Theatre Bay Area was founded in 1976 to serve the vital artistic community of the Bay Area, and is today the largest regional theatre service organization in North America, serving as a model for other service organizations around the country. Our mission is to unite, strengthen, promote and advance the theatre community in the San Francisco Bay Area, working on behalf of our 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. Theatre Bay Area's present membership reflects the thriving arts scene in the nine Bay Area counties, consisting of nearly 200 theatre and performing arts companies, from multimillion dollar organizations to grassroots community groups, and some 2,000 individuals, including actors, directors, designers, dance artists, playwrights, dramaturgs, technicians, and theatre patrons.