Aurora Theatre Company


Aurora Theatre Company is a professional theatre company located in Berkeley, California.

History

The company was founded by actor and director Barbara Oliver in 1992 with the desire to continue to produce plays "about something important; ideas mediated by language and people, which are assisted by other elements like sets, lights and costumes," not dominated by them. The founders of Aurora Theatre Company came together around the development and production of a new play: Dorothy Bryant's Dear Master.

Programs

The company produces a five play season. In addition to their regular season, they produce an annual staged reading festival known as the Global Age Project.

Location

Aurora Theatre Company has a small, intimate performance space, and has been referred to as “chamber theatre.”
In 2001, the company moved to a dedicated custom-designed 150-seat theater in downtown Berkeley, situated immediately adjacent to the Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

Recognition

It has won 20 awards from the Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle. Aurora received a $25,000 Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation award in 2000 for new play production. The San Francisco Weekly named Aurora Outstanding Bay Area Theatre Company.
They operate under a Tier 4 BAT contract with Actors' Equity Association. Currently, more than one-third of the budget is allocated to acting salaries, with Aurora Theatre Company having been commended for the high percentage of Equity actors in its productions.

List of productions that premiered at Aurora

1991–1992
1995–1996
1996–1997
1997–1998
1998–1999
1999–2000
2002–2003
2003–2004
2004–2005
2005–2006
2006–2007
2007–2008
2008–2009
2009–2010
2016–2017