Bishop Arts Theatre Center

Bishop Arts Theatre Center (BATC) is an award-winning, multicultural theatre company.  We serve as a venue, gallery space, shared workspace for arts groups, and neighborhood resource center. We offer a full season of virtual and in-person theatre performances, jazz concerts, and year-round arts education programs for youth and adult learners. We continue to organically grow and reflect the fabric of our community that informs and affects the work we present on our stage. This 2023/2024 season marks our milestone 30-year anniversary. We strive to create a working environment committed to training the next generation of arts administrators, playwrights, directors, actors, designers, and production staff who are crucial to realizing our goals and objectives.

MISSION

We exist to cultivate a diverse and vibrant arts community committed to social impact while creating opportunities for local and emerging artists to develop new, contemporary, and lasting works that celebrate the diversity and resiliency of our community.

SUPPORT FOR STAFF, PROGRAMMING, AND INITIATIVES

Your gift will support our staff and teaching artists in better addressing the specific needs of our constituents, especially our students and seniors, through the innovative and safe programming we have developed. Read about our programs below to learn more!

PatioLive!, is an enrichment program for adult learners hosted on patios and parking lots of local aging and independent living centers to maintain social distancing. This program serves to improve cognition and lessen the impact of social isolation.

Summer Theatre & Cultural Enrichment STEAM Camp is an eight-week, exploratory program designed for youth ages 6 – 12. Students enrolled in our program are engaged in theatre, dance, visual arts, music, and life skill workshops led by master teaching artists. Young people who participate and attend these workshops have an opportunity to use artistic expression as a means to unlock the mysteries of various cultures, enlarge their view of the world, and build lasting communities.

TNT (Teens in Theatre) Apprenticeship Program was created to foster and support the next generation through art education, peer mentoring abilities, and free expression. TNT’S objective is to touch students with the arts in a way that informs the rest of their academic interests and transforms their sense of personal potential. 

The Monologue Project is an online resource featuring 30 original monologues from nationally recognized playwrights. TMP aims to increase the number of audition-length monologues for Women of the African Diaspora and celebrate their impact on theater and the world. 

Stay and Say is a 15-minute, moderated, post-show talkback that occurs after each show. Artists and audiences engage in in-depth discussions about themes and social issues that occur within the production. Playwrights, scholars, and community leaders are invited as special guests to take part in the conversation with staff, and artists from the show. 

OPERATING SUPPORT

BATC is seeking general operating support to build capacity and continue serving our community as a neighborhood resource center. 

BREAKDOWN OF SUPPORT

Below we have listed some examples of what your gift can do:

$75 - Covers the cost of supplies for students in one after-school arts education program (i.e. Teens in Theater)
$250 - Covers Teaching Artist fees to bring PatioLive! at an aging care facility or independent living center
$500 - Covers a weekly artist residency at any school in Dallas County
$750 - Covers a full scholarship for one student to attend our Summer Theatre STEAM camp
$1,200 - Covers the cost of providing an in-school cultural enrichment program for more than 100 students