People's Light Receives NEA Grant for PROJECT DAWN World Premiere

People's Light has announced a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu has approved more than $30 million in grants as part of the NEA's first major funding announcement for fiscal year 2017.

Included in this announcement is an Art Works grant of $40,000 to People's Light for the world premiere of Project Dawn by Karen Hartman. The Art Works category focuses on the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and the strengthening of communities through the arts. This is the largest grant in the theatre/musical theatre category in the state of Pennsylvania in this current round of funding.

Project Dawn is part of the New Play Frontiers Residency & Commission program which has been supported by previous grants from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2014 and 2015. The New Play Frontiers initiative cultivates longstanding relationships with acclaimed local, national, and International Artists and connects the art and these artists to numerous communities in our fast-growing region to foster local investment and civic dialogue.

The world premiere of Project Dawn is a gritty, gripping, and shockingly funny play that tosses audiences into a revolutionary Philadelphia court designed by a passionate group of women. Every day these lawyers, judges, parole officers and staff members work to transform the lives of women repeatedly convicted for prostitution. In her daring and vital new play Project Dawn, playwright Karen Hartman probes the thin lines between freedom and slavery, activism and obsession, for women on both sides of the law. Inspired by Hartman's extensive, first-hand research inside Philly's real-life court system, and cast with seven actresses who play multiple characters, this production represents the first world premiere to emerge from the acclaimed New Play Frontiers program at People's Light.

"The arts are for all of us, and by supporting organizations such as People's Light, the National Endowment for the Arts is providing more opportunities for the public to engage with the arts," said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. "Whether in a theater, a town square, a museum, or a hospital, the arts are everywhere and make our lives richer."

AbiGail Adams, CEO & Artistic Director states, "We are grateful to the National Endowment for the Arts for their ongoing support of our work. This grant helps to provide opportunities to create new plays inspired by local communities which we believe will contribute to a national conversation around American identity. "

For more information on projects included in the NEA grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.

Now in its 42nd season, People's Light, a professional, not-for-profit theatre in Chester County, Pennsylvania, makes plays drawn from many sources to entertain, inspire, and engage our community. We extend our mission of making and experiencing theatre through arts education programs that excite curiosity about, and deepen understanding of, the world around us. These plays and programs bring people together and provide opportunities for reflection, discovery, and celebration. Founded in 1974, we produce eight to nine plays each season, in two black box theatres with 340 and 160 seats respectively, mixing world premieres, contemporary plays, and fresh approaches to classic texts for our 7-Play, Spark, and Teen Series.

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