National Endowment for the Arts FY 2017 Fall Grant Announcement

To support Summerworks 2017. The annual festival of new plays will include an opening night event of short,
site-specific, and thematically linked pieces and readings of works-in-progress by early career playwrights. In
addition, as many as three fully-produced new plays will be produced including two commissions: "Screaming
Pigeon" by Jenny Schwartz (about gentrification and faith) and "The Glide" by Madeleine George (about
incarcerated women and their families). The third new play, "Frontieres Sans Frontieres" (about language and
imperialism), is by early-career group member Phillip Howze.
Collaboraction Theatre Company, Inc. (aka Collaboraction)
$10,000 Chicago, IL
To support Peacebook. Collaboraction's theater arts festival will cultivate community relations in Chicago
neighborhoods most affected by violence. Performance pieces about the theme of peace will be performed in as
many as three different park locations in the city. Prior to the festival, the theater company will visit each
neighborhood to encourage community participation and the development of new works through workshops, a
variety show, and free meals. Play submissions will be accepted from around the city and each selected work
will be given full production support. The festival may feature musicians, visual artists, and peace organizations
from each neighborhood.
Contemporary American Theatre Festival, Inc. (aka CATF)
$15,000 Shepherdstown, WV
To support the development and premiere of "Welcome to Fear City" by Kara Lee Corthron. Set in the Bronx, the
play explores the plight of urban Black Americans in the 1970s. Corthron examines how urban America has
changed and how much it has not. Her writing blends a hip-hop flavor with lyrical phrases. The new work will
receive development and workshop opportunities with Corthron, the playwright-in-residence, leading up to its
performance run. A series of lectures, talkbacks, and late night salons will continue the conversation about the
issues raised in the play.
Cornerstone Theater Company, Inc. (aka Cornerstone)
$30,000 Los Angeles, CA
To support the "The Hunger Bridge Show" by Artistic Director Michael John Garces. A community-based theater
production will investigate the theme of hunger. The company will engage community participants in the
theatrical process to create a work that is informed by their needs, fears, and hopes. Individuals who do not
identify as artists will share their stories and appear on stage alongside professional actors. Collaborating
partners will include organizations such as Homeboy Industries, the Los Angeles High School of the Arts,
Community Services United, and the Los Angeles Mission.
Coterie, Inc. (aka The Coterie)
$10,000 Kansas City, MO
To support the production of "Hana's Suitcase" by Emil Sher. The play is adapted from the non-fiction book of
the same name by radio producer Karen Levine. The story begins at a small Holocaust learning center in Tokyo,
Japan, with the recent artifact loan of a suitcase. Viewed by its director and inquisitive students, the mystery of
the name and date painted on the side of the case-Hana Brady, May 16, 1931-followed by the German word for
"orphan" is unraveled. Brady's story of deportation from Czechoslovakia to Terezin and then to Auschwitz
emerges. The theater will partner with the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education in educational and outreach
activities.
Court Theatre Fund (aka Court Theatre)
$15,000 Chicago, IL
Some details of the projects listed are subject to change, contingent upon prior Arts Endowment approval. Information is current as of
December 7, 2016.