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Mission Statement
Our mission is to entertain, educate and
stimulate the community by providing
excellent live theatre in Baker County and
surrounding areas; and to provide a forum
for community members to contribute their
theatre related talents and skills toward
these goals. |
Eastern Oregon Regional Theatre was formed in
2003 by two Baker City women: Abby Dennis, a college
graduate with a degree in acting and costuming and
Lynne Burroughs, the local high school Theatre Arts
teacher and director, and a Shakespeare scholar.
They were joined by Jean Simpson, the one-woman,
long-term theatre support person in Baker City.
Together, they produced The Taming of the Shrew and
Crimes of the Heart in 2003.
In the ensuing years, EORT has produced 4 shows a
year from Shakespeare to mysteries, to comedy, to
children’s theatre, to plays that raise our social
consciousness. In 2008 we passed the 20 play mark
and forged on, we are now in our 8th season in
Eastern Oregon.
One of the company’s major goals is to provide live
theatre to the rural communities that have no access
to such performances. The company has over the years
often traveled to Halfway, Huntington, Richland,
Burnt River and Elgin among others to provide either
children’s theatre or social awareness plays. It is
our hope to be able to continue this outreach.
EORT’s staff is currently totally volunteer, and
includes actors and technical workers from all age
groups. The directing staff willingly teaches acting
and technical skills to seniors, to children and a
wide range in between. Many plays are cast by open
auditions, though some are cast by invitation to
active staff members. EORT welcomes new players
regardless of experience or training.
Eastern Oregon Regional Theatre is a non-profit
501 (c)(3) corporation, established in 2003. Its
income is derived from memberships, sponsorships,
program advertisements, grants and fundraising. EORT
has been supported through the years by the Leo
Adler Foundation and the Baker County Cultural
Coalition, and has had the support of such community
partners as Crossroads Arts and the Baker Historical
Society. Last year we added the sponsorship of local
banks and local service organizations.
What is new? Eastern Oregon Regional Theatre
has acquired a little theatre space in the Basche
Sage Place at the corner of Main and Broadway. It is
a 40 seat theatre on the ground floor with a large
foyer and public access bathrooms. It is warm in the
winter and cool in the summer, a new experience for
us. We have dubbed our new home the
Iron Gate
Theatre and are very excited to be able to expand
our operations from four to seven productions in
2010.
Our office, costume shop and storage areas are
also in this building, making productions easier to
accomplish for both actors and technical staff.
EORT has not lost the vision of mounting a capital
project to provide a Performing Arts Center in Baker
City. Our hope is to begin preliminary work on that
project in 2010.
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