BACT's world premiere of Rickshaw Girl opens Saturday, April 2, at Front Row Theater in San Ramon

Songs sung in Bangla and the haunting rhythms of the tabla will draw families into the world of Bangladesh when Rickshaw Girl, presented by the Bay Area Children’s Theatre (BACT), premieres Saturday at the Front Row Theater, 17011 Bollinger Canyon Road, San Ramon, CA 94582, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Inspired by the award-winning book of the same name by Orinda-based author Mitali Perkins, the production brings to life on stage the daring adventure of Naima, an artistic ten-year-old in an impoverished Bangladeshi village who yearns to help earn more money for her family.

Adapted by playwright Aditi Kapil and directed by Vidhu Singh, with live music by vocalist Sonali Bhattacharya, percussionist Amit Sharma, and others, Rickshaw Girl tells a heartwarming story about a young girl’s courage and caring, even as it provides a rare glimpse into Bangladeshi customs and culture. The production is recommended for age 6 and up.

TICKETS: $22 adults, $20 seniors, $18 children, $13 groups (minimum 15)

BOX OFFICE: www.bactheatre.org or call (925) 973-3343

SCHEDULE

San Ramon: Rickshaw Girl plays two weekends in San Ramon, April 2-3 and April 9-10.

San Francisco: Rickshaw Girl travels next to San Francisco, with weekend performances, April 16 - May 1, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Children's Creativity Museum Theater, 221 4th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103.

Berkeley: Rickshaw Girl completes its run in Berkeley at the Osher Studio, 2055 Center Street, Berkeley, CA 94704. In Berkeley, Rickshaw Girl will be presented weekends May 7 - 22, with performances at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

ARTISTS

Aditi Kapil, playwright, is a writer, actress and director of Bulgarian and Indian descent. She was raised in Sweden, resides in Minneapolis, MN, and her work is produced nationally and internationally to critical acclaim. Love Person, a four-part love story in Sanskrit, ASL and English, received the Stavis Playwriting Award in 2009. Agnes Under the Big Top, selected as a 2009 Distinguished New Play Development Project by the NEA New Play Development Program, was hosted by Arena Stage and premiered at Mixed Blood Theatre and Long Wharf Theatre (CT) in 2011 and at Borderlands Theater (AZ) in 2012 in a National New Play Network rolling world premiere. The Displaced Hindu Gods Trilogy plays have been produced across the US and in the UK. Brahman/i and The Chronicles of Kalki received an unprecedented double nomination for the James Tait Black Prize, University of Edinburgh, UK. Kapil is currently working on commissions with Yale Repertory Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, South Coast Repertory Theatre, and Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and is the playwright-in-residence at Mixed Blood Theatre, an artistic associate at Park Square Theatre, a core writer at the Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis, and a resident playwright at New Dramatists. www.aditikapil.com

Mitali Perkins, author, has written nine novels for young readers, including Rickshaw Girl (chosen by the New York Public Library as one of the top 100 books for children in the past 100 years) and Bamboo People (an American Library Association's Top Ten Novels for Young Adults, starred in Publishers Weekly as "a graceful exploration of the redemptive power of love, family, and friendship.") Her newest novel, Tiger Boy, is a Junior Library Guild selection. She has been honored as a "Most Engaging Author" by independent booksellers across the country and selected as a "Literary Light for Children" by the Associates of the Boston Public Library. Perkins was born in Kolkata, India, before immigrating to the Bay Area with her family. She has lived in Bangladesh, India, England, Thailand, Mexico, Cameroon, and Ghana, studied at Stanford and the University of California, Berkeley, and currently resides in the East Bay, where she is a lecturer at Saint Mary's College of California. (mitaliperkins.com)

Vidhu Singh, director, 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. Singh is a resident artist at Brava Theater and a core member of Theatre Without Borders. She has taught theater at Foothill College and has been the managing director of the Asian American Theater Company. Vidhu is a graduate of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab and a founding member of World Wide Lab, an international theater directors’ collective, which did its inaugural residency at The Watermill Center in 2011, followed by residencies at the Irondale Center, Brooklyn, in 2012 and 2013 and Teatro Due, Rome in 2014. In 2004, she founded RasaNova Theater to produce bold new plays from across the globe, including South Asia and its diaspora. Recent productions include Saviana Stanescu’s Waxing West and Shahid Nadeem’s Burqavaganza at Brava Theater and Dancing on Glass by Ram Ganesh Kamatham, selected for the National Asian American Theater Festival.

CAST

Emily Alvarado (Naima) makes her Bay Area Children’s Theatre debut in Rickshaw Girl. Her most recent credits include Water by the Spoonful (Yazmin Ortiz) and La Posarela (María) with Community Music Center; Call It Off at Mojo Theatre; Monty Python's Spamalot, Children of Eden (Aphra) and West Side Story (Teresita) with the Contra Costa Civic Theatre; and A Little Princess and Sound of Music (Sister Sophia) with Berkeley Playhouse. Alvarado tours all over Northern California as a performer educator for Kaiser Permanente's Educational Theatre.

Ariella Amaris Irula (Mother) graduated from San Francisco State University with a BA in Theatre. She is now at the City College of San Francisco getting her Certificate in Special Education, Early Intervention, and will be in Prague this summer getting her TEFL Certificate. Recent past performances: The Breadbox's Medea and Blood Wedding; Campo Santo's Nogales and Endangered Species; New Conservatory Theater Center's Avenue Q (u/s).

J Jha (Father) received an MFA in Acting from the University of Washington and relocated to the Bay in 2014. Jha has performed with the Left Coast Theatre Company, the New Conservatory Theater Center Youth Aware (currently on Season 2); Altarena Playhouse; San Francisco Olympians; and Word4Word.

Heren Patel (Father/Saleem understudy) graduated from San Francisco State University's Theatre Arts Program and has performed in Bay Area shows including The ACT Costume Shop's Love Junkies: The Musical, EnActe Arts' Merchant on Venice, and Theatre Rhinoceros' Breaking the Code. His newfound love for the performing arts has driven him to new heights, such as acting, directing, singing, and dancing. His earlier work included Seminar, Gruesome Playground Injuries, and Evening Primrose, at San Francisco State's Brown Bag Theatre and new works in San Francisco State's Fringe Festival. In 2013, he served as assistant director for New Musical Theater of San Francisco's premiere of Chance: The Musical, working under legendary Broadway and Off-Broadway director Robert Kalfin. Patel was recently seen in the world premiere of Of Serpents and Seaspray at CustomMade Theatre.

Radhika Rao (Woman/Rashida) is an actor, director, storyteller, improvisor, and arts educator. She is a member of Eth-noh-tec storytelling ensemble and a resident artist of the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival. She is the co-founder of 'Colorized Improv' and the duo, ‘Colorized Letters’. She regularly performs at ‘New Work’ festivals. Recent performances include: Word for Word, Douglass Morrison Theatre, Arabian Shakespeare Festival, Festival Theatre Ensemble, and New Conservatory Theater Center.

Salim Razawi (Saleem) was last seen monkeying around in BACT’s production of Five Little Monkeys and rapping about crossing the street safely in Rock the Block: A Walk & Roll Musical. In addition to his work for BACT, Salim has performed with TheatreWorks, Broadway By the Bay, Pacific Coast Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Playhouse, Golden Thread Productions, Tri-Valley REP, Livermore Shakespeare Festival, and the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival. Most recent credits include playing Thurmond & Rossi in the world premiere of Swift Justice with the Tabard Theatre Company. When not on stage, Razawi is a director, teaching artist, and stage manager for theatre companies throughout the Bay Area.

MUSICIANS

Sonali Bhattacharya, vocalist, has carved a distinct niche in the South Asian community over the past 15 years and is acclaimed for her versatility and mellifluous voice. She has performed in events at Vedanta Society of Northern California, Cultural Integration Fellowship of SFO, India Community Center, North American Bengali Conference, and at non-profit socio-cultural organizations. Trained in music by eminent Bengali musicians Ila Banerjee (disciple of Naina Devi ) and Sanjoy Sarkar ( Dakshinee of Kolkata), Sonali was a regular artist on All India Radio in New Delhi and part of the vocal team of India’s First Lady, the late Shuvra Mukherjee. Sonali was recognized by Shankar Dayal Sharma, former president of India, for her musical contributions to the Gandhi Society of Delhi University. She represented the university at Raj Ghat, the memorial to Mahatma Gandhi, performing Gandhi's favorite song 'Vaishnav Jan to" for several years in a row. Sonali has led numerous South Asian musical shows. She provided vocals for theatre company Enacte Arts' recent production, Chitra. Sonali considers music to be a source of renewal and learning. She leads the annual production of Mahisasur Mardini, a powerful musical of chants and hymns that is highly regarded in the South Asian community.

Amit Sharma, percussionist, has acted with Bay Area theater groups such as Naatak, RasaNova, Brava for Women, FFE, SJ Real @ SJ Rep, AATC, and ASHORE. His film and TV work includes short films (Arranged Marriage, Smothered, Welcome, Real Life Indian Soap Opera) and Mausaki’s first music video Kiss Raaste. An avid music lover and percussionist, Sharma believes that “rhythm is the essence of life.”