CET, which was the only Alabama theatre operating under a contract with Actors Equity Association, was established by Jonathan Fuller and Alan Gardner.

"By the end of 2013, we realized we had outgrown our business model," Fuller told Al.com. "So we took a breath and put a lot of thought into how we wanted to proceed."

Fuller and Gardner serve as the newly merged theatre's artistic directors, with Wofford as president and Fuller as vice president.

"Jonathan, Alan and I have all wanted the same thing for Birmingham, which is more professional theater, and we can do that more successfully working together," Wofford said in a statement "They have accomplished so much up to this going — a perfect streak of critically acclaimed productions, all of them among the biggest-budget non-musical shows in town, basically doubling the number of stage acting jobs in town, and all without carrying any debt. CET is ready to take its next big step."

CET has collaborated in the past with Birmingham Festival Theatre, Aldridge Repertory Theatre, the Alabama School of Fine Arts and others, and Fuller said the collaborations will continue. CET's productions have included August: Osage County, Superior Donuts and Race. Wofford's Actors Theatre of Alabama produced The Glass Menagerie and Judge Roy Moore Is Coming to Dinner.

A four-show season will be announced at a later date.