Local Theater Company

A nonprofit organization

$12,535 raised by 36 donors

36% complete

$35,000 Goal

Moving the Story Forward

At Local we believe in the power of theater to reshape our understanding of the past, illuminate our present, and inspire our future. From the spark of an idea to the closing performance we tell stories that allow us all to see ourselves and each other more clearly. 

Since 2011 Local has developed 67 new plays. From our LocalWRITES literacy program for middle school students and our community-building Come Together programs to the annual Local Lab new play festival and world premiere productions, your gift today helps us keep moving the story forward. 

What People Are Saying About Us! 

“Local Theater Company's work made a profound impact on our students.  Their reading and writing skills certainly grew - but what we noticed the most was the pride and passion for writing and sharing their own work that bloomed in a way we had not seen since the start of the pandemic.  The teachers at Local Theater Co. impressed upon our kids the value and importance of their voice, and made them believe that they each have an important story to tell the world." - Sandy Heiser Principal, Longs Peak Middle School, LocalWRITES, spring 2023

"[Local is one] of the area's consistently compelling theater companies." - Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post review of 'Stockade'

"Local playwrights gave life and intimacy to local issues [...] I came away feeling as though my own barriers to understanding were crumbling." - Audience response to 'The Democracy Cycle'

"Once again you’ve outdone yourselves with a beautifully produced play that landed punch after emotional gut punch. [...] Thank you for bringing challenging world class productions to [Colorado] and for making work that’s modern, thought provoking and endlessly relevant"  Audience member response to '237 Virginia Avenue'

"More of this please: An original, local production that combines music, comedy, personal narrative and an enormous amount of warmth that makes you leave the theatre feeling all squishy inside." --Alex Miller, Onstage Colorado review of 'Raised on Ronstadt'

Westword's 2021 "Best Season Spent Planning for the Future" Best of Denver award

5280 Magazine's 2019 Top of the Town Editor's Choice Best Theater Company

"Local Theater Company is one of "five reasons [the] region's theater scene is on [the] national map."
--Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post

Giving Activity

Mission

Local Theater Company discovers, develops, and produces exceptional new plays and theatrical works. We provide artists a fertile environment to grow their work, and cultivate audiences for new plays by including them in all stages of new play development.

We believe theater is a local experience. When you elect to join an audience, you create a new community where, for that brief span of time, everyone is a local.

Background Statement

Local Theater Company is a professional theater company passionate about telling the evolving stories of our time. We develop, discover, and produce new American theatrical works and offer exceptional arts education.

The cornerstone of our new play development programs is Local Lab, a new play festival, in which audiences engage in staged readings of new plays and participate in post-­show discussions with playwrights to help develop their work.

Local Theater Company has developed 67 new works, and many of the participating playwrights have earned regional, off­ Broadway, and Broadway premieres. In 2015, the Denver Post named Lab "one of five reasons this region's theater scene is on the national map," and in 2019 the editors of 5280 Magazine named Local Theater Company “Best Theater Company in Denver”.

Since the inception of Lab, Local has produced 19 world-premiere productions in Colorado and earned nominations and awards from the Colorado Theater Guild including "Best New Play," "Best Direction," "Best Ensemble," "Best Actor," and "Best Scenic Design.”

To foster spaces of belonging, Local curates the Come Together series intended to deepen audience engagement and attract new-to-theater audiences.

Local offers a bilingual playwriting residency to middle schools, called LocalWRITES, uniquely designed to promote literacy, inspire original writing, and increase self-­esteem. The playwriting curriculum is Colorado Language Arts Standards-based and deliberately designed to close the Achievement Gap in Boulder County.

In 2018, Local was one of ten companies nationwide that received the prestigious National Theatre Company Grant from the American Theatre Wing (the organization that produces the Tony Awards). Local is acknowledged by Actors’ Equity Association as a "Small Professional Theater" because of our commitment to hiring local and professional talent at union rates. In 2020, Local was honored to receive a National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) grant.

Local has a shared artistic leadership model with co-artistic directors Nick Chase and Betty Hart alongside founding artistic director Pesha Rudnick.

Organization Data

Summary

Organization name

Local Theater Company

Year Established

2011

Tax id (EIN)

45-2208855

Category

Arts, Culture & Humanities

Organization Size

Medium Organization

Address

1630 30th Street Suite 171
Boulder, CO 80301

Service areas

Boulder County, CO, US

Phone

720-600-7082

Social Media