Butterfly Effect Theatre Company changes back to Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company

When the Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company changed its name in June of 2021 to “Butterfly Effect Theatre Company,” it was hard to find anyone particularly thrilled with the new moniker. After 15 years known by that original name, it seemed a confusing switch.

At the time, former Artistic Director Steven Weitz explained the change this way:

“We held on to the BETC moniker because of all it stands for in our community. Now, Butterfly Effect Theatre of Colorado represents our evolution, our commitment to a wider audience, and a foundational belief that even the smallest undertakings have profound effects on our world.”

Now under the management of Mark Ragan as managing director and Jessica Robblee as artistic director, the team has made the decision to switch back to the Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company.

“We really believe in the ensemble of actors that make up BETC and we wanted to return that part of the name,” Ragan said. “We also love Boulder; it’s an amazing city with a great theatre-going community and people who love and support the performing arts. It’s an asset to have ‘Boulder’ in our name.”

Ragan said the idea of reaching a wider audience is still very much in the theatre’s plans going forward. While the bulk of its shows may still be staged in Boulder’s Dairy Arts Center, BETC has upcoming productions at the Denver Savoy as well as the Millibo Art Theatre in Colorado Springs — where they will travel with Robblee’s one-woman show The Belle of Amherst Nov.2-12.

“Overall I think it’s important to be attached to a location to avoid confusion,” Ragen added. “I mean, Boulder’s been named ‘Best City in America’ several times — why wouldn’t we want to be associated with that?”

Through it all the theatre still often goes by its acronym “BETC,” and it kicks off its new season October 26 with the play Coal Country. More information about upcoming shows can be found here.