South Bend Civic Theatre

OUR MISSION: To enrich and create community through live theatre. This mission is accomplished through the following three pillars: Excellence Education Equity WE PLEDGE TO BE: A light to illuminate the darkness A flame to ignite curiosity and imagination A beacon to guide all toward hope, unity, and understanding

OUR HISTORY

South Bend Civic Theatre (SBCT) was founded in 1957 by two University of Notre Dame graduates who believed community theatre should be an important part of this area's culture, and who also believed that living in our community were aspiring actors and actresses who needed to show and form their talents.

South Bend Civic Theatre has grown dramatically in the past decade. Programming has increased from six to more than a dozen productions annually, with more than 125 performances a year. The audience has grown from 3,500 to 20,000. Hundreds of volunteers participate annually onstage, backstage, on the board and in the front of house. Contributions to our annual fund have risen from $3,000 in 1995 to more than $300,000 annually.

Since 1996, hundreds of area residents have participated in the Civic's educational programming, and thousands more have attended SBCT productions, compared to just a handful in years prior. And with the launch of the Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) program in 2009, K-12 students now have the chance to see live theatre through SBCT’s daytime school performances.

SBCT has been recognized time and again through awards at state, regional, and national competitions. In fact, our community can now claim ownership of one of the top 10 community theatre facilities in the country.