Submit Applications for National Theater Project Creation & Touring Grant Program

The National Theater Project Creation & Touring Grant Program provides funds for creation and U.S. touring of artist-led, ensemble, devised projects.

Donor Name: New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA)

State: All States

County: All Counties

U.S. Territory: American Samoa, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 10/10/2024

Size of the Grant: Grant Size Not Mentioned

Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned

Details:

Modeled on NEFA’s National Dance Project, NTP not only provides funding but also animates an informed, interactive network of producing theaters, presenters, and ensembles that promote the funded projects and the development of the field as a whole. Projects are supported through Creation & Touring Grants, which fund creation and preparation for touring of devised projects and Presentation Grants, which are awarded to presenters by the artist and support up to 50% of the artistic fee for NTP projects.

• NTP supports work that reflects the evolving environment for theater, including but not limited to projects that:
  • NTP uses the following definitions in consideration of grant applications:
    • Ensemble: A group of two or more people committed to working together over time to develop a distinct practice and body of work.
    • Devised: A process of co-creation and joint discovery that prioritizes generative artists, which may include but does not prioritize playwrights, is iterative, and results in original work.
  • Support work that contributes to the cultural and aesthetic diversities of today’s theater. NEFA values an equitable, diverse, and inclusive world, which they interpret as all people having fair access to the tools and resources they need to realize creative and community endeavors. They acknowledge structural inequities that have excluded individuals and communities from opportunity based on race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, class, age, language, culture, nation of origin, and geography, and strive to counter those inequities in the work.
  • Reflect meaningful partnerships with presenters, producers, and other organizations that are involved in the development, promotion, and/or touring of the new work.
  • Offer the potential to deepen engagement because of the work’s relevance, originality, and/or timeliness.
  • Produce a viable plan for touring the supported work in multiple communities in the U.S. and its territories.

Funding Criteria

NEFA’s values statements regarding Equity, Diversity, Intersectionality, and Accessibility informs National Theater Project Programs, including the Creation & Touring Grant selection process:

• NEFA values an equitable, diverse, and inclusive world, which they interpret as all people having fair access to the tools and resources they need to realize creative and community endeavors. They acknowledge structural inequities that have excluded individuals and communities from opportunity based on race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, class, age, language, culture, and geography, and strive to counter those inequities in the work.
• They acknowledge that throughout NTP’s 13+ years of grant making history, at times the processes may have resulted in exclusion, and are they actively and continuously seeking pathways to mitigate harm. NTP is committed to disrupting the perpetual exclusion and erasure of artists representing forms, genres, practices, traditions, lineages, experiences, and/or identities through their projects that have historically been structurally suppressed, marginalized, or invisibilized. They value how artists are choosing to advance, enhance, or subvert various forms of theater, contributing to the ever-evolving landscape. They believe in the right of the artists to self-determine the value of their work, including defining success for themselves.
• As the landscape continues to change, they continue to listen and to deepen and evolve the practices. They remain committed to supporting all participants in the devised ensemble theater community on and offstage – artists, presenters, and community.

Eligibility Criteria

• The National Theater Project will consider projects submitted by U.S.-based theater ensembles and individual theater artists with identified collaborators. Only one application per ensemble or artist will be accepted per year.
• Ensembles must have nonprofit status or a contract with a nonprofit fiscal agent.
• This grant supports the creation of new work. The project development end date must be at least 3-6 mos post award date to ensure that the project is still in development at the time the grant is awarded.
• All projects must have one committed, U.S.-based development partner relationship.
• Preference is given to those projects which are within two years of being ready to tour from the NTP award date.
• Preference is given to those projects with at least one interested presenting partner.
• Returning Artists: All NTP-supported presentations are completed and it has been one year since the last NTP-supported presentation.
• Applicant must be able to fulfill the Requirements & Reports for Grant Recipients if awarded.
• Theater artists apply to receive support for both the development and U.S. touring [virtual or in-person] of artist-led, ensemble, devised theater projects. Grants support the development of the project, costs and incentives needed to establish a plan for touring, and subsidies for presentation of the work. Funded projects are expected to complete an evaluation within one month of the project premiere as designated in the contract.

For more information, visit NEFA.