Mission
To educate, entertain and enrich the lives of children through the magic of professional theater.
Teaching Goals:
Birmingham Children's Theatre is committed to bringing you and your student's high quality theatre with education activities that link directly to your curriculum. The BCT Staff has visited the State Arts Council of Alabama to help us understand what teachers need to teach theatre arts effectively. We have attained current curriculum standards from the State of Alabama as it relates to each subject and all activities in BCT Study Guides are based on these standards.
Birmingham Children's Theatre exists to provide quality, professional theatrical entertainment for children throughout Alabama, the Southeast, and the Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. Established in 1947, it is now in its six decade of serving communities through a range of productions that target specific age groups. The educational experience of the students is enhanced by study guides which are designed specifically to coordinate with school curriculum standards. All productions are staged in three different theatres housed in the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex.
BCT has established itself as an extensive and well-rounded resource center for children's theatre. Each year, two different series are produced targeting specific age groups:
1) ACT 1 Series: Known as Wee Folks Series was established in 1991, this series is especially designed for our younger audiences from pre-school through first grade. Each performance is held for no more than 250 students at a time and emphasizes audience participation.
2) ACT 2 Series: Introduced in 1947 and commonly referred to as the Mainstage Series, this series brings up to five exciting productions annually to thousands of school children in grades K-6. The shows are usually original adaptations of classic children's stories that are educational as well as entertaining in their imaginative approach.
One of the largest and most successful programs offered by Birmingham Children's Theatre is its touring program, Theatre in Motion. BCT reaches audiences in more than 75 Alabama cities annually and approximately 28 other cities in the Southeast through Theatre in Motion. In 1999, BCT toured The Diary of Anne Frank in order to reach more middle and high school children in Alabama with educational theatre.
Prior to attending a BCT show, teachers and school children are provided with informative Study Guides pertaining to the production. In recent years, BCT has dedicated itself to making improvements in the production and curriculum quality of these materials to encourage deeper interest in the shows and enhance the theatre arts experience.
All programs, services, and activities at BCT are provided equally -- without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, or disability. BCT is also committed to keeping ticket prices low so that performances remain accessible to the entire community.
Birmingham Children's Theatre, Birmingham’s only full-time professional theatre, is one of the largest children's theatres in the country, performing to nearly 200,000 students annually. Now in its sixth decade, BCT operates a three-theatre complex in Birmingham, Alabama, and is teh resident professional theatre at the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Complex and the only professional arts organization touring in Alabama.
Employment
BCT has no open positions at this time.
Internships
Birmingham Children’s Theatre is offering internship and work-study opportunities for High School and College students.
In order to qualify, you must:
~ Have transportation to and from the BJCC
~ Must be available on a consistent weekly basis between the hours of 8:30am and 4:30pm
As a BCT intern you will:
~ Help the BCT administrative staff with ongoing projects
~ Help to maintain the BCT website and maintain actor call boards
~ Help to seat school performances
~ Help with other administrative responsibilities as needed
Internship and work-study programs are available for high school and college students in both Theatre/Arts Administration and Production. Please contact Dane Peterson for Production Internship opportunities, and Nancy Jones for Arts Administration Internship opportunities. Please click here to fill out an application.
