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TBA Executive Director Sean Fenton speaks at a microphone with his hand over his heart. There is a TBA 50th Anniversary Logo on top of the picture
photo credit: Cheshire Isaacs

Theatre Bay Area kicks off its 50th anniversary celebrations this month with festivities continuing through all of 2026.

Founded in 1976, Theatre Bay Area is one of the largest regional performing arts service organizations in North America. An organization by and for theatremakers, Theatre Bay Area has spent the last 50 years championing the performing arts throughout the Bay. For half a century, the arts service organization has funded artists, led grassroots advocacy efforts, hosted and produced professional development events, and uplifted Bay Area theatre companies and artists.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie joins in celebrating this important milestone for Theatre Bay Area and the theatre community. “For 50 years, Theatre Bay Area has been a backbone of our region’s performing arts community, helping the theatre ecosystem grow stronger,” said Mayor Daniel Lurie. “Theatre is an essential part of our arts and culture landscape, and organizations like Theatre Bay Area make it possible for thousands of artists to create work that reaches audiences across the Bay Area. I look forward to continuing this partnership and to a future where theatre and the artists behind it continue to thrive in San Francisco.”

Theatre Bay Area will toast 50 years of service to the outstanding Bay Area theatre community on Friday April 17, 2026, at their Theatre Bay Area Spring Soirée, celebrating 50 years of Theatre Bay Area. The event will host partners, supporters, and community members at The Wilsey Center at San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center in San Francisco for a lively evening of refreshments, performance, and festivities.

“Serving on the Theater Bay Area board really opened my eyes to the ripple effect of their work.” Says Margo Hall, Artistic Director of Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. “TBA is connective tissue for the Bay Area theatre community—it brings artists, leaders, and organizations together in a way that feels intentional and deeply supportive. It creates space for learning, advocacy, and shared problem-solving, and it reminds us that this work doesn’t happen in isolation. We survive and grow because we show up for each other.” 

Additionally, during its anniversary year, Theatre Bay Area will present:

  • Theatre Bay Area General Auditions (January 31 & February 1, 2026)—bringing together casting professionals, artistic directors, and over 250 local actors for a weekend of Bay Area talent.
  • Theatre Bay Area Regional Auditions (Summer 2026)—relaunched this year after a long hiatus to serve more actors and theatre companies.
  • Bay Area Theatre Week (September 10 – 20, 2026)—a 10-day multi-faceted celebration of the San Francisco Bay Area theatre community.
  • Theatre Bay Area Annual Conference (Fall 2026)—connecting theatre professionals from all disciplines for cross pollination and professional development.

“The Bay Area has long been one of the most influential regions in American theatre,” says Theatre Bay Area’s Executive Director, Sean Fenton “a place where new work is made, new voices are centered, and artists shape how the field evolves. Theatre Bay Area has grown alongside that history, supporting and advocating for the people and organizations who make this community what it is. This anniversary is a chance to honor the artists who shaped the last 50 years and who continue to shape what the next 50 years of Bay Area theatre can become.”

As a part of the 50th celebration, Theatre Bay Area has unveiled a special anniversary logo designed by local designer and theatremaker, DC Scarpelli, which features a hemicycle odeon (signaling the roots of theatre) whose stage encloses TBA’s signature spotlight logo, with 50 gold orbs representing the audience, the community , and the half century of service to Bay Area artists.

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TBA 50th Anniversary Logo

ABOUT THEATRE BAY AREA

Founded in 1976, Theatre Bay Area is one of the largest regional performing arts service organizations in North America. Our members—some 200 theatre companies and 3,000 individual artists—produce thousands of performances and engage more than a million arts patrons each year. 

Theatre Bay Area is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to unite, strengthen, promote and advance the theatre community in the San Francisco Bay Area, working on behalf of our conviction that the performing arts are an essential public good, critical to a healthy and truly democratic society, and invaluable as a source of personal enrichment and growth. Visit theatrebayarea.org for more information.