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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Disney Awards $100,000 Grant to the Bay Area Children’s Theatre

We are ecstatic to announce that Bay Area Children’s Theatre has been awarded a $100,000 grant from The Walt Disney Company to help bring the Disney Musicals in Schools program to the San Francisco Bay Area. BACT was one of only four arts organizations in the nation selected this year to collaborate with Disney Musicals in Schools (DMIS). The program is an outreach initiative developed by Disney Theatrical Group to create ongoing theater programs in local elementary schools.

The Disney grant will fund two years of programming—five schools will be selected this year, and another five next year. The after-school programs are free to participating schools. BACT will select five Oakland public elementary schools to participate in 2015.

“We are overjoyed with this incredible opportunity to bring musical theatre to elementary schools in our community,” says Nina Meehan, executive director of the Bay Area Children’s Theatre. “All children benefit from access to live theatre, both as performers and as audience members. We see the positive impact of performance-based theatre education in all the schools we serve. The Disney Musicals in School program will strengthen our capacity to provide programming and training in the performing arts that schools will be able to sustain. We are extremely grateful to Disney for its commitment to and support for this work.”

Applications are now being taken for the 2015 program from Oakland Unified School District public or charter elementary schools in which 70 percent or more of the student population qualifies for free or reduced-cost lunch.

For more information and to apply, please visit our DMIS webpage or call (510) 2962-4433 ext. 7005 or email dmis@bactheatre.org. The application deadline is September 11, 2015.

Julietta Blogs: Interview with Fancy Nancy!

BACT Blogger Julietta is back! This time, she got to sit down with Miss Fancy Nancy herself, the talented actor Catherine Bartomeo! Julietta is a Bay Area native.  She enjoys art, crafting, theater, nature, and outdoors. In 8 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 Fancy Nancy play was magnefique!! The Fancy Nancy books are about a girl named Nancy who loves being fancy. The play was about the book Fancy Nancy and the Deep Sea Ballet, where Fancy Nancy is going to be in a school play about the ocean, and she wants to be a mermaid, but instead,she is a tree. When she finds out her best friend Bree is the mermaid, she is mad. She wants to be happy for Bree, but she wanted to be the mermaid. At the end, she finds out even though she is a tree in the play, she can still be fancy. My favorite part was the shark rap song. All the characters did a great job in the performance to make the play a fun and fancy experience. Even the audience dressed up fancy! I love reading Fancy Nancy and the play is very fun to see. I think Bay Area Children's Theatre does the best at plays and is my favorite theater to go to and watch plays. I cant wait for the next season for the theater and already know it is going to be amazing like always. I really love bay area childrens theater and highly recommend it to anyone who has never seen their plays.
 

Catherine Bartomeo as Fancy Nancy and Derricka Smith as Bree!

I got to interview with Katie who is playing Fancy Nancy. She gets into character by warming up with the cast by singing a song and thinking about her character. Her advice for kids who want to act is that they should take theater and voice lessons. Her favorite part of the fancy Nancy play is when she finds out she is a tree for the school play instead of a mermaid. Her favorite play she has been in was Cosette in Les Miserables. Her favorite Fancy Nancy book is Fancy Nancy and the Deep Sea Ballet. Her favorite fancy word is Ooh la la. Her favorite part of preparing for plays is getting to research her character. Her favorite fancy accessory is her seashell crown. She has loved being fancy and dressing up since she was little so she thinks it is very great and fun getting to play Fancy Nancy.
 

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Fancy Nancy, the Musical runs thru May 3rd in Berkeley, May 9-17 in San Ramon (all performances are sold out!), May 23-June 7 in Mill Valley, and June 13-21 in San Francisco. Click here for tickets and more info!

The Bay Area Children’s Theatre to Perform in Shanghai

The BACT cast of James and the Giant Peach

We have GIANT news to share: Bay Area Children's Theatre is going international! Actors, artists and educators from BACT will be traveling to China this summer to perform our production of James and the Giant Peach! 

Many of you saw our presentation of Pasek & Paul's musical James and the Giant Peach in its California debut this past winter. The executive director of Shanghai Children’s Art Theatre also attended one of our performances and enjoyed the show so much, she has invited us to her theatre as part of a cross-cultural exchange!

Shanghai Children's Art Theatre performance venue.
Photo: Charles Xia

The Shanghai Children’s Art Theatre is a dynamic performing arts organization that is bringing cutting edge children’s programming to the families of Shanghai. It's that city's largest theater dedicated to professional productions for young audiences. BACT will debut James and the Giant Peach in Shanghai with four performances on August 1 and 2.

We are so honored to be included in the theatre’s roster of international visitors for 2015. Our cast and design team are very excited about taking our work abroad for the first time and introducing a vibrant new play in the great tradition of American musical theatre!

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.

Three Little Birds is a Theatre Bay Area Awards Recommended Production!

Congrats to the entire cast, crew and creative team on this great honor!

• Learn more about the Theatre Bay Area Awards
• Get your tickets to Three Little Birds, now playing in San Francisco!

Genevieve Blogs: Ron S. McCan, Costume Designer for Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds

BACT Blogger Genevieve is back! This time, she was able to interview Ron S. McCan, costume designer for Three Little Birds. 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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     Bay Area Children’s Theatre’s (BACT) has just started showing an amazing production called Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds. It is colorful, filled with expression, and very true to Jamaican culture and music. When I looked around at the rest of the audience, everybody looked so engaged, sitting at the edge of their seats, thinking, “What’s going to happen next?” The show was a perfect mixture of exciting, silly, and even just a little bit scary. One thing that really struck me was the amazing, detailed costumes that were designed by Ron S. McCan.

Ron S. McCan

     This is Mr. McCan’s first time designing costumes for BACT, and he absolutely loves it. Everybody there is really supportive and fun. This play, Three Little Birds, has actually been his favorite production that he has designed costumes for. It has fun music, and it just felt right for him. When Mr. McCan first found out that he would be designing costumes for Three Little Birds, he was so excited. He loves the work that BACT does. He likes how exciting it is for kids. He also thought that all the different bird characters were cool and fun.
     When he was a kid, Mr. McCan didn’t think that he would be a costume designer. He thought that he would be an actor. However, his mom was a costume designer, so that’s how he got interested. Now, he designs costumes and acts (and he likes both of them equally because you have to be creative for both of them). The most recent play that he acted in was called Jesus Christ Superstar. He also teaches high school. Mr. McCan is a Bob Marley fan. His favorite song by Marley is “Is This Love”, which is actually a song used in Three Little Birds.
     Ziggy and Nansi are the main characters. They are average, eleven-year-old kids. Because Mr. McCan is a high school teacher, he found his inspiration for these kids by looking at how his freshman students dress. He also based their costumes off nephews and nieces. He wanted them to look cool and colorful, but like normal kids. Mr. McCan knew that in Jamaica it is very hot. Other than that, people in Jamaica just dress like how we dress in America. So Mr. McCan dressed them the way we dress here, but in clothes that will keep them cool. Mr. McCan buys some parts of costumes and makes some of the costumes.

Anthony Rollins-Mullens as Duppy

     The hardest costume that Mr. McCan designed for Three Little Birds was Duppy’s costume. This specific costume took him the longest to make out of any other character in this play (it took him two whole months!). Duppy had big, glowing eyes, and had hair on the back. These were hard to create. Duppy had so many things that he had to do, and, to make it even more challenging, he had a big headdress. Mr. McCan had to glue every individual feather on to this headpiece. Actually, he had to do this for every bird costume in Three Little Birds. Mr. McCan gets his inspiration for costumes from pictures. He got a lot of inspiration for Three Little Birds by looking at pictures of Caribbean carnivals.

The cast of Three Little Birds

     Mr. McCan loved making many of the costumes for Three Little Birds. One of his favorites was Dr. Bird because he was modeled after the Red-Billed Steamertail Hummingbird which is the national symbol of Jamaica. He loves the bright colors. He also loved making Duppy because of the hair he stole from children and the glowing eyes. He liked Nansi because of her bright color scheme. Her shirt also played with cool shapes and patterns. He enjoyed doing Tacoomah, as well, because the actress who played her (Taylor Jones) really wanted a big headdress, which was fun to make.
     If Mr. McCan could design costumes for any production, it would be You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. It’s about kids, and it’s very cartoony, which means he could use colorful costumes. The most challenging play that he ever designed costumes for was The Mad Woman of Challiot. The reason it was so hard was because it took place in Paris in 1915, when there was a very specific style. Men had tuxedos and woman had to wear lots of wigs.
     Thanks for being such a fun person to interview, Mr. McCan! You love to imagine and create amazing things. I think he was the perfect costume designer for this particular production. Also, thanks to Min Kahng for organizing this interview. And, of course, thanks to the whole crew at BACT for putting on the amazing, creative, colorful production…Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds! I can’t wait for the next play!!!