Williamston Theatre to Receive $15,000 Grant From the National Endowment for the Arts

Williamston Theatre has announced that it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a Grants for Arts Projects award of $15,000. This grant will support the development and production of Williamston Theatre’s first commissioned play – Thirst by Terry Guest. In total, the NEA will award 958 Grants for Arts Projects awards totaling more than $27.1 million that were announced as part of its first round of fiscal year 2024 grants. 

“The NEA is delighted to announce this grant to Williamston Theatre, which is helping contribute to the strength and well-being of the arts sector and local community,” said National Endowment for the Arts Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “We are pleased to be able to support this community and help create an environment where all people have the opportunity to live artful lives.”  

“We are thrilled to be awarded our first NEA Arts Project grant for our first commissioned play,” said co-Founder and Executive Director Emily Sutton-Smith. “It’s very exciting to be able to contribute to the canon of the American theatre with a play that deals with an increasingly pressing issue – water as a human right.”

“This new play is emblematic of Williamston Theatre's mission of bringing new works to their patrons. The unique thing about this commissioned piece is that it addresses personal issues that are so important to Michigan audiences,” said Board President Rob Roznowski. 

Thirst, by Terry Guest, is the first play that has been commissioned by the Williamston Theatre. The play is set in Michigan, a state surrounded by the largest fresh-water system on the planet. It is the near future and thirst occupies the minds of everyone, especially those without access to that fresh water. The story centers on a Black woman in her early 40s who lives in Tablet Housing, so called because instead of providing water to those who occupy these low-income housing systems, the government provides tablets that allegedly fulfill the human body’s need for water. She works a low-income job at a factory led by an elite – her wealthy boss. He proposes a way for her to extricate herself from her lot in life – help him kill his wife. She faces difficult choices as she contemplates her options as a victim of inequality in an oppressive society.

Live theatre has the power to entertain and illuminate. Thirst will do both. It will tap into the popular demand for post-apocalyptic, dystopian, sci-fi thrillers. The looming question of the play is the issue of water as a human right, something that is an increasing problem around the world in the here and now. The play is inspired by the past – structures of race and class disparity that fuels the current divide in America. The play is inspired by the present – corporate greed and responsibility (Nestle), failing infrastructure poisoning communities (Flint), and water source evaporation leading to the rationing of water (Arizona and California). The play will suggest the future, where the issue of water rights is a worse problem than we thought.

Free Public Reading: Thirst will receive a development workshop at the Williamston Theatre in May, which will culminate in a public reading on Saturday, June 1, 2024, at 7:00pm. Admission will be free but due to limited seating, reservations are required. Tickets will be available for reservation beginning in April. A full 6-week run of the play will kick off the Williamston Theatre’s 2024-2025 Season in September 2024.

Terry Guest is an award-winning Playwright, Actor, Director and Teaching Artist based in Chicago, IL. His play The Magnolia Ballet Part 1 has been performed all over the country and was the recipient of two Jeff Awards (Best Performer, Best Production) and the National New Play Network David Goldman Best New American Play Award. Other plays include: Marie Antionette and the Magical Negros (3 Jeff Award wins including Best Director and Best New Work), At the Wake of a Dead Drag Queen, Andy Warhol Presents: The Cocaine Play, OAK, and The Madness of Mary Todd. As an actor Terry has worked at regional theaters around the country including Steppenwolf, Victory Gardens, Goodman Theatre, Alliance Theatre, Actors Express, and others. 

Williamston Theatre is mid-Michigan’s professional regional theatre and has been producing live theatre in Williamston since opening in 2006. Over the years, the Theatre has been recognized for its work with dozens of Thespie Awards, Pulsar Awards, Wilde Awards, the 2008 Robert Busby Award for Excellence in Theatre, and a 2014 American Theatre Wing National Theatre Award. It’s current production, Maytag Virgin by Audrey Cefaly and directed by co-Founder and Artistic Director Tony Caselli, runs through March 2, 2024.

For more information on the Williamston Theatre’s season and programming, visit williamstontheatre.org.

For more information on other projects included in the NEA’s grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.

 

 

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