News

Announcing the Spring 2025 CA$H Theatre Grantees

June 10, 2025

We are proud to announce the following recipients of the Spring 2025 CA$H Theatre Grants. Learn more about CA$H Theatre. CA$H Performs CA$H Performs is a $5,000 grant that supports fully produced performances of theatre projects that are open to the public. The Chikahan Company The Chikahan Company will develop and present its newest project…

Announcing the 2025 Rella Lossy Awardee

June 10, 2025

We are proud to announce the recipient of the 2025-26 Rella Lossy Award. The Rella Lossy Award honors the memory of Rella Lossy, a lifelong champion of the American theatre and playwriting, by honoring the best new full-length script of a play by an emerging playwright that will premiere in Alameda County, Contra Costa County,…

Advocacy Alert: The Fight for Artistic Freedom is Here

May 6, 2025

Two federal arts funding stories broke over the weekend. Learn how you can join the fight below — but first here are the key details. On Friday morning Trump released a budget proposal that would eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts. Read via American Theatre: Trump Proposes Elimination of NEA and NEH The National…

20 Years Ago: A Letter to the Editor. Now: The Getting Played Symposium.

October 18, 2024

By Kathleen Antonia Tarr This year is the 10th anniversary of the Getting Played Symposium on Equity in the Entertainment Industry and Awards which I founded in response to what I observed as rampant discrimination in casting, direction, and production. 2015 was also the year I delivered the General Session at the Annual Meeting of the State Bar…

Nataki Garrett, a Black woman in a blue dress, gestures at a podium, with the TBAConnect graphic projected in the background.

Transcript: The Threat of An Inclusive American Theatre

August 7, 2024

If you were at our October 2023 conference, you almost certainly remember Nataki Garrett’s outstanding keynote address. In anticipation of the Annual Conference 2024: Roots Intertwined, we are pleased to share the transcript below. The Threat of An Inclusive American Theatre By Nataki Garrett Thank you so much, Meredith, and good afternoon, everyone! It feels…

American Conservatory Theater and Theatre Bay Area Partnership Opens New Doors for Melissa Yandell Smith Library

March 4, 2024

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) and Theatre Bay Area have forged a new partnership for artists all around the Bay Area to access A.C.T.’s Melissa Yandell Smith Library collection. The Melissa Yandell Smith Library contains nearly 15,000 titles including play scripts, books, videos, language and music recordings, music scores, and theater periodicals. The collection has been…

Kimberly Ridgeway, a Black woman with her hair in braids, speaks into a microphone.

Introducing the 2023-24 Arts Leadership Residency

October 31, 2023

Photo by Cheshire Isaacs Kimberly will be working with Central Works co-Artistic Directors Jan Zvaifler and Gary Graves on producing their 2024 season and developing their 2025 season. All Central Works seasons are developed collaboratively, and Central Works plans to fully involve Kimberly in all aspects of leadership work. Kimberly Ridgeway is a Director, Actor,…

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Grants & Awards

TBA’s grant program supports a diverse community of theatremakers from across the Bay Area — learn about upcoming funding opportunities and meet recent grant awardees.

Meet the Grantees