Philadelphia Theatre Initiative Awards $863,000 in Grants

The Philadelphia Theatre Initiative has announced $863,000 in grants that will be awarded to seven producing theaters, two performing arts presenting organizations, and three independent theater performance artists, which range from $20,000 to $110,000, and are payable over one or two years. PTI is a program of the Philadelphia Center for Arts and Heritage, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by The University of the Arts.

The Arden Theatre Company will receive $110,000 to produce the American regional theatre premiere of John Caird’s adaptation of Candide; $48,000 will be provided to Brat Productions to develop and produce Haunted Poe, an immersive site-specific take on a traditional haunted house in the style of Edgar Allen Poe’s writing; and Sara Felder will receive $20,000 to develop and produce Melancholy, a Comedy, a solo performance piece which will confront societal discomfort around mental illness. $105,000 was awarded to the Kimmel Center, Inc. to present The Andersen Project, Robert Lepage’s multi-media theatre piece inspired by the stories of Hans Christian Andersen; and the People’s Light & Theatre Company will receive $110,000 to produce the local premiere of Ellen McLaughlin’s adaptation of The Persians by Aeschylus.

$110,000 will support the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe for the American premiere of Operetta by Witold Gombrowicz; Philadelphia Theatre Company will receive $110,000 to produce the Philadelphia premiere of the Tony Award-winning musical Grey Gardens by Doug Wright, with music by Scott Frankel and lyrics by Michael Korie; and Thaddeus Phillips was awarded $20,000 to develop and produce The Melting Bridge, the third and final part of Phillips’ The Americas Trilogy. Pig Iron Theatre Company will make use of their $75,000 to develop and produce Welcome to Yuba City, a variety-show of eccentrics and misfits meant to highlight the vein with lies underneath the daily flow of American life; Geoff Sobelle was granted $20,000 to premiere his doomsday fairy tale, Flesh and Blood and Fish and Fowl; and the Wilma Theater will receive $110,000 to produce the second American production of Scorched by Wajdi Mouawad, translated by Linda Gaboriau, with original music by Iraqi-American musician and composer Amir ElSaffar.

For more information about PTI, visit philadelphiatheatreinitiative.org.