Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble

Art Form(s):

Theater

Artist Statement

Our mission reflects our name. We are dedicated, over time, to our community, to theatre as a patient but powerful instrument of understanding and social change, and to one another as artists.

As a resident Ensemble united by the responsibility we share for the stability and growth of our theatre, we demonstrate the viability of collective artistic direction. We support our diverse and evolving individual aesthetics.

We produce classic and contemporary plays as well as original works from folklore, found text, history, interviews, and literature of many cultures. We perform in the Alvina Krause Theatre, schools, and community settings. We teach theatre classes and we provide internships for early career artists. We are committed to our own lifelong training.

Our town and region give us the reasons and resources for our theatre. In turn, our theatre awakens the imagination, provokes questions, and emboldens the spirit, helping to validate, challenge, and change this place. We hope the home we have made here will inspire artists and communities elsewhere.

Artist Bio

Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble’s Theatre In the Classroom (TIC) program is an annual touring program of original adaptations of world folk literature and history written and developed for elementary and middle school students. Students observe three professional actors in an animated story-theatre style, playing multiple characters and creating different locations and moods utilizing imaginative props, costumes, music, and student participation, followed by a lively post-performance discussion. A study guide written from the same material as the script is provided prior to the scheduled performance, allowing teachers to maximize the educational value of the theater experience by providing discussion ideas, related classroom activities, post-performance questions, and a bibliography.

Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble was founded in 1978 to establish a resident professional ensemble for the production of quality entertainment and educational programs for the region and to promote the arts. BTE produces classic and contemporary plays as well as original works from folklore, found text, history, interview, and literature of many cultures. BTE performs in the Alvina Krause Theatre in Bloomsburg, PA, schools, and community settings. BTE teaches theatre classes and provide internships for early career artists. BTE is comprised of founding members with over 30 years of experience together and new members to make up a celebrated group of artists that American Theatre Magazine calls “a perfect commitment to place.” BTE was the recipient of the 2016 National Theatre Conference Outstanding Theatre Award.