Bay Area Educational Theater Company (eTc) was established in 1996 by a group of ambitious and dedicated parent volunteers who identified a need for theater education in the community. They wanted to provide theater training and performance opportunities to anyone and everyone who had the desire to be involved in theatrical productions, regardless of age, cultural background, prior experience or level of ability. The vision of the founding board of directors was to expand the traditional idea of educational theater to include adults as well as children, giving all members of the family and the community at large the opportunity to grow together. The philosophy that adult roles would be played by adults and children’s roles by children’s led to a new genre of theater company that bridged the gap between children’s theater and community theater.