TheatreWorks Silicon Valley Awarded California Arts Council Grant

This week the California Arts Council announced a grant award of $20,000 to TheatreWorks Silicon Valley as part of its Arts Education Exposure program. The Arts Education Exposure program supports attendance at high-quality performances and exhibits for students with limited access to these experiences. Priority is given to events that offer deep cultural resonance with the student communities served, complemented by pre- and post-attendance activities such as artist talkbacks, teaching artist workshops, and facility tours.

With this support from the California Arts Council, TheatreWorks will expand its professional Oskar Tour which offers in-school performances at underrepresented elementary schools (K-5), along with complementary arts education. The popular tour presents TheatreWorks' award-winning plays about a young boy named Oskar who explores topics such as bullying, stress, and diversity. Each vibrant production by professional actors includes student interaction and conveys core messaging in a lighthearted, participatory fashion. All have been created in partnership with educators to identify valuable, needed life skills for Bay Area students.

The Spring 2020 Oskar Tour was cut short to prevent the spread of COVID-19, with a digital version of the show offered to schools whose performances were cancelled. TheatreWorks plans to resume and expand this popular program in schools in Spring 2021. To contact TheatreWorks Education about scheduling an Oskar assembly, schools may email education@theatreworks.org.

"We are thrilled to continue our partnership with the California Arts Council," says Ronnie Plasters, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's Director of Development. "With their support, we will increase impact in our Silicon Valley communities, initiating relationships with new schools and students."

"School districts and educators have asked TheatreWorks to help convey lessons about key issues such as identifying and halting bullying, managing stress and activity overload, and appreciating the differences in fellow students," says Lisa Edsall Giglio, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's Director of Education. "This grant allows us to reach even more Bay Area schools, sharing these fun and engaging Oskar stories with new students who might not have otherwise have access."

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley was featured as part of a larger announcement from the California Arts Council of more than 1,500 grants awarded to nonprofit organizations and units of government throughout the state for their work in support of the agency's mission to strengthen arts, culture, and creative expression as the tools to cultivate a better California for all. The investment of nearly $30 million marks a more than $5 million increase over the previous fiscal year, and the largest in California Arts Council history.

Organizations were awarded grants across 15 different program areas addressing access, equity, and inclusion; community vibrancy; and arts learning and engagement; and directly benefiting our state's communities, with youth, veterans, returned citizens, and California's historically marginalized communities key among them. Successful projects aligned closely with the agency's vision of a California where all people flourish with universal access to and participation in the arts.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the California Arts Council recognizes that some grantees may need to postpone, modify, or cancel their planned activities supported by CAC funds, due to state and local public health guidelines. The state arts agency is prioritizing flexibility in addressing these changes and supporting appropriate solutions for grantees.

"Creativity sits at the very heart of our identity as Californians and as a people. In this unprecedented moment, the need to understand, endure, and transcend our lived experiences through arts and culture is all the more relevant for each of us," said Nashormeh Lindo, Chair of the California Arts Council. "The California Arts Council is proud to be able to offer more support through our grant programs than ever before, at a time when our communities' need is perhaps greater than ever before. These grants will support immediate and lasting community impact by investing in arts businesses and cultural workers across the state."

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