Patrick Flick, Executive Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Association (STA), and Mark Edelman, founder and president of Theater League, Inc., a Kansas City, MO-based contributor to the performing arts, announced today that the League will be gifting Tennessee Shakespeare Company and 34 other Shakespeare theatres across the United States and internationally with general operating support grants.
These non-restricted gifts of either $5,000 or $10,000, each based on budget size, will be awarded this year to STA-member producing theaters with budgets between $100,000 and $1,400,000.
TSC received a $10,000 grant out of the total of $255,000 to be disbursed.
“As regular contributors to the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival in Kansas City—a long-time STA member— we were looking to expand our support of non-profit organizations with similar goals and objectives,” explained Edelman. “That led us to STA and Patrick, who helped us identify the mid-level Shakespeare producing organizations we wanted to fund.”
“We are honored to be a long-time member of STA and to have earned this first-time grant for our upcoming Free Shout-Out Shakespeare Series in the autumn,” said Dan McCleary, TSC’s founder and Producing Artistic Director. “Our mission is to bring live performances of Shakespeare’s plays to everyone in our community, and these funds will allow us to expand our reach this year with a fun Shakespeare play that we hope will introduce hundreds of people to our namesake and keep them returning for more.”
“STA is always looking for ways to assist our membership,” said Flick. “whether it be in the form of our annual conference, or by seeking out financial assistance for our hard-working member theatres. At a time when audience sizes are just beginning to rebound from the pandemic, support for Shakespeare and the classics in the communities we serve is such an important thing. STA is grateful to Theater League for that support.”
Kansas City-based Theater League is a not-for-profit performing arts organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in the communities it serves with the thrill of live theater. Founded in 1976, the group supports theatre companies in its hometown and across the country, including subsidizing tickets for student groups through its Theater ROcKs (Reach Out to Kids) program.
“What appealed to us is the far-flung nature of the organizations we’ll be supporting with this grant program,” continued Edelman. “Shakespeare companies in 26 states, plus the Czech Republic, will get a little help from Theater League.”
STA is a 32-year-old theatre service organization founded in 1991 at a convening in Washington DC, hosted by the Shakespeare Theatre and the Kennedy Center. The organization continues to convene annually to provide support and mentorship, as well as share best practices, with colleagues from within the United States and internationally. Membership includes over 130 organizational theatres and dozens of Associate Members representing indoor, outdoor, Equity and non-Equity, year-round, seasonal, university-affiliated, and free Shakespeare productions with budgets ranging from $25,000 to $60,000,000.
STA’s member organizations engage a diverse array of audiences and staff members representing a wide variety of ethnicities, genders, ages, and abilities. A resource network that bridges the gap between scholarship and production and promotes the teaching of Shakespeare in schools, STA has helped its member organizations explore Shakespeare in the context of colonialism, anti-racism, gender diversity, best practices in hiring, and a host of other topics designed to keep Shakespeare relevant in the modern world.
Season 15 Sponsors and Partners
TSC’s generous sponsors of its season, productions, and Education and Outreach Program include FedEx, International Paper, Arts Midwest, ArtsMemphis, Tennessee Arts Commission, Independent Bank, Evans Petree PC, First Horizon Foundation through an ArtsFirst grant, AutoZone, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Campbell Clinic, the family of Pat and Ernest Kelly, The Sims Family Charitable Trust, Nancy R. Copp, the Jack Jones Children’s Literacy Fund, the family of Owen and Margaret Wellford Tabor, the Barbara B. Apperson Angel Fund, the Dunbar Abston Fund for Sustainable Excellence, and Dorothy O. Kirsch.
TSC’s season is funded under a Grant Contract with the State of Tennessee; and is being supported, in whole or in part, by federal award number SLFRP5534, awarded to the State of Tennessee by the U.S. Department of Treasury. TSC’s projects and productions are supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.
TSC’s programming and outreach partners include University of Memphis’ Department of Theatre & Dance, Shelby County Schools, Memphis Juvenile Justice System, the Memphis V.A. Hospital, Cities of Bartlett/Collierville/Lakeland/Memphis, Shelby County Election Commission, the Benjamin Hooks Public Library Friends, and WKNO Radio (91.1 FM Memphis).
