NATIONWIDE: The Stage Managers’ Association Foundation (SMAF) has announced the recipients of its first four grants to the stage management community. Grants have been awarded to Ebony Road Players in Grand Rapids, Mich., for their Visionary Academy Program to provide training and promote a theatrical experience for stage managers of color in the West Michigan theatre community; Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS in New York to support hiring a stage management intern to manage casting information for Broadway Bares; Brídín Clements Cotton of NYU Tisch/NYU Abu Dhabi to investigate stage management practices in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with an initial focus on Beirut and Cairo, and to share the results with other stage managers and educators; and Olivia Rose of East Lansing, Mich., for participating in a certified stage management fight/intimacy workshop to enhance her stage managerial skills.
The SMAF provides funds for public events that enhance and develop stage management skills, advocacy, education, and training. Tax-deductible contributions can be made for special training and research grant requests for working professionals and aspiring early-career stage managers, to keep up with rapidly changing technology as well as to establish scholarships for specific stage management training. Also, groups or individuals may present funding proposals for projects and public events that are designed to promote a greater understanding and appreciation of the skills of stage managers and their crucial role in the arts and entertainment industries.
SMAF funds projects for goods, services, or scholarships for individuals or entities who are stage managers. This includes those demonstrating experience as professional stage managers; those who make their primary living as a stage manager, or are working toward, or retired from, making their primary living as a stage manager; anyone enrolled in a college or graduate program focused on stage management; those working with stage managers, such as production managers and technical directors; and those teaching stage managers, or who enjoy stage managing but do not practice it as a career.
The next SMAF small grant cycle opens on Sept. 1. The deadline for grant submissions will be Oct. 1, with an announcement of grants approved on Nov. 1. See the SMAF grant guidelines for more information on how to apply. Proposals will be accepted from organizations whose activities are aligned with the mission and stated funding purposes of the foundation, including providing programming to advance career education for stage managers. All funding will be awarded through a fiscal receiver or an organization in the 501(c) series.
The Stage Managers’ Association Foundation (SMAF) seeks to support and promote the craft and the art of stage management by providing funds for continuing career education and development, for public events that enhance stage management skills, for advocacy, as well as for assisting in the creation of scholarships for early stage management training. Grants may be applied toward expenses for programs and services, lecture and symposia honorariums for individuals and groups, the creation of scholarship funds for higher education and accredited courses in the field of stage management, and opportunities for community giving.
