South of Broadway Theatre Company
Official Website
South of Broadway Theatre Company's (SOBTC) vision is to be South Carolina's first Broadway-quality, fully-professional LORT* theatre company. It will create a regionally, nationally and internationally visible cultural force which will attract and retain intellectual capital, and significantly impact economic development in the Low Country.
The spectrum of benefit to the community will encompass educational benefits: Equity Membership Candidacy program (not elsewhere available in the state), internships for South Carolina students alongside nationally and internationally prominent names in the arts, local outreach programs including specifically designed programs for at-risk and under-served groups, and expectations to build alliances with theatre departments in colleges and universities state-wide.
Within the last four years SOBTC has laid the groundwork to fulfill this vision by launching its educational programming and outreach initiatives and producing its first major theatrical production: "Take the A-Train to Broadway" which opened the North Charleston Arts Festival in 2004 to spectacular reviews.
Summer in the City, (heading into its fifth year) is a highly successful artistic residency in New York City where participants reside at the famous Juilliard School Residence Hall. Individual courses of intensive study are designed for each participant, as well as a variety of group workshops, classes and masterclasses with well known artists and academicians. Every year South of Broadway Theatre Company awards from $13,500 to $20,000 in scholarships to Summer in the City participants.
The ShowBiz School: "Professional instruction for all ages" was established in 2005 and provides a variety of classes conducted by Casting Directors, Personal Managers and Talent Agents from both New York and Los Angeles as well as local qualified instructors.
*There are approximately 75 theatres across the country belonging to the "League Of Resident Theaters". None exists in South Carolina. A theatre of this designation is eligible to receive an award during the annual Broadway "Tony Awards" and to partner with national, and internationally renowned theatres and Broadway Production Houses.