Theatre Communications Group has announced the recipients for its RESPOND grants, which will each receive $10,000 of immediate support as part of the THRIVE! Uplifting Theatres of Color program.
This year's recipients include A Call to Conscience Interactive Theater for Social Change, Amaterasu Za, Bindlestiff Studio, Black Arts MKE, Black Creators Collective, Canady Foundation for the Arts, Cara Mía Theatre, Ebony Repertory Theatre, KC Melting Pot Theatre Productions, Kennie Playhouse Theatre, Medina Theater Collective, Native Voices at the Autry, New Native Theatre, Sankofa African American Theatre Company, Teatro Hispano De Dallas, Tee Zee Productions, Turtle Theater Collective, Universes, Voices in the Dark Repertory Theatre Company, and Yangtze Repertory Theatre of America.
“Theatres of Color play a critical role in responding to the challenges and opportunities faced by the communities of color they serve,” says Teresa Eyring, executive director and CEO of TCG in a statement. “Yet, because of the ongoing legacy of systemic racism, these theatres often don’t have access to responsive support themselves. With these RESPOND grants, theatres will have access to rapidly accessible funds to address challenges as they arise.”
In partnership with an advisory circle of Black, Indigenous, and people of color, TCG is working to provide unrestricted funds for Black theatres, Indigenous theatres, and theatres of color. With support from Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the grants are aimed at addressing immediate, time-sensitive obstacles to a theatre's work with local communities of color. Further grants will be awarded at a later date this summer.
THRIVE! will also be awarding 20 RECOGNIZE grants of $50,000 each, with recipients participating in REBUILD: A Learning Cohort. The REBUILD program will create connections between theatres and BIPOC consultants to strengthen the theatres' effectiveness.
Members of the advisory circle include art2action's Andrea Assaf, Urban Theatre's Miranda Gonzalez, Professor Andre Harrington, KC Melting Pot Theater's Dr. Nicole Hodges Persley, Perserverance Theatre's Leslie Ishii, National Black Theatre's Jonathan McCrory, Teatro Luna's Alexandra Meda, Noor Theatre's Kate Moore Heaney, Pangea World Theatre's Meena Natarajan, Eagle Project's Ryan Opalanietet Pierce, Native Voices' DeLanna Studi, Mind Your Business Art's K. Zaheerah Sultan, Marin Theatre Company's Meredith Suttles, and Golden Thread Productions' Torange Yeghiazarian.
To learn more, visit Circle.TCG.org.
