NEW YORK CITY: The American Theatre Wing has announced the recipients of the 2016 National Theatre Company Grants. The grants, which total $120,000, will be presented at a private event on Oct. 17.
“I am delighted to be honoring this year’s selections for the National Theatre Company Grants, and for the first time ever awarding second-time support grants to five companies that have previously been supported by this initiative,” said Heather Hitchens, president of the Wing, in a statement. “The Wing remains dedicated to promoting excellence in theatre across the country, which these young companies have more than demonstrated.”
Seven initial support grants, each $10,000, were given for general operating support to organizations that have been in operation for at least five and no more than 15 years. The companies also needed to have established a distinct mission, cultivated an audience, and nurtured a community of artists to strengthen and demonstrate the quality, diversity, and dynamism of the American theatre. The initial support recipients are Chicago’s American Blues Theatre, Bedlam in New York City; Chance Theater in Anaheim, Calif.; Houston’s Classical Theatre Company; Cygnet Theatre Company in San Diego, Calif.; South of Broadway Theatre Company in Charleston, S.C.; and Yellow Tree Theatre in Osseo, Minn.
New guidelines were implemented this year which created second-time support grants, each $10,000. The awards were given for general operating support for companies that received a National Theatre Company Grant between 2010 and 2015. The five recipients are 16th Street Theater in Berwyn, Ill.; Philadelphia’s 1812 Productions; Golden Thread Productions in San Francisco; Oregon’s Portland Playhouse; and Synchronicity Theatre in Atlanta.
“The quality of work that these remarkable theatre companies produce is nothing short of inspiring,” said Marva Smalls, chair of the National Theatre Company Grants committee, in a statement. “They further the conversations of issues important to their local communities.”
