PlayMakers Awarded NEA Art Works Grant for 2014 Repertory Productions

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Acting Chairman Joan Shigekawa announced today that PlayMakers Repertory Company will receive a $50,000 NEA Art Works grant for its fall 2014 repertory productions.

PlayMakers is the professional theater company based in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The grant will support the theater's pairing of Stephen Sondheim's tour de force musical "Into the Woods" with William Shakespeare's magical "A Midsummer Night's Dream," along with accompanying community outreach activities. The PlayMakers productions will be performed in rotating repertory Nov. 1 through Dec. 7.

This is the seventh consecutive season PlayMakers has received NEA awards. Previous productions honored include "A Raisin in the Sun/Clybourne Park" (2012-2013), "The Making of a King: Henry IV & V" (2011-2012), "Big River" (2010-2011) and "The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby" (2009-2010).

Art Works grants support the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and enhancement of the livability of communities through the arts.

"We're thrilled to receive this new award from the NEA," said PlayMakers Producing Artistic Director Joseph Haj. "It is a terrific honor to be acknowledged by our peers for the work we are doing here at PlayMakers and the impact we are having in our community."

Shigekawa said that NEA-supported projects such as PlayMakers' rotating repertory "not only have a positive impact on local economies, but will also provide opportunities for people of all ages to participate in the arts, help our communities to become more vibrant, and support our nation's artists as they contribute to our cultural landscape."

Tickets for "Into the Woods" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream" are currently available a part of PlayMakers' 2014-2015 Season subscription packages.

Currently onstage at PlayMakers through April 20 is Sondheim's Tony Award-winning musical "Assassins." The 2013-2014 Season will conclude with "Hold These Truths" by Jeanne Sakata April 23-27. To purchase tickets or for information, visit www.playmakersrep.org or call (919) 962-PLAY (7529).

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