SEATTLE: The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation announced today the 14 new recipients of its annual Social Impact Theatre Grant Program. The program supports theatres in Western states that ignite positive change in their communities through timely and compelling productions.
This year’s Social Impact Theatre Grant awardees include:
- American Conservatory Theatre, Co-Founders
- Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Mexodus
- Denver Center for the Performing Arts, The Reservoir
- Geffen Playhouse, Furlough’s Paradise
- Portland Center Stage, The Brothers Size
- Rubicon Theatre Company, Crazy Mama
- Seattle Repertory Theatre, Blues for an Alabama Sky
- The Old Globe*
- Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Here There Are Blueberries
- Z Space Studio, The Day the Sky Turned Orange
*Production to be named following their 2025 season announcement.
“These theatres share our Foundation’s belief in the power live theatre has to expand opportunities for dialogue, build bridges between different viewpoints, and help audiences grapple with the challenges we face in our communities today,” said Sheri Biller, president of the Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation, in a statement. “We are so appreciative of their commitment to raise up important voices and give visibility to critical issues.”
For the first time, this year the Foundation also awarded Change Capital Grants to six theatres that are implementing new business models to increase their organization’s vitality and sustainability. The grants are designed to kickstart new initiatives or to enhance existing strategies with the aim of broadening its support for the field. This year’s Change Capital Grant awardees and projects include:
- Geffen Playhouse, New Blackbox Theatre Vision
- Latino Theater Company, Succession Planning
- Portland Center Stage, Membership Ticketing Model
- Portland Playhouse, Social Prescription Pilot
- Seattle Children’s Theatre, Resource Sharing Initiative with Seattle Repertory Theatre
- Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum, Cohort Based Audience Research
The Social Impact Theatre Grant Program supports theatres throughout Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington State, with 501(c)(3) status, at least two years of operating history, and annual revenue of at least $1,000,000. The next grant cycle will open in May of 2025.
Founded in 2001, The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation works to expand access to systems and solutions that expand economic opportunity, supportive care for life-threatening illnesses, and the transformative power of the arts.
NEW YORK CITY: The 2024 Horton Foote Prize has been awarded to Jocelyn Bioh for her play Jaja’s African Hair Braiding. Also presented at this year’s ceremony will be the 2024 Horton Foote Prize Gratitude Gift to Rattlestick Theater.
Jocelyn Bioh is an award-winning, Tony-nominated Ghanaian American writer/performer from New York City. In addition to Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, which premiered on Broadway in 2023 and was nominated for five Tony Awards including Best Play, she has written Merry Wives (Public Theater/Shakespeare in the Park, PBS Great Performances, 2022 Drama Desk Award Winner for Outstanding Adaptation), Nollywood Dreams (MCC Theater), the musical Goddess (Berkeley Rep, 2022), the multi-award-winning School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play, which was originally produced at MCC Theater in 2017/2018 and has gone on to have over 65 regional productions and a U.K. premiere in 2023.
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding was commissioned by Williamstown Theatre Festival and was nominated by Manhattan Theatre Club. The MTC production will embark on a multi-city tour this fall, starting at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., in September, moving to Berkeley Repertory Theatre in November, and to Chicago Shakespeare Theater in January.
Bioh will be honored at a private celebration on Monday, Oct. 7 at New York’s Lotos Club, where she will be presented with $50,000 and a limited edition of Keith Carter’s iconic photograph of Horton Foote, which is found in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. The prize will be presented by the play’s director, Whitney White.
The 2024 Horton Foote Prize Gratitude Gift is awarded each prize year to a 501c3 nonprofit organization that endeavors to have a positive impact through the work and art of theatre, as chosen by the honorary chair. This year’s $10,000 gift, at the direction of Kathleen Chalfant, will be awarded to Rattlestick Theater. Founded in 1994, Rattlestick Theater aims to produce adventurous new plays that are formally inventive and theatrically expansive.
Awarded since 2010, the biennial Horton Foote Prize recognizes excellence in American theatre and is named in honor of the late Pulitzer-winning playwright. Each prize year, prominent professional theatres throughout the country are invited to submit a newly produced or an unproduced play, with unproduced works slated for an upcoming premiere production. The Horton Foote Prize is founded and funded by the Greg and Mari Marchbanks Family Foundation of Austin, Texas.
NEW YORK CITY: The Henry Hewes Design Awards committee today announced the 2024 Henry Hewes Design Awards Honorees, who will be recognized at the 60th annual ceremony on Oct. 21 in New York.
Honors for the 2023–24 season were earned by 12 artists for their work on and Off-Broadway. Scenic design team dots (Appropriate, Broadway), costume designer Oana Botez (Orlando, Signature Theatre Company), lighting designer Jane Cox (Appropriate, Broadway), sound designer Jonathan Deans (Buena Vista Social Club, Atlantic Theater Company), media designer David Bengali (Here There Are Blueberries, New York Theatre Workshop), and hair and wig designer Nikiya Mathis (Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Broadway) will be honored with 2024 Henry Hewes Design Awards. The Hewes Committee also voted a Special Citation for Excellence in Design to the Broadway design team of Stereophonic. These Special Citation honorees include David Zinn, Enver Chakartash, Jiyoun Chang, Ryan Rumery, Robert Pickens, and Katie Gell.
These annual awards honor designers for work in venues on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway, recognizing the categories of Scenic Design, Costume Design, Lighting Design, Sound Design, Media Design, and Notable Effects. All nominated designs must have originated in United States productions. The Hewes Awards Committee annually considers approximately 200 productions when making its nominations.
Seven of this year’s 12 honorees are receiving their first award from the Hewes committee. For the 2024 honors, an all-time high of 130 theatre artists were nominated for outstanding artistry in 79 productions presented during the 2023–24 New York theatre season on, Off-, and Off-Off-Broadway.
NEW YORK CITY: The 1/52 Project has selected nine early-career designer recipients to benefit from $150,000 in grants. Applicants were chosen based on talent, creativity, need, innovation, and potential for future excellence in the professional theatrical field. Each recipient will receive grants up to $17,500. The 2024 recipients are Emma Deane (Lighting Designer), Emmanuel Delgado (Lighting Designer), Camilla Dely (Costume Designer), Dee Etti-Williams (Sound Designer), Carolina Ortiz Herrera (Lighting Designer), Meg Powers (Costume Designer), Hannah Tran (Projection Designer), Miguel Urbino (Set Designer), and Teresa L. Williams (Set Designer).
Launched in January 2022 by Tony-winning set designer Beowulf Boritt, the 1/52 Project aims to encourage early career designers from historically excluded groups, including all women, with the goal of diversifying and strengthening the Broadway design community. The program is primarily funded by designers with shows running on Broadway who are encouraged to donate one week every year of their weekly royalties to this fund.
The nine grants will be presented at a reception at the Civilian Hotel Rosevale cocktail lounge on Monday, Sept. 30 from 5 to 7 p.m., sponsored by a generous donation from Neil Mazella and Hudson Scenic Studios.
This year the 1/52 Project invited businesses who are part of the Broadway community to participate as community partners with a matching grant challenge of $7,500, which include Christie Lites, 4 Wall Entertainment, Hudson Scenic Studios ,Global Scenic Services, the John Gore Organization, Masque Sound & Recording Corp., PRG, Proof Productions, and Showmotion Inc. Additionally, Vectorworks Inc will donate a year’s subscription to the design program Vectorworks to some recipients for one year. The 1/52 Project also works with Players Philanthropy Foundation as their Fiscal Sponsor.
WARWICK, R.I.: The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre (The Gamm) welcomes three new fellows to its 2024-25 Gamm Fellowship Program. This fourth cohort of emerging artists of color includes Zelina Estrella Garcia, Allison “Sonny” Wong, and Ayrin Ramirez Peguero.
Garcia, a Providence native, graduated from Rhode Island College (‘23) with a BA in musical theatre and a minor in dance performance. Through RIC, she is a Miranda Family Scholarship Fellow, an honor awarded to talented students from underrepresented populations who are pursuing a career in music, theatre, or dance.
Wong of Barrington, R.I., received an AA in liberal arts, with a concentration in theatre performance, from the Community College of Rhode Island (’24). They also performed and worked in technical roles around Rhode Island, including at Contemporary Theatre Company, Burbage Theatre Company, Spectrum Theatre Ensemble, and Mixed Magic Theatre.
Peguero holds a BFA in theatre with a concentration in acting from the University of Rhode Island (’24). Born in La Romana, Dominican Republic, she was raised in Providence. She has also performed at Burbage Theatre Company , Mixed Magic Theatre, and Trinity Rep/RILA Teatro en El Verano .
The 10-month Gamm Fellowship Program is a partnership between the Gamm and Rhode Island’s public institutions of higher education. Fellows are paid a stipend to participate in an immersive experience. Over the course of the Gamm’s 2024-25 season, fellows engage in select areas of creative, administrative, and educational theatremaking. Additionally, each is paired with an advanced career mentor who will provide guidance about making a living in the theatre industry.
SARASOTA COUNTY, FLA.: The Hermitage Artist Retreat and the Terrence McNally Foundation have announced writer, performer, and vocalist Zeniba Now as the inaugural recipient of the McNally Residency at the Hermitage. As part of her residency, Now will present a public program on Friday, Oct. 18 at the Hermitage Beach.
Zeniba Now is a creator of commercial and independent art and performance. As a writer of musicals, her work includes the musical shorts “Beloved” and “To Be on Hold Forever / Stay on the Line.” Full-length musicals include The Loophole, Take the Lead, and a new musical in development with Disney Theatrical Productions. She performs in her shows “iQuit: Millennial Retirement Gala” and “Sincerely, Z” on TikTok and YouTube.
The program will feature original works performed by Now, who will also offer insight into her creative process. The program will also feature remarks from Tony and Olivier-winning Broadway producer Tom Kirdahy and Tony-winning Hermitage artistic director Andy Sandberg. The Hermitage is a leading national arts incubator and multidisciplinary artist retreat located on Manasota Key, Fla.
NEW YORK CITY: Working Theater has named Alex Lin as the inaugural playwright-in-residence for their 40th season. Lin’s work sheds light on the stories of working people with intelligence, compassion, and a fierce dedication to justice.
As part of her residency, Lin will develop a new play about the American steel industry, giving voice to the challenges and triumphs of the labor force that shaped the United States.
In conjunction with this residency, Working Theater joins The Action Lab as an anchor partner. The Action Lab is a strategy center for social movements that spark political and personal liberation.
NEW YORK CITY: Honor Roll! announced the recipients of the 2024 Marjorie Bicknell Honor Roll! Honors. These awards recognize the extraordinary work of individuals and organizations on behalf of women+ playwrights over 40. Nominations for Honor Roll! Honors were gathered from among the organization’s 2,000 members, and honorees were selected from those nominees by the organization’s Executive Committee.
This year’s honorees are Lynnie Godfrey (League of Professional Theatre Women) receiving a Legacy Award, Melissa Riker (EstroGenius Festival) for Outstanding Producer, Liz Amadio (Cosmic Orchid) for Inclusionary Festival, Caridad Svich (NoPassport Press) for Outstanding Publisher, and Fran Pesch (Young at Heart Players, Dayton FutureFest) for Individual Achievement.
In addition, a Special Award will be posthumously presented to honor Marjorie Bicknell, who created and administered the awards in previous years. Bicknell was the winner of the Pennsylvania Playwright Award, a Philadelphia regional representative for the Dramatists Guild, and founder of Playwrights Alliance of Philadelphia. The program has been renamed in her memory as the Marjorie Bicknell Honor Roll! Honors.
