Burien Actors Theatre (BAT) announced this week it will be cancelling its annual scholarships for Burien high school students for 2020.
Over the years, BAT’s scholarship program has helped many Burien high school students.
“This year, due to the Burien City Manager terminating BAT’s lease mid-season, BAT is not sure it will continue to exist,” Creative Director Eric Dickman told The B-Town Blog. “Since BAT might not be around to pay the scholarships, it does not make sense to accept applications.”
Burien Actors Theatre has called the Annex home for 40 years, but is being evicted by the city on Jan. 31, 2020 (read our extensive previous coverage here).
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- Besides scholarships, according to a study by the Foster School of Business in 2017, BAT adds $141,000.00 to Burien’s economy every year, over and above ticket prices.
- Besides theater, BAT also has a public lending library with 1,500 scripts and books on theater.
- BAT lists the approximately 155 restaurants in Burien on its website with hours and Yelp reviews.
- BAT has a dinner and show package with a local restaurant, BAT has a BATcoin program where BAT gives out $5 “coins” redeemable at a dozen local businesses.
- A local business sells BAT tickets.
- BAT has a script club where once a month 15 to 20 people read a script and discuss it, often the script BAT will be producing, along with other scripts as well.
“All of these ways BAT makes Burien better are now at risk,” Dickman added.
NOTE: The closing of the Annex is likely to be on the agenda for Monday night’s Burien City Council meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. tonight (Jan. 6, 2020) at Burien City Hall (400 SW 152nd Street).
