Since 1997, Boise Contemporary Theater (BCT) has brought theatrical productions to life along with education programs and, more recently, a festival celebrating diverse voices in theater. Theatergoers who’ve moved to Boise after seeing theater in major cities like New York speak to the value that BCT holds for its community. “I can’t think of a more intimate, engaging, and accessible theatrical experience than you get when you come to a play at BCT,” wrote BCT supporter and contributing grant writer Gillian Donahey. She’s noticed how the theater keeps advancing its mission: “Whether it’s a mainstage production, a 5x5 staged reading, a summer reading at Bogus Basin, or a delightfully engaging play for kids in their Children’s Reading Series, you never leave BCT disappointed. You’re always left entertained or at least challenged to consider new or different points of view.
The theater’s national connection has grown thanks to programs like the four-year-old BIPOC Playwrights Festival, which is “incubating new, diverse voices in American Theater,” as Gillian put it. With the festival, BCT is putting in time and resources to develop emerging playwrights, leading to increased national attention, like a National Endowment for the Arts award in 2024, and helping put Boise on the map as a leader in new play development among theaters in America. With each year, the BIPOC Playwrights Festival has grown. In its first year, BCT received about 20 submissions; in the second year it was 30; the next year about 40. This year, readers from all over the U.S. read 200 play submissions. The festival has also expanded from three plays to five plays. BCT is helping to make sure upcoming generations have access to all the benefits that developing skills in the theater arts brings, too, with their Theater Lab. Serving kids ages 6 to 18, participants have the opportunity to conceive, write, develop, and perform in their own original full-length plays, which they perform for a live audience on BCT’s main stage. As Emily Mahon, BCT’s managing director, shared, “One of the things about our education program is we’re not just teaching the kids to act. This piece focuses on having children develop their own voices and giving them tools to share their own experiences. It’s about the playwright’s ability to tell a story. Kids are gaining skills that apply and impact their school work in language arts, problem-solving, and more. What we’re able to see is not just immediate impact but long-term impact on their careers.” Gillian added, “Every season BCT receives letters and emails from parents who say how the program has changed their child’s life in many positive and transformational ways. They also bring Theater Lab into public schools to expose as many kids as possible to theater. For many, it’s their first experience with live theater.” As Gillian concluded about BCT’s impact in Idaho, “We’re truly fortunate that we don’t have to travel far to catch some of the most thought-provoking and insightful American plays of the moment—because they are here for us at BCT.” Congratulations, BCT, on your milestones this year!
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