Berkeley Rep Receives $75,000 Grant

Berkeley Repertory Theatre today announced a one-time $75,000 grant from The Bernard Osher Foundation in support of the theatre's Rep-On Air series of virtual programming. The Bernard Osher Foundation has been a major funder of the arts in Bay Area for decades, and has included support for Berkeley Rep each year since 1993.

Earlier this year Berkeley Rep announced several upcoming projects for Rep-On Air: Lookingglass Theatre Company's The Steadfast Tin Soldier (now streaming); a series of location-based audio stories titled Place/Settings: Berkeley; and The Waves in Quarantine: A Theatrical Experiment in 6 Movements conceived by Tony Award-nominee Raúl Esparza and two-time Obie Award-winning director Lisa Peterson. All three productions feature the kind of innovative storytelling that speaks not only to our time, but also to the themes of hope, compassion, and connection. The $75,000 grant will ensure that Berkeley Rep can continue to bring theatre to audiences at home.

"Berkeley Rep has been a grantee of The Bernard Osher Foundation for more than three decades, and we recognize the unmatched challenges it is facing at this singularly disorienting time," said Mary Bitterman, President of The Bernard Osher Foundation. "We applaud the company's resilience and we welcome its creativity in developing Rep On-Air, a suite of virtual arts experiences that will delight audiences near and far."

"A warm thank you to The Bernard Osher Foundation for supporting our efforts to keep theatre alive during this era of shelter in place," said Managing Director Susie Medak. "Their support of Berkeley Rep has not wavered and we are eternally grateful."

"Keeping art alive in this moment in time is critical to our community, and because of The Bernard Osher Foundation's generosity, Berkeley Rep can continue to support extraordinary artists in bringing bold new virtual stories to our audiences until we can get back on stage," said Artistic Director Johanna Pfaelzer.