Boise Contemporary Theater (BCT) is a professional theater company located in

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

. Since 1997, BCT has been the only professional theater company in southeastern

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

committed to performing a complete season of contemporary work. Each year, BCT conducts five main stage productions during an October-to-April season, their acclaimed 5x5 reading series featuring staged readings of plays in development, a children's reading series featuring contemporary children’s theater in a creative environment, a summer reading series including readings at local Bogus Basin mountain, and the annual

BIPOC The term "person of color" (: people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is associated with, the United States. From th ...

Playwright's Festival in August. The theater's success has been credited to the diversity of productions, award winning

set design Scenic design, also known as stage design or set design, is the creation of scenery for theatrical productions including plays and musicals. The term can also be applied to film and television productions, where it may be referred to as prod ...

, and talented

actors An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

hired from around the country. “We conduct auditions in New York and Los Angeles and also rely heavily on local talent,” noted Adam Park, previous interim managing director at BCT. “We tailor our actor selections to each production and always have phenomenal stars for every performance.” Boise Contemporary Theater frequently showcases world premieres of contemporary theater on its main stage.

Mission

Boise Contemporary Theater "inspires our community to examine our perspectives and better understand ourselves, each other, and the world around us by creating thought-provoking stories of the human experience."

Venue

BCT is located in the heart of BODO District of

downtown Boise Downtown Boise is the central business district of Boise, Idaho, Boise, Idaho, located north of the Boise River. It is the largest city center in the U.S. state of Idaho. Economy Largest private sector employers * Note: this list only includes ...

at 854 Fulton Street. Formerly a seed house built in 1935, BCT's Main Stage is a cozy

black box theater A black box theater is a performance space, typically a square or rectangular room, with black walls and a black, flat floor. The simplicity of the space allows it to be used to create a variety of configurations of stage and audience interact ...

with 231 seats in nine rows. The seats in the theater were donated by

The Egyptian Theatre Egyptian-style theatres are based on the traditional and historic design elements of Ancient Egypt. The first Egyptian Theatre to be constructed in the US – which inspired many of the identically-named theatres that followed it – was Graum ...

after previous renovation. The chandeliers in the main hall are on permanent loan from the

Idaho State Historical Society The Idaho State Historical Society (ISHS) is a historical society located in the U.S. state of Idaho that preserves and promotes the state's cultural heritage. The society was founded as the Historical Society of Idaho Pioneers in 1881, nine ye ...

. They were previously housed at now closed Pinney Theater, an ornate theater and cinema formerly located at 809 W. Jefferson Street in downtown Boise. As of 2024, BCT has launched their "Setting the Stage"

capital campaign Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

to renovate the historic theater and add an onsite

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

for patrons.

History

BCT Founder and Artistic Director Matthew Cameron Clark began producing theater in

in 1996. In November of that year, along with actors he had met the previous summer working for the

Idaho Shakespeare Festival The Idaho Shakespeare Festival is a regional repertory theatre located in Boise, Idaho, United States. Its performances are presented in the summer months, June to September. It has an arrangement to share its repertory cast with the Great Lakes ...

, he co-produced and performed in Lone Star by James McLure in the basement of The Mode Building in Downtown Boise. When Clark saw that there was an audience for professional contemporary theater in his home town, Boise Contemporary Theater was born and four more plays in four different venues were produced: ''Danny and the Deep Blue Sea'' by

John Patrick Shanley John Patrick Shanley (born October 13, 1950) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and director. He won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film ''Moonstruck''. His play, '' Doubt: A Parable'', won the 2005 Pulitzer Pri ...

(Neurolux and The Flying M Coffeehouse), ''All in the Timing'' by

David Ives David Ives (born July 11, 1950) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He is perhaps best known for his comic one-act plays; ''The New York Times'' in 1997 referred to him as the "maestro of the short form". Ives has also written ...

(Esther Simplot Performing Arts Academy), the World Premiere of ''Drive Me'' by

Maria Dahvana Headley Maria Dahvana Headley (born June 21, 1977) is an American novelist, memoirist, editor, translator, poet, and playwright. She is a ''New York Times''-bestselling author as well as editor. Her work includes ''Magonia'', a young-adult space-fanta ...

(Baccus Cabaret) and ''Lonely Planet'' by

Steven Dietz Steven Dietz (born June 23, 1958) is an American playwright, theatre director, and teacher. Called "the most ubiquitous American playwright whose name you may never have heard", Dietz has long been one of America's most prolific and widely prod ...

(Stage II of The Morrison Center). ''Lonely Planet'', in the spring of 1999, marked the first production for BCT as a

Non-Profit Organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

. Boise Contemporary Theater began a capital campaign in 1999 to renovate a permanent home. Formally a seed house built in 1935, by October 2000, the Fulton street location was transformed into a theater facility with a main-stage, classrooms, rehearsal loft and office space. The initial capital campaign ultimately raised $2.6 million. On October 12, 2000, BCT premiered its first production in a newly renovated theater on Fulton street in the heart of Boise's Cultural District:

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and musician. Known for Steve Martin filmography, his work in comedy films, television, and #Discography, recording, he has received List of awards a ...

's ''

Picasso At The Lapin Agile ''Picasso at the Lapin Agile'' is a full-length play written by American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician Steve Martin in 1993. Description The play features the characters of Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso, who meet at a ba ...

'', directed by Artistic Director and Founder Matthew Cameron Clark. The season would go on to include '' True West'' by

Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American playwright, actor, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned half a century. He wrote 58 plays as well as several books of short stories, essays, ...

and ''The Cripple of Inishman'' by

Martin McDonagh Martin Faranan McDonagh ( ; born 26 March 1970) is a British-Irish playwright and filmmaker. He is known for his Absurdism, absurdist Black comedy, dark humour which often challenges the modern theatre aesthetic. He has won List of awards and no ...

. BCT has had two productions directed by filmmaker Michael Hoffman: ''

The Cherry Orchard ''The Cherry Orchard'' () is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by '' Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate edition later that year in Saint Petersburg, via A.F. Marks Pu ...

'' by

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

and ''

Waiting for Godot ''Waiting for Godot'' ( or ) is a 1953 play by Irish writer and playwright Samuel Beckett, in which the two main characters, Vladimir (Waiting for Godot), Vladimir (Didi) and Estragon (Gogo), engage in a variety of discussions and encounters w ...

'' by

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish writer of novels, plays, short stories, and poems. Writing in both English and French, his literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal, and Tragicomedy, tra ...

(co-directed with Matthew Cameron Clark). Since its formation in 1997, BCT has been recognized with local and national awards. BCT has been twice awarded National Theatre Company Grants from the

American Theatre Wing The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...

. The theater was the recipient of the 2013 Mayor's Award for Excellence in Art, a 2016 Governor's Award in the Arts, and was selected to be a Boise city 2022-2023 Cultural Ambassador. In 2021, the Idaho Women’s Charitable Foundation (IWCF) awarded BCT $30,000 to establish the First Annual BCT BIPOC Playwrights Festival. This was followed by $25,000 Grant from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

to support the 4th Annual BIPOC Playwrights Festival in 2024

Organization

Boise Contemporary Theater is governed by a ten member

Board of Trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

and managed by five permanent staff members led by Producing

Artistic Director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

Benjamin Burdick and

Managing Director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

Emily Mahon.

Productions

Main stage Productions

The 2022-2023 Season included four plays: the world premiere of ''Middle of the World,'' by Juan José Alfonso (Previous BIPOC Festival reading), ''The Thanksgiving Play'' by Larissa FastHorse, ''Clyde’s'' by Lynn Nottage, and ''Silent Sky'' by Lauren Gunderson. A list of the previous mainstage productions and reading series, from 2023 to 1997 can be found on the BCT website'
Production History

Annual BIPOC Playwrights Festival

Started in 2021 with a founding grant from the Idaho Women's Charitable Foundation, BCT's BIPOC Playwrights Festival invites playwrights, directors, and actors to workshop and ultimately perform staged readings of brand new plays. New and mid-career playwrights of color are paired with professional actors, directors, and technicians. The playwrights workshop their script during the week with a director and full cast. In the final days of the festival, live audiences are invited to attend staged readings followed by Q&A sessions. Plays from the BIPOC festival have gone on to premiere as full productions in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, and at the BCT Mainstage. New in 2024, the Young Playwrights Initiative ensures one unproduced work by a writer between 18 and 25 years old in the lineup. BCT was award a $25,000 Grant from the

to support the 4th Annual BIPOC Playwrights Festival in 2024. This also marked the first year the BIPOC Festival staged readings were performed at the BCT Mainstage.

5x5 Reading Series

In addition to its mainstage productions, Boise Contemporary Theater hosts five play readings per season known as the 5x5 Reading Series. Often a mix of brand new or in-development plays and award-winning contemporary plays, notable premiere readings include plays by

(Author of ''The Year of Yes''),

Don DeLillo Donald Richard DeLillo (born November 20, 1936) is an American novelist, short story writer, playwright, screenwriter, and essayist. His works have covered subjects as diverse as consumerism, nuclear war, the complexities of language, art, televi ...

(Novelist/Playwright, Winner of The

National Book Award The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. ...

), and Dano Madden, winner of the 2007 Kennedy Center National Student Playwriting Award.

Education

BCT provides professional theater training to youth programs and schools throughout the

Treasure Valley The Treasure Valley is a valley in the western United States, primarily in southwestern Idaho, where the Payette, Boise, Weiser, Malheur, and Owyhee rivers drain into the Snake River. It includes all the lowland areas from Vale in rural east ...

. Programs are taught both at BCT and at local schools and venues. The Academy for Contemporary Theater is BCT’s newest offering. Year round classes for adults are available, taught by professional actors. Theater Lab, a program focused on youth ages 12-18, guides participants through creating, writing, designing, producing, and ultimately performing a play. The theater also provides community outreach at local elementary, middle and high schools.

References

External links

Boise Contemporary TheaterBoise City Cultural Ambassador Program
{{authority control Theatre companies in Idaho Performing groups established in 1997 Tourist attractions in Boise, Idaho Culture of Boise, Idaho Contemporary theatre