The Public Theater, George C. Wolfe, producer; Mara Manus, executive director,
is pleased to announce it is the recipient of a $700,000 endowment grant to
support new work from The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF).
The
DDCF endowment grant is in recognition of The Public's leadership role at the
national level and its willingness and ability to take artistic risk, its record
of developing quality productions for diverse audiences, its financial health,
and its strong organization capacity. The support will establish an ongoing
source of revenue for The Public Theater's development and programming of new
work, and must be matched one-to-one.
Executive Director
Mara Manus
stated "This is a tremendous award coming on the eve of our 50th anniversary
celebration. By providing funds for the endowment specifically earmarked for new
work, the DDCF will further support The Public as it commissions new work and
continues its mission to nurture and promote new voices that represent the
diversity of American culture."
The grant is funded through the Leading
National Theatres Program which supports artistic programs and provides matching
endowment grants to exemplary theatres across the United States. The Leading
National Theatres Program is part of a larger Theatre Initiative launched by the
DDCF and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in 2000 to support the country's
nonprofit theatre community. For more information on the Doris Duke Charitable
Foundation, visit
www.ddcf.org.
The New York
Community Trust - LuEsther T. Mertz Advised Fund provides leadership support for
The Public Theater's year-round activities. Additional generous support is
provided by Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman, JPMorgan Chase, The Laura Pels
Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Mr. Kenneth B. Lerer and Ms. Katherine
Sailer,
Carole Shorenstein Hays, The George Delacorte Fund at The New York
Community Trust - Fund for Performances at the Delacorte Theater in Central
Park, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Donald E. Newhouse, Warren
Spector and
Margaret Whitton, The Starr Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. George W.
Haywood, and the Booth Ferris Foundation. Public support is provided by the New
York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the
Arts, a state agency. Continental Airlines is the official airline of The
Public Theater.
Founded by Joseph Papp as the Shakespeare Workshop and
now one of the nation's preeminent cultural institutions, The Public is an
American theater in which all the country's voices, rhythms, and cultures
converge. Under the leadership of Producer
George C. Wolfe and Executive
Director
Mara Manus, The Public's mandate to create a theater for all New
Yorkers continues to this day on stage and through its extensive outreach and
education programs. Over 250,000 people annually attend Public Theater-related
events at its six downtown stages including Joe's Pub, and at Shakespeare in
Central Park and Joe's Pub in the Park.
