$3,305 raised by 23 donors
3% complete
$100,000 Goal
Founded in the summer of 1986 by Timothy Busfield, B Street Theatre (incorporated as Theatre for Children) has been a pioneering force in the realm of children's theatre, dedicated to bringing both new works and classic children's literature to life. With the invaluable contributions of Buck Busfield, a distinguished playwright and director from the Children's Theatre Company of Minneapolis, B Street has established itself as a cornerstone of artistic expression for young audiences.
Over the years, B Street Theatre has expanded its programming to include a diverse array of performances for both adults and families, ensuring that the arts remain accessible to all. Our Family Series has served over half a million students, providing enriching experiences through school field trips and public performances. Each production is accompanied by thoughtfully developed curriculum materials, empowering teachers to integrate the themes of the plays into their classroom lessons. The pre-performance classroom work and engaging talkbacks with the cast foster a deeper connection between the stories and the students' educational journeys.
In 2002, B Street Theatre took a significant step forward by establishing a fixed theatre setting, further enhancing our commitment to delivering high-quality performances for young audiences. As California's only full-time, professional resident theater for children, we are proud to be recognized as a leader in the field. Our dedication to excellence has earned us accolades, including being named "Best Live Theatre" in Sacramento Magazine's annual "Best of Sacramento" issue for over a dozen years and receiving the prestigious Outstanding Theatre Awar by the National Theatre Conference in 2024.
Our Mainstage production showcases new and established works for adults, featuring everything from cutting-edge dramas and comedies to timeless classics that resonate with contemporary audiences. B Street Theatre is a vibrant hub for creativity, regularly hosting world, national, regional, and local premieres that push the boundaries of theatrical expression.
Since January 2018, our home at the state-of-the-art Sofia Tsakopoulos Center for the Arts has allowed us to expand our offerings even further. The dynamic space of Upstairs at the B hosts play reading brunches, improv and sketch performances, and concerts, creating a lively atmosphere for artists and audiences alike. Additionally, we provide professional development training for teachers, equipping them with the tools to bring arts education into their classrooms.
Our commitment to nurturing new voices is exemplified through our New Comedies Festival, which serves as an incubator for innovative work from across the country. We are also proud to partner with Sutter Health, actively participating in the Sutter Child Life Program. Through support workshops for children facing health crises and their families, we strive to maintain a positive outlook during challenging times.
B Street Theatre is dedicated to serving the local nonprofit community by offering our space at a discounted partnership rate to organizations such as Teatro Nagual, The Sacramento Contemporary Dance Theatre, and The Sacramento Ballet. . This collaborative spirit enriches the cultural landscape of the Greater Sacramento area, making The Sofia a dynamic arts center that provides a broad range of educational and entertainment programming for all ages.
As we continue to inspire and engage our community through the transformative power of theatre, B Street Theatre remains committed to fostering creativity, connection, and a love for the arts in every performance and program we offer.
B Street Theatre is one of the region’s most enduring and celebrated entertainment destinations. We create and inspire community through exceptional live performances and the highest-quality educational programs. We also serve as a trusted incubator for new theatrical works and professional artists at our world-class Sacramento home, The Sofia.
B Street Theatre – Statement of Needs for Big Day of Giving
As B Street Theatre continues to enrich our community with high-quality theatrical experiences, we have identified key areas of need to ensure our programming remains accessible and impactful for all. Your generous support during the Big Day of Giving will directly help us in the following areas:
Family Series Funding: We are committed to offering family-friendly productions that inspire creativity, critical thinking, and a love for the arts in young audiences. Funding for our Family Series will help us produce engaging, educational performances that introduce children and families to the world of live theatre. Your funds go directly to provide over 10,000 free tickets per year to underserved communities as well as subsidized tickets for all 40,000 students who attend.
Non-Profit Partnership Accessibility: We believe in the power of collaboration and aim to make our theatre accessible to all, including underserved communities. Contributions will support partnerships with local non-profit organizations to provide free or discounted tickets and programs, ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, can experience the transformative power of theatre. We believe in the power of collaboration and have established partnerships with esteemed organizations such as The Sacramento Ballet, Sacramento Contemporary Dance Theatre, The Sacramento Gay Men's Chorus, Teatro Nagual, the Sacramento Asian Pacific Film Festival and more.
Professional Artistic Staff: Our dedicated team of professional artists, directors, designers, and technicians are the heart of every production at B Street Theatre. Funding will support the compensation and development of our artistic staff, ensuring that we continue to bring the highest level of creativity and professionalism to every performance.
The Sofia: Home of B Street is committed to the work of anti-racism, and we pledge to our community an ongoing and transparent commitment to this work across all areas of the organization. We understand that it is vitally important that our efforts to support anti-racism go beyond a specific moment in time or a few public statements.
We acknowledge that, as an organization founded predominantly by white artists and board members, B Street Theatre has not always been sensitive to the systemic harms endemic to the theatre community that have created racist and inequitable environments.
While we have taken steps in recent years to address these inequities, we must continue to confront our own unconscious biases and to unlearn practices and undo policies that contribute to this inequity. We must move beyond tokenism and complacency to become a truly inclusive organization. We have learned that being neutral or “not racist” is, by default, a way to uphold racism. In order to fully realize our mission and to be a “Theatre for Everyone,” we must be actively anti-racist. This work is never done, and we are in it for the long haul.
EDIA Commitments – FY 23-24
1. Develop and maintain a Board of Directors reflecting the diversity of our community and with a commitment to ongoing progress in bringing an anti-racism and EDIA ethos and practices to its governance role.
2. Engage in hiring practices that build a staff that is reflective of the diversity of the community we serve and ensure that a culture of inclusivity and anti-racism is embraced among Staff members throughout the organization.
3. Consistently and intentionally produce programming throughout the organization that includes characters, stories and themes that reflect a powerful diversity of perspectives and experiences.
4. Invest in and foster authentic engagement with BIPOC communities, build trust among diverse artists, audiences and community partners and establish The Sofia: Home of B Street as a community center where all feel a sense of belonging.
5. Establish, maintain and communicate code of conduct practices, policies and accountabilities to deepen cultural competency throughout all aspects of the organization’s operations.
6. Remove barriers to access of The Sofia’s programs, employment opportunities, Board of Directors participation and education and community engagement experiences.
7. Enhance opportunities for and deepen The Sofia’s community of diverse artists and foster a consistently safe, culturally competent environment.
8. Build and strengthen community/business partnerships with aligned EDIA priorities and produce programming featuring a range of inclusive content that builds outreach opportunities informed by the specific needs of our partners.
9. Deliver quality, culturally competent arts education experiences that inspire a sense of community for all involved, led by teaching artists who reflect the diversity of our community.
10. Enhance our offerings of accessible performances (ASL, Open Captioned, Audio Described, Sensory Friendly) across our performance programs.
Organization name
The Sofia, Home of B Street Theatre
1987
Tax id (EIN)
95-4047805
Mission Category
Arts, Culture & Humanities
Operating Budget
$1,000,001-$5 million
Organization Need
Funding: Unrestricted, Funding: Program, Other, Board Members
Demographics Served
Youth & Children, Low-income individuals/families, General population
Local Counties Served
Sacramento
Equity Statement
Equity Statement
Address
2700 Capitol AvenueSacramento, CA, US
Elk Grove, CA, US