Bonnie Grice, Thomas Schiavoni “Red Badge of Courage”. Photo credit Mary Godfrey
About Us | Founded By Bonnie Grice in 2016
About Us
"History is the lure for Boots on the Ground…"
— Newsday
Our mission is to boldly go where many boots have gone before and march them into the 21st century.
Photo credit Daniel Gonzalez
Meet Our Founder
Our founder and artistic director, Bonnie Grice is an award-winning radio DJ and broadcaster having worked at a variety of stations across the country, from LA to Washington DC. Throughout her decades long radio history Bonnie’s hosted a wide range of music shows and has interviewed hundreds of actors, writers, celebrities and local personalities. A 2-time Gracie Allen Award winner, Bonnie’s also been recognized by numerous other awards organizations including the Press Club of Long Island. She’s currently heard locally on 92.1 WLNG in Sag Harbor NY.
Bonnie’s other passions include history and theater. She’s acted in many local productions and in 2016 she started her own theater troop “boots on the ground theater” which has its boots firmly planted in history and on the East End of Long Island. The mission of botgt is to bring history to life on stage and on location with workshops, reenactments and MainStage shows. To date botgt has produced three MainStage shows at the Southampton Cultural Center where they are a Company in Residence: The Miracle Worker and Red Badge of Courage in 2018… and Sherlock’s Secret Life which opened in 2020 only to be closed by Covid and was revived this past September/October 2021. In 2022 botgt plans to expand their reach and take their boots on the road for a new production next Spring at the Vail-Leavitt Theatre in Riverhead. They’ll return to the SCC in October 2022.
In the meantime you can listen to Bonnie worldwide at WLNG.com Saturdays 3-8pm and Sundays 10-1pm.
Our Impact
Our impact statement involves three C’s: Chronicle…Collaborate…Community.
The mission of boots on the ground theater® has been to Chronicle moments in history, both on stage and on site. We’ve given audiences and actors of all ages the chance to relive history while being entertained and inspired. From the true story of Helen Keller who overcame her physical and emotional challenges thru the guiding hands of her teacher, to the hearts of darkness in Vietnam and the Civil War. And the world of the original CSI: Sherlock Holmes. We provide important historical context and perspective. And make it fun.
We Collaborate with a wide range of local Long Island organizations, performing arts, museums, libraries, historical societies to bring history to life for our collective audiences. We believe team work is the key to accomplish what we do in all stages. As Helen Keller herself said: “Alone we can do so little… together we can do so much…”
Community! We celebrate our beloved Long Island community by featuring them in a great many roles: acting, directing, singing, photography, marketing. We will continue to provide student actors the chance for a variety of lead roles, and provide free performances as we have for hundreds of East End students and teachers to date. botgt will always recognize the importance of our Community!
Ethan Suhr “Red Badge of Courage”. Photo credit Mary Godfrey