B Street Theatre
MISSION:
For more than 25 years, B Street Theatre has been delighting audiences of all ages. Founded by actor Timothy Busfield in 1986 as Theatre for Children, Inc., the company’s first focus was a touring theatre company for children. Now with the opening of The Sofia Tsakopoulos Center for Performing Arts on Capitol Avenue, B Street Theatre has pivoted into a non-profit venue and performance company known as The Sofia and is led by Producing Artistic Director Buck Busfield.
A jewel in the heart of Midtown, The Sofia hosts the B Street’s Theatre For Grown-ups productions in the Mike & Bobby Voris Theatre and Family-Friendly Theatre productions in the Sutter Theatre. The Sofia is the premier non-profit arts venue in Sacramento, playing host to touring national and international musicians, the Sacramento Ballet, and other local non-profit arts groups. The Mike & Bobby Voris Theatre has a capacity of 250, while the Sutter Theatre has a capacity of 372. addition to the two theatres, The Sofia has three rehearsal galleries, one of which functions as a third space called Upstairs at the Sofia and features B Street Acting Company-curated small productions. The Upstairs has a capacity of 80 seated.Despite its significant growth, the company maintains its commitment to arts education with the B Street Theatre School Tour (formerly known as Fantasy Theatre).
In Performing 12 times per week and 38 weeks a year, the School Tour has received critical acclaim by the media, educators, and most importantly, the estimated 3.6 million California children (currently about 200,000 per year) who’ve attended performances. The Family-Friendly productions series was started in 2002 and produces a four-show season of professional theatre, presenting plays for school field trips during the week and the general public on weekends. For many children, The B Street Theatre School Tour and Family-Friendly Field Trips are their only exposure to live theatre.
In 2016, the company broke ground on Capitol Avenue to build The Sofia, Home of B Street after over a decade of fundraising. The ground was donated to the company by Sutter Hospital. In 2018, B Street moved into their brand new, state-of-the-art-complex: The Sofia Tsakopoulos Center for Performing Arts.