Barrington Stage Company Selected For The Barr-Klarman Massachusetts Arts Initiative $525K Grant

A $25 million investment in 29 arts organizations from across Massachusetts over six years to strengthen their financial health and "adaptive capacity."

We are pleased to announce that Barrington Stage Company (BSC) was selected to participate in the Barr-Klarman Massachusetts Arts Initiative - as announced earlier today on the Barr Foundation's blog. A partnership between two Boston-based foundations - Barr and The Klarman Family Foundation - the initiative is a $25 million, six-year investment in 29 arts and cultural organizations from across Massachusetts. Participating organizations receive flexible, multi-year operating support grants, in addition to training and technical assistance from TDC, a nonprofit consulting and research firm. BSC's engagement in the initiative begins with two grants totaling $525,000 over three years, which is a ringing endorsement of BSC's work and potential.

"This grant is a dream come true!" says BSC Artistic Director Julianne Boyd. "We are thrilled that the Barr-Klarman Massachusetts Arts Initiative has recognized our need for capacity building. This grant will allow us to strengthen our community engagement initiatives in Pittsfield as well as explore innovative ways to develop new work and new audiences. Our ultimate goal is to continue to create strong artistic programming that is both relevant and entertaining and that speaks directly to our diverse and vital community."

"Organizations like BSC are the cultural hearts of their communities," said San San Wong, Director of Arts & Creativity for the Barr Foundation. "They are sites of public assembly and dialogue, often working to foster understanding and connection across cultural differences. It is our privilege to support BSC in this journey to further strengthen its financial health and capacity to adapt to change - that it might deepen and continue this work for years to come."

"Arts organizations, including BSC, play a critical role in the health of our communities," said Laura Sherman, Director, Greater Boston Grantmaking for The Klarman Family Foundation. "We are committed to strengthening this cohort of 29 arts organizations across the Commonwealth that have the ability to connect and enliven communities through culture, tradition and creative expression, and we are proud to be a part of this initiative."

Representing diversity across artistic disciplines, geographic reach, stages of organizational development, and budget sizes, the 29 organizations participating in the Barr-Klarman Massachusetts Arts Initiative are:

• Academy of Music Theatre (Northampton)

• A Far Cry (Boston)

• Barrington Stage Company (Pittsfield)

• Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (Boston)

• Boston Modern Orchestra Project (Malden)

• Cape Ann Museum (Gloucester)

• Community Access to the Arts (Great Barrington)

• Community Art Center (Cambridge)

• Community Music School of Springfield (Springfield)

• Company One Theatre (Boston)

• The Dance Complex (Cambridge)

• Design Museum Boston (Boston)

• Double Edge Theatre (Ashfield)

• Eliot School of Fine & Applied Arts (Boston)

• Featherstone Center for the Arts (Martha's Vineyard)

• Fitchburg Art Museum (Fitchburg)

• Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center (Great Barrington)

• Merrimack Repertory Theatre (Lowell)

• New Bedford Art Museum/ArtWorks! (New Bedford)

• New Bedford Symphony Orchestra (New Bedford)

• Norman Rockwell Museum (Stockbridge)

• Now + There (Boston)

• Payomet Performing Arts Center (North Truro)

• Provincetown Art Association and Museum (Provincetown)

• Raw Art Works (Lynn)

• The Record Co. (Boston)

• SpeakEasy Stage (Boston)

• Worcester Art Museum (Worcester)

• Zeiterion Theatre (New Bedford)

BSC and each participant in this initiative will receive multi-year, unrestricted operating grants. Additionally, through a grant to TDC, a nationally recognized nonprofit consulting and research group, organizations will also receive customized training and technical assistance, and be eligible for supplemental funds for targeted research, capacity building, and/or pilot projects. Last week, the foundations made the first set of three-year grants under the new initiative, marking the beginning of what is expected to be a six-year journey of learning, collaboration, and growth.

For more information about the Barr-Klarman Massachusetts Arts Initiative page, including the ideas underlying the effort, key elements of the experience for participating organizations, selection criteria, and evaluation findings, visit https://www.barrfoundation.org/what-we-do/barr-klarman-massachusetts-arts-initiative.

Barrington Stage Company (BSC) is an award-winning regional theatre located in Pittsfield, MA, in the heart of the Berkshires. Co-founded in 1995 by Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, BSC has a three-fold mission: to present top-notch, compelling work; to develop new plays and musicals; and to find fresh, bold ways of bringing new audiences into the theatre-especially young people. Barrington Stage garnered national attention in 2004 when it premiered William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin's musical hit The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which later transferred to Broadway where it won two Tony Awards. In 2009, BSC premiered Mark St. Germain's Freud's Last Session, which later moved Off Broadway and played for two years. St. Germain's Becoming Dr. Ruth (which premiered at BSC as Dr. Ruth, All the Way) played Off Broadway at The Westside Theatre. BSC's all-time record-breaking musical On the Town was originally produced at BSC in 2013 before transferring to Broadway, where it was nominated for four Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival. In 2016, Barrington Stage swept the first annual Berkshire Theatre Awards by winning 20 out of the 25 awards.

Also in 2016, BSC produced the world premiere of American Son, which won the Laurents/Hatcher Award for Best New Play and opens on Broadway in November 2018. In 2017, BSC produced the much-lauded revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Company, starring Aaron Tveit. In 2018, BSC produced the critically-acclaimed production of West Side Story in honor of Leonard Bernstein and Jerome Robbins' 100th birthdays. BSC has won the Best of the Berkshires Readers' Choice for Best Live Theatre for the past two years. 2019 marks BSC's 25th Season Anniversary. For more information, visit BarringtonStageCo.org.

About the Barr Foundation: The Barr Foundation's mission is to invest in human, natural, and creative potential, serving as thoughtful stewards and catalysts. Based in Boston, Barr focuses regionally, and selectively engages nationally, working in partnership with nonprofits, foundations, the public sector, and civic and business leaders to elevate the arts, advance solutions for climate change, and connect all students to success in high school and beyond. Founded in 1997, Barr now has assets of $1.7 billion, and has contributed more than $838 million to charitable causes. For more information, visit barrfoundation.org or follow @BarrFdn on Twitter and Facebook.

About The Klarman Family Foundation: The Klarman Family Foundation seeks to identify areas of unmet need and advance solutions to addressing them. Underlying all of the Foundation's work is a passionate belief in the promise and importance of creative thinking, strategic leadership and strong organizations to help bring about change. As a way to learn and create greater impact, the Foundation values acting in partnership with other funders. Its work spans regionally, nationally and internationally and focuses on advancing understanding of the biological basis of health and illness; supporting the global Jewish community and State of Israel; expanding access to vital services and enrichment opportunities in Greater Boston; and ensuring a healthy democracy. Established in 1990 by Beth and Seth Klarman, the Foundation is located in Boston, MA. For more information, visit klarmanfoundation.org.

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