AGE to Accept Applications for Legacy Playwright Grants Beginning This Week

Advance Gender Equity in the Arts is presenting the return of its annual AGE Legacy Playwright (ALP) grants created by founder Jane V. Mantiri to invest directly in storytellers who have been historically denied opportunities because of gender, race, and age. The ALP grants provide three recipients with unrestricted $10,000 awards. Applications will be accepted from March 15th through May 15th via a submission portal accessible on AGE's website.

AGE is a social justice organization and movement that was established in 2014. The ALP grants are its latest signature program. Launched in 2022, the annual ALP grants have received over 130 applications in the first two years and awarded more than $75K to 6 recipients and 15 finalists. The first year, the awards were funded by individual donors but have since been underwritten by The deNovo Initiative, a Portland-based private foundation that "supports storytellers who challenge conceptions, opinions, and beliefs, propelling their stories to be catalysts for changing hearts and minds."

AGE invites playwrights from across the country who meet eligibility requirements to apply for the ALP grants when the portal opens March 15th. The applicants must self-identify as emerging, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People Of Color), 40+ years of age, of a marginalized gender, and have a completed draft of full-length play. Full eligibility criteria and application instructions are available on AGE's website. Past ALP recipient Marlow Wyatt states, "The ALP grant helped put my name in rooms I was not able to get into before and much more. Artistic Directors from theatres in Portland and beyond were exposed to my work because of this grant. That was a game changer for a playwright with no representation."

This spring, there are two opportunities in Portland to see readings of ALP-awarded plays. AGE is partnering with Bag&Baggage Productions for a reading of empty spaces by Reneé Flemings on April 18th at The Vault and with Profile Theatre for a reading of Beheading Columbus by Diana Burbano on June 12th at Imago Theatre. Each playwright will be in residence before the public showings of their respective plays that feature Portland-based, majority-BIPOC creative teams, including directors and actors. Audiences are encouraged to stay for post-performance talkbacks with all artists involved.

The 2024 ALP Awards will be announced in September. The recipients and finalists are chosen by a committee of BIPOC theatre professionals, most of whom live and work in Portland. AGE will amplify the three grant recipients and seven finalists all year via newsletters and social media platforms. "The ALP playwrights and their stories benefit everyone, as audiences will hear the fabric and foundation of our country in their words," says AGE's program director, Andréa Morales. "There is wisdom, lived experience, and joy in these plays that the American canon has been sadly lacking."

Detailed eligibility requirements and application instructions are listed in the portal and at ageinthearts.org.