Count Basie Center for Theatre Arts

The Count Basie Center for the Arts continues to persevere in its mission to Inspire, Educate and Entertain through our distinct and engaging cultural and artistic offerings, all of which aim to embrace and amplify the diversity of the region. In FY2023, the Count Basie Center Academy welcomed more than 1,000 students to our Red Bank campus, engaging them with a variety of performing arts experiences - from mainstage productions like Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Matilda, Newsies, Chicago and Annie, to acting, dancing and vocal lessons, instruction in auditioning for television and film, and more. At the Basie Center's Monmouth Conservatory of Music, nearly 100 students receive regular instruction in piano, classical guitar, woodwinds, strings and other instruments, in addition to group experiences such as ensembles and orchestra. In line with goals expressed in our ongoing 'Forever For Everyone' endowment campaign, the Basie Center organization offered 150 scholarships to its programs in FY23 - more than twice as many as the year prior. These scholarships have provided experiences to students who may otherwise have not had access to the performing arts. Also, in alignment with organizational values and strategic goals, the Count Basie Center has employed an organization-wide focus on initiatives tied to promoting Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access and Belonging including required training for all full- and part-time staff, an increase in culturally diverse programming and performing artists, hosting of a series of critical conversations, and the hiring of a director of community engagement. Firty area students participated in the annual Louis & Gia Maione Prima Music Camp, a free summer camp which introduces students to their very first musical instrument and provides them with an opportunity to participate in a public performance. Both the Count Basie Center Gospel Choir and the Calpulli Mexican Dance Company held classes and public performances on our stages, bringing cultural significance and authenticity to events such as our annual Cinco de Mayo or Juneteenth community celebrations. In late May, the annual Basie Awards ceremony took place, packing the Basie Center's Hackensack Meridian health Theatre with more than 1,500 fans on hand to celebrate excellence in Monmouth County high school theatre. Lastly, nearly more than 6,200 students visited the Count Basie Center campus as part of our 'Curtains Up For Kids' school show program, which was able to welcome 58 schools while subsidizing more than $38,000 worth of event tickets and $17,000 in bus transportation.