2024 Basics of Babes With Blades Theatre Company ("BWBTC") The world's only theatre company that uses stage combat as a primary storytelling tool for placing underrepresented identities center stage. MISSION STATEMENT: Babes With Blades Theatre Company uses stage combat to tell stories that elevate the voices of underrepresented communities and dismantle the patriarchy. Through performance, script development, training, and outreach, our ensemble creates theatre that explores the wide range of the human experience, and cultivates broader perspectives in the arts community and in society as a whole. 1997 - 2003 Conceived by Dawn "Sam" Alden as a two-night showcase to raise awareness of the large number of stage combat-trained women whose talent was being consistently underutilized. The troupe that coalesced produced five scene anthology shows and toured to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. 2003 - 2005 Formation of the company as a 501(c)3, with a board, committees, organization charts, and a cohesive mission. 2005 BWBTC began development of new plays and launched the first international Joining Sword & Pen competition and production. 2009 Staged BWBTC's first all-female Shakespeare (Macbeth). 2017 First commissioned script produced (The Invisible Scarlet O'Neil). 2019 BWBTC's first Workshop for Actors of Color, providing free stage combat education to under-supported segments of the theater community. 2020 Reflecting BWBTC's growth, updated the mission statement and casting focus of biennial Shakespeare productions to reflect support of all marginalized genders and underrepresented communities. 2022 BWBTC's 8th Shakespeare (RIchard III) and first co-production, with UIC and their Disability Cultural Center. This was the very first Richard III in Chicago to feature a woman with disabilities in the title role, and included additional representative voices on stage and behind the scenes. 2024 A banner year: BWBTC's 9th Shakespeare production, 10th JS&P competition, and 22nd world premiere since 2006. As of March 2024: 4,788+ FaceBook followers, 2,276+ Instagram followers and 3,271+ email subscribers. babeswithblades.org