By Lisa Thibodeau

B Street Theatre was conceived by actor Timothy Busfield as a touring theater for children more than 25 years ago, and has managed to stay in touch with its origins delighting young audiences  through B Street’s Family Series, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The series has grown from humble beginnings since Busfield, along with his brother Buck Busfield, transformed an abandoned warehouse in Sacramento into a theater company.

Over the years, kids on chaperoned school field trips have squeezed onto wooden benches while actors thrilled them by tramping the aisles, close enough to touch, sometimes singing and sometimes shouting, calling on them to join in on an imaginative journey. B Street has brought to life classic stories like “Frog and Toad,” “Junie B. Jones” and “Winnie the Pooh,” as well as original plays and holiday classics such as “A Christmas Carol.”

Having outgrown their scrappy start, the theater moved to The Sofia, on Capitol Avenue in Midtown in 2018 where it now captivates a larger audience from its 350-seat family-friendly Sutter Theatre —  complete with cup holders for Shirley Temples. The Family Series, so far, has reached an impressive total of 3.6 million California children, about 200,000 per year, with over 50,000 attendees during the 2023-2024 school year alone, with many of these kids reached through school trips, according to the theater’s website.

Field trips have the ability to help boost cultural exposure in underserved children whose families are not as likely to visit on their own. Studies show there are a wide variety of benefits for young people in experiencing the arts, from developing literacy and comprehension skills, to social and emotional learning, and even an enhancement to the child’s overall health. Evidence further suggests that exposure, especially at an early age, fosters a positive attitude toward art and an openness to novelty and connections which have lasting benefits. 

Lyndsay Burch, executive director and CEO of B Street says she often hears kids say, “This is the best movie I have ever seen!” B Street shows are designed to educate, inspire and offer kids a chance to feel seen while also allowing them a relaxed opportunity to understand theater etiquette. “You have schools where students have not been exposed to theater, and our role, we feel, is to help them see how one might behave in a theater, we see it as a learning opportunity,” Burch said.

B Street also focuses on inclusivity for children with special needs, and has made ASL interpreters and priority seating available for select shows. “We are in the process of becoming sensory-certified as an organization and are utilizing tools like fidget spinners and headphones,” Burch said. “We are also integrating opening speeches that show kids how dark the theater will get, and they are allowed to head to the lobby if they need a break. A huge priority for us is removing any barriers to students experiencing the theater,” Burch noted.

This dedication to education is valued by teachers like Traci Callanan who has been teaching for over 20 years and is a community coordinator for a public homeschooling charter school in El Dorado Hills. “The kids can read about a character in a book, or visit historical places, but when you see characters, like Anne Frank or Amelia Earhart come to life on stage, it adds another dimension,” Callanan said. “The actors also encourage the students to ask questions after the show which is a very rich opportunity.” 

Many of B Street’s cast also teach acting classes for kids ages 8-17 and offer playwriting and storytelling workshops. A few members of the company have had full circle moments having been a “field trip kid” themselves. “The woman who played Turtle in ‘Frog and Toad’ had her first theatrical memory of seeing ‘Boxcar Children’ at the old B Street, and we have a teaching artist who saw their first play at B Street when they were in second grade,” Burch said. 

The company looks forward to furthering their dedication to education and imagination with a diverse range of shows in 2025. They include: medicine and science fun with “Marie Curie and the Sisterhood of Science,” a revisit of classic mystery novels in “The First Adventures of the Hardy Boys,” and bringing the Bard himself to life through his iconic plays and sonnets in “Never Fear Shakespeare!”

Lyndsay Burch is grateful for every player in B Street’s Family Series’ success and is optimistic about continuing to choreograph impactful experiences for young audiences for years to come. “Every step of the way this has been a community endeavor, from the students to the teachers, to the patrons and the donors, to the city and the state, and we’re very excited to share this milestone and look forward to the next 20 years,” Burch said.

This story was funded by the City of Sacramento’s Arts and Creative Economy Journalism Grant to Solving Sacramento. Following our journalism code of ethics and protocols, the city had no editorial influence over this story and no city official reviewed this story before it was published. Our partners include California Groundbreakers, Capital Public Radio, Outword, Russian America Media, Sacramento Business Journal, Sacramento News & Review, Sacramento Observer and Univision 19. Sign up for our “Sac Art Pulse” newsletter here.