Our Impact
The performing arts have the power to connect us all.
Heartstrings Theatre Company is committed to building on that promise.
Community.
Our students and their experience at Heartstrings come first. Our all-ages casts are made up of an average of 70% grade school students and 30% adolescents, while our advanced productions are composed entirely of adolescent actors. We put on productions that are fun and interesting not just for us, but for our cast, too. Plus, we cast every child who auditions for our all-ages performances; our average cast size is 34 actors. Together with our students, we have built a welcoming community where we are all each other’s cheerleaders. Our community’s strength speaks for itself: 97% of our students return for more than one show or class season, and over 70% participate in everything we offer, including classes.
Returning learners per number of shows
Student age range
Equality.
As an organization built on the foundations of equality, we are dedicated to making Heartstrings a supportive environment for all of our students. Our staff and board includes people from many walks of life, including race and ethnicity, ability, all LGBTQ+ identities, neurodiversity, military service and income levels. We are woman-owned and led: 62% of our staff and board are female and 18% are nonbinary. Over a third of our staff are LGBTQ+ (37%), neurodivergent (40%), and/or disabled (30%). 72% have a close family member who has served in the armed forces.
We know how important it is for our students to feel safe with us, no matter who they are and where they come from. We have been committed to meeting all of our students’ individual needs since our founding. Our show choreographers create accessible choreography for every production so that no child is left out of the spotlight. We use the pronouns our students request: 73% of our students use she/her, 24% use he/him, and 3% use they/them or other pronouns. We strive to make our program accessible to students of all income levels and educational backgrounds, including those from military families, those who are homeschooled, and those who attend Title I schools.
Staff gender by pronouns
Student gender by pronouns
Opportunity.
Everyone deserves the opportunity to be a part of the performing arts. We believe in reducing the monetary barriers our students face to accessing excellent theater education. We offer sliding scale fees to every student, which includes the opportunity to apply for half-rate or full-ride scholarships, which we fund through donations from our community. On average, 63% of our students request and receive a fee reduction, 39% of which are scholarships.
Average tuition payment
Education.
We encourage students with any level of experience to join our productions, because we know that age does not limit an actor’s potential to learn professionally. Our experienced teachers hold students to high standards, pushing them to improve on a variety of theater skills, including character work, voice, movement, and more. Whether they want to act professionally or simply cultivate a love of the performing arts that will last a lifetime, Heartstrings will help them reach their goals.
Percentage of students with formal training
Connection.
We welcome all of Albuquerque with open arms. Our shows are a family-friendly community event, drawing an average of 100 audience members per performance. Just as we believe in reducing monetary barriers for our students, we also believe that our audiences deserve the same level of access. We offer reduced admission for students and seniors (19% of our audience), children (13% of our audience), as well as discounts for educators, first responders, and both active duty and veteran military members. In addition, we also offer a “pay what you can” option, available to all audience members. On average, pay what you can ticketholders account for 13% of our audience and pay $7.48 for admission.