Monica Selter Scholarship Fund
Providing MainStage scholarships and support for students from historically marginalized communities.
Donate to the Monica Selter Scholarship Fund!
Who was Monica Selter?
Monica Selter was a beloved BCT community member and member of BCT’s Advisory Council. Her two girls, Bella and Shayna, grew up at BCT, performing in original musicals in BCT’s MainStage program, from the ages of 6 to 15.
Monica spent her lifetime advocating for civil rights and social justice. She worked for Amnesty International, the Aspen Institute, and as a lawyer for Alliance for Justice, a DC-based national association that works to ensure that the federal judiciary advances core constitutional values, preserves human rights and unfettered access to the courts, and adheres to the even-handed administration of justice for all Americans.
In 2006, Monica and her family moved from Washington DC to New York, where Monica devoted much of her time to raising her girls while serving as a judge’s attorney in the New York State legal system.
Monica passed away from Pancreatic Cancer in 2017. Until the end, she marveled at what was right with the world and had no patience for what was wrong with the world.
What does the Monica Selter Scholarship Fund support?
Monica’s advocacy for the unseen and unheard,
along with her love for children, make her name synonymous with our mission here at BCT.
She saw first hand the positive influence a musical theatre education could have on a child.
Since Monica’s tenure at BCT, BCT has evolved to center equity and social-emotional well-being as core values in our mission. 75% of our students are on scholarship and 74% self-identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color). BCT dismantles barriers found in traditional musical theatre education that prohibit the growth and participation of children from low-income and BIPOC backgrounds.
The Monica Selter Scholarship Fund provides scholarships for our MainStage program – where Bella and Shayna grew up – enabling students from marginalized communities to be centered – from voicing their ideas for stories, to performing the original musicals on stage that they help to create.
My mother loved BCT and knew the impact it had on the lives of so many children. I am studying theater at NYU and intend to be a professional actor because of BCT — and because of mom.
– Bella Klaidman