2007: January Saturday Morning Boot Camp at Fairmont School District #89 in Lockport, IL. February New Branch Theatre Company is producing A Soldier's Play at Meztli Galleria. New Branch was part of a national program 365 Plays/365 Days a series of plays written by Suzan Lori-Parks. New Branch as well as 52 other local theater companies participated in the series. New Branch performed week 21 (April 23rd) at Austin Townhall. June - August New Branch was fortunate enough to be able to work with Fairmont School District for an extended Summer Program running a Children's Theater Workshop. In November we enjoied our annual dinner theater show "What Happened at First Church?" in Chicago. The audience were excited and thrilled as everyone took part in the show to guess whodunnit.
2006: January In March We conducted a comprehensive Children's Workshop under contract with Fairmont School District #89 in Lockport, Illinois. For 8 weeks we worked with students (grades 3-8) using Language Arts, reading and comprehension in reading age appropriate stories and developing them into skits/one act plays. The students were involved in every aspect of preparing the production including set design, props, costumes and script writing. The culmination of this project produced four skits which was performed by the students involved with the program. July, New Branch has expanded the Children's Theatre Workshop with a Poetry concentrated workshop as well as our Children's Theater Workshop which both include the Illinois Learning Standards. In August, New Branch started the fourth season with "The Mark" a Christian Drama written by Cleveland O. McLeish. The audience was intrigued with the content which lead to many questions about the end of days. The show ran one weekend at The Vittum Theater on the near North Side of Chicago. November NBTC's annual Dinner Mystery Theater Show is "Murder at the Disco" - taking everyone back 30 years to 1976. When hair was big and bell bottoms even bigger.
2005: January, NBTC held a fundraiser at Mi Cafetal in Chicago, where several previous cast members of various shows came out to lend their talents. In March New Branch was afforded the opportunity of working with the Women's Ministry Department of Moody Church Chicago. NBTC was commissioned to perform a Staged Reading of The Unspeakable Gift. The initial reading took place at Moody Church in Chicago and the following week the staged reading was done at Austin Town Hall Cultural Center in Chicago. Our June 2005 show was Boy Gets Girl that ran at Galleria Meztli in Chicagos Pilsen Community. In August we conducted a Children's Theater Workshop at Laurence Armour Day School of Rush Hospital where the children participated in a two-hour workshop culminating in a production of the fable "The Monkey and the Dolphin". September "If The Preacher Ain't Right" was brought back by popular demand to The Vittum Theater in Chicago on the near north side just off I 90/ I94. In November we performed our staple Dinner Mystery Theater show at Parente's Restaurant in Berwyn, Illinois. The show performed was Murder of the Great Chef. In appreciation to churches that have supported our shows we performed an original stage play "The Coming" in December at two locations - New Hope Baptist Church and New Birth Christian Center. We constantly strive to work toward reinventing entertainment for the whole being.
2004: February, we opened the year with "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Was Enuf" written by Ntosake. This production ran 3 weeks at Teatro Luna in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood. In August we produced a gospel comedy musical, "If The Preacher Ain't Right" written by Stan Hood playhouse Ministries performed at the Vittum Theater in Chicago. October we ran An Evening Of One Act Plays: "Overtones" by Alice Gerstenberg; "Herbert III" by Ted Shine and "A Game" by Dennis Noble to be shown at The Majestic Midway Theater in Chicago. We ended the year with what is our annual production our dinner mystery show. November, we performed "Murder On The Prairie" at Rocko's All-Star Bar and Grille located in Presidential Towers, downtown Chicago.
2003: June NBTC made its local debut at Madsen Park for the Chicago Park District, by producing "A Raisin In The Sun". August our next production was a Chicago premiere of an original play "A Package For Max" an adult comedy written by San Francisco Bay area resident, John Angell Grant, at Teatro Luna in Chicago. To culminate an active year for New Branch, in November NBTC hosted an audience participatory dinner mystery show "Murder At Lairmont Manor." at The Carleton Hotel of Oak Park in Oak Park, Illinois.
