Bay Area Theatre Week to Return With Free and Discounted Tickets This September

Theatre Bay Area (TBA), celebrating 50 years one of the nation's largest and longest-running theatre service organizations, will host Bay Area Theatre Week, to be held this fall. Hundreds of free and low-cost tickets are available now for this 10-day celebration which highlights the 200-plus regional theatres currently operating in the greater Bay Area. This special event brings affordable access to plays and musicals, as well as unique offers and one-of-a-kind experiences to seasoned theatregoers and those who are theatre-curious, with free and discounted theatre tickets, open rehearsals, discounted classes, special events, and more, in San Francisco and the North, South, and East Bays. Bay Area Theatre Week will take place September 10 – 20, 2026; the current list of performances and events (updates are made regularly) can be found at theatrebayarea.org/batw26.

'Bay Area Theatre Week is a chance to open theatre lobbies to new and curious minds, empathy adventurers, and inspired theatregoers, to experience our rich artistic community,' said Theatre Bay Area Executive Director Sean Fenton. 'With 50 years to celebrate, we look forward to welcoming audiences to explore our robust and dynamic Bay Area theatre landscape. This event offers a warm invitation to people around the Bay to sample and discover a theatre gem, perhaps in their own backyards. Our region has a remarkable history of launching acclaimed artists and productions, and just as importantly, it's home to hundreds of unforgettable theatre experiences every year that can only happen here.'

Participants to date in this year's Bay Area Theatre Week (roster continues to grow, check website for current list) include:

• Altarena Playhouse
• American Conservatory Theater
• American Conservatory Theater: Studio A.C.T.
• American Conservatory Theater: Young Conservatory
• Berkeley Repertory Theatre
• Center REP
• City Lights Theater Company
• Formerly Incarcerated People's Performance Project
• Marin Shakespeare Company
• Marin Theatre
• Orinda Starlight Village Players
• Palo Alto Players
• San Francisco Mime Troupe
• San Francisco Shakespeare Festival
• South Bay Musical Theatre
• The Royal Underground Theatre Company
• Theatre Rhinoceros
• Town Hall Theatre Company

The San Francisco Bay Area is home to the highest concentration of regional theatre companies in the United States, and second only to the New York City metropolitan area in its ability to support stage actors with a livable income. Renowned for developing productions that go on to take Broadway and London's West End by storm, Bay Area stages have launched a roster of acclaimed works including Angels in America, Wicked, Memphis, American Idiot, Ain't Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations, and Eureka Day, among many others. The Bay has also been home to many performers who have gained international reputations on stage, film, and television, with stars who started their careers on local stages including Annette Bening, Jessica Chastain, Darren Criss, Daveed Diggs, Colman Domingo, Whoopi Goldberg, Bill Irwin, Francis Jue, Robin Williams, and Zendaya, among many others.

ABOUT THEATRE BAY AREA

Founded in 1976, Theatre Bay Area (TBA) is the largest theatre service organization of its kind, representing theatre companies and individual artists across the San Francisco Bay Area. With over 200 member companies and more than 3,000 individual artists, TBA offers advertising resources, network connections, and professional development that steward engagement with local theatre arts and the artists who make them. TBA's mission is to unite, strengthen, promote, and advance the theatre community in the San Francisco Bay Area, working on behalf of its conviction that the performing arts are an essential public good, critical to a healthy and truly democratic society, and invaluable as a source of personal enrichment and growth. Committed to the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion, TBA plays a vital role in the cultural synergy of the region's theatres, connecting emerging local actors to productions through its annual General Auditions and amplifying the reach of smaller organizations to wider audiences.