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Asia Nicole Jackson, Anna Marie Sharpe, Carrie Paff, David Everett Moore and Jamella Cross in Aurora Theatre\u2019s \u201cCrumbs from the Table of Joy.\u201d Credit: Kevin Berne<\/p>\nAsia Nicole Jackson, Anna Marie Sharpe, Carrie Paff, David Everett Moore and Jamella Cross in Aurora Theatre\u2019s \u201cCrumbs from the Table of Joy.\u201d Credit: Kevin Berne<\/p>\n
Aurora Theatre Company is plotting a comeback after vacating its longtime home in downtown Berkeley and laying off staff<\/a> last summer.<\/p>\n The nonprofit theater never said it was closing, leaving room open for a second act, and on Monday, Aurora announced it\u2019s planning to return for the 2027-28 season and that it has appointed new leadership.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jennifer King, an actor and director familiar to Aurora audiences, will take over as the new artistic director, and Jenn Ruygt, formerly Aurora\u2019s production manager, will be the new managing director.\u00a0<\/p>\n Aurora\u2019s 150-seat venue on Addison Street, in the heart of Berkeley\u2019s theater district, remains vacant, and Aurora has confirmed it will not be returning to the space. \u201cIn order to have a sustainable organization, we need to look at other options,\u201d said King.\u00a0<\/p>\n The location, creative direction and staffing of Aurora have yet to be determined, but King said she anticipates more information will be released in the coming months.\u00a0<\/p>\n King said as Aurora looks for a new home, it will aim to replicate the sense of intimacy between the audience and actors of the Addison Street theater.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat happens between artist and audience, it\u2019s up to the space that you are in and how you\u2019re approaching those relationships,\u201d King said. \u201cWhat we\u2019re really interested in is how to cultivate that intimate experience, and that will inform what spaces we are in next.\u201d<\/p>\n New artistic director thinks Aurora\u2019s near-death experience \u2018could be just a matter of timing\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n After a 33-year run in downtown Berkeley, Aurora cancelled its 2025-26 season in May 2025, citing meager ticket sales after the pandemic. The theater had previously faced a $500,000 budget deficit in 2024 and struggled to the finish line<\/a> of its 2024-25 season in August.\u00a0<\/p>\n Arts and cultural institutions and organizations across the country and the Bay Area have grappled with budget shortfalls since the pandemic<\/a>. In addition to Aurora\u2019s troubles, Bay Area Children\u2019s Theater<\/a>, TheatreFirst<\/a> and California Jazz Conservatory\u2019s degree program<\/a> have all closed, and Freight & Salvage<\/a> has faced significant headwinds. CalShakes, which got its start in Berkeley, shuttered in 2024<\/a>, after 50 years of shows. Berkeley\u2019s La Pena Cultural Center<\/a> and Black Repertory Group<\/a> are surviving, but also facing tough times.<\/p>\n Aurora wants to find a path forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOur old subscriber base and donor base were very, very strong,\u201d said Rebecca Parlette-Edwards, the president of Aurora\u2019s nonprofit board until a few months ago. \u201cCOVID really did us in and we didn\u2019t recover from that.\u201d<\/p>\n Before closing, Berkeleyside reported that Aurora was considering merging<\/a> with another local theater. According to Parlette-Edwards, who is no longer on the board, that plan fell through.\u00a0<\/p>\n With attendance rates dropping and the cost of labor, insurance and lumber \u2014 used for set building \u2014 rising, the company could no longer keep up.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to Ruygt, the Aurora team is using seed money leftover from the previous \u201cchapter,\u201d along with funding from local supporters, to rebuild the infrastructure of the company.\u00a0<\/p>\n Though Aurora operated in the red in 2025, it ended the fiscal year with nearly $1.5 million in assets, according to public tax filings<\/a>. And just before closure, business began to pick up again, and the final two productions were a great success, King said. The final show, \u201cThe Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe,\u201d which King directed, was the most attended show post-pandemic, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough things seemed dire, there seemed to be an ember of hope,\u201d said King. \u201cIt seemed, given the pandemic, that it could be just a matter of timing. Momentum seemed to be ramping up as the theater was ramping down.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Aurora\u2019s Jenns hatched their plan for a revival at the farewell party<\/p>\n Tom Ross<\/a>, Aurora\u2019s artistic director until 2019, initially hired King as a director and later worked with Ruygt when she was a production manager. Throughout the process of trying to revive the theater, he\u2019s advised them by providing budget advice, board member recommendations and participating in meetings.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to King, the board has not been restructured, but some members have not returned after their terms finished, and new members have been added. Parlette-Edwards said she stepped down because of fatigue from the hard work post-pandemic. \u201cI got very tired, and I just did not want to do it anymore,\u201d she said. Daria Hepps is the current board chair.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to Ross, the revival began at a farewell party last fall for Aurora that he and \u201cthe Jenns,\u201d as he refers to them, were attending. Jokingly, King mentioned starting a theater company with Ruygt, Ross recalled.\u00a0<\/p>\n Soon, the joke turned serious, and King and Ruygt were pitching themselves to Aurora\u2019s board before the summer was over. (Josh Costello, Aurora\u2019s previous artistic director, has been working as director of a movie theater in Larkspur since December, according to his LinkedIn page<\/a>.) A feasibility study was completed, the San Francisco Chronicle reported<\/a>. Various stakeholders shared the unique characteristics of Aurora that they valued. Results showed that the company\u2019s assets lay in its hiring of local actors and designers, and its intimacy with the audience.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just really delighted how well the two women have kept the thing going and alive and growing,\u201d Ross said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThese two new women, Jennifer King and Jenn Ruygt, are very serious about keeping Aurora alive and keeping the spirit of Aurora alive,\u201d Parlette-Edwards said.<\/p>\n Kate Darby Rauch contributed reporting to this story.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRelated stories<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\tPreparing to close, Aurora Theatre begins laying off staff<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\tAugust 12, 2025Aug. 13, 2025, 9:28 a.m.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\tAurora Theatre suspends upcoming season, citing financial challenges<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\tMay 14, 2025May 15, 2025, 5:26 p.m.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Headshot-Jennifer-King-2560x3854.jpg\")
Jennifer King, artistic director. Credit: Lisa Keating<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Headshot-Jenn-Ruygt-2560x3854.jpg\")
Jenn Ruygt, managing director. Credit: Lisa Keating<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Aurora_Exterior.jpg\")
Aurora Theatre Company was located at 2081 Addison St. until last summer. Credit: David Allen<\/p>\n
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