About

The UC Theatre was founded in 2012 by the Berkeley Music Group (BMG) as a 501 c3 non-profit organization. We operate The UC Theatre - an independent community-minded 1,400 capacity multi-tiered live music venue, with youth education programs. Our mission is to present a vibrant and diverse range of live performances to advance the understanding and appreciation of music, culture, and education in the Bay Area.  We provide inclusive, diverse, and culturally rich music programming including; Tinariwen, Green Day, Run The Jewels, Natalia Laforcada, Clozee, Todrick Hall, Steel Pulse, Kehlani, Mulatu Astatke, Kolohe Kai, Taj Mahal, The Story So Far, Toro y Moi and more, as well as transformative youth education programs. 

Our Concert Career Pathways Education Program (CCP) seeks to remove the barriers of entry into the music business for underserved communities. We teach young people ages 17 to 25 the technical, creative, and business aspects of concert and event promotion. This nine-month experiential workforce development program develops critical and creative thinking skills necessary to become successful in the 21st-century workplace. Our CCP Grads come from diverse backgrounds. For example, our 2020-21 cohort was 61% female and 73% people of color (15% Black/African American, 19% Asian, 31% Latinx). 35% of our 2020/21 cohort is LGBTQ+, 10% have disabilities, and 62% live below the poverty line. Each year, at least 80% of graduates find employment 3 months after completing the CCP program.

Despite the wealth in the Bay Area, teenagers and young adults, particularly low-income youth of color, struggle to find educational opportunities that lead to living-wage jobs. CCP provides hands-on job experiences, fostering the understanding of work as an integral and satisfying aspect of life, and connecting youth passionate about music business to a field in which there are current job opportunities and career ladders. Now more than ever removing the barriers to entry in the workforce for people of color and the LGBTQ community is critical to embrace and support.

In general, music industry management programs, like many industries in the United States, lack equity, diversity, and inclusion. The UC Theatre believes that bringing together young leaders from a variety of backgrounds with diverse perspectives will help create a more equitable and diverse industry and provide a space for underserved youth to have their voices heard by their peers, some of whom come from more privileged backgrounds, providing exposure to and immersion in diverse voices and ideas. This unique management program supports up-and-coming leaders of the Bay Area that hold promise for re-imagining the music industry in ways that advance intergenerational and multicultural leadership, inclusion, and equity.

The UC Theatre is committed to equity in its support and advocacy, and seeks to create and encourage opportunities for people of color, women, non-binary, LGBTQ+, veterans, and people with disabilities. The UC Theatre is committed to creating and upholding a safe space for its staff and customers where respectful conversations around diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility can continue to happen.The UC Theatre makes an ongoing commitment to prioritize DEI initiatives and learn more about best practices and approaches to DEI in the live performance industry, and to provide resources and professional development opportunities to support its members in doing the same for their individual businesses.