Raue Center Receives Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts

Raue Center For The Arts is pleased to announce they have been awarded a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support their Next Generation Initiative and their in-house theatre company, Williams Street Repertory.

Last year, Raue Center focused their attention on attracting new audiences, donors and artists, and WSRep lead the initiative with new plays, community events, and educational outreach initiatives. Items like Williams Street Festival, coming up on June 3, new plays like "Any Other Name" by George Brant and new classes under the Sage Studio program were wildly popular.

Over the past year, Raue Center has seen a tremendous amount of growth both regarding artistic, audience and operational development. The new grant will be used to support marketing initiatives associated with WSRep and its Next Generation Initiative. The Willow Springs Foundation, which has been a long-standing supporter of Raue Center, quickly matched the grant.

The NEA is the federal agency that supports and funds the arts to give all Americans the opportunity to experience creativity and participate in the arts. NEA programs and funding support thousands of activities in communities large and small across the country. To learn more about the National Endowment for the Arts, please visit arts.gov. Follow the conversation about this and other NEA?funded projects on Twitter at @NEAarts.

"The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support the excellence and diversity of arts programs across the country, including organizations like Raue Center For The Arts, that make the Arts Accessible to people in Crystal Lake, IL and further enhances the vitality of their community," said NEA Chairman Jane Chu.

"A little more than ten years ago, Raue Center embarked on a courageous strategic plan to support our mission of providing the arts for all. A key component of this plan was to develop and launch Williams Street Repertory as a regional professional Equity Theater. Our Next Generation program continues to evolve as WSRep grows as a member of TCG and the League of Chicago Theaters," said Raue Center Executive Director Richard Kuranda. "We are grateful and thankful to the NEA for their support and can assure you that they will help us attract new audiences."

About Raue Center For The Arts

Raue Center is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of all through the arts. For 16 years, they have provided quality programming - striving to make it pertinent, available and affordable to all. As a painstakingly restored, 1920s regional Showcase Theatre named for its benefactor-Lucile Raue-Raue Center has attracted the finest stars, Broadway shows, musicians and artists. Named on the League of Historic American Theatres, Raue Center is one of the finest examples of restored art and decor in the nation. The 750-seat theatre, located in historic downtown Crystal Lake, Ill., is a gathering place for our region's citizens and has become a true destination. For additional information, visit rauecenter.org, facebook.com/RaueCenter and twitter.com/RaueCenter.