The Burtons and BC Theatre: A Family Tradition

Ashley Burton is a Bluefield College senior majoring in theatre with a focus on dance, but she’s not your typical theatre major. Why? Because Ashley is carrying on a tradition, following in the footsteps of her mother and father, who both attended BC and took part in BC theatre productions.

Ashley’s parents are Bluefield College alumni Billy Burton, who graduated from the college in 1992, and Cameron Botts Burton, who graduated from BC in 1995. Cameron majored in theatre and communication and played a part in the casts of many theatrical productions, while Billy majored in business and played music for the shows.

“I was born into theatre,” Ashley said. In fact, after Bluefield College, Ashley’s mom worked professionally and used to teach and direct plays for the Summit Players, a community theatre group in Bluefield, WV.

“That (with the Summit Players) was pretty much where I grew up and where my childhood was,” Ashley said. In high school, she took part in competition theatre and participated in musicals with her mom at the Summit.

“I felt that I had been in it so far and it was something I was so passionate about that I decided to follow it through college,” Ashley said.

Ashley’s college journey didn’t originally start at Bluefield College. She was accepted at Emory and Henry College on a scholarship for marching band color guard and theatre.

“I got down there and realized that it wasn’t really what I was expecting,” she said, “and what I was wanting out of a theatre department. My mom texted me and said I can get you out, and I can get you into Bluefield this week.”

So, Ashley moved out of Emory and Henry on a Monday, moved into Bluefield College on a Tuesday, and soon after was auditioning for a BC theatre scholarship.

“I took a tour, I got a class schedule that I didn’t get to pick, I went to auditions for the alumni show that night, and then I started class Wednesday morning,” she said. “And while I was auditioning, my parents were moving my stuff into my room.

Ashley said she didn’t intend to stay at Bluefield more than a semester. She thought she’d pick up a few general education credits and then figure out what to do next semester. But that all changed, she added, after her first BC show.

“I did one show,” she said, “and I met everybody, and I was like ‘nah, I’m gonna stay.’”

Now nearly four years later, Ashley says she’s thankful she decided to stay at Bluefield and continue the tradition her parents began on the BC stage. Like her mother, she has even started to teach. Her passion for teaching is with dance.

“I danced when I was very young,” she said, “and then financially it didn’t work out so I mostly just danced in shows with mom. And then through high school, I kind of got back into dance a little more with color guard.”

With graduation just around the corner, Ashley is beginning to think about life after Bluefield College. Like her mom, she hopes to continue share her gift on stage with a community theatre group.

“Long term,” she said, “I would love to get into a theatre company and teach dance at a local theatre or local dance theatre.”