Live Bait Theatre was founded and incorporated as a registered non-profit charitable organization in May of 1988. Although initially offering only a summer season, the company has been expanding into the winter months since taking over its own space in 2004 .

Live Bait is one of only three professional English language theatre companies in New Brunswick.

The company has produced forty-five mainstage shows. Thirty-one of these were Canadian scripts. Twelve were developed and/or premiered at Live Bait including Jan Kudelka's American Demon, Pete Soucy's Flux, Mark Blagrave's We Happy Few, Geoff McBride's Quit, Jenny Munday's Relatively Harmless and Charlie Rhindress' The Maritime Way of Life, which was nominated as best new play at the Canadian Comedy Awards.

Live Bait has presented the Atlantic Canadian premieres of a number of works including Don Hannah's Fathers and Sons, Michel Tremblay's For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again, Morris Panych's Lawrence and Holloman and Sky Gilbert's Lola Starr Builds Her Dream Home, as well as the Canadian premiere of The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (abridged).

Since 1994 Live Bait has produced an annual Christmas dinner theatre and one or two dinner theatres each summer. These are usually original, interactive, musical comedies written specifically for Live Bait. They have proven incredibly popular with our audience and help to sustain the company financially. To date the company has produced over thirty original dinner theatre scripts.

Many of Canada's most respected theatre artists have worked at Live Bait including Mary Vingoe, Bryden MacDonald, Sarah Stanley, Don Hannah, Jenny Munday, Gay Hauser, Deborah Allen, Christian Murray, Leigh Ann Vardy, Marcia Kash, Marshall Button and Stephen Osler. Rita MacNeil was very involved in the creation of Flying On Her Own, a play based on her life story.

Live Bait often hires young actors, fresh out of university. Over twenty actors have gotten their first professional experience at Live Bait and gone on to become members of ACTRA and/or Equity.

Live Bait also provides theatre training to students aged 7-17. The Young Company has presented over thirty plays, more than half of them original shows created by or for the company. A number of these young people are now pursuing careers in theatre.

Live Bait has been featured in Theatrum and Canadian Theatre Review as well as on Midday, Morningside, Breakfast Television and Live at Five.

CBC-TV said about the company, "Live Bait has won a place here...tourists stop for the Waterfowl Park and find a reason to stay for the evening."

In 1999 New Brunswick's Lieutenant Governor, Marilyn Trenholme, presented Live Bait with an Arts Award of Merit for contributions to the cultural life of New Brunswick.