Starbridge Academy (BCT Jr. & Youth Theater Programs)
Bemidji Community Theater Performing Arts Center, 316 Beltrami Ave. NW, Bemidji, MN 56601
About
Starbridge Academy (BCT Jr. & Youth Theater Programs) includes activities such as scriptwriting, puppetry, stage directing, lighting, scenic design and painting, music, theater, dance, costuming, and stage combat with swords. Participants may work on auditioning, voice projection, preparing a monologue, writing a character analysis, learning lines, following blocking directions, helping design sets and costumes, and composing and writing an actual script to be performed. The program also includes learning a musical number to perform as a whole group, being cast in a short play, and taking part in a stage combat exhibition, as well as fundraising activities such as Storybook Breakfast, an Easter Eggstravaganza, and the Mad Hatter Tea Party, and a Project Genesis program that pairs young people with seniors to unlock memories through music.
• Ages: 8–16 years old
• Schedule: BCT Jr. is a two-week summer intensive that runs June 9th–20th
• Price: Mezzanine ½ day $90 for members, $115 for non-members; Mezzanine full day $140 for members, $165 for non-members; Main Level ½ day $140 for members, $190 for non-members; Main Level full day $240 for members, $265 for non-members; Reservation fee $20; Cleaning deposit $30; Damage deposit $250, held and returned if no damage done
Starbridge Academy is described as “where ideas shine, creativity flourishes, and imaginations soar,” and offers in-person options as well as a Virtual Academy. The introductory class is broken into three small groups that rotate through music, acting, and dance, and each child in this class is cast in a short play and performs for an audience on the last day, with over 300 people in attendance at the referenced final performances. Technical Class students provide individual sets, costumes, and props for beginning groups and present a stage combat exhibition on the final day, while the Advanced Group composes and writes an actual script to be performed. Sign-up for the Performance Group is based on teacher recommendation with at least two years of involvement in the introductory class, and BCT Jr. is described as a progressive stagecraft experience that teaches self-confidence and discipline in a fun way.
Bemidji Community Theater debuted in December of 1981, and summer 2023 was the tenth season of the BCT Jr. theater camp. The organization’s mission is “To provide theater education and an acting and stagecraft support activities, in productions by and for community members.” Bemidji Community Theater pairs with Bemidji City Parks and Recreation’s summer programming for young people ages 8 to 16, and has collaborated with Lake Bemidji State Park, Itasca State Park (depending on availability), The Paul Bunyan Playhouse, Bemidji State University, the Middle School, St. Philip’s School, and the Headwaters School of Music and the Arts. Project Genesis is a program of Bemidji Community Theater that pairs young people with seniors to unlock memories through music, and the first production under the Studio Works title led to Theater Under the Pines becoming an annual event. Future offerings are described as based on camper needs and interests, with possibilities including a journalism, video, or radio component, additional acting classes, and stage makeup. Mr. Whiting won a regional theater award for his debut as a director.
Last updated July 25, 2026.
• Ages: 8–16 years old
• Schedule: BCT Jr. is a two-week summer intensive that runs June 9th–20th
• Price: Mezzanine ½ day $90 for members, $115 for non-members; Mezzanine full day $140 for members, $165 for non-members; Main Level ½ day $140 for members, $190 for non-members; Main Level full day $240 for members, $265 for non-members; Reservation fee $20; Cleaning deposit $30; Damage deposit $250, held and returned if no damage done
Starbridge Academy is described as “where ideas shine, creativity flourishes, and imaginations soar,” and offers in-person options as well as a Virtual Academy. The introductory class is broken into three small groups that rotate through music, acting, and dance, and each child in this class is cast in a short play and performs for an audience on the last day, with over 300 people in attendance at the referenced final performances. Technical Class students provide individual sets, costumes, and props for beginning groups and present a stage combat exhibition on the final day, while the Advanced Group composes and writes an actual script to be performed. Sign-up for the Performance Group is based on teacher recommendation with at least two years of involvement in the introductory class, and BCT Jr. is described as a progressive stagecraft experience that teaches self-confidence and discipline in a fun way.
Bemidji Community Theater debuted in December of 1981, and summer 2023 was the tenth season of the BCT Jr. theater camp. The organization’s mission is “To provide theater education and an acting and stagecraft support activities, in productions by and for community members.” Bemidji Community Theater pairs with Bemidji City Parks and Recreation’s summer programming for young people ages 8 to 16, and has collaborated with Lake Bemidji State Park, Itasca State Park (depending on availability), The Paul Bunyan Playhouse, Bemidji State University, the Middle School, St. Philip’s School, and the Headwaters School of Music and the Arts. Project Genesis is a program of Bemidji Community Theater that pairs young people with seniors to unlock memories through music, and the first production under the Studio Works title led to Theater Under the Pines becoming an annual event. Future offerings are described as based on camper needs and interests, with possibilities including a journalism, video, or radio component, additional acting classes, and stage makeup. Mr. Whiting won a regional theater award for his debut as a director.
Last updated July 25, 2026.
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