Support the Carpenter Center
The Carpenter Center is a professional performing arts center on the campus of California State University, Long Beach. It presents world-class artists from around the country and around the world, bringing an array of international artistic accomplishment to CSULB students and citizens of Long Beach. Each season, the Carpenter Center offers performances in dance, music, spectacle, theatre, spoken word, and family entertainment. The Carpenter Center is the premier performing venue on the CSULB campus; performances from the B
ob Cole Conservatory of Music, the Dance Department, Film and Electronic Arts, and other campus organizations are presented here. The theatre is also the home of two resident companies, Musical Theatre West and the Long Beach Community Concert Association, which together produce and present more than fifty performances each year.
The Carpenter Center is an active commissioner of new professional work, having supported and fostered the work of Pilobolus, Diavolo Dance Theatre, Chucho Valdes, Joe Goode Performance Group, David Dorfman Dance, the Royal University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh and the Khmer Arts Academy. Whenever possible, CSULB students participate in these world premiere performances, an impressive addition to the resume of a young artist.
Finally, the Carpenter Center offers a vibrant arts education outreach program called Classroom Connections. This in-depth program provides substantial arts experiences with professional artists in local classrooms. Elementary school students meet artists in their classrooms on a personal level, then at the theatre, in a fully-produced show in a professional theatre. Through generous support from many foundations, businesses and private individuals, Classroom Connections is provided to more than 10,000 students each year at no cost to the schools. Classroom Connections has earned consistent high praise from teachers, parents and the administrators of the Long Beach Unified School Districts for more than ten years.
The Carpenter Center is committed to providing these distinctive arts experiences to our community while maintaining a fiscally-responsible organization. We rely on the support of individuals, businesses, and foundations that share our belief in the importance of the arts. While the Carpenter Center is located on the CSULB campus, less than 25% of our budget comes through the university. Commissioned works, subsidized performances, community facility use, Classroom Connections and all capital projects are funded solely through the generosity of our donors.
The Carpenter Center is pleased to offer a series of benefits designed to enhance our donor’s enjoyment of the performances here and at other venues in southern California. The Director’s Circle welcomes all donors at the $1,000 and higher annual level, to exclusive backstage receptions with artists, to special events here and at other venues, and with a standing invitation to enjoy the Baker VIP lounge for refreshments before and at intermission at all Carpenter Center-presented performances.
Call Patti Sanford at 562.985.8580 or psanford@csulb.edu for more information.