Can't Stop the Beat

Ask any actor in the Greater Baton Rouge area, and they’ll tell you their Theatre Baton Rouge story; the musical that gave them courage to sing in front of an audience; the training as a teenager that propelled them to bigger and better acting jobs; the cast that became family; the show that, when they were a child in the audience, opened their eyes to the magic of theatre.

“[Theatre Baton Rouge] has touched so many people’s lives. It was a space where passion and talent and dedication came together to tell all these stories of all these different people that came from so many different walks of life,” said Marion Bienvenu Mayfield, a community theatre veteran who volunteered at Theatre Baton Rouge (TBR) for more than two decades. “It wasn’t just about entertainment. It was about connection. Generations grew up at that theatre, and just fell in love with the place.”

 An almost eighty-year-old institution, TBR has long been a creative beacon for theatre-minded community members in the capital region, from youth studying the dramatic arts and adult actors seeking on-stage experience, to the designers, directors, and technical personnel who bring plays and musicals to life. Since the mid-twentieth century, when community theatres were few and far between in the Greater Baton Rouge area, TBR has produced high-quality performances season after season, bringing shows to the city at a grand scale. When news of the legacy institution's closure broke on March 1, 2025, the local community theatre scene roiled. 

[Read about the ins and outs of New Orleans's experimental theatre scene, here.] 

The statement on TBR’s social media read: “For seventy-nine seasons, Theatre Baton Rouge has had the honor of bringing stories to life on stage, creating unforgettable moments, and serving as a home for artists, audiences, and dreamers alike. It is with an incredibly heavy heart that we share the news that due to our current financial situation, Theatre Baton Rouge can no longer continue producing shows and offering educational programming at this time.”

Ticket sales had decreased after the COVID pandemic, according to the statement, as audiences grew wary of tightly packed indoor venues, and subscriptions waned. While these normally reliable forms of revenue dissolved, production material and operations costs ticked up, placing “an unbearable strain on our ability to keep the stage lights on,” according to the statement.

TBR’s final performance took place on March 23. Six months later, as companies, troupes, and community theatres across the region work double time in preparation to open their fall seasons, the legacy company’s absence looms large. 

“There’s a huge vacuum now in stage opportunities,” said Dave Freneaux, chairman of the Central Cultural Foundation, which oversees the Sullivan Theater in Central. “[TBR was] doing ten plays a year, and actors were looking forward to being in those plays. A lot of people were very, very sad it happened. It happened during our rehearsal process for Hunchback, and it was a visible punch in the gut for so many of our actors.” 

“It was a shock,” said Xenobi Indigo, theatre and special facilities manager at Independence Park Theatre in Baton Rouge. “It was a shock, and it was kind of like losing a best friend.”

“The arts are very important, and it's a bit lost with the closure of Theatre Baton Rouge, because, you know, there's always something for everybody [there],” said Dr. Ava Brewster-Turner, founder of UpStage Theatre Company. “There's comedy, there's drama, there are youth programs, there are summer programs. And we're going to miss that.”

Times are tough for nonprofit, community-driven, volunteer-run theatres, which exist outside the realm of for-profit endeavors, or university programs; for a community theatre to thrive—not just exist—the community must be invested. And for smaller drama organizations, such as the 225 Theatre Collective, the shuttering of such a monolith raises existential questions: If a titan like TBR is forced to close its doors due to financial woes, what does that mean for companies without the budget and exposure of a large community theatre? 

[Read about the origins of the 225 Theatre Company, here.]

“It’s a little scary to hear, owning a theatre company, that a really well-established one is closing down, and all the issues that they encountered before that,” said Stephanie Calero, founder and artistic director of the 225 Theatre Collective. “We definitely feel for them, and feel for the community as well, because I know it was such a big part of the theatre scene in Baton Rouge.”

“I think it was kind of a wake up call for a lot of people that arts, and the arts community, should be not just explored more, but supported more,” added Victoria Brown, 225 Theatre Collective’s co-founder and costume department head.

There are other questions that linger, some urgent, some requiring thoughtful consideration: Is the gap left by TBR too large to fill? Does the theatre community want to fill it at all, given TBR’s legacy? And what does this mean for the other theatres, troupes, and companies that have emerged in recent years, finding a niche within Baton Rouge’s performing arts ecosystem? Is there a path forward, and if so, what does it look like? Can the city’s theatre scene evolve?

“I want us to take the time to mourn the loss of a really good friend, and also reach out to those friends that are here right now, still wanting to bring that joy through theatre back,” said Indigo. “We have experienced a loss, but life does go on. And, like Hairspray, you can’t stop the beat.”

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TBR, which began as Baton Rouge Civic Theater in 1946, produced shows and led workshops under the maxim, “Theatre for the Community, by the Community.” Over the decades (along with two name changes—to Baton Rouge Little Theater in 1951, and then Theatre Baton Rouge in 2013), that motto held true. Located in Baton Rouge’s Mid-City district, the organization’s building contained a lobby and social room, in addition to its 327-seat main stage and smaller, ninety-five-seat studio.   

“Even in small places like Louisiana, where you wouldn't normally see a big arts community, you can tell itís getting bigger every day because people have that yearning to express themselves, and to open up, and to really take it seriously, and understand that art as a whole has a huge impact .  .  . And I think people are really ready for that type of expression lately.” —Victoria Brown, 225 Theatre Collective

Jenny Ballard, who worked as TBR’s creative director from 2014–2023, first fell in love with the organization while directing a production of Annie. It was a space where people could feel safe to practice their craft and enjoy themselves outside of the confines of a 9-to-5 job—a haven, a creative and vibrant world unto itself; here people honed their talent, made lifelong friends, developed romantic relationships. Ballard and her husband were married on TBR’s stage.

“I think that TBR represented true community theatre in that there was a place for anybody in the community. And I think these days that's rare,” she said. “Genuinely, people from all walks of life were welcome on that stage, behind that stage, in the lobby—at any time. I think that TBR was a family, in a lot of ways. I remember hearing many people say, throughout my nine years there, that it was their home.” 

Beyond TBR’s physical stages, its reach was extensive, nurturing, and powerful, generating talented young actors, directors, and other creatives; and offering support to smaller companies just getting started. 

“I think, honestly, that every theatrical organization in East Baton Rouge Parish owes its existence to the generations of people that Theatre Baton Rouge trained and gave stage experience and technical experience [to],” said Freneaux. “I don’t think there’s a group out there that didn’t have somebody from the Theatre Baton Rouge community as a driver behind their organization. Their gift to the community has been phenomenal.” 

With the Sullivan, a fledgling theatre founded in 2023, TBR shared costumes and props from their arsenal of supplies. And many of the directors, designers, and actors who populate the Sullivan today—as well as most every theatre group in the area—grew up at TBR, Freneaux said.

Indigo started their theatre career at TBR “at the ripe old age of eleven.” If a young person wanted to pursue an interest in drama, getting involved in TBR was the most obvious path. “If you were in school, and you were interested in theatre, that’s your route,” they said. 

Mayfield and her mother, Chrissy Bienvenu, discovered TBR when Marion was in middle school. The teen’s passion for the stage, along with its positive influence on her life, eventually inspired her mother to perform as well. In 2018, mother and daughter shared the stage in their “dream roles” for TBR’s production of Cabaret, with Mayfield as Sally Bowles, and Bienvenu as Fraulein Schneider. 

“I think that TBR represented true community theatre in that there was a place for anybody in the community. And I think these days that's rare. Genuinely, people from all walks of life were welcome on that stage, behind that stage, in the lobby—at any time. I think that TBR was a family, in a lot of ways. I remember hearing many people say, throughout my nine years there, that it was their home.” —Jenny Ballard

“It was a place that fostered a culture of mentorship, too. I remember I had people on that stage that I looked up to that inspired me,” Mayfield said. For a time, she worked as a professional actor, mastering the skills she had first learned at TBR—a track she has watched others follow. “It was kind of this training ground. There are so many Theatre Baton Rouge alums out there in the real world today that are making a living [in theatre], and it’s because they got started at Theatre Baton Rouge.” 

TBR made its stages available to rent at affordable rates, allowing other companies to produce performances in a well-known venue with a storied legacy and plenty of seating. Losing access to that venue, in addition to the organization itself, is a loss to the local community.

“There was a desire, of course, from grassroots groups, to not see it go away,” said Jennifer Ellis, administrative vice president of Red Magnolia Theatre Company. “It really is a unique space. One thing I’m concerned about is the lack of affordable venues in Baton Rouge for smaller theatre groups. TBR did make their facility affordable, and one of the reasons we [are able to] get creative with our production is because of venue costs.” 

The grief—the mourning period for the institution, and what it represented—remains ongoing. But evolution is inevitable. Other companies may see an uptick in actors auditioning for fall plays, and some theatres are considering expanding their season offerings by a couple of shows to address the need for more theatre in the area. The physical theatre, nestled in the Bonne Carré Business Park on Florida Boulevard, remains vacant. 

“It was more than just a stage. It was more than just a theatre. It was where I made so many important relationships,” Mayfield said. When news broke of TBR’s shuttering, she and her husband—who she met at TBR—mourned. Her co-workers brought her gifts, like she had lost a family member; the Facebook notifications, reminding her of core memories made onstage in recent years, sting. “I’m still grieving this theatre.”

“I think losing it is massive,” Ballard added. “I think there's a hole that, yes, will be filled, and is being filled slowly but surely as more theatres start to pop up and develop, and try to cater to the massive talent that is housed within the Greater Baton Rouge area, but I'm not sure this hole can ever properly be filled. I really think this is a massive loss that's going to feel ripples for a really long time.”

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Though TBR was once virtually the only name in the game when it came to community theatre in Baton Rouge, that’s no longer the case. Today, there are organizations that have been around for a couple of decades (instead of almost eighty years) that have left their own imprint on the region, as well as up-and-coming companies in their infancy exploring how traditional theatre can evolve to fit different identities, expectations, and needs. Their goals may vary, but their calls to action remain consistent: support local theatre, because local theatre is a reflection and celebration of community. 

UpStage Theatre Company, an African-American theatre company founded by Brewster-Turner, has been around for twenty-three years, but often flies under the radar. Ten years ago, after UpStage partnered with TBR to host the state theatre festival, UpStage won the competition and went on to represent Louisiana at nationals in New Mexico. The company has performed around the country, fostered a love of theatre in local kids, and made a conscious, purposeful space in Baton Rouge for Black actors. When the historic Lincoln Theater reopens in the coming months after completing renovations, UpStage will become its resident theatre company. 

“We’ve been here for twenty-three years, but we don’t get the kinds of publicity I wish we could get,” Brewster-Turner said. “We’ve traveled the world, basically, and people still don’t know that we exist. It’s just the support that we need.”  

There are also larger brick-and-mortar community theatres such as Ascension Community Theatre (cranking out heavy-hitter plays and musicals for twenty-five years), and the Sullivan which, even in its youth, has already made a name for itself, producing an impressive slate of shows each season. 

“There really is nothing to do in Central. We don’t have movie theatres, we don’t have a bowling alley, we don’t have bars with live entertainment. If you want to do anything, you pretty much have to leave Central,” Freneaux said. “We just fill the vacuum for entertainment. Now, because it’s, I think, good theatre, we also have become a draw for people from Baton Rouge.”

Apart from these more traditional theatres, several companies, collectives, and groups have sprung up in recent years, each carving out more specialized slices of stage in Greater Baton Rouge’s performing arts scene.

[Read this: Seven Days at Basin Arts—Inside the multi-faceted Lafayette arts incubator] 

Red Magnolia Theatre Company, which launched in 2017 after a group of friends connected through the Baton Rouge theatre community, focuses on staging plays either written by a female playwright or featuring strong female roles. The company’s formation was “really just providing more opportunities for women in the theatre scene here, as well as having a way for women to creatively collaborate,” said Ellis. “We are not a brick-and-mortar organization. We have never been. We don’t have plans to become one. We are one hundred percent volunteer driven, we have no staff.” 

Then there’s the Louisiana Shakespeare Company, just  two years old, devoted to bringing William Shakespeare’s masterpieces to audiences in accessible, relatable formats. “There’s a need for Shakespeare because no one does it, because everyone’s scared of it,” said Jennifer Bouquet, co-founder, executive director, and artistic director of the company. “We know Shakespeare, but we also saw a bigger need for more accessible arts education and performance. We wanted to have another space where actors could come and experience something that’s a little more niche, that they might be afraid of.” 

The 225 Theatre Collective, which has its own studio, has also capitalized on a “niche” approach to theatre, offering experiences unlike anything else in the area—from main stage performances, to workshops, to classes, to youth theatre education. Beyond the performing arts, 225 embraces poetry, visual arts, and beyond, with the collective essentially acting as an all-purpose arts hub. Their mission is to “make the space for anybody and everybody to come,” to participate in the arts, to take risks. 

“You can definitely tell there’s a need for belonging and expression,” said Brown. “Even in small places like Louisiana, where you wouldn’t normally see a big arts community, you can tell it’s getting bigger every day because people have that yearning to express themselves, and to open up, and to really take it seriously, and understand that art as a whole has a huge impact. And then, you know, specifically theatre—it's storytelling. It's connecting with an audience, it's connecting with one another, it's pouring your heart out into something. And I think people are really ready for that type of expression lately.”

“I just think that it is super important that we take the loss of Theatre Baton Rouge and use it as a rallying cry for increased support in the arts for our city. It might not be the same theatre scene that we’ve been used to, but it’s going to shift, and it’s going to evolve, and as long as there are people to tell stories, and people that care in our community, then the theatre scene in Baton Rouge will thrive.” —Marion Mayfield 

Then, there are the youth—the bright-eyed actors, techs, designers, and directors who will helm the theatre community of Baton Rouge ten or fifteen years from now. They are the beating heart of the city’s dramatic landscape, and have taken center stage (so to speak), performing their own shows, leading their own productions. 

Whether kids begin their theatrical experience on a carpet square watching Playmakers of Baton Rouge (a professional, rather than community theatre, paying actors in the hopes of helping them make a living) perform riveting children’s theatre, or at a drama camp at Independence Park Theatre or Christian Youth Theater (CYT), their options are extensive. 

“Basically, we’re using theatre to build up kids and families,” said Tonja Rainey, artistic director and co-founder of CYT Baton Rouge. “By focusing on character and excellence, we feel like that brings a level of performance that’s amazing. We’re always amazed at how well our kids do.” 

In some cases, the kids are even taking matters into their own hands. In recent months, fourteen-year-old Annie Engholm, who attends Episcopal School of Baton Rouge, founded a brand new endeavor: the Louisiana Youth Theatre. She got the idea after finishing a performance with her friends. Walking into the living room, she told her parents she wanted to direct something. So, she founded her own theatre company. 

At LYT, kids run the show, quite literally. They are the creative directors, costume designers, actors, stage hands. “We’re getting to have this new experience of theatre that we’ve never had before,” Engholm said. Ultimately, she wanted to let kids “know they can do it, even though they’re young.”

Their first production, Aladdin Jr., will be staged at the Cary Saurage Community Arts Center at the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge this September. A glance at the show’s press release reveals the group has overall support from artistic mentors and giants in the Baton Rouge community—Beth Bordelon of Red Magnolia, Erica Malone and Elena McPeak, formerly board members at TBR; Indigo of Independence Park Theatre, and Chris Adams, director of technical operations at the Arts Council. 

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The spirit of camaraderie and community support lavished on the youth of the parish also extends to other theatre companies and organizations. Since TBR’s closure, the performing arts denizens of the region have banded together to uplift each other, elevating their offerings, advertising each other’s shows, sharing production materials, and exploring how they can work together.

Todd Henry, the executive director of Playmakers of Baton Rouge, said that he has a lot of hope for the future of theatre in the city. “I have really nothing but positive hope … I’ve seen so many younger groups coming up, wanting to try different new things, which is great.” he said. “I’ve really seen a lot more just collective support and people really reaching out to each other.”

There’s also the sense that companies need to get the word out: Theatre is still here in Baton Rouge, alive and well! There are opportunities to act, direct, produce. Audiences can find quality performances in their backyard, where these grassroots performing arts organizations have been for a long time.

“I think that the local theatre groups all have their nose to the grindstone and are continuing to produce their seasons,” Ellis said. “Hopefully providing opportunities for people that formerly exclusively volunteered with TBR, to let them know there are still options for them to express themselves through theatre in our community.” 

“I hope that we expand, that we increase and not decrease, because we’ve lost a jewel in our city, and that was Theatre Baton Rouge. And I would just like to see our community theatre scene grow,” Brewster-Turner said. “I would love to see more collaboration among all of us.”

Community theatre veterans like Mayfield recognize the necessary changes that come with the loss of a legacy institution like TBR—the opportunity for renewal, for revitalization.

“I just think that it is super important that we take the loss of Theatre Baton Rouge and use it as a rallying cry for increased support in the arts for our city,” she said. “It might not be the same theatre scene that we’ve been used to, but it’s going to shift, and it’s going to evolve, and as long as there are people to tell stories, and people that care in our community, then the theatre scene in Baton Rouge will thrive.”

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For Indigo, the future of Baton Rouge’s theatre scene embraces diversity, in a way that reflects the community and takes creative chances—making theatre, truly, for everybody. 

This year’s teen camp at Independence Park Theatre staged Beetlejuice Jr., with kids ages twelve to sixteen training for an upbeat musical in just three weeks. 

Indigo said they haven’t seen an audience for these summer performances so large since 2009, suggesting the theatergoing public’s flinty resolve to support the performing arts in the wake of TBR’s closure. And the kids themselves—their confidence, friendship, and commitment—continue to inspire.

“I tell them all the time, especially my teenage kiddos, the way that you guys come together, accept one another, love on one another, and support one another—I want that to just infect the world,” Indigo said. “I want the world to be infected with the love, and the beauty, and the joy that they create here, because that's the world I want to live in.” 

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What’s Onstage in the Capital Region 

In the Greater Baton Rouge area, theatre is thriving—if you know where to look.

Sullivan Theater

Located in Central on—you guessed it—Sullivan Road, Sullivan Theater has the size to produce the big musicals and plays little theatres across the country make their bread and butter on. This fall, catch Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest from September 26–October 5. sullivantheater.com. 

225 Theatre Collective

A truly collaborative endeavor, 225 seeks to bring together artists of all stripes to engage in different creative opportunities, both on stage and behind the scenes. In addition to different kinds of shows, 225 offers workshops, classes, and art events. To support the collective, community members can submit donations or consider sponsorships. FRIGHT NIGHT—An Evening of Scary Monologues & Scenes runs October 23–25, while Peter Pan (Close Enough) runs November 14–16. 225theatrecollective.com. 

Independence Park Theatre

Part of BREC, the Independence Park Theatre can be rented out by other companies (so keep an eye out for their calendar of upcoming events), but also hosts a popular summer camp for children in which they produce a full-scale musical in three weeks. theparktheatre.com. 

UpStage Theatre Company

Celebrating its twenty-third season, UpStage Theatre Company has made a name for itself in the Baton Rouge area for providing opportunities for African-American artists to expand their talents. When the historic Lincoln Theater opens in the coming months, UpStage will become the resident theatre company. Catch “An Evening of Performing Arts” on October 26. upstagetheatre.biz.  

Red Magnolia Theatre Company

Billed as a “women-focused community theater,” Red Magnolia produces shows either written by a female playwright or featuring strong female roles. It offers both main stage performances and a readers series. Girls in the Boat, by Alice Austen, will run September 27 and 28 at LSU's Rural Life Museum. redmagnoliatc.org.  

Louisiana Shakespeare Company

This two-year-old company does exactly what it sounds like: produces plays by William Shakespeare, making the bard’s often winding way with words accessible to modern audiences. Its motto is, “Shakespeare belongs to everyone.” The company’s latest show, The Tempest, just closed in August, so stay tuned for Storytime with Shakespeare and Stage Combat Workshops offered through its programming. lashakes.org. 

Playmakers of Baton Rouge

For many children in the Baton Rouge area, they have their first theatre experience on a carpet square, watching actors perform beloved classics that inspire and entertain kids of all ages. In addition to workshops and classes, stay tuned for upcoming performances at playmakersbr.org. 

Ascension Community Theatre

For twenty-five years, ACT has been bringing quality theatre to Ascension Parish, with high-energy seasons packed full of audience favorites. Don’t miss Steel Magnolias playing September 4–14. actgonzales.org. 

Central Community Theatre

Since 2007, CCT has been “bringing Broadway to Central” in venues across the Baton Rouge area. Annie Jr. is slated for November 10–15. centralcommunitytheatre.org. 

CYT Baton Rouge

An after-school theatre arts training program, Christian Youth Theater is an affiliate of the national organization and works with kids ages four to eighteen, producing several shows a year. Christian Community Theater, for adults, also offers one full-length, Broadway-style musical a year. CYT will perform Narnia October 23–25 at Abundant Life Church in Denham Springs. cytbatonrouge.org. 

Louisiana Youth Theatre

Newly formed and launching its inaugural season, LYT (pronounced “light”) was created by youth, for youth. Its first show is Aladdin Jr., running September 13 and 14 at the Cary Saurage Community Arts Center at the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge. louisianayouththeatre.org.