By the Sea Productions – Our Story

 

BTSP is Morro Bay’s only live theater company.  Our mission statement is “Creating community through our passion for theatre and story-telling.”  In action, our mission is to provide quality live theater to the residents of Morro Bay and those that visit from other areas.  We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with a Morro Bay business license and are members of the Chamber of Commerce.  

 

Formerly the Pewter Plough Players in Cambria, we moved to Morro Bay in January 2017 and adopted our new name of By the Sea Productions.  We found a wonderful new home at St. Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church.  The Rev. Sid Simington and his congregation welcomed us to Erickson Hall, where we have a permanent stage for our shows.  As the theater is in a residential area, we worked with the City and the neighbors to create a mutually beneficial performance schedule, and we maintain a good relationship with the residents in the area.

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Our seasons usually consist of five full length plays that run for 4 weekends each and three Readers Theatre shows that run for one weekend each.  We choose our season with a combination of comedies, dramas and classics.  No musicals, unfortunately, as stage space is limited.      

 

We have deliberately kept our ticket prices affordable at $25 for adults and $15 for students for full shows, and $15 for Readers shows.  Local support has been enthusiastic and our audiences are growing with each show, often to full houses (65 people.)  Our audience surveys indicate that we are drawing people from throughout the county, as well as many of our tourist visitors.

 

We are members of the Morro Bay Chamber of Commerce and we make it a point to use local businesses…ASAP, Miner’s, Morro Secure Storage, the Dollar Store, Estero Bay News, Morro Bay Life, Coast Electronics, so our operational expenses are contributing to the local economy.  We also donate tickets to numerous fundraisers during the year and join with the church in awarding an annual scholarship at MBHS.

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Operating a live theater is costly.  We pay rent and a percentage of ticket sales for the venue, in addition to royalty payments, set construction materials, advertising, props, costumes, lighting and sound equipment, storage for sets and costumes, etc.  We greatly appreciate the donations and support we receive from individuals and local businesses. 

 

We welcome volunteers to help with set construction, distributing fliers, operating sound and lighting during shows, and of course, to come to our auditions.  Our Readers shows don’t require memorization and have minimal rehearsal schedules…a good way to get started performing.  

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All of our board members and staff are volunteers.  We have no paid staff.   

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2024 Board of Directors

President:  Rhonda Crowfoot  (Morro Bay);  Vice President: Sam Gottlieb (Atascadero); Secretary: Janice Peters (Morro Bay); Treasurer: Kelli M. Poward (Atascadero);  Directors: Anita Schwaber (Cayucos), Sheridan Cole (Los Osos), Jean Miller (Arroyo Graande), and Russell Snow (Arroyo Grande).