I RECENTLY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY to chat with Maureen-Theresa Williams, artistic co-director of Concord’s Butterfield 8 Theatre Company, about some of the major changes the group is currently undergoing.

John Butterfield, with whom Williams and two others co-founded Butterfield 8 in 1995, is on an extended sabbatical in New Zealand, finishing out his master’s program at the University of Victoria; at the same time, the company is in the process of relocating.

“It’s going really well,” Williams said of the troupe’s progress. “Just in the last two weeks we found a new home, the Campbell Theatre in Martinez. We will be joining with Onstage there.”

The city of Martinez recently reached a financial arrangement with Onstage Theatre, a nomadic group that performed at various venues in the East Bay and previously used the School House in Pleasant Hill as its primary rehearsal space.

Martinez hopes that keeping alive theater in the downtown area by providing an affordable performance space for local groups like Butterfield 8 and Onstage will enhance its attractiveness as a tourist destination. I told Williams it seemed like a move to the Campbell — a charming café theater where the Willows and other groups have been performing for decades — sounded like a welcome change for Butterfield 8, as well: At their current location, Cue Productions Live in Concord, Butterfield’s actors have had only a small floor space for a stage, with no built-in theater infrastructure, while the Campbell offers a full proscenium stage, a separate lobby and multi-level seating, among other amenities.

Not entirely, Williams explained.

The new space does have a lot to offer, she said, but it will also present a fundamental challenge. “We have been performing for seven seasons at Cue. It’s so intimate. We are right there with the audience.” The Campbell is not exactly huge, she noted, but the players will miss that up-close connection. “We’re not used to that.”

I asked whether, considering all the changes in the works, Butterfield 8 had made any plans for the coming season.

“We are still doing Third Thursday readings at Cue, and we will have a developmental reading of a new work by Jeremy Cole, ‘38 Witnesses,’ on March 13,” she said. Cole, seen recently in the group’s “The Maltese Falcon,” wrote the piece about the famous 1964 incident in New York in which dozens of witnesses failed to come forward after a young woman was fatally stabbed near her home. Butterfield’s reading will occur on the 50th anniversary of the event.

I wondered about the differences between Butterfield’s Third Thursday readings, “staged readings” and the upcoming developmental reading.

“The way we approach readings is really this: a ‘reading’ is any performance with scripts in hand,” Williams said. “The type of reading really depends on the purpose. A staged reading is a performance that includes (some) blocking, or staging. It usually includes costumes, or representations of costumes, and can also include lighting, sound effects or visual effects.

“Butterfield 8 does staged readings in two different forms. The first is our New Works series, new scripts by local playwrights given a basic staging (over a few sessions) so the playwright can get an idea of what the play will look and sound like in a full production. We invite the audience to give feedback that might be of assistance in the further development of the play. These are really workshop performances, where the play is fairly well developed and might just need a few adjustments before full production.

“The second way we do staged readings is our one-night events. These are usually developed by company members and are performed between our regular productions. These are intended solely as entertainment, rather than as a way to advance development of a play.

“Our Third Thursdays series, on the other hand, consists of readings of short stories. The actors just sit before the audience and read. The series is a way to introduce audiences to writers they may not be familiar with while at the same time exploring the potential of the stories for stage adaptation. Sometimes it includes a ‘talk back’ opportunity, especially if we are considering adapting the stories into a full play. As an example, February’s ‘Evening of Damon Runyon’ included a discussion about some of the language — what terms might be considered racist, and how that affects the telling or enjoyment of the stories.

“The developmental reading of ‘38 Witnesses’ will be like an early stage of what would later become a part of our New Works series. It will simply be read by the actors with no staging or other effects, to provide feedback for the author, to allow him to hear how the lines sound when spoken. Sometimes things that sound one way in your head can be very different when said aloud.”

Finally, I asked Williams what she’s been up to personally, outside of her affiliation with Butterfield 8.

“I’m in two shows coming up,” she smiled. “I’m a pirate in ‘Peter Pan’ with Missouri Street Theatre, and I’ll be Emma Parker in ‘Bonnie and Clyde,’ also with Missouri Street. I may also be doing ‘Romeo and Juliet’ for the summer.”

“Peter Pan” will open at the Downtown Theatre in Fairfield on June 20. “Bonnie and Clyde” opens at the Missouri Street Theatre, also in Fairfield, on Sept. 19. Check the website at missouristreettheatre.com for updates or call 707-422-1598 for more information.

The next Third Thursday reading at Butterfield 8 will be March 20 at 8 p.m. “An Evening of Damon Runyon — Part 2” will feature “The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown” and “Blood Pressure,” the two stories that formed the basis of the Frank Loesser musical, “Guys and Dolls.” This will be the last event at Cue Productions, 1835 Colfax St., Concord. The April reading will be at the Campbell Theatre in Martinez.

Check the website at b8company.com for updates.

Elizabeth Warnimont is a freelance writer specializing in the performing arts. She is also a substitute teacher for the Benicia Unified School District.