A new, tiny performance space rises in Boulder with The New Local Annex

BETC will be the resident theatre company at new intimate performance venue on Pearl Street

Sometimes performance spaces in Boulder are too big — or unavailable — for arts organizations looking to put interesting works in front of smaller audiences. One answer coming to the city’s busy Pearl Street area is The New Local Annex.

The New Local is an arts collective housed in a Victorian mansion on Pearl Street, and the TNL Annex is down the street at 713 Pearl. The Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company (BETC) will be the resident theatre company and sponsor of the storefront space, which is set to begin hosting performances June 1.

“For years, I’ve wanted to have what would be an extremely intimate space,” said Mark Ragan, BETC’s Managing Director. “I love spaces where you can perform and reach out and touch the shoes of the people who are watching you. And that’s what this is.”

The collaboration began when Ragan met Marie Juliette Bird, founder of The New Local, while serving on a committee at Create Boulder. For the past two years, The New Local had used the Annex space — a former 1880s butcher shop — as an arts center hosting solo exhibitions, workshops, artist studios and community events.

Ragan, an arts philanthropist who’s sponsored many Colorado performing arts organizations, agreed to help pay for the renovation of the space in return for rental credits.

The gallery-like setting will accommodate up to 50 audience members, though Ragan emphasized that volume isn’t the goal.

“It’s about quality and it’s about bringing the intimacy of human gatherings to the forefront,” he said. “The whole idea is for a small group of people watching a show that is three feet in front of their face.”

Regardless of what BETC produces in the Annex, patrons will no doubt appreciate the price: All programs will be free.

Phased rollout

The venue’s programming will roll out in three phases. The first begins June 1 with children’s shows every Sunday from 10 a.m. to noon as part of The New Local’s “Sundays on West Pearl” program. Put on by the Mad LIBrarians and other BETC artists, each performance will run about 15-20 minutes, with multiple showings throughout the morning.

This approach represents a strategic effort to reach demographics that BETC doesn’t typically attract.

“One of our goals at BETC is to really reach out to areas of the community that we never, ever see,” Ragan said. “For example, young parents. I could count on two hands — and mostly at our production of Little Women — when we had parents and kids at a BETC show.”

The second phase, starting later this year, will feature occasional staged readings of contemporary plays. These will be similar to BETC’s “Plays with Fire” series held earlier this year at the Dairy Arts Center.

Some of these readings may serve as tryouts for full productions, as was the case with Cry It Out, which began as a staged reading and will now be produced by BETC at the Dairy in August (Candice Orrino directs).

The third phase will introduce full productions designed with minimalism in mind.

“We’re talking about full productions, but without sets,” Ragan said. “There’s too much other programming going on at the TNL Annex for set installations. Besides, readings are an interesting way to see a play because we’re creating an experience where the audience uses its imagination to fill in the details.”

Tight spaces in Boulder

BETC’s expanded footprint at The TNL Annex comes at a time when venue access is becoming increasingly challenging for arts organizations in Boulder, particularly with the Sundance Film Festival coming to town in 2027.

“BETC is doing something that eventually all arts organizations in Boulder are going to have to do, which is to find alternative venues because there aren’t enough in Boulder,” Ragan said.

BETC has hired a new manager to oversee BETC’s residency at The Annex, with guidance from Ragan and Artistic Director Jessica Robblee. The company is also bringing on Bekah Broas, who previously performed in BETC’s production of Hope and Gravity, as social media and content director.

Keep an eye on the BETC website for more information about programming at The Annex this summer and beyond.