Aurora Theatre Company


Aurora Theatre Company is a professional theatre company located in Berkeley, California.

History

The company was founded by actor and director Barbara Oliver along with Dorothy Bryant, Marge Glicksman, Richard Rossi, and Ken Grantham in 1992 with the desire to continue to produce plays "about something important; ideas mediated by language and people, which are assisted by other elements like sets, lights and costumes," not dominated by them. The founders of Aurora Theatre Company came together around the development and production of a new play: Dorothy Bryant's Dear Master.

Programs

The company produced a five play season until 2024, when its programming was cut to four productions. In addition to their regular season, they produced an annual staged reading festival known as the Global Age Project.

Location

Aurora Theatre Company has a small, intimate performance space, and had been referred to as “chamber theatre.”
In 2001, the company moved to a dedicated custom-designed 150-seat theater in downtown Berkeley, situated immediately adjacent to the Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

Recognition

The company has won 20 awards from the Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle. Aurora received a $25,000 Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation award in 2000 for new play production. The San Francisco Weekly named Aurora Outstanding Bay Area Theatre Company.
They operate under a Tier 4 BAT contract with Actors' Equity Association. Currently, more than one-third of the budget is allocated to acting salaries, with Aurora Theatre Company having been commended for the high percentage of Equity actors in its productions.

Financial woes and suspension of programming

In June 2024 Aurora approached Berkeley City Council for emergency funding of $350,000. The company was granted $150,000 by the city and raised an additional $250,000 from private donors. The company downsized employees, scaled back its season from five to four productions, and the artistic director Costello and managing director Robin Dolan each agreed to take a 25% pay cut. In May 2025 the company sought additional emergency funding of $50,000 to finish its season and announced the suspension of its planned 2025-2026 season, citing a $500,000 budget deficit and flagging subscriptions.
As the staff was laid off in August 2025, Artistic Director Josh Costello hinted at a possible merger with another Bay Area theater company, but did not provide details. No performances have been announced beyond August 2025, when the company's production of The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe closed.

List of productions that premiered at Aurora

1991–1992
1995–1996
  • The Panel - Dorothy Bryant
1996–1997
  • Gunplay - Frank Higgins
1997–1998
  • Abigail's Party - Mike Leigh
  • Posing for Gauguin - Dorothy Bryant
1998–1999
1999–2000
2002–2003
2003–2004
2004–2005
2005–2006
2006–2007
  • Ice Glen - Joan Ackermann
2007–2008
2008–2009
2009–2010
  • The First Grade - Joel Drake Johnson
  • Speech & Debate - Stephen Karam
2016–2017
  • Safe House - Keith Josef Adkins
2017–2018