Theatre Bay Area

The San Francisco Bay Area is one of the largest and most dynamic theatre centers in the country. Theatre Bay Area was founded in 1976 to serve this vital artistic community, and is today one of the largest regional theatre service organizations in North America. Known for its thought leadership and innovative programming, TBA serves as a model for other service organizations around the country.Theatre Bay Areas membership is derived from 11 Bay Area counties and consists of almost 300 Bay Area theatre and dance companies, from multi-million dollar organizations to grassroots community groups; over 2,000 theatre artists; 100+ organizational members, from libraries and universities to theatre related professional services; and some 22,000 theatre patron subscribers.

Recognizing achievement (Expenses $284,913)Special grants and awards such as the Glickman Award for a new play, Rella Lossy Award is an award for professionally oriented theatre organizations that will be presenting a world-premiere full-length play. During the year ended June 30, 2023, we awarded $170,000 in various grants to deserving artists and organizations.Developing audiences (Expenses $223,487)Programs include the Bay Area Audience Database, a unique tool, with dozens of arts nonprofits pooling their audience data on 1.8 million arts-goers to better their marketing and research options; and a weekly e-newsletter, The Theatregoer, which reaches thousands of subscribers.

Programs include:Equipping the field for success (Expenses $123,612)Programs include an Annual Conference which draws some 400 theatre artists and administrators for a day-long intensive of training and networking; professional development such as our ATLAS program, providing theater artists with training in career planning; grant programs such as CA$H, offering grants to artists and small-budget companies; General Auditions, annually showcasing 400 actors to 100 Bay Area theatres; online Audition and Job Listings and an online Talent Bank.