Theatre Development Fund News

The NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) has announced this year's recipients of grants through the CreateNYC Language Access Fund. 36 NYC-based nonprofits will receive grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 in support of programming that increases access to arts and culture for those whose primary language is not English. The awarded programs represent 12 languages a?" including Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Russian, and American Sign Language a?" and will serve audiences in all five boroughs.

Geva Theatre Center presents Slow Food, by Wendy MacLeod and directed by Skip Greer, in the Elaine P. Wilson Stage from January 14 through February 9.

a??a??a??a??a??a??a??Music Theatre International (MTI) is pleased to announce that Deborah Hartnett has been elevated to Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the company. She previously has served as the company's Director of Business and Legal Affairs since 2010.

Three plays by Pulitzer Prize and Tony-winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein will be presented in two triple-header days of theatre readings when JWT, director Stan Zimmerman and an all-star cast salute the groundbreaking artist who made a career out of exploring the lives of intelligent, talented women.

Company of Fools (COF) is delighted to announce its first-ever a?oesensory-friendlya?? theatre performancea?"an a?oeinvited dress rehearsala?? of the charming holiday show Miss Bennet: Christmas At Pemberley. The Monday, Dec. 9, performance is specially designed to accommodate audiences with autism spectrum disorders or sensitivity issues. The performance will take place at 7:30 p.m. at the Liberty Theatre in Hailey.

Samuel French, a Concord Theatricals Company, announced today that Neil Simon (posthumously), TDF Accessibility Program, and Aleshea Harris are the 2019 recipients of the 4th Annual Samuel French Awards. The Awards, which are accompanied by a donation from Concord Theatricals of $15,000, were created by Samuel French to acknowledge the great work and unparalleled passion of theatre artists, as well as applaud significant contributions to the industry.

The Lucille Lortel Theatre Foundation has announced the next group of guests confirmed for their popular “Live at the Lortel” podcast focused on Off-Broadway. Each taping lasts about 60 minutes – with 45 minutes of moderated conversation with host Eric Ostrow and 15 minutes for audience questions. The next round of tapings will all take place on Monday, December 2, at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. As always, tickets are free to the public and can be reserved by visiting www.liveatthelortel.com.

The sensory friendly performance of A Christmas Carola?"A Ghost Story of Christmas has become an important annual tradition at Hartford Stage. Now in its sixth year, the sensory friendly performance a?" designed to create an accessible, welcoming theatre experience for children and adults with autism or other sensory-input disorders, as well as their families and caregivers a?" will be held Saturday, December 7, at 2 p.m.

Last night, TDF, the not-for-profit service organization dedicated to bringing the power of the performing arts to everyone, launched the third season of its TDF Veterans Theatregoing Program. TDF partners exclusively with veteran group organizations in the city who distribute a limited number of tickets to Broadway shows at no cost to their constituents. Post-performance talkbacks are planned, when possible, and complimentary TDF Memberships are provided to participating veterans so they can continue their theatregoing at greatly reduced costs.

Performance Space New York continues The Stages Seriesa?"rethinking the dominant form and aesthetics that have informed the stage for centuriesa?"with Martine Gutierrez's Circle (November 20, 22-23).

Theatre Wesleyan, one of the longest-running theatres in the Metroplex, will begin their 2020 season this October with two plays in repertory.

Following the success of the WB Yeats and WH Auden Poetry Hours, The Josephine Hart Poetry Foundation is delighted to return to the Abbey Stage to celebrate the genius of Wilde.

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, is pleased to announce the recipients of The Willa Kim Costume Design Scholarship 2019. Administered by TCG with support from The Estate of Willa Kim, the Scholarship provides exceptionally talented costume designers who are enrolled in a university or professional training program with the opportunity to supplement their fine arts training in hand-drawing and painting. The Scholarship honors costume designer Willa Kim's legacy and her life's work as a pioneer, legend, and inspiration for many of today's theatre artists.

The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF) production of Fiddler on the Roof, in Yiddish with English Supertitles, will celebrate its one year anniversary on Wednesday, July 17 at Stage 42 (422 W 42nd St.).  

T. Fellowship, in association with Columbia University School of the Arts, announces the next T. Fellow is Ben Holtzman, the eighth fellow in the one?year program designed to educate and empower new creative producers. The fellow will receive a stipend of $10,000 with a $20,000 budget for the development of a new theatrical production, and will have access to courses in Columbia's MFA Theatre Management & Producing Program.

New Repertory Theatre, the professional theatre company in residence at the Mosesian Center for the Arts, is proud to announce one Open Captioned performance at each of their six productions in the 2019-2020 season. Support for Open Captioning is provided in part by Theatre Development Fund (TDF). This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The 40th Anniversary Dora Mavor Moore Awards for the 2018-2019 season were handed out in a star-studded celebratory ceremony in Toronto on the evening of Tuesday, June 25 at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, hosted by the multi-talented, multi-award-winning Rick Miller, well-known for his widely acclaimed one-man shows that include MacHomer, BOOM and Bigger Than Jesus (Dora Award for Outstanding Performance, 2006).

Bid to win the chance to meet Julie Halston with 2 tickets to Tootsie with a backstage tour! Julie plays the producer Rita Marshall in the show!

Founding Executive Director Kathy Evans announced the 27 writers of nine new musicals for Rhinebeck Writers Retreat's summer weeklong residencies. This year's artists include Obie-winner Heather Christian, Kleban-winner Brian Crawley, TV and film writers Bekah Brunstetter (THIS IS US) and Cinco Paul (DESPICABLE ME), inaugural Stephen Schwartz Award winner Oliver Houser, and ASCAP Foundation scholarship winner Khiyon Hursey. The musicals cover a wide range of subjects. Four have LGBTQ themes: a historical look at Florida in the 1950s (IN A SUNSHINE STATE), a Palestinian/Israeli love story (BORDERS), a modern coming of age of a young black man (SEAN'S STORY PART I | THE AWAKENING), and a fantasy queer rock musical celebrating lady love (TL;DR: THELMA LOUISE; DYKE REMIX). Two are darkly comedic historical musicals: one featuring Mary Magdelene (A.D. 16) and the second a WWII plot to foil Hitler (OPERATION MINCEMEAT). Other subjects include the opioid crisis (ALMOST HEAVEN), the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 (THE GOLDEN SPIKE), and a mystery involving a woman with a sleep disorder (NARCOLEPSY).

Theatre Wesleyan, one of the longest-running theatres in the Metroplex, will conclude their 2018/19 mainstage season with a production of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, AVENUE Q.  The department's annual spring musical is one of the longest-running theatre traditions in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.