TCG Launches Audience (R)Evolution Cohort Grants Program

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre, is pleased to announce the launch of the Audience (R)Evolution Cohort Grants. Funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Cohort Grants will provide amounts of $25,000, $75,000, and $200,000 to allow teams of three or more not-for-profit organizations to design and implement audience-engagement and community-development strategies together. These grants are intended to have a seismic impact on the participating theatres, as well as the field at large, by building audiences for theatre through projects that lead to new, more frequent, and increased theatre attendance and community participation.

"The use of cohorts will enhance and expedite the process of experimentation, learning, knowledge-sharing, and action among a tightly knit group of organizations with similar audience and community engagement interests," said Teresa Eyring, executive director, TCG. "Thanks to our long-standing partnership with the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the theatre field will be able to continue its leadership role in transforming the relationship between audiences, communities, artists, and art."

"Audience engagement remains a high priority for theatres across the country, and TCG's Audience (R)Evolution initiative continues to think boldly about how to develop audiences in our changing world," said Cheryl Ikemiya, senior program officer for the Arts at Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. "We expect the second round will have a significant influence on the theatre field and are honored to support TCG and the newest cohorts."

Audience (R)Evolution Cohort Grants may support activities in programming, marketing, education, and outreach to test, implement, or further develop a strategy within the cohort. In addition, each cohort is eligible to receive additional General Operating Support, not to exceed 30% of the total award amount, and to be dispersed among the cohort. Recipients of the grants will participate in additional skills-based training that will be developed based on the collective needs of all participating cohorts with TCG. The application deadline for this round of Cohort Grants is March 4, 2016. Learn more about the Cohort Grants here.

In 2013, TCG engaged AMS Planning & Research, a national arts management consulting firm, to provide research expertise for the Audience (R)Evolution program. Through this assignment, AMS's goals were to: develop a shared vocabulary around audience engagement; explore audience-engagement models, and understand how and why the best work; and share these successful models with the field.

Based on TCG's work with AMS Planning & Research findings, the Audience (R)Evolution program has launched a Research & Resources Hub with eight Case Studies on effective audience-engagement and community-development strategies. These Case Studies feature in-depth analyses of models from Arkansas Repertory Theatre, HERE Arts Center, Long Wharf Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, The Theater Offensive, and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. An executive summary of the Case Studies and research findings provides the field with deeper insight on the project. In addition, the Research & Resources Hub includes a comprehensive literature review, recent field-wide research, essays, articles from Audience (R)Evolution grantees, and archived videos from past Audience (R)Evolution Convenings to facilitate the program's commitment to widespread dissemination of innovative and impactful audience-engagement and community-development practice.

The second round of Audience (R)Evolution will take place over the next three years through the following four phases: research and assessment, convenings, grant-making, and widespread dissemination of audience engagement models that work. Learn more about the Audience (R)Evolution program here. Audience (R)Evolution is part of TCG's strategic plan, which includes the Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Initiative and Theatre Nation, which explores new models for distributed leadership and collective action.

Doris Duke Charitable Foundation's mission is to improve the quality of people's lives through grants supporting the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research and child well-being, and through preservation of the cultural and environmental legacy of Doris Duke's properties. The Arts Program of DDCF focuses its support on contemporary dance, jazz and theatre artists, and the organizations that nurture, present and produce them. For more information, visit ddcf.org.

For over 50 years, Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre, has existed to strengthen, nurture and promote the professional not-for-profit American theatre. TCG's constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres to nearly 700 member theatres and affiliate organizations and more than 12,000 individuals nationwide. TCG offers its members networking and knowledge-building opportunities through conferences, events, research and communications; awards grants, approximately $2 million per year, to theatre companies and individual artists; advocates on the federal level; and serves as the U.S. Center of the International Theatre Institute, connecting its constituents to the global theatre community. TCG is North America's largest independent publisher of dramatic literature, with 14 Pulitzer Prizes for Best Play on the TCG booklist. It also publishes the award-winning American Theatre magazine and ARTSEARCH, the essential source for a career in the arts. In all of its endeavors, TCG seeks to increase the organizational efficiency of its member theatres, cultivate and celebrate the artistic talent and achievements of the field and promote a larger public understanding of, and appreciation for, the theatre. www.tcg.org.