Shattered Globe Theatre Will Receive $20,000 Award from the National Endowment for the Arts

Shattered Globe Theatre has announced that it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a Grants for Arts Projects award of $20,000. This grant will support Shattered Globe’s Global Playwright Series (GPS), a deliberate pathway to the company’s goal of fostering new work and new artistic connections. 

“The NEA is proud to continue our nearly 60 years of supporting the efforts of organizations and artists that help to shape our country’s vibrant arts sector and communities of all types across our nation,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “It is inspiring to see the wide range of creative projects taking place.”

“Playwriting has long been dominated by white, male writers, and there’s a reason that theaters continue to produce classics by playwrights such as Arthur Miller, as Shattered Globe did this season,” said Sandy Shinner, Producing Artistic Director, Shattered Globe Theatre.

“However,” Shinner added, “even habitual theatergoers may struggle to name multiple BIPOC playwrights, and younger playwrights of color face an uphill battle to get produced. This commitment by the NEA to support artistic development, particularly by smaller theaters such as SGT, is vital. Large institutions cannot bear the entire burden of keeping the industry afloat. Small theaters remain an important pathway to significant career opportunities for artists.”

SGT’s first Global Playwrights Series cycle launched in 2022 and culminated with Shattered Globe’s world premiere of Radial Gradient by Jasmine Sharma in January 2023.

SGT’s Global Playwright Series is open to all playwrights, but the company aims for strong participation by BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, neurodiverse, and disabled writers and those who fall within intersections of these identities. Following an application process, three winners will receive workshops with Shattered Globe, including a 10-12 day residency at SGT, 25 hours of rehearsals, scene work, and performances, and writing time for the playwright between sessions. 

Applications for the second two-year cycle of Shattered Globe’s Global Playwriting Series will open later this spring at SGTheatre.org.

Shattered Globe Theatre seeks to redefine what it means to be an ensemble theatre, discover new connections between story, artist and audience, and explore drama from bold, challenging perspectives. The company was born in a storefront space on Halsted Street in 1991. Since then, SGT has produced more than 80 plays, including nine American and world premieres, and garnered an impressive 44 Jeff Awards and 118 Jeff Award nominations, as well as the acclaim of critics and audiences alike. Through initiatives such as its Protégé Program and Global Playwright Series, Shattered Globe creates spaces which allow emerging artists to grow and share in the ensemble experience.

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