John Butterfield founded New Urban Dance Company (NUDC) in 1989. Since then the company has performed in the Bay Area and throughout Northern California; (Willows Theatre, Brady Street Theatre, the Cowell and the Noh Space in San Francisco.)

Butterfield 8, the theatrical branch of NUDC, began as a group of actors performing monologues to compliment the dance pieces at NUDC concerts and became its own company with the creation of a new script for Dracula. Since then, Butterfield 8 has performed at the Lesher Center for the Arts (Robinson Jeffer's Medea) and Town Hall Theatre (William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and Twelfth Night) before taking up residency at Cue Productions Live in Concord with the 2006-2007 season.

The Mission of Butterfield 8 Theatre Company is to provide audiences a fresh take on classic plays, and foster the creation of new works.

Our Vision is to present audiences with examples of both ends of the theatrical spectrum: new productions of classic works, focusing in particular on text-driven plays (such as the works of Shakespeare), and new works devised by the company or written by local playwrights.  Our work often examines perceptions of gender, both within the context of the play and the larger context of society as a whole.  We strive to create an immersive environment, believing the audience’s experience starts when they buy the ticket, and shouldn't end when they leave the theater.