Des Moines Playhouse Receives Iowa Arts Council Grant

The Des Moines Community Playhouse has announced that it has received an Iowa Arts & Culture Recovery Program grant from the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. Grant funds will support general theatre operations including planned spring shows with streaming components and classes both in-person and online.

The Iowa Arts & Culture Recovery Program is a one-time grant providing relief to cultural nonprofit organizations and individual artists that can demonstrate lost income and extra expenses incurred due to the pandemic. The grants may be used to offset operating expenses as well as costs associated with reopening in person and adapting programs to virtual formats.

The Playhouse grant award will support the continued operations of the community theatre - which provides 11 jobs with benefits in the arts sector - as well as experiential activities for several hundred volunteers and students. The heart of The Playhouse's program is production, and even during these turbulent times, the theatre has remained unstoppable, presenting shows where audiences and performers can feel safe. During the summer, The Playhouse presented four separate productions reaching over 4000 individuals seeking escape and respite from the day-to-day stress. Since the fall, the theatre has reached almost 2000 individuals who continue to be inspired by live theatre. Fortunately, throughout the past nine months, The Playhouse has continued to find supporters, private and public, who understand the value of the arts to a community.

"The Playhouse is a vital part of a collaborative, energized, and engaged community, and has been serving Greater Des Moines and the state for more than 100 years," said David R. Kilpatrick, the theatre's executive director. "This grant ensures that The Playhouse will continue to change lives by entertaining, enriching, and engaging individuals through high-quality theatrical presentations, avocational experiences, and lifelong educational opportunities."

Funding for the Iowa Arts & Culture Recovery Program is made possible by the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

The Playhouse is one of the oldest and largest community theatres in the US. Located at the 42nd Street exit of I-235, the theatre has presented a full season of shows since 1919 and also offers a wide variety of educational experiences including classes for ages 4 to adult and volunteer opportunities onstage and backstage. www.dmplayhouse.com

The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs and its three divisions - the Iowa Arts Council, Produce Iowa-State Office of Media Production, and the State Historical Society of Iowa - empower Iowa to build and sustain culturally vibrant communities by connecting Iowans to the people, places, and points of pride that define our state. The department's work enables Iowa to be recognized as a state that fosters creativity and serves as a catalyst for innovation where the stories of Iowa are preserved and communicated to connect past, present and future generations. www.iowaculture.gov