The Movement Theatre Company Awarded $300K Grant From The Mellon Foundation

The Movement Theatre Company has been awarded a $300,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation, a transformative investment that will empower Producing Artistic Leaders Deadria Harrington, Eric Lockley, Ryan Dobrin, and David Mendizábal to strengthen and expand their leadership capacity over the next two years.

Since its founding in 2007, OBIE Award winning The Movement has served as a haven for artistic experimentation and community building, advancing a bold vision of a world where the complexity and wholeness of artists of color are valued, their communities are liberated, and they can live full, dignified lives. Through bold theatrical productions, digital content, and community-centered programming, The Movement uplifts artists and audiences of color while fostering joy, resilience, and equity in the field. 

This tsupport from The Mellon Foundation will support the evolution of The Movement's Producing Artistic Leadership Team, the collaborative non-hierarchical team that collectively executes all artistic programming and day-to-day operations of the organization. It will empower The Movement to right-size salaries, hire key support staff, engage financial planning expertise, and implement structural changes that increase efficiency and effectiveness. This investment will ensure the long-term sustainability of The Movement, allowing the Company to meet the growing needs of its artists and deepen its impact on audiences and communities.

“The Movement Theatre Company has consistently lived on the vanguard of artistic form, producing practices and values-aligned leadership,” says Stephanie Ybarra, Program Officer for the Mellon Foundation's Arts & Culture program, “We are thrilled to support Deadria, Eric, Ryan and David as they continue to help manifest a thriving future for our field through their beautiful work with The Movement Theatre Company.”

Deadria Harrington, Eric Lockley, Ryan Dobrin, and David Mendizábal, The Movement's Producing Artistic Leaders, said “We are all witnessing our field shrink, from fewer productions to shows smaller in scope and scale. This crucial support and vote of confidence from the Mellon Foundation makes it possible for us to continue growing and encouraging artists to dream big – from large casts to non-traditional and non-linear structures, to who the work is for and what issues we talk about.”