City Theatre Receive Grant from The National Endowment of the Arts

City Theatre is an award recipient in the first round of the 2021 Grants for Arts Projects (GAP) from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Grants for Arts Projects (GAP) awards range from $10,000 to $100,000 and cover these artistic disciplines: Artist Communities, Arts Education, Dance, Design, Folk & Traditional Arts, Literary Arts, Local Arts Agencies, Media Arts, Museums, Music, Musical Theater, Opera, Presenting & Multidisciplinary Works, Theater, and Visual Arts. City Theatre is one of 1,073 national projects that were funded and, at $25,000, received the largest grant from the theater discipline in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

"The creativity and resilience of artists and arts organizations across the country have inspired Americans during this challenging year," said Arts Endowment Acting Chairman Ann Eilers. "These projects represent the vitality and perseverance of arts organizations small and large to overcome significant challenges, transform to new ways of engagement, and forge new relationships that benefit the diverse populations in neighborhoods and cities throughout the United States."

The award received by City Theatre will support the creation of a community-centered new play by Jim McManus featuring stories of immigration in Pittsburgh. The project is created in collaboration with director Michael John Garcés and Cornerstone Theater Company. Over the past year, Mr. McManus and Mr. Garcés have conducted interviews and story circles (both in-person and virtually during the pandemic) with immigrant communities and partner organizations throughout Pittsburgh. Mr. McManus has since brought those stories to life in a new play titled The Rivers Don't Know, which will now premiere as part of City Theatre's 2021/2022 season (the project was originally announced, prior to the pandemic, for production later this spring).

"Writing a play where the words are not strictly from my imagination, but from people who sat across from me feels like a sacred trust," said Playwright Jim McManus. "I can conjure the faces and feel the words of those who shared difficult and joyous moments from their lives about the struggles and triumphs of being an immigrant or refugee in a new city. I want to be careful with the pieces of their lives that they were brave enough to share while at the same time crafting a script that will engage an audience and give a fuller account of their lives than is often shared in the news. I feel a weight to get it 'right' because that feels to me what every person and every community deserves."

Lead support for The Rivers Don't Know comes from the Allegheny Regional Asset District's RADical ImPAct program, made in honor of RAD's 25th Anniversary in 2019. City Theatre was one of only 12 organizations funded by this initiative (learn more). With RAD's support, City Theatre has commissioned and developed the play and engaged several community partners including ARYSE, The All for All Coalition powered by the Global Switchboard, Global Minds, Literary Pittsburgh, JFCS Refugee & Immigrant Services, and World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh.

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