Fund the Play Before It Has a Stage at Boise Contemporary Theater
A fresh script needs more than applause to reach a professional stage. Boise Contemporary Theater has built a donor-supported route from readings and workshops to 25 world premieres across more than 25 seasons.
At a 5X5 reading, a new play is heard aloud while BCT listens to audience response. The series road-tests future productions before the company commits to a full MainStage production.
Boise Contemporary Theater Inc was founded in 1997 and develops new work through readings and Theater Lab programs alongside its professional MainStage. Across more than 25 seasons, BCT has presented more than 90 MainStage productions, including 25 world premieres.
How BCT tests new plays before production
Boise Contemporary Theater was founded in 1997 to produce challenging new work and bring thought-provoking theater to Boise audiences. Its five-production professional MainStage season presents contemporary plays and musicals to Boise audiences.
The company’s development work also includes the annual BIPOC Playwrights Festival. Launched in 2021, the festival puts emerging and mid-career playwrights from marginalized communities into workshops, panels, and staged readings as they develop new work.
Boise audiences help shape new plays
Donor support underwrites both the 5X5 readings where new plays are tested and Theater Lab programs that serve students. BCT reports that its first 25 seasons included more than 90 MainStage productions, while a full season brings more than 16,000 people through MainStage shows, reading series, and Theater Lab programs.
Geoffrey S. of Housatonic Community College reflected on a BCT production performed for all ages: “This turned into a lovely show, performed for all ages, and brought joy to all who participated.” 
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Theater Lab extends BCT’s development focus to students, who experiment with original plays through onsite and outreach programs. BCT reports serving more than 2,000 students through those programs.
Sponsorship and season support
Boise Contemporary Theater identifies support for its education program, sponsorships for the 26|27 season, and support for the BIPOC Playwrights Festival as current needs.
A donation can fund MainStage productions, reading series, special events, and youth programs. You can fund a 5X5 reading where a playwright hears a new work aloud, support students making original plays through Theater Lab, or sustain festival workshops and staged readings for playwrights whose perspectives deserve a professional platform.
For donors focused on new-play risk, the 5X5 Reading Series is the most direct choice: it funds audience feedback before a script reaches production.
A 26|27 season sponsorship supports the five-production MainStage season, while a gift to the BIPOC Playwrights Festival supports workshops, panels, and staged readings for emerging and mid-career playwrights from marginalized communities.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Boise Contemporary Theater do?
- Boise Contemporary Theater produces a five-show professional MainStage season and develops new work through the 5X5 Reading Series, Theater Lab programs, and the annual BIPOC Playwrights Festival.
- How many world premieres has Boise Contemporary Theater produced?
- According to Boise Contemporary Theater’s website, the company produced 25 world premieres among more than 90 MainStage productions across its first 25 seasons.
- What does a donation to Boise Contemporary Theater support?
- Donations fund MainStage productions, reading series, special events, and youth programs. Current needs include education-program support, 26|27 season sponsorships, and support for the BIPOC Playwrights Festival.
- Does Boise Contemporary Theater offer programs for students?
- Yes. BCT reports serving more than 2,000 students through onsite and outreach Theater Lab programs, which include student-created original plays.
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- Comedy and conflict go hand-in-hand in 'Ajax' - Idaho Press — Idaho Press ↗
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- bctheater.org ↗
- Boise Contemporary Theater was founded in 1997 and is based in Boise, Idaho, serving Boise and Treasure Valley audiences, students, families, and artists.
- Across more than 25 seasons, Boise Contemporary Theater has produced more than 90 MainStage productions, including 25 world premieres.
- BCT operates a five-production professional MainStage season and develops new work through its 5X5 Reading Series, which presents new plays for audience feedback.
- BCT launched its annual BIPOC Playwrights Festival in 2021; Producing Artistic Director Benjamin Burdick credited continued National Endowment for the Arts support for the festival.
- Boise Contemporary Theater has received the Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts and has twice received the American Theater Wing’s National Theater Company Award.