November 18, 2008

NEW GENERATIONS PROGRAM

Cooperatively designed by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and TCG, the New Generations Program supports three objectives: Future Leaders, the cultivation of a new generation of theatre leadership through mentorships with established leaders in the theatre field; Future Audiences, the expansion and bolstering of existing audience development programs that have proven effective in reaching young and/or culturally specific audiences; and Future Leaders International Fellowships, where theatre professionals from abroad spend six months in residency at an American theatre. Since its inception in 2001, the New Generations Program has distributed over $7.5 million in two-year grants to 101 theatres.

New Generations: Future Leaders Grant Recipients

  • Big Dance Theatre's (New York, NY) co-artistic directors Paul Lazar and Annie-B Parson to mentor Jake Hooker in his artistic development and administrative leadership.
  • Book-It Repertory Theatre's (Seattle, WA) co-artistic directors Myra Platt and Jane Jones to mentor Mark Jared Zufelt in artistic direction.
  • Chicago Shakespeare Theater's (Chicago, IL) executive director Criss Henderson to mentor Michael Thomas Newberry in producing as well as planning and program development work.
  • Hartford Stage's (Hartford, CT) associate producer/dramaturg Christopher Baker to mentor Hana Sharif in literary management and producing.
  • La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club's (New York, NY) artistic director and founder Ellen Stewart to mentor Mia B. Yoo in theatre management.
  • McCarter Theatre Center's (Princeton, NJ) producing director Mara Isaacs to mentor Kemati Porter in artistic producing.
  • New Dramatists' (New York, NY) artistic director Todd London to mentor KJ Sanchez in artistic leadership and new play and playwright development.
  • Redmoon Theater's (Chicago, IL) artistic director James Lasko to mentor Seth Bockley in directing and artistic leadership.
  • SITI Company's (New York, NY) managing director Megan Wanlass Szalla to mentor Jennifer Timm in ensemble management.

New Generations: Future Audiences Grant Recipients

  • African Continuum Theatre Company (Washington, DC) to hire a community relations director, expand the involvement of youth in the company and increase marketing efforts in support of the theatre's move to a new community-based facility in an underserved neighborhood.
  • Antenna Theater (Sausalito, CA) to prepare to take The High School Project, a site-specific, interview-based multidisciplinary performance, to the national theatre scene by creating an informational video to interest new collaborators.
  • Arkansas Repertory Theatre (Little Rock, AR) to create The Legacy Project, a collaboratively written, interview-based play with music based on the 1957 desegregation of Little Rock Central High School and its legacy for America. The program is designed to increase participation in the theatre by young African-Americans.
  • California Shakespeare Theater (Berkeley, CA) to expand their targeted, relationship-based marketing efforts, increase access for younger audiences to the Bay Area theatre experience and integrate more people in their 20s and 30s into every level of the organization, including the board.
  • Dad's Garage Theatre Company (Atlanta, GA) to expand, retain and develop young audiences by continuing the development of cutting-edge programming, acquiring additional space for workshops of new productions, increasing artist fees, upgrading technology and communication abilities including web logs and profiles of ensemble members, and strengthening relationships with radio and movie advertising companies.
  • El Centro Su Teatro (Denver, CO) to expand the Comadre Network, designed to increase the participation of Latinas between the ages of 25 and 55, by encouraging audience members to promote theatre through their personal networks in return for recognition, discounted tickets and other incentives.
  • Hip-Hop Theater Festival (Brooklyn, NY) to hire an audience cultivation and education coordinator who will oversee the expansion of the company's outreach/cultivation activities into a year-round programs in New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Washington, DC.
  • Jenny Wiley Theatre (Prestonsburg, KY) to present Theatre Shorts, scenes and songs from the theatre's productions, in community venues. The presentations are designed to overcome the barriers which may keep people in its rural Appalachian community from participating in live theatre.
  • New WORLD Theater (Amherst, MA) to expand the scope and capacity of Project 2050, an intergenerational exploration of cross-cultural issues and aesthetics arising from youth culture.
  • Pillsbury House Theatre (Minneapolis, MN) to expand the Chicago Avenue Project, which brings inner-city youth together with adult professional theatre artists to create original theatre. The theatre will also expand an emerging artist series founded and curated by performance artist Laurie Carlos.
  • Roadside Theater (Norton, VA) to work with service and activist organizations including shelters, youth organizers, folk schools, churches and community centers to further engage working-class and poor audiences in tours and extended residencies of their work.

Future Leaders: International Fellowships Grant Recipients

  • American Repertory Theatre (Cambridge, MA) to host János Szász, a theatre and film director from Hungary.
  • Borderlands Theater (Tucson, AZ) to host Victor Carpenteiro, an actor and director from Mexico.
  • Lark Play Development Center (New York, NY) to host Saviana Stanescu, a poet and playwright from Romania.
  • Pangea World Theater (Minneapolis, MN) to host Shaji John, a Kalaripayattu practitioner and dancer from India.