THEATRE BAY AREA ANNOUNCES GRANT TO FUND NEW WORK BY BAY AREA PLAYWRIGHTS
San Francisco, May 5, 2005—Theatre Bay Area (TBA) announced the launch of its New Works Fund, a granting program to encourage the development and production of new theatrical work by Bay Area playwrights. Created with support from The San Francisco Foundation’s “Fund for Artists,” the New Works Fund will distribute $10,000 grants to two creative teams, each consisting of a Bay Area playwright and a local theatre company. The writer and company will split the monies evenly and develop and fully produce a new theatrical work.
Theatre Bay Area’s New Works Fund seeks to provide local playwrights with new ways to establish long-term relationships with local theatres and to “prod” Bay Area theatre companies to foster and produce the work of local writers.
“It is ironic that given the nearly 200 world premieres presented each year in the Bay Area, and with our reputation for new work development, many local playwrights must establish their careers outside this region before receiving a production here,” stated Theatre Bay Area executive director Brad Erickson. “We are excited to be able to offer this grant in an effort to support Bay Area writers and match them with local theatres.”
The New Works Fund targets playwrights living in the nine-county Bay Area region and the region’s theatre companies with annual budgets between $50,000 and $750,000. Theatre Bay Area is grateful to The San Francisco Foundation and to the national funders that made the “Fund for Artists” possible.
“The best way to support Bay Area playwrights is to support the local production of their work,” stated John R. Killacky, program officer for The San Francisco Foundation. “We are pleased to extend this assistance through Theatre Bay Area’s New Works Fund.
Applications will be available June 1, 2005 through the Theatre Bay Area Web site www.theatrebayarea.org. The deadline for receipt of proposals is September 30, 2005. Grants will be announced in November for projects to be completed by December 31, 2007. Adjudicating panels will be drawn from the local theatre community, including resident playwrights, directors and dramaturges.
About the Fund for Artists
The Fund for Artists is a $1 million initiative designed to support the work of creative individuals in the Bay Area. The Fund supports the endeavors of individual artists through commissions, artists' residencies, awards, advocacy, and promotional and networking support.
Four community foundations – East Bay Community Foundation, Marin Community Foundation, Peninsula Community Foundation, and The San Francisco Foundation – will each provide $125,000 to match grants totaling $500,000 from The James Irvine Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Ford Foundation, through the Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC) initiative. The participating community foundations will reach out to members of their communities, including current donors, to support this effort and contribute the matching funds.
This collaborative is the first of its kind in the nation, and is a unique response to recent studies conducted by the Urban Institute and LINC that highlighted the importance of the commissioning of new works in creating a robust economic environment for artists.
About Theatre Bay Area
Theatre Bay Area is the nation’s largest regional performing arts service organization with some 370 theatre and dance company members and nearly 2,900 individual members in nine Bay Area counties. Founded by theatre workers in 1976, TBA is a nonprofit organization with a mission to unite, strengthen and promote theatre in the Bay Area. TBA works on the conviction that the performing arts are an essential public good and critical to a healthy and truly democratic society. Theatre Bay Area’s most prominent programs include TIX Bay Area (the half-price ticket booth on Union Square), Theatre Bay Area magazine (the central source for information on the Bay Area’s theatre industry, reaching 10,000 readers), granting programs for emerging theatre companies and local theatre artists, and leadership in advocacy efforts for the theatre and dance communities on the local, state and national levels. Theatre Bay Area also provides an array of resource guides for the theatre industry, professional development opportunities for theatre professionals and a variety of services for both theatre artists and theatre companies.
For more information, please contact Brad Erickson at 415-430-1140 x11.
