The award-winning Baton Rouge Little Theater in Louisiana is one of the oldest and largest community theatres in the nation, offering over 150 theatrical performances, workshops, classes and special events each year.   BRLT’s audience is truly a regional one.  Over 30,000 people attend BRLT each season from the eleven-parish Capital Area as well as the larger south Louisiana/southern Mississippi region.  In fact, BRLT boasts subscribers from all across the country, from San Francisco and Denver to Chicago and New York.

MISSION:  Opportunity

BRLT’s Mission is to provide the residents of the Greater Baton Rouge Area the opportunity to participate in quality live theatre as an audience member, actor, or production worker.  Recognizing theatre as a living reflection of the human imagination and experience, Baton Rouge Little Theater serves as the region’s pivotal theater arts organization providing ongoing cultural, educational and social enrichment.

MAIN STAGE SEASON

At the heart of BRLT’s programming is our celebrated Main Stage Season, which is built upon our ongoing commitment to offering our audience a varied and entertaining selection of musicals and plays.  Under Managing Artistic Director Keith Dixon, notable productions include My Fair Lady, Steel Magnolias, Wait Until Dark, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Singin’ in the Rain.  Works by such acclaimed writers as Noel Coward, Tom Stoppard, Chuck Mee and Tennessee Williams exemplify BRLT’s commitment to providing a wide range of theatrical experiences.  In addition, BRLT has been at the forefront of regional premieres, from the 1985 production of A Chorus Line to this season’s Evita.  Musical comedy to drama, farce to mystery, the Main Stage Season has something for everyone.

2nd STAGE

BRLT’s 99-seat 2nd Stage is truly an actor’s space.  The 2nd Stage Series presents exciting and innovative works in an intimate setting, giving our actors and audience a unique communal experience.  Among others, plays by Athol Fugard, Edward Albee and David Hare, along with the tongue-in-cheek musical Urinetown have been featured to critical acclaim.  2nd Stage is more than just another production space, however.  Its intimate, no-frills arrangement is ideally suited for workshops of new pieces as well as a wide variety of staged readings.  Our Readers’ Theatre Series focuses on the text of a play, bringing to the community readings of classics as well as contemporary and experimental works.  Some of the shows presented are in consideration for future Main Stage and 2nd Stage Seasons, while others allow us to provide our audience with even more comprehensive exposure to the richness of dramatic literature.   Over the years 2nd Stage has helped BRLT fulfill its commitment to the larger community by opening its doors to other theatre and performance companies in the area, some recently formed, others well-established, in turn nurturing the arts as a whole through mutual support and partnership.

SUMMER MUSICAL

The most highly anticipated event of BRLT’s year, the annual Summer Musical has delighted audiences for 47 years.  Beginning with South Pacific in 1962, the Summer Musical has become a Baton Rouge tradition.  Always our most ambitious undertaking, many of our Volunteers plan their summers around the production; and more than a few audience members plan family reunions and other activities so they can experience the magic of shows like Peter Pan, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, The Wizard of Oz, Oklahoma, West Side Story, and most recently the critically-acclaimed The King and I.

EDUCATION and OUTREACH

Supporting Education and Outreach goes well beyond performances.  BRLT’s Education program is anchored by a comprehensive series of summer camps featuring musical and play production components as well as opportunities geared to young children, high school students and adults.  BRLT also offers fall, winter and spring classes for all ages, focusing on acting/performance, auditioning, film/TV acting, theatre design and storytelling.  Additionally, BRLT engages the community through broad-based outreach activities including the Readers’ Theatre Series, post-performance discussions, and ASL interpreted performances for the hearing impaired.  In recent years, BRLT has partnered with Youth ALIVE and City at Peace to bring theatre to a new generation and community.  These partnerships along with all of the other Education and Outreach activities help make BRLT the region’s pivotal theatre arts organization.

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