Rosebud Theatre, located in the picturesque hamlet of Rosebud, Alberta, Canada, is the only professional rural theatre in Alberta. It produces four Opera House shows and two Studio Stage shows a year, attracting over 35,000 people per year to the hamlet of about 100 people.
Although about half of the patrons come from Calgary, the closest major centre, the other half come from throughout the province. Patrons regularly will drive from three hours away (Edmonton and Medicine Hat) to attend.
Rosebud Theatre is associated with Rosebud School of the Arts and regularly uses students on stage along with staff actors and guest artists.
At the Opera House in 2014 are The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett (March 28 - May 17), Chickens by Lucia Frangione (May 28 - August 30), Doubt: A Parable by John Patrick Shanley (September 19 - October 25), and the Canadian premiere of the Royal Shakespeare Company's adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, adapted by Adrian Mitchell (November 7 - December 20).
At the Studio Stage, there are two shows in 2014: I, Claudia by Kristen Thomson (May 6 - June 21) and Freud's Last Session by Mark St. Germain (July 2 - Aug 23).
The theatre began as a fundraiser for the school in 1983. The plays were typically written in-house and focussed on local stories and characters. In 1991, the first royalty play, An Inspector Calls by J. B. Priestley, was produced. This coincided with a major renovation to the Opera House. This point began a steady growth from a community theatre to a respected professional theatre.
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Rosebud Theatre