National Endowment for the Arts FY 2017 Fall Grant Announcement

positioned to build community and break down the isolation, secrecy, and shame experienced around mental
health issues. En Garde will include engagement initiatives on adolescent and family mental health at each tour
venue. High school and college students will experience post-show talkbacks and engage with mental health
professionals and artists. The commission and production of "Harbored" by Maize will weave together tales
from the last 125 years of U.S. immigration with a focus on immigrants who came through Ellis Island.
Ensemble Studio Theatre (aka EST)
$10,000 New York, NY
To support the premiere of "The Deportation Chronicles" by France-Luce Benson. The play will portray
individuals who have suffered at the hands of deportation and how it has affected their families and society as a
whole. The events and characters will be based on interviews conducted with people who have faced, or are
currently facing, deportation. By writing about their stories, Benson will inspire audiences to question what is
happening and recognize the deeper inherited cultural attitudes in our society today. William Carden will direct
the production.
Eugene O'Neill Memorial Theater Center, Inc. (aka Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, the O’Neill)
$55,000 Waterford, CT
To support the National Playwrights Conference and the National Music Theater Conference. The project will
include the creation and development of new plays and musical theater works by emerging and established
artists. Approximately 1,600 manuscripts will be received through an open submission process that will
culminate in the selection of seven to ten plays and two to four musicals. The scripts will receive a rehearsal
period and staged readings that will be open to the public.
Fiji Theater Company, Inc. (aka Ping ChongCompany)
$25,000 New York, NY
To support the development, premiere, and tour of "Where the Sea Breaks Its Back." The interdisciplinary work
by Ping Chong, Ryan Conarro, and Jack Dalton (Alaska Native Yup'ik) will use puppetry, video, movement, and
storytelling to create a collage about the epic landscape and stark realities of Alaska. The title is the translation
of the Aluutiq indigenous word for Alaska and will serve as a metaphor for the personal and cultural clashes at
its heart. Historical narratives will depict the collision of interlopers and colonizers with the Alaskan climate and
peoples. After a New York City premiere, the work will tour to Alaska's Last Frontier Theatre Conference as well
as the Alaska Native Heritage Center. Each presentation will provide opportunities for talkbacks, workshops, and
other outreach/engagement activities.
First Stage Milwaukee, Inc. (aka First Stage)
$10,000 Milwaukee, WI
To support the premiere of "Welcome To Bronzeville" by Sheri Williams Pannell. The historical fiction play
depicts Bronzeville, a vibrant 1950s African-American community in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Created with input
from elders of the community, the production will show the daily life of the neighborhood and feature a talent
show, the jazz singer Billie Holiday, as well as historic landmarks and businesses. Dialogue will be facilitated
among young people and families about the city's cultural history, racial segregation, and the importance of
building acceptance among all generations and races. Community outreach events, an art exhibit, and postshow
talkbacks with history experts and residents of current-day Bronzeville will illuminate the themes of the
play.
Ford's Theatre Society (aka Ford’s Theatre)
$15,000 Washington, DC
Some details of the projects listed are subject to change, contingent upon prior Arts Endowment approval. Information is current as of
December 7, 2016.