SAN FRANCISCO - Feb. 12, 2022 - PRLog -- POSTED COURTESY OF WRIGHT ENTERPRISES SAN FRANCISCO~DALLAS COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT~~~

SFBATCO CLOSES "I, TOO, SING AMERICA" SUNDAY
WITH A BLACK HISTORY MONTH SALUTE TO UNSUNG SILICON VALLEY TECH 'GODFATHER' THE "UNSTOPPABLE" ROY L. CLAY SR.

The San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company, (SFBATCO), closes a successful run of the award-winning production I, TOO, SING AMERICA, with a tribute Sunday, February 13th to 93-year-old Roy L. Clay Sr., an unsung tech trailblazer at Hewlett Packard and former Palo Alto, California Vice Mayor.

I, TOO, SING AMERICA, a winner of three Theatre Bay Area Awards will be performed in honor of Roy L. Clay Sr. as SFBATCO presents its inaugural Black History Month Command Performance Award in honor of Clay.

"Given the accomplishments of Mr. Clay in the tech arena that have impacted the world and his political work as Vice Mayor and the first Black on the City Council of Palo Alto, CA, his life epitomizes the point of poet Langston Hughes' poem and the title of our production, I, TOO, SING AMERICA," said Rodney Earl Jackson, Jr. "Mr. Clay's quiet determination shows the power and trajectory of moving from the kitchen to the table as described in the poem.  The importance of that transition was poignantly captured in the recent Chronicle review "I, TOO, Sing America is a jolt of positive energy" by theater critic Lily Janiak (Link Article).

"My father, my brothers and I are so thrilled by this distinguished honor, " said Chris Clay, son of Roy L. Clay Sr.  " For my 93-year-old father to receive this inaugural  honor during Black History Month while he is alive presented by a young accomplished company of BIPOC millennials, is very life-affirming and encouraging for him and such a great tribute.  Thank you, San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company!"

The soon to be released memoir "Unstoppable: The Unlikely Story of Roy L. Clay Sr.,  a Silicon Valley Godfather" by Clay with Marvin H. Jackson will shed more light on why the SFBATCO honor is timely and appropriate.

The 2 p.m. Matinee on Sunday, February 13th at the Brava Theatre, 2781 24th Street in San Francisco's historic Mission District will close the production of I, TOO, SING AMERICA that has been running since January 28th spanning the Lunar New Year Celebration.  The show conceived, composed and music directed by Othello Jefferson (African American), directed by Jamie Yuen-Shore (Chinese American), with movement direction by Christine Chung (Chinese American), in its production and theme exemplified the Asian and Black cultures and SFBATCO's overall message of resilient BIPOC communities.

With the poetry of great American authors such as Langston Hughes (African American), Frances Chung (Chinese American), and Vince Gotera (Filipino American) to life through original music and contemporary dance, SFBATCO has not only made an impact artistically but economically as well with the hiring of over 20 actors, dancers, and technicians at a time when the arts worldwide have been devastated by the Coronavirus Pandemic.  Funded in part by the Dream Keeper Initiative, made possible by the leadership of San Francisco Mayor London Breed and shepherded by Human Rights Commission Executive Director Sheryl Davis, SFBATCO Board Chairman Mecca Billings, said, "The Dream Keeper Initiative funds during a time of frugal and strategic management by our engage board, helped us keep the lights on to bring the light of joy, hope and resilience at a time when it has been greatly needed."

SFBATCO, a group of mostly millennial artists, is inclusive in the engagement of artists, audiences and offers.  The honoring of 93-year-old Roy L. Clay Sr. is in alignment with other productions that have shown respect for elders in society. Most recently, the successful inaugural "New Roots Theatre Festival" last October incorporated five BIPOC legacy arts companies and highlighted a musical written and directed by Asian American singer and playwright Jamie Zimmer about The U.S. National Park Services oldest Ranger, 100-year-old Betty Reid Soskin, titled "Sign My Name to Freedom." In 2019, SFBATCO revived retired San Francisco State professor's Carlos Barón two decades-old play, DEATH AND THE ARTIST that received standing ovations.

Tickets for the remaining in-person performances of I, TOO, SING AMERICA, starting at a family-friendly price of $15.00 can be purchased at www.sfbatco.org.

Breaking News...If you can't make it to the theatre, see SFBATCO's I, TOO, SING AMERICA from home for the FREE STREAM on Twitch.tv/SFBATCO SAT 2/12 2PM PT / 5PM ET.

On Sunday, February 13th  take a closer look at SFBATCO with Rodney Earl Jackson Jr.'s conversation with Len Kiese at 12:30 p.m. on KPIX's Bay Area Focus produced by Jan Mabry and hear his conversation with Sue Hall of "Today's World" on seven Bay Area radio stations including KBLX and KOIT (https://www.facebook.com/SueHallMedia/videos/todays-world/1270058430067962).  Other recent SFBATCO media interviews include David Latulippe's KALW "On the Arts" (https://www.kalw.org/show/on-the-arts/2022-02-09/ash-malloy-and-wera-von-wulfen-dan-hoyle-michael-phillis-rodney-earl-jackson-jr) produced by volunteer Janice Lee, KTSF's Sean Au report (https://www.ktsf.com/2022/02/11/i-too-sing/?jwsource=cl) and 48 Hills.org's Kevin Madrigal Galinda review:' Electrifying 'I, Too, Sing America' contains multitudes (https://48hills.org/2022/02/review-electrifying-i-too-sing-america-contains-multitudes/).

In Other Roy L. Clay Sr. News...

Unsung Silicon Valley Hero Roy L. Clay Sr. and sons are scheduled to appear on the Asian Americans Network on the Clubhouse/Asian Americans Network, 6:30 p.m. with Hong Nguyen-Phuong, Gloria Young, Liesel Mendoza, Diana Ding and Sandy Wang.

Join UNCF 2022 California "A Mind Is…" Gala,  March 3, 6:30-9:00 p.m. as Mr. Clay is named Individual of the Year Award to Mr. Clay.

As an added note Clay Sr. kicked off Black History Month with Washington State's Black Owned Business Excellence 3rd Annual Symposium (BOBE) with U.S. Representative Marilyn Strickland, Washington State Senator T'Wina Nobles,  and Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards (https://www.prlog.org/12902102-bobe-symposium-slates-us-repstrickland-st-sen-nobles-myr-woodards-tech-legend-roy-clay-sr.html).

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