Educational Theatre Foundation's Thespian Relief Fund Announces First 50 Grants Benefiting Schools In Need

The Educational Theatre Foundation's (ETF) new Thespian Relief Fund has made its first round of grant awards totaling $30,000 and benefiting 40 school theatre programs in 22 states and the District of Columbia. (Complete list below.)

School theatre programs use box office proceeds to fund their next year's shows. With schools closed and spring shows canceled, and major cuts anticipated in state education budgets, many school theatre programs are at risk of failing. In fact according to a recent survey from the Educational Theatre Association, about half the survey respondents lost between 26% and 50% of their revenue last season.

In response, ETF established the Thespian Relief Fund to provide timely financial support for school theatre programs at schools in most need, including Title 1 schools with significant student enrollments of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, as well as rural and small schools with few or no support resources. The grants awarded this week are in two categories:

• $500 grants for schools to start or renew a Thespian Troupe and cover lifetime fees for 10 students.
• $1,000 grants to assist school theatre programs that, because of COVID-19, have been negatively impacted by cancellation of events or loss of projected revenue.

A total of 40 $500 grants and 10 $1,000 grants have been awarded.

Initial donations for the Thespian Relief Fund came from Project Sing Out!, a one-night livestreamed event conceived by Tony Award nominee and Thespian alum Hailey Kilgore. The event, which took place July 20, raised funds for ETF to support arts education specifically in low-income communities and communities of color. It can still be viewed exclusively on Playbill.com's YouTube Channel and Facebook page. Donations to support the Thespian Relief Fund are now being accepted by the Educational Theatre Foundation.

ETF President Julie Cohen Theobald said, "Thanks to all involved in Project Sing Out! and many other donors who recognize the critical value theatre education has for all students. Support is needed more than ever for schools to sustain their theatre programs through the pandemic."

To post a comment, you must register and login.