it makes the reader excited. Min wanted that for every scene of the play. He worked with the director named Benjamin Hanna. I think it was hard for him to to direct all the characters. I bet he worked very hard.

 

The pianist and narrator of the play was Phil Wong. I think it was amazing that he can talk normal and play piano at the same time. He said he had to practice alot! The music was live because when in the play someone stomps or jumps really hard they would make a sound on the piano and match it with the action Bad Kitty was doing. I think he is awesome. 

Our BACT Bloggers: Kara, Julietta & Charlette!

After they were done speaking, Nick Bruel the author of Bad Kitty signed my book, Bad Kitty for President. Now, I am so excited to see this play and see everything come alive on stage.

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You can also see this play and see everything come alive on stage! Bad Kitty On Stage runs in Berkeley thru February 21 at the Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse. The show then has a run in San Ramon from February 27-28 at the Dougherty Valley Performing Arts Center, and in San Francisco from March 5-26 at the Children's Creativity Museum Theater. Purchase your tickets today!

Benjamin Hanna: Controlling Chaos

By Vivian Auslander
 

Director Benjamin Hanna

He directed BACT’s world premieres of Ivy + Bean, the Musical, which involved occasional worms, and Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy, the Musical, which featured a wandering dog, Bingo. Now, Benjamin Hanna has taken on an entire quirky pet store with Bad Kitty On Stage! Let’s hear from him what that’s like.

You are directing this production. What does a director do?

I play a variety of roles. One of them is to find a way for everyone on the creative team—actors, designers, producers, marketers—to see the core center of the play, to guide everyone’s vision, and to shape that collaborative effort. This play is adapted from a series of books, so I have the opportunity not only to look at the play but also at the source material. I’ve had the gift of working with the author and the playwright to do this. Another role is being a detective—sleuthing moments from the books that help us find the voice of Kitty and the world of her imagination. Since the books are like comic books, I’m watching to see if we’re giving the same effect that turning a page and seeing the word, “Pow!” or “Meow!” would have. If we do, then I know we’re resonating with the spirit of the books.

What do you mean by “the core center of the play?”

It’s as if you had a wonderful chocolate with something special in the middle that you can’t see but want to know what it’s like—how it tastes, smells, feels. Our job is to find that out.  It’s like making the map in a chocolate box so everyone can see what is in the middle of each character’s story.

So you are guiding both context and style?

Yes, we need to create the wacky, upside down world of Kitty, and we have to have that feeling of turning a page and discovering a new adventure. The play explores what being “bad” is like. Kitty isn’t being bad—she’s doing what kitties do naturally. And that’s what kids do—sometimes they get in trouble for exploring, and that can shut down imagination, understanding and connection. So we’re using Kitty’s world to look at exploring—and being different. Like a comic book, the play will be an explosion of “different” – all the animals will be exaggerated and unique.

What drew you to this work?

The opportunity to work with Min Kahng, the playwright. I’ve wanted to work with him ever since I saw his musical adaptation of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon—I loved that show. Also, when I read the books, I was intrigued by what a challenge they would present—and what great fun! When you step into our rehearsal room, it’s full of laughter, joy and celebration. I don’t feel like I’m working—I’m exploring with a group of highly gifted artists, who are smart, funny, and open. I’m honored to have been trusted with Min’s beautiful adaption and Nick’s amazing source material. And my team of artists has been delightful. They all understand working for children, and, in this short time, they have created their own Bad Kitty family.  

"It's like a roller coaster."

What has been the greatest challenge?

I thought that Puppy and Kitty not having words would be the challenge, but Min has done a phenomenal job of adapting the books so that “Meow” and “Woof” have hundreds of meanings. And Sango, who plays Kitty, is a genius. When Kitty meows, I know exactly what she is saying, because Sango knows every beat. The challenge has been controlling chaos. There is so much is going on, so fast, that I have to decide whether the train is going 100 mph, 96 mph, or 80 mph! I need to control the explosiveness so the audience can follow Kitty’s journey of learning. It’s like a roller coaster. You need moments when you dip down and have some calm to absorb what Kitty has learned and anticipate the next big event. The other challenge has been thinking through every aspect of Kitty’s life. A friend of mine overheard a 10-minute phone conversation I had with our dramaturg, Julie McCormick, about what kind of cat scratcher Kitty would want in her imagination, what would make it special to her.  My friend was surprised that we have dramaturgy in children’s theatre. But this is not just a play about cats. It’s about us—you and me—and how we get along. 

Are you looking forward to anything in particular on opening day?

Having an audience! The humor is very sophisticated. It will be fun to see which jokes appeal to the grown-ups in the audience and what will entertain children of different ages. One of the reasons I love working with BACT is that the company embraces the challenge of having everyone in the theatre enjoy the production and walk away with something to discuss.

Min Kahng Discusses Adapting Bad Kitty for the Stage

Playwright Min Kahng. Photo by Ben Krantz.

By Vivian Auslander

He created BACT’s award-winning musical version of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and our hit Tales of Olympus: A Greek Myth Musical. Now, the multi-talented Min Kahng is writing the script and the musical score for our upcoming world premiere of Bad Kitty on Stage! Below, he discusses what inspired him about Nick Bruel ‘s popular Bad Kitty comic series and how he is adapting the series for young audiences.

Q:  How did Bad Kitty on Stage! come to be?

A:  Our Executive Director Nina Meehan proposed the project—her sons were reading the series and loving it.  When I read the books, the first thing that jumped out at me was their unique style—a combination of comic books and chapter books—and I thought it would be fun and interesting to put that style onstage.  But I needed to feel an emotional resonance as well, and two of the books grabbed me right away—Bad Kitty Meets the Baby, which explores how Kitty reacts to the new addition to her family, and Bad Kitty School Daze, which struck me because the amazingly patient teacher tells Kitty at the end of the day that she doesn’t think she’s a bad kitty at all. I can imagine children needing reinforcement like that and how it would help them grow.  In fact, all the animal characters in the series are childlike, with their unique quirks and eccentricities, and they are all working on growing up.  For me, the stories are about what it’s like to grow up and learn important lessons, and I’ve kept that in mind along with the humor and the quirkiness to help make the story line cohesive and authentic.

Q: In the series, Kitty doesn’t use words.  How do you make that work on stage?

Actor Sango Tajima as Bad Kitty. Photo by Melissa Nigro.

A: We debated that a lot at the beginning, wondering if we should have Kitty speak.  But we wanted to be faithful to the universe of the books.  So the challenge was what that meant—how do you translate the images in the books to a human actor?  Casting was the key, and we are extremely fortunate to have Sango Tajima, a gifted physical actor whose face can tell you what Kitty is feeling in a cartoon manner that is also genuine!  It was clear to us from the first reading of the play, just from Sango’s face and movements, that she could tell the story.  And, in the script, while I write “meow” or other animal sounds, I also include parenthetical statements of what I want the sounds to mean to guide the actors as to what their intention should be.

Q:  What were your goals for the music that underscores the action of the play?

A:  When I started thinking about the style of the music, I recalled the Saturday morning cartoons I’d watched as a child—like Looney Tunes, where the background music plays such a big role in setting the mood and creating the sound effects.  I wanted to incorporate that sensibility into the play. Then, we workshopped the play, and realized that the music had to be performed live to provide vibrant energy and to choreograph precisely with what’s happening on stage.  We were very lucky to find Phil Wong, who is both an actor and a pianist.  Phil will be our narrator, and he’ll play the score and improvise as needed. I’m very excited to be collaborating with him.  He’ll take what I compose and give us his feedback about how it’s working with the characters and the scenes.

Q:  The Bay Area Children’s Theatre has co-commissioned Bad Kitty On Stage! with the Oregon Children’s Theatre.  What does that mean?

A:  Both companies are producing this show for the first time—our run begins in January, theirs in February.  And it’s been a fascinating experience for me, because I have to make sure the script and the music work for both productions.  For example, the sets for our BACT shows have to be compact and moveable, since we perform in three different locations.  Oregon has a big traditional proscenium stage. When we send Kitty up into a “tree,” we are working with the idea of a tree.  Their production includes something much more like a real tree, so they’ll need enough transition music for Kitty to get into and out of the tree.  My challenge is to make the score and the script elastic enough to meet different needs.

Director Benjamin Hanna at our first read-thru with the Bad Kitty cast.

Q:  Now that the show is in rehearsal, what is your role?

A: I’ll be in the rehearsal room to help clear up any questions about the script or how the music fits into the action on stage. I can make changes or re-write as the needs arise. 

Q:  Nick Bruel, the author and illustrator of the Bad Kitty books, will be here for the opening?

A:  Yes. He reached out to us when he was visiting the Bay Area some months ago.  He was pleased and surprised by how faithful our adaptation is to the series, which made me feel good, because I wanted to capture the spirit of the books.  He will be here for our opening day performances, signing books and joining us for a reception with our donors.

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Bad Kitty On Stage opens at Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse in downtown Berkeley on January 23rd. The show runs from January 23-February 21 in Berkeley, February 27-28 in San Ramon, and March 5-26 in San Francisco. Click here to purchase tickets.

Austin Zumbro: Exploring Art from A to Z

Playwright & Composer Austin Zumbro

We are thrilled that BACT’s Austin Zumbro is a finalist in this year’s Theatre Bay Area competition for Outstanding World Premiere Musical.

You could say that Austin, who wrote the script, music and lyrics for BACT’s hit show, THE DAY THE CRAYONS QUIT, THE MUSICAL, spent 20 years preparing for the bow he took on opening day.

As a student in the Oakland schools, he loved his classes but missed having the arts in the curriculum, so, he did it himself—writing plays, filming videos and making music with his friends.  He learned the piano, taught himself guitar. And, at summer drama camp, he acted in plays as a camper, directed them as a counselor, and ultimately wrote the plays himself.

In high school, he learned he had a gift for songwriting . . . by losing a bet. 

“I was bowling one day, and my friends wagered that, if I lost, I would have to write a song about them,” he said.  “I lost, wrote the song, and it got a good reaction.  So I had a moment in which I learned, ‘Oh, I can make up a melody and play chords. It’s not magic—you just have to write it down and remember what you played.’”

When Austin got to Stanford University, he parlayed his newfound skill into taking requests for songs from fellow students.  He also joined the university’s improvisational theater troupe and performed with it for the next four years.

“I didn’t know it when I applied, but Stanford has a very strong improv program,” he said. "We had two-hour practices three times a week, and we did 20 to 30 shows a year.  It was a great experience! I learned how to get up in front of people, and I’m comfortable with that to this day.”

Austin’s improv experience and encompassing memory has served BACT very well in emergencies, when he has stepped out of his role as BACT’s beloved patron services manager to fill in for actors on stage at the eleventh hour in shows like If You Give a Mouse a Cookie; The Little Engine That Could; Pinkalicious; and James and the Giant Peach.

“Some people would find that too stressful, but I’m willing to jump in and do my best,” he said. “I know the audience and the cast will be supportive. That’s what’s so wonderful about theatre—it’s a supportive community with everyone trying to make the show great!”

At Stanford, Austin majored in human biology, with an emphasis in neuroscience and psychology.

“I love learning about the brain and behavior,” he said. “I like to think about people and their motivation, their stories.  That’s also why I’m attracted to theatre.”

For BACT, Austin has created a comedy, Rudolph the Ugly Duckling, and productions for schools, including The Gold Rush Musical; Labcoats and Scapegoats: A Science Fair Musicalamity; and Rock the Block: A Walk and Roll Musical. 

L to R: Actors Anna Smith, Jacqueline Dennis, Carina Salazar, Brett Jones & Chloe Condon. Photo by Joshua Posamentier.

His interest in psychology served him well when he was creating the script for THE DAY THE CRAYONS QUIT, THE MUSICAL, a hilarious tale about a boy whose crayons go on strike, writing letters to express their grievances. 

“I spent a long time with the book, trying to read into the letters,” he said.  “The book is so successful because Daywalt and Jeffers use very short letters and simple drawings to create very rich characters on the page—that’s why people identify with the story.  So I was sitting with the relatively sparse words and pictures and thinking about who would write that kind of letter, what other words they would say, and why they would choose those words. I tried to be really true to that in the script and the lyrics.”

Austin’s choice of musical genres for the play came out of the same desire to bring his characters to life in ways that are faithful to their personalities and stories.

“I knew what kind of song I wanted to have, but I had to learn how to make it sound right,” he explained. “I created long playlists within each genre—gospel and blues, opera, musical theatre, etc.—and I tried to absorb them all to figure out what elements make them what they are.  I also asked people with more experience.  Then I synthesized what I’d learned for each number, and worked with our music director, Kevin Roland, to match the songs to the talents of the actors.”

Playwrights don’t necessarily participate in rehearsals for their shows, so Austin was “thrilled to be in the room” throughout the development of his play.

“It’s been a joy to be part of the team,” he said.  “I feel incredibly privileged to have done my part and see it come together!  I wrote it, but that’s just the first step. Nina Meehan (the director), the actors, and the artistic team deserve all the credit for beautiful execution.”

On opening day, Austin’s biggest question was whether the show would “appeal across the generations.”

“I know what I like,” he said, “and I work with kids all the time, but I was trying to write a show for everybody.”

Judging from the laughter and the thunderous applause the show received that day and throughout its run, he succeeded—from A to Z!

L to R: Actors Anna Smith, Jacqueline Dennis, Brett Jones, Matt Ono, Carina Salazar & Chloe Condon.
Photo by Joshua Posamentier.

Congrats to our TBA Awards Finalists for Crayons!

The Day the Crayons Quit, the Musical was honored in a very special way last week when Theatre Bay Area announced three TBA Awards Finalists from the show!

Composer & playwright Austin Zumbro is a Finalist for Outstanding World Premiere Musical.
 

Actor Brett Jones is a Finalist for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Principal Roles in a Musical.

And Choreographer Khalia Davis is a Finalist for Outstanding Choreography.

We had a chance to check in with Ms. Davis on her reaction to being a TBA Awards Finalist!

"When I found out that I was nominated for my choreography for Crayons, I was in disbelief. First of all, this was my first time creating choreography for adults for a main stage production. I had only ever worked with children. I couldn't believe that my novice work was being recognized in such high esteem among the other nominees. Secondly, this is a children's show! I couldn't believe that we were being given the same respect and special nods that the adult professional shows were also receiving. It made me realize that this theater community honors the work and doesn't care in what form it comes. I feel so lucky that my first main stage choreography position was with a group of individuals whom I admire and whom I consider family. Everyone brought something awesome to the table and helping bring Austin Zumbro's vision to life was icing on the cake. Our cast was full of talented actors who understood the value of collaboration and team work. I believe this show was such a huge success because everyone involved truly cared about making this show amazing and put all of their hard work into making it a memorable experience for our young audiences."

 

Congratulations to our three Finalists and ALL the Finalists for this year's TBA Awards. The awards ceremony is Monday, November 16. We'll be sure to keep you posted on the results!

Julietta Blogs: Interview with Composer/Playwright Austin Zumbro

BACT Blogger Julietta returns; this time with an exclusive interview with the composer/playwright for The Day the Crayons Quit - Austin Zumbro! Julietta is a Bay Area native.  She enjoys art, crafting, theater, nature, and outdoors. In 9 years of soaking up creative talents, she has found many outlets for her creative energy. Activities such as Rainbow Loom, 4-H classes, Lego building and cartwheels take up most of her time.

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The Day the Crayons Quit play was great! It was about crayons quitting because they are not being treated well. Red doesn't want to work on holidays and Blue is so short she cant see over the edge of the crayon box, and Peach, Yellow, Beige, Black, Orange, and Pink are also quitting and Green is quitting only because Yellow and Orange are fighting about being the color of the sun.

After the show I got to interview Austin, who was the composer and writer of the play. To pick a book for a musical at the BACT office they have a bunch of books to read and they choose the best books for the play. Some books might not make a good musical because they are too complicated and some are not good because they don't have much of a story. To make a play they read the book and come up with ideas for the play. The Day the Crayons Quit was good because it has both words and pictures to show what the characters are like.

To make songs for the play they read the book and think of good ways to make songs for the book. Austin starts by by humming a tune and then thinking of good words for the song. The Day the Crayons Quit was a really good choice because the crayons write letters to Duncan and in addition to the letters the crayons could sing songs. Some of the lines in the songs are words the crayons say in their letters. When Austin first read The Day the Crayons Quit, he knew that he wanted to have it be in a play. He said the most fun to write was Peach's song and it was also fun to write Pink's song. It was also one of the first songs he thought of. The Day the Crayons Quit was Austin's 4th musical he has written. He wrote one about the California gold rush, one about a science fair, and one called Safe Routes to School.

Julietta (center) with composer/playwright Austin Zumbro (right)

His favorite crayon is Blue. He really likes Blue's attitude cause she is stubby but she is happy about coloring. In the book he likes blue's illustration. To get started being a composer/writer he has always liked writing and he would write stories a lot. And in 6th grade he learned to play the piano, and after high school he learned to play the guitar. He started making silly songs for friends then later on he started writing plays and wrote short movie scripts and mostly wrote stuff for his friends. He has done really great with his plays so far and I hope to see many more!

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The Day the Crayons Quit, the Musical is currently playing at Oakland Children's Fairyland thru July 26. You can purchase your tickets through the show page.

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Genevieve Blogs: How to Make a China Rabbit Come to Life On Stage

BACT Blogger Genevieve is back! This time, she had a special assignment about our show The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane: How do you make a main character who is an inanimate object come to life on-stage? Genevieve is 12 years old and in sixth grade at Kensington Hilltop School. She loves theater and has been going to productions since she was three years old. Genevieve enjoys reading, writing, traveling, and playing piano. She lives in Kensington with her parents and two younger siblings. Genevieve just played Hamlet in her school play. She thinks BACT is awesome and everybody who works there really inspires her!

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     Most of us have had imaginary friends, stuffed animals, or dolls. Whenever we play with them, we usually imagine and create what this inanimate object is thinking, either by saying it out loud, or thinking it in our heads. In books, authors can simply write what the object is thinking. However, in live theater, it’s much harder to explain exactly what the doll or stuffed animal is thinking so that the audience will understand. 

     People who take part in productions with inanimate creatures must be very creative. In Bay Area Children’s Theatre’s (BACT) most recent production called The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, the main character is a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. He belongs to a little girl and one day he is lost and re-discovered by several new families. In this story Edward Tulane learns humility and love and is exposed to sadness for the first time and really does go on a miraculous journey. Although he imagines many things and tries to talk to people, he cannot be heard or understood by humans.

     I imagine that it was probably really hard to figure out how to make Edward heard by the audience. It is really important that he is heard, or else the story wouldn’t make very much sense. The creative and production teams explained what Edward was thinking on stage by having the characters hold a china rabbit doll, as if he was a normal doll. Nearby, another actor stood with a guitar, speaking Edward’s thoughts to the audience. The actor speaking Edward’s words stayed close to the doll and was perfectly still as if he was an inanimate object.

     It was brave of the playwright to take on the challenge of turning this story into a play, and for BACT to produce it, because it is more common for books to have objects as main characters. In books, authors can write about the adventures and the object’s conversations. In plays, it is different. I don’t know if I have ever seen a play like this one! It must have been a very difficult production to be a part of.

     I loved this production because it had live music and an interesting storyline. It was filled with happiness, sadness, hopefulness, and most especially love. I enjoyed the interesting people and props that were a part of the play. I also thought that the acting was really good. I am thankful to everybody who took part of this production.
 

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The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane runs thru March 22nd at the Osher Studio in downtown Berkeley, then runs from March 28-April 12 at the Children's Creativity Museum in San Francisco. Click here for tickets.