Milwaukee Rep Announces NEA Grant

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Rocco Landesman just announced that Milwaukee Repertory Theater (The Rep) is one of 832 non-profit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant. The Rep is recommended for a $30,000 grant to support their spring 2013 productions of the 2011 Tony Award-winning play, Clybourne Park, written Bruce Norris and the play that inspired Norris, A Raisin In the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater will produce Clybourne Park, written by Bruce Norris, and directed by Artistic Director Mark Clements, along with A Raisin In the Sun, written by Lorraine Hansberry, as the final plays of its 2012/13 Season in The Rep’s 720-seat Quadracci Powerhouse. The Rep is hoping that juxtaposing a beloved and inspiring classic with a bold contemporary comedy will engage both our traditional and new, younger and more diverse audience segments, creating a forum for candid discussion.

“I’m proud to announce these 832 grants to the American public including supporting Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s productions of Clybourne Park and A Raisin In the Sun, said Chairman Landesman. “These projects offer extraordinary examples of creativity in our country, including the creation of new work, innovative ways of engaging audiences and exemplary education programs.”

The Rep’s Artistic Director Mark Clements said, “Clybourne Park is one of the smartest plays I have read in quite some time. The two shows, done in tandem, touch on a key element of my artistic vision for The Rep. These two plays bring to the fore conversations about racial equality and political correctness. If done as well as I know our theater can do them, these plays . . . will showcase the power that our art has to spark important and often difficult conversations and our ability to be a significant partner in such conversations. This, I believe, is and has always been, one of the greatest strengths of live theater.”

In March 2012, the NEA received 1,509 eligible applications for Art Works requesting more than $74 million in funding. The 832 recommended NEA grants total $22.3 million, span 13 artistic disciplines and fields, and focus primarily on the creation of work and presentation of both new and existing works for the benefit of American audiences. Applications were reviewed by panels of outside experts convened by NEA staff and each project was judged on its artistic excellence and artistic merit.

For a complete listing of projects recommended for Art Works grant support, please visit the NEA website at www.arts.gov.