Chloë Angst has made it very clear that she has quite the learning curve when it comes to running a theater company. 

“I’ll admit we don’t really know what we’re doing, but we’re figuring it out as we go, going through this learning experience together.

“It’s very punk rock,” Angst says with a chuckle.

The learning experience Angst speaks of is the company she co-founded and now serves as its artistic director. BAD Musical Theatre is clear in its mission – BAD is an acronym for Bay Area diversity, a company that tackles the issues of casting and works to disrupt systems in theatrical structures that keep marginalized performers on the outside looking in, focusing their company on diverse casting.

There’s not a ton of money flowing through BAD’s coffers at present, but the company is hoping a big weekend of performances will get things moving in the right financial direction. BAD is presenting three performances in Gilroy, Berkeley, and San Jose, respectively, beginning on Friday, Aug. 11. “Rock Cabaret: Songs From Rock ‘n’ Roll Broadway” is a fundraiser featuring songs and a live band from the musical theater song books of the shred variety. The funds will provide the opportunity for the company to start building out a more robust series of shows, including licensed musicals and original works. 

In addition to the fundraising the show will provide, each performance will allow for donations to be made for the company’s merchandise: hand-printed t-shirts, stickers, patches and buttons will be prominently featured. Raffle prizes also include complimentary tickets to other local community theatre productions. 

“(Diversity) is not just a footnote at the bottom of an audition form, but it goes into everything we want to do with the company.”

Chloë Angst

“We want to build a camaraderie with other theater groups to promote unity and influence change as widely across the theater scene as we can,” Angst said. 

BAD’s lack of experience in administering a company is less of a hindrance and more of a thrill. It’s an opportunity for Angst to address an aspect of Bay Area theater that rankles her and her fellow creatives. BAD launched in 2019 and produced two productions, entitled “Gender Bent Broadway.” More was on the way until a global pandemic had other plans. A few years later when theater spaces began to re-open, it was time to get back to work and fulfill their mission, built from what Angst and others saw as an awful lot of lip service in casting. 

“My team and myself have noticed that frequently, companies publicize that they have a mission to represent artists of color and all genders,” Angst said. “But then, after the show is cast, it’s like they failed to actually meet that standard. With BAD, we put it directly in the name, that this is our mission. It’s not just a footnote at the bottom of an audition form, but it goes into everything we want to do with the company.”

Cordelia Larsen, BAD’s equity, diversity and inclusion director, is a non-binary actor from San Jose and has experienced firsthand the challenges of going in to audition for roles. As a transgender performer, Larsen has had experiences where cisgender directors tried to explain to them what their identity should be. With BAD, Larsen can be their own authentic self, being a part of a company that prioritizes safety and authenticity for other performers.

“BAD is a chance to show that you don’t need to snuff out individuality and ‘otherness’ to create something beautiful,” Larsen said. “It’s a fresh start to invite actors who have been hurt by these types of transgressions back into the community, with the promise that they will be seen, heard and advocated for.”

Those traumas have affected Larsen personally, but with BAD, they are able to actively unlearn harmful practices of making themself smaller to make others comfortable.

“BAD is a chance to show that you don’t need to snuff out individuality and ‘otherness’ to create something beautiful.”

Cordelia Larsen

“When you’ve always had to fight for a seat at the table, and you finally start building one yourself, there’s a lot of self-doubt that can unwittingly come along for the ride,” Larsen said. “Every person creating BAD has a strong, beautiful heart that is dedicated to making the most inclusive, creative space possible. To do that, we need to be each other’s loudest and proudest advocates, reassuring ourselves that we are not only capable, but deserving of the opportunities we receive and build.” 

The company is not simply a collection of people who enjoy making theater together. Fractured Atlas, a 501(c)(3) public charity, fiscally sponsors BAD. Angst is hopeful that the company can someday move into their own independent, non-profit status. Yet for now, Angst is simply excited to get after some joyful musical theater performances, make some money for the company, and listen to great performers while a kick-ass band performs terrific music.

If her review of the final dress rehearsal is to be believed, audiences are in for a treat.

“I was just dancing along and pogoing the whole time. It was a lot of fun.”

WHAT TO KNOW IF YOU GO

“Rock Cabaret: Songs From Rock ‘n’ Roll Broadway” 
A fundraiser to support BAD Musical Theatre
Friday, Aug. 11 – 8 pm – Pintello Comedy Theater, Gilroy
Saturday, Aug. 12 – 8 pm – 924 Gilman St., Berkeley
Sunday, Aug. 13 – 7 pm – City Lights Theater Company, San Jose
For tickets, visit BAD’s website
To make a tax-deductible donation to the company, visit BAD’s fundraising page through Fractured Arts