$3.5 Million Extended to TCG for New Generations Program

Theatre Communications Group (TCG) announced that it is the recipient of a re-granting award from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The grants represent renewed and increased support for TCG's three-pronged New Generations Program: Future Leaders, Future Audiences and Future Collaborators.

In addition to the re-grant funds awarded by both foundations, TCG is also the recipient of an additional $711,746 from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation to be awarded as general operating support for selecTed Grantees. This additional support is in direct response to the economic downturn and demonstrates the foundation's ongoing commitment to securing great artists and arts institutions.
The success of New Generations is in part due to the longevity of TCG's partnership with these two funders, and the increasing needs of the American theatre field in the areas served by the program.

"The New Generations program was an important way to serve the field when it began in 2000, and still is today" said Teresa Eyring, TCG executive director. "In this economic climate, it is imperative to keep our eyes on the future by mentoring emerging theatre leadership, cultivating new audiences and collaborating beyond our borders. It is an honor to be able to continue our partnership with the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W Mellon Foundation as we nurture the field on so may levels, especially in these difficult economic times."

The program has been carefully monitored not only by TCG, but by independent assessments commissioned by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation since 2004. Most recently, the Foundation concluded an assessment on Future Leaders and Future Audiences, prepared by

Anna Becker from Arts Management Resources. Becker's assessments were overwhelmingly positive about the impact of New Generations and the way it is benefiting the American theatre field.

"The impact of the New Generations Program will only continue to grow over time as its mentees are appointed to leadership posts and as new audiences become more engaged with theatres in their communities," said Ed Henry, President at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. "We are delighted to be able to renew the foundation's support for the program and deepen our support for grantee organizations by adding general operating funds to their project grants-a recognition of their importance in the arts community and our way of promoting their longer term financial health."

The Programs/The Results
Future Leaders nurtures emerging theatre practitioners through a hands-on mentorship program.

71 mentees have been awarded grants since the start of this program. Of the 53 mentees who have already completed the program, 72% have gone on to positions of leadership in theatres across the country. For instance, in April 2008, Salvage Vanguard Theater in Austin hired Brad Carlin as its new executive director. Carlin was a mentee with Siti Company in 2005.

Future Audiences strengthens the efforts of theatres of all sizes to expand their reach to more diverse audiences and reach more deeply into their communities.
106 grants have been awarded since the beginning of the program to theatres working outside the traditional box in cultivating new audiences. For instance, BRAVA's November 2007 show based on the lives of Hurricane Katrina survivors brought in 3,000 audience members, and BRAVA is expanding audiences by reaching out to local lesbian and Spanish-speaking not-for-profits to build interest in their work.

Future Collaborations, which is solely funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in Round 10, promotes international collaborations by funding creative exchanges between U.S. theatre professionals and colleagues around the world with direct travel grants. 40 Future Collaborations grants have been awarded to date and prior to those 7 international fellowships were awarded.
For example, this month, artistic director Maren Ward and artistic associate Rah Kojis (Round 9) from the Minneapolis-based Bedlam Theatre are in Dili, East Timor to collaborate with Bibi Bulak-one of East Timor's only theater companies. Ward and Kojis will introduce Bedlam's work, offer workshops for local artists and continue conversations with Bibi Bulak about the creation process for a piece about the political situation in East Timor.

The calendar years for the program run from March 15, 2009 - June 30, 2014 and will directly benefit thirteen future leaders, thirteen theatres seeking to deepen their audience development strategies, and at least twelve collaborations between U.S. and interNational Theatre artists. This will be supported by $2.5 million from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and $1 million from The Andrew W, Mellon Foundation.

Going forward, there are terrific enhancements in place for the New Generations program: award amounts for individuals have increased, the grant periods for institutions has increased, and there will be further research of all activities in order to promote field-wide dissemination of the findings.

The New Generations Program is funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and is administered by Theatre Communications Group.
The mission of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (www.ddcf.org) is to improve the quality of people's lives through grants supporting the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research and the prevention of child maltreatment, and through preservation of the cultural and environmental legacy of Doris Duke's properties. The foundation's assets currently total approximately $2 billion. Since 1997, the foundation's Arts Program has committed approximately $190 million in grants to supporting artists in the contemporary dance, jazz and theatre fields, and the nonprofit organizations that nurture, produce and present them.

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (www.mellon.org) is a private philanthropic institution that makes grants on a selective basis in five core program areas: higher education and scholarship; libraries and scholarly communication; museums and art conservation; conservation and the environment; and performing arts. The Foundation's Performing Arts program focuses on achieving long-term results by providing multi-year grants to leading organizations in the disciplines of music, theater, and dance. Annual giving in the area of the performing arts has averaged approximately $28 million since 2005. In 2004 the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation was awarded a National Medal of Arts, the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the United States Government.

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre, exists to strengthen, nurture and promote the professional not-for-profit American theatre. Its programs serve nearly 700 member theatres and affiliate organizations and more than 12,000 individuals nationwide. As the US Center of the InterNational Theatre Institute, TCG connects its constituents to the global theatre community. TCG is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. www.tcg.org.

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