Bakersfield Community Theatre facts for kids

Bakersfield Community Theatre (BCT) is located in Bakersfield, California. It is one of the oldest community theatres in California. It's also the second oldest amateur community theatre in the Western United States. The Tacoma Little Theatre, started in 1918 in Tacoma, Washington, is the oldest.

BCT officially began in 1927. Since then, it has put on a full season of plays and musicals every year. Albert Johnson directed the first of these many shows. The theatre building has been updated several times. Today, it can hold an audience of 181 people.

History of Bakersfield Community Theatre

Bakersfield Community Theatre was founded in May 1927. Before this, many different clubs in Bakersfield often put on plays. For example, the Bakersfield Woman's Club, the Elks, and others presented theatre shows. Albert Johnson worked hard to make community theatre a big part of Bakersfield's culture.

In November 1926, Gilmor Brown from the Pasadena Playhouse gave a speech. He talked to the Bakersfield Woman's Club about how to start a local community theatre. He suggested calling a big public meeting. He also said that new and talented people might be found in unexpected places.

How BCT Started

In early May 1927, a group of women met at the Woman's Club building. They wanted to start a community theatre. These women included Alma Campbell, Ethel Robinson, Mrs. George Shearer, and Helen T. Peairs. They used phones and the newspaper to announce a public meeting. This meeting was held a few days later, on May 16, 1927, at the clubhouse.

More than fifty people came to this meeting. The founding group grew to include Mrs. Ross C. Miller, Evelyn Derby, Dwight Clark, Thomas McManus, and Laurence Taylor. Just ten days later, the founders had finished writing the rules and plans for the theatre. They also had 98 people sign up as paid members for the season. They decided to call their new group Bakersfield Community Theatre (BCT).

Another public meeting was held on May 31, 1927, at the courthouse. Here, people voted for the theatre's leaders and board members. By then, the number of paid members had grown to 125. By the end of that evening, the new community theatre was ready to go. Different groups received their first assignments. It took just over two weeks to officially start the theatre!

The very first BCT show was on October 31, 1927. It was a play called The First Year by Frank Craven. More than 400 people watched it at Bakersfield High School's auditorium. Alma Campbell directed this first production. For the first nine years, BCT put on four shows each season. For many years, each show was performed only once. Over time, the number of performances for each show slowly increased. By the mid-1950s, they were doing four performances per show. Today, a typical adult show at BCT has six performances. They also have an Annual One-Act Festival every August.

BCT's Home and Updates

Starting with the 1936-1937 season, BCT began presenting five shows each year. Since then, most seasons have had at least five shows. For a long time, the theatre did not have its own building. So, from 1927 to 1961, shows were put on in school auditoriums. These included Washington Junior High School, Standard Junior High School, Golden State Junior High School, and the old Bakersfield High School auditorium.

In April 1961, BCT opened its very own playhouse! The first show there was For The Love Of Maggie. This play was written by Barbara Gardener and Ann Agabashian from Bakersfield. Howard Miller directed it. The playhouse, located at 2400 South Chester Avenue, has been BCT's home ever since. Only two shows were performed elsewhere, at Bakersfield College Indoor Theatre, in 1968 and 1983.

In the summer of 1976, the playhouse started getting a new look. Roger Benischek oversaw the changes, with approval from the BCT Board of Directors. Richard ‘Stubby’ Newman was the President at that time. Joseph Licastro designed the new look. The first part of the remodel was the inside of the auditorium. This was finished just before the opening night of “Play It Again, Sam”. The ticket office was also updated. It got an office, a ticket counter, and a lounge with posters of past shows.

The front of the theatre was updated in the summer of 1980. New features included a brick patio with plants and a metal sculpture by Frank Wattron. There was also a lawn with a tall white stucco wall, a ramp, and a deck overlooking the patio. A new light booth was added, along with two small lobbies. A white electric sign with "Bakersfield Community Theatre" in blue letters was also put up. All these updates were finished just hours before Side by Side by Sondheim opened in September 1980. Later, a rehearsal hall and workshop were added to the back of the theatre. The most recent update was in the summer of 1983. The auditorium seats were replaced with 181 new ones. The inside of the theatre was also redecorated to match the new seats.

BCT Today

Bakersfield Community Theatre still puts on five main shows each theatre season. They also have an annual one-act play festival and many youth theatre shows. The theatre has staged seasons without stopping since 1927.

Popular Shows at BCT

Here is a list of some of the many shows BCT has put on over the years:

Musicals

• Kiss Me Kate
• The Music Man
• Babes In Arms
• South Pacific
• Sound Of Music
• Guys And Dolls
• West Side Story
• The King And I
• Oklahoma
• Wonderful Towns
• D*** Yankees
• George M
• My Fair Lady
• Annie Get Your Gun
• Gypsy
• Bye Bye Birdie
• How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying
• Carnival
• Camelot
• A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum
• Oliver!
• Hello Dolly!
• Fiddler On The Roof
• Man Of La Mancha
• Peter Pan
• Sweet Charity
• Cabaret
• I Do! I Do!
• Mame
• Promises, Promises
• Two Gentlemen Of Verona
• A Little Night Music
• A Chorus Line
• Annie

Non-musical Plays

Drama

• The Miracle
• Deathtrap
• The Gin Game
• In The Boom Boom Room
• Glengarry Glen Ross
• The Grapes Of Wrath
• The Diary Of Anne Frank
• Death Of A Salesman
• Private Lives
• The Mousetrap

Comedy

• Plaza Suite
• Barefoot In The Park
• Noises Off
• Cactus Flower
• You Can't Take It With You
• Play It Again, Sam
• Life With Father
• I Remember Mama
• Harvey
• Arsenic And Old Lace
• Butterflies Are Free