Laguna Playhouse Awarded $400,000 Grant

The Laguna Playhouse, a nonprofit resident professional theatre company in Laguna Beach, Calif. has been awarded a grant of $400,000 from The James Irvine Foundation.

"The grant is intended to support the theatre's mission to enrich lives through theatre by funding a new communications program designed to develop meaningful and sustained relationships with younger and diverse communities of theatregoers, while also deepening the theatre's relationship with its existing audience," according to a press release.

After applying for support from the James Irvine Foundation's Arts Regional Initiative in January, the theatre submitted a comprehensive proposal in August, which identified opportunities for capacity building that met the theatre's long-range strategic goals.

"Having just completed a strategic planning process, The Laguna Playhouse was well-positioned to articulate its capacity-building priorities," said executive director Richard Stein. "We determined that, if approved, the James Irvine Foundation grant would provide us with the opportunity to implement a critical new communications strategy needed to strengthen our relationship with current theatregoers while improving our ability to attract a new, younger and more diverse audience that will sustain the Playhouse in the future.  We are deeply grateful to the James Irvine Foundation for their generous support."

"The Laguna Playhouse is one of the region's largest nonprofit resident professional theatre companies and is the oldest continuously operating theatre company on the West Coast, founded in 1920.  In the 1990s, the leadership team of Richard Stein, Executive Director, and Andrew Barnicle, Artistic Director, transformed The Laguna Playhouse to professional status from its amateur origins.  

"Among its notable accomplishments have been the production of two national tours (Copenhagen, 2002, and Julie Harris in The Belle of Amherst, 2000-01), the first musical cast album produced by a nonprofit resident professional theatre outside of New York (Gunmetal Blues, 2000), the transfer of productions to Los Angeles (The Last Session and I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, 1998) and San Jose (Mitch Albom's Tuesdays With Morrie, 2004, co-produced with San Jose Repertory Theatre), and the production of numerous play premieres (world, U.S., West coast, and southern California), including two world premieres it commissioned being produced this season," state notes.

For more information, visit:  www.LagunaPlayhouse.com and www.irvine.org.

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