American Theatre Wing Announces Recipients of 2013 National Theatre Company Grants
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AMERICAN THEATRE WING
ANNOUNCES RECIPIENTS OF
2013 NATIONAL THEATRE COMPANY GRANTS
New York, NY (9/3/13) – The American Theatre Wing has announced the recipients of its 2013 National Theatre Company Grants. This year’s recipients are: 16th Street Theater (Berwyn, Illinois), The Catastrophic Theatre (Houston, Texas), Constellation Theatre Company (Washington, D.C.), The Cutting Ball Theatre (San Francisco, California), Golden Thread Productions (San Francisco, California), The Hypocrites (Chicago, Illinois), Prospect Theater Company (New York, New York), Theater Latté Da (Minneapolis, Minnesota), Third Rail Repertory Theatre (Portland, Oregon), and True Colors Theatre Company (Atlanta, Georgia).
Grants for the 2013 cycle in the amount of $10,000 each will be distributed for general operating support to these companies which, according to grant guidelines, have been in operation at least five, but not more than fifteen years, have articulated a distinctive mission, cultivated an audience, and nurtured a community of artists in ways that strengthen and demonstrate the quality, diversity, and dynamism of American theatre.
“The ten recipients of this year’s National Theatre Company Grants prove yet again that exciting theatre is being created and produced in communities large and small all across the country,” Heather Hitchens, Executive Director of the American Theatre Wing, commented. “These companies have demonstrated tremendous courage and creativity, and are vital to the cultural and civic fabric of their communities. All of us at The Wing are proud to recognize their outstanding work.”
The American Theatre Wing has long shown its dedication to not-for-profit theatres through its Theatre Company Grants Program. After many years during which eligibility was restricted to New York City companies, 2010 marked a significant change in the granting of The Wing, resulting from extensive review by the organization’s Board of Trustees. The ATW Grants have distributed some $3 million dollars over the past 55 years. For more information on the ATW’s National Theatre Company Grants, visit: americantheatrewing.org/grants/. The application period for 2013 grants will open in the spring of next year.
In 2012, the American Theatre Wing (William Ivey Long, Chairman, Board of Trustees; Heather Hitchens, Executive Director) celebrated 95 years of service to the American Theatre. For nearly a century, the mission of the Wing has been to serve and support the theatre by celebrating excellence, nurturing the public’s appreciation of theatre, and providing unique educational and access opportunities for both practitioners and audiences.
Best known for creating The Antoinette Perry “Tony” Awards®, now presented with The Broadway League, the Wing has developed the best-known national platform for the recognition of theatrical achievement on Broadway. Yet the Wing’s reach extends beyond Broadway and beyond New York, with educational and media work that offers the very best in theatre to people around the world. In addition to its various media programs and a host of other online resources, The Wing sponsors many activities, all dedicated to recognizing excellence and supporting education in theatre. The Wing’s programs include the Theatre Intern Group, a career development program for young professionals; SpringboardNYC, a two-week college-to-career boot camp for young performers moving to NYC; and the Jonathan Larson® Grants, given annually to honor emerging composers, lyricists and book writers.
Visitors to americantheatrewing.org can listen to, watch or download from the Wing’s extensive media collection, and learn more about all of its programming for students, aspiring and working professionals, and audiences who want to learn more about the making of theatre. Follow the Wing on Facebook.com/TheAmericanTheatreWing and Twitter.com/TheWing.
Mission Statements____________________________________________________
16th Street Theater is dedicated to artistic excellence, professionalism, diversity and affordability; the company exists to encourage debate, discussion and compassion among the community through the medium of intimate and diverse theater with the playwright as its central focus. As the only professional theater in Berwyn, IL, 16th Street serves and gives voice to all in the community, inviting audiences to experience not only their own stories but those of their neighbors.
The Catastrophic Theatre is the premier creator and producer of new work not otherwise available in Houston, TX. The company is dedicated to creating a meaningful exchange between artists and audiences through new work. With a pronounced emphasis on emotional experience, Catastrophic Theatre encourages diverse interpretations focusing on mystery, poetry, and a considered preference for questions rather than answers.
Constellation Theatre Company Located in Washington, D.C., Constellation Theatre Company’s mission is to spark the curiosity and imagination of their audiences by bringing stories to life from all over the world. By opening their creative process to the community, the company cultivates interdisciplinary collaboration that unites the acting ensemble, the written word, visual spectacle, original music and movement to form an intimate and vibrant entertainment experience.
The Cutting Ball Theater Located in San Francisco, CA, The Cutting Ball Theater’s mission is to develop productions of experimental new plays and re-visioned classics, with an emphasis on language and images. The company’s goals are to honor and move forward the field of avant-garde theater and to provide an artistic home to playwrights, directors, actors and designers interested in challenging themselves and deepening their work through experimentation.
Golden Thread Productions is dedicated to exploring Middle Eastern cultures and identities as expressed around the globe. Located in San Francisco, CA, the company presents alternative perspectives of the Middle East by developing and producing theatrical work that is aesthetically varied and politically and viscerally engaging, thus making the Middle East a potent presence on the American stage and a treasured cultural experience.
The Hypocrites Located in Chicago, IL, The Hypocrites’ mission is to make a Theater of Honesty. Through the balance of an unyielding emotional honesty and accepting a concept of “play,” the company seeks to strengthen the connection between artist and audience, enriching the audience’s imaginative experience. Ultimately the company aims, perhaps somewhat naively, to spread understanding within society, thereby minimizing cruelty.
Prospect Theater Company Located in New York, NY, Prospect Theater Company’s goals are to connect communities of artists and audiences to each other and to theatrical history by re-interpreting classic plays and musicals, and to use these connections to collaboratively create new works. The company strives to connect theater’s present to its past—in order to build its future.
Theater Latté Da seeks to create new connections between story, music, artist, and audience by exploring and expanding the art of musical theater. Located in Minneapolis, MN, the company combines music and story to illuminate the breadth and depth of the human experience and produces work in a wide range of venues ideally suited for each production, treating Twin Cities audiences to a dynamic, one-of-a-kind theatrical experience.
Third Rail Repertory Theatre provides a dynamic artistic home for theatre audiences in Portland, OR by fostering a professional local company. Through collaboration and discipline, it brings to life exceptional stories that provoke dialogue, encourage empathy, and inspire curiosity. The permanent ensemble shares an understanding of each other’s working styles with a desire to deliver artistic excellence to Portland audiences on a consistent basis.
True Colors Theatre Company creates a moveable feast of theatre grounded in the rich canon of African-American classics and branches out to include bold interpretations of world drama with a strong commitment to diverse new voices helping to develop those early-career writers. Located in Atlanta, GA, the company intends to be an important voice in the American discussion of diversity, supporting and propelling individuals and institutions in their quest for understanding.
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