Theatre Forward Program
The Cincinnati Arts Association (CAA) is pleased to announce Theatre Forward returns for the 2008-2009 theater season. A competitive grant and production opportunity for Greater Cincinnati theatre artists, Theatre Forward is a collaborative initiative of CAA, the Acclaim Awards, and the League of Cincinnati Theaters, and is generously sponsored by the Otto M. Budig Family Foundation.
Created as an incubator to encourage theatrical vision and innovation, Theatre Forward is an opportunity for established and emerging theater artists and companies to bring their best ideas forward for support. Theatre Forward will culminate in two weekends of public performances at the Aronoff Center’s Fifth Third Bank Theater in the Spring of 2009.
Read about the 2007 Theatre Forward grant recipient
The grant recipient will receive:
• $3,000 in seed money from the Otto M. Budig Family Foundation
• Two-week use of the Aronoff Center’s Fifth Third Bank Theater (including front of house expenses)
• $100 per performance to help offset additional expenses (e.g. stagehands), provided by the Enquirer Acclaim Awards Theatre Artist Project Fund
• Net box office receipts
The grant recipient will be responsible for marketing the production; however, Theatre Forward will be included in CAA’s 2008-09 Season marketing materials, such as news releases, brochures, posters, and website presence.
Download 2008 Application Now
Applying artists or companies must be residents of Greater Cincinnati. There are no restrictions in theatrical form for the proposals. In support of the detailed written proposal, artists will be interviewed (and may be asked for a 10-minute presentation) by a panel of judges in April 2008.
Theatre Forward’s panel of distinguished judges includes Ed Stern, producing artistic director, Playhouse in the Park; Terrell Finney, chair, OMDA division, College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati; Ken Jones, chair, department of Theatre & Dance, Northern Kentucky University; and Joseph McDonough, playwright.
The possibilities of Theatre Forward are as boundless as the creativity of its artists. The grant process may allow an established theatre company to work with an exciting guest artist (actor, director or designer); bring a new play or theatrical form to Cincinnati that may otherwise be out of a theater company’s reach; or showcase a new, emerging theater group. Theatre artists are challenged to be visionary and innovative with their proposals.
"Certainly our hope is that the best ideas will come to fruition and be presented on stages throughout the region," says Jim Stump, president, League of Cincinnati Theaters.
"This is about nourishing theater artists," says Ed Stern, Playhouse in the Park producing artistic director and Theatre Forward judge. "If you live in Cincinnati and have talent, we want to help you. We don't want you to leave."
“It is our pleasure to be a part of this supportive arts collaboration,” says Steve Loftin, president and executive director, Cincinnati Arts Association. “It has been CAA’s history for more than a decade to provide a home for some of Cincinnati’s finest theater artists, and we look forward to hosting this nurturing and encouraging opportunity for creativity.”
