SFBATCO mounts 2-3 full productions per year that address American society’s contemporary racial and cultural conflicts. Additionally, the organization provides community service initiatives such as free capacity-building workshops for BIPOC creatives, and invests in the creation of new work by local writers and composers.

SFBATCO recently produced the World Premiere of Sign My Name to Freedom, a social justice musical based on the life and work of Betty Reid Soskin, a Black Bay Area icon who was a Civil Rights Activist and instrumental National Parks figure. Other commissioned pieces in development include Every Saturday Night, a semi-autobiographical musical that depicts San Francisco’s Fillmore District in the 1950s when it was known as the “Harlem of the West” before San Francisco’s Urban Development program displaced thousands of Black residents and businesses; and The Day the Sky Turned Orange, a soulful, House, R&B musical that helps us confront and make sense of our collective fear of the climate crisis, inspired by Sept 9, 2020, the day the sky in San Francisco turned a troubling shade of amber, as ash rained down, due to thousands of wildfires spreading across the state.

Since 2021, SFBATCO has annually produced the New Roots Theatre Festival, which features works in development by BIPOC artists and organizations. The festival was designed to build alliances amongst the region’s artists, audiences, and funders. Past collaborating organizations include African-American Shakespeare Company, Lorraine Hansberry Theater, and PUSH Dance.

SFBATCO also runs several education programs, both in schools and at Brava Theater. In 2022 and 2023, SFBATCO co-sponsored a series of free capacity building audition workshops with African-American Shakespeare Company for BIPOC performers who were unable to attend arts training programs. SFBATCO’s Creators Lab is an annual cohort of playwrights and composers that get paid to develop their ideas with SFBATCO’s Literary Manager.