$25,000 NEA Grant Helps Fund BIPOC Playwrights Festival Held at Boise Contemporary Theater for First Time

Tickets now available for Boise Contemporary Theater’s (BCT) Fourth Annual BIPOC Playwrights Festival August 21-25, 2024, to be held in their own theater at 854 Fulton Street in Boise for the first time in the festival’s history. Funded in part by support from The Gladys E. Langroise Advised Fund in the Idaho Community Foundation, and by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Grants for Arts Projects award of $25,000, the largest from the NEA in the theater’s history, the festival brings playwrights, directors, and actors from across America together to collaborate at BCT on new and unproduced plays. This collaboration and workshopping of the play culminates in staged readings and performance pieces on the MainStage at BCT. 2024 also marks the launch of BCT's Young Playwrights Initiative, which includes one unproduced work by a writer between 18 and 25 years old in the festival. Tickets are $10 for individual events, or $30 for a Festival Pass for all events and available at bctheater.org/bipoc or by calling the BCT box office at 208-331-9224.

Festival Schedule August 21-25, 2024:

· WED, 8/21 at 7 PM: Playwrights' Panel - Meet these emerging playwrights as they discuss their plays, the festival process and audience questions. Free event, but make a reservation as seating is limited.

· THU, 8/22 at 7 PM: Staged Reading of Ajax by Habib Yazdi

· FRI, 8/23 at 7 PM: Staged Reading of the Inaugural Young Playwrights Initiative selection, In Case of Bruising by Kamila Boga

· SAT, 8/24 at 2 PM: Staged Reading of Dear God by Lisa Langford

· SAT, 8/24 at 7 PM: Staged Reading of Artificial by Prince Gomolvilas

· SUN, 8/25 at 7 PM: Performance of Between Here and There, I am Homeless by Iraqi-born Boise artist Luma Jasim

Citing BCT’s help in contributing to the strength and well-being of the arts sector and local community, National Endowment for the Arts Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, Ph.D. said the NEA is, “pleased to be able to support this community and help create an environment where all people have the opportunity to live artful lives.”