The show goes on by Nancy Bishop; photos by Bob Rush celebrating 44 seasons with the bloomsburg theatre ensemble
Ensemble telling local stories. It’s a leader in the national ensemble theater move- ment and is a founding member of the Network of Ensemble Theatres. BTE’s work also benefits from collabo- ration with guest artists -- actors, acting interns, designers and playwrights -- who visit and often live in Bloomsburg to assist with productions. These relation- ships have built up a family of artists that expands BTE’s capacities beyond the
Dowd, James Goode, Andrew Hubatsek, Daniel Roth and Eric Wunsch. And, also unlike other theater companies, Ensemble members are permanent, full-time res- idents of the place where they perform, which gives BTE a unique connection to the community. A true gem of the area, BTE has produced works from the theatrical archives, new works by emerging playwrights, contem- porary works, and works created by the
“All the world’s a stage,” Shakespeare wrote. And since 1978, Bloomsburg The- atre Ensemble has been treating this area to that stage. Back in the summer of 1976, a group of actors who had been students at North- western University’s theater program in Chicago followed their renowned professor, Alvina Krause, to Bloomsburg when she retired from Northwestern and moved here. The group founded the first Ensemble, a professional theater company, in 1978. That first season’s productions, directed and acted by the Ensemble members, in- cluded “The Good Doctor” by Neil Simon from Anton Chekhov, directed by Mark Milikin; Mimescape, a BTE original; “Tar- tuffe” by Moliere, directed by Gerard Stro- pnicky; and “The Shadow Box” by Michael Cristopher, directed by Bruce Burgun. Unlike most professional theater com- panies that operate under the direction of a single artistic director, the Ensemble members work together to select plays and appoint a director for each produc- tion. They act in the productions, help manage the company and write some of the shows. Currently, the Ensemble has six members: Amy Rene Byrne, Elizabeth
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