Mission
New Venture Theatre’s mission is to create a unique, challenging, and bold theatrical experience that is engaging, artistically excellent and infused with diversity. Through our resources, programs and events we will build stronger art communities, and provide artistic educational enhancements and opportunities for the State of Louisiana.
History
In 1997 New Venture Theatre (originally Eden Park Theatre) started out as a program, created by the Dr. Martin Luther King Community Center, to help make performing arts more accessible to the underserved. Elliott C. Baham and Greg Williams Jr. both saw an artistic need in their community and understood how the arts could have a positive effect, as well as be a wonderful addition to the community center; therefore, they agreed to run Eden Park Theatre and help get its first production off the ground.
By its third year, Eden Park Theatre had grown into a major resource for everyone and started to meet the needs of the entire city. In 1999, they agreed to direct the play Pollyanna with an all African-American cast of over 75 actors. The success of this production helped manifest to everyone that there was a powerful need for an organization to promote artistic diversity in the city of Baton Rouge, La.
In 2000, Eden Park Theatre changed its name to The Creative Company of Louisiana and went on to direct several shows including Jelly’s Last Jam, Into the Woods (multi-racial cast), Little Shop of Horrors, and Aida. As Creative Company continued to grow Greg Williams, Jr. believed that the organization should continue to promote diversity through arts but on a much larger scale.
In 2007, Greg took over Creative Company of Louisiana and changed its name to New Venture Theatre, to reflect the mission and vision of the organization. New Venture Theatre has worked with over 700 actors of all races, social classes, and backgrounds. We have collaborated with several other local minority organizations helping them with artistic programming. New Venture Theatre continues to enjoy working with such a diverse group of artists and looks forward to the new ventures ahead of us.