The Children's Theater Foundation of America

Recent Recipients

CTFA awarded the following grants and fellowships:

Aurand Harris Grants 2011

(Average Award: $2,324)

For not for profit small and mid sized theatres for children and youth

Boxtales Theatre Company, Santa Barbara, CA, to support the creation and presentation of a 40-minute original play based on the POPOL VUH (the central creation myth of the Quiche Maya people) for 10,000 students in public and private elementary schools throughout CA and WA.

Pennsylvania Youth Theatre, Bethlehem, PA to support two professional actors in the regional tour of Jose Cruz Gonzales’s TOMAS AND THE LIBRARY LADY and a coordinating event with the playwright.

Aurand Harris Fellowships 2011

(Award: $2,000)

To assist individual theatre artists in the development of their own artistic excellence

Khamara Pettus, San Francisco, CA to provide a four week run of live performances in collaboration with the Brava Theater in San Francisco to bring the essence of Grimm’s fairytales to displaced neighborhoods in the Mission District giving them “an opportunity to encounter positive role models; and, to experience these tales in a fashion that is reflective of and respectful to their culture and surroundings.”

Alvin Cohen Memorial Award 2011

(Award $1,634)

TYA/AATE (Theatre for Young Audiences-USA and American Alliance for Theatre & Education), Bethesda, MD, a joint program: Dramatic Change: An Anti-Bullying Initiative, for the 2012 Annual AATE Conference, Lexington, KY. The program includes a pre-conference, led by story drama experts Julianan Saxton and Carole Miller, and keynote address by Lily Eskelsen, focusing solely on work theatre artists and educators can do to address this issue.

Founders Grants 2010

(Average Award: $1999.25)

AATE, Bethesda, MD, to support a world premiere of Suzan Zeder’s Ware Trilogy as part of the 2011 AAATE Conference in Chicago.

Oregon Children's Theatre, Portland, OR, to support a series of green initiatives in conjunction with the commissioning of a new play by Joan Cushing.

First Stage Children's Theatre, Milwaukee, WI, to offset artistic costs of increased commissioning costs for original work.

TYA/USA, Chicago, IL, to support fees related to bringing members of London’s Oily Cart Theatre to conduct workshops at the One Theatre World national meeting to explore techniques of working with autistic children.

Aurand Harris Grants 2010

(Average Award: $2,250)

Emerald City Theatre, Chicago, IL to support a child development expert from the Erikson Institute to consult on their new works process, the ECT PlayGround, and collaborate with the playwrights, directors, design teams and actors on developing works as well as interact with audiences. This expert would be part of the production team and would be the Eduturg.

Collective Consciousness Theatre, New Haven, CT, to conceive, create and produce an original production, study guide and student/teacher workshops for middle and high schools based on the Amistad slave revolt and trial, tentatively titled Give Us Free.

Aurand Harris Fellowships 2010

(Average Award: $1,000)

Nichole Pearce, Young Artist’s Theatre Company, Omak, WA, to begin a one year trial project called Young Artists Theatre Company, teaching theatre classes and producing original scenes from Brother’s Grimm Tales and A Christmas Carol, the Musical, in an area where there are no theatre opportunities, in order to further her artistic experience in youth theatre and fill the need in the community.

Eric Schmiedl, Cleveland Hts., OH, to develop a non traditional play for family audiences in partnership with the Cleveland Public Theatre – My Hemisphere and Your Hemisphere Live Across the Street

Founders Grants 2009

(Average Award: $1,666)

Here Arts Center, New York, NY, for support of the world premiere of Aunt Leaf, a multimedia theatre piece for children ages 9 and up about the power of imagination, created by playwright Barbara Wiechmann and director Jeffry Mousseau.

Nat Eek and Ann Shaw, Santa Fe, NM, to partially fund the printing of Volume II of The History of Assitej (1976-1990).

Joan Lazarus, Austin, TX, to support the identification of master theatres and models of K-12 theatre education programs that embodies the characteristics and elements of best practice. Results will be submitted for publication and presentation at national conferences.

Aurand Harris Grants 2009

(Average Award: $1,666)

The Eckerd Theater Company, Clearwater, FL, to support the purchase of theatre equipment necessary for touring.

Falconworks Artists Group, Brooklyn, NY: to support Off the Hook, an out-of-school program in playwriting and acting for youth ages 11-15. The project comprises an 8-wek playwriting and acting workshop followed by public performances of the participants’ plays.

Metro Theater Company, St. Louis, Mo, to partially fund a New Work Incubator for the benefit of emerging, mid-career, established and international TYA artists

Aurand Harris Fellowships 2009

(Average Award: $1,000)

Janis Astor del Valle, New Haven, CT, to support the development and performance of Joaquin, a one-woman play for teen audiences that explores a transgendered Latino’s struggle for acceptance from his family and himself.

Kamuel DeMoville, Hemet, CA, to support the writing and development of three plays which deal with the causes and repercussions of violence and aggression occurring in schools. The plays will emphasize both quality of theatrical aesthetics and entertainments that serve to highlight the themes rather than approach the ideas of school violence and aggression heavy handedly.

Fran Sillau, Council Bluffs, IA, to support the writing and development of a new, two-person play, The Brass Ring, designed for touring that explores issues of disability.

Founders Grants 2008

(Average Award: $2,500)

The Children’s Theatre Company, Minneapolis, MN, to support the convening of theatre artists, educators, and early education professionals as part of an initiative to create new plays/curricula for children ages 3-5.

Seattle Children’s Theatre, Seattle, WA, to support the commission of the world premiere of Pharaoh Serket and The Lost Stone of Fire.

Arizona State University, School of Theatre and Film, Tempe, AZ, to support an academic symposium “The Ethics of Representing Childhood-Popular Culture, Performance, Pedagogy, and Policy.”

Aurand Harris Grants 2008

(Average Award: $2,666)

Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts, Inc, Columbia, MD, to support the purchase of portable sound and light systems to use in outreach performances for at risk youth.

Alchemists Workshop, Henniker, NH, to commission Karen Haug to produce and write a play based on their town’s most interesting character—Ocean Born Mary. .

Stepping Stone Theatre for Youth Development, St. Paul, MN To support the world premiere of Rainbow Crow by Rhiana Yazzie, commissioned by the theatre.

Founders Grants 2007

(Average Award: $1,700)

ASSITEJ/USA, to assist in the funding of one or more graduate students or early career professionals to attend ASSITEJ in Australia and to represent the US in the Next Generation Project.

Oregon Children’s Theatre, Portland Oregon, for script development of Lois Lowry’s youth novel, Gossamer, to be co-produced in the following year by Oregon Children’s Theatre and First Stage of Milwaukee.

Jeanne Klein, Lawrence Kansas, to support research and writing of a book explaining how children formulate aesthetic judgments about theatre from early-middle childhood.

Here Arts Center of New York, to support an international festival featuring Dutch and French productions for young audiences.

Aurand Harris Grants 2007

(Average Award: $2,500)

Metro Theatre Company, St. Louis, MO, to support 2 staged readings of a developing script inspired by Moby Dick. $2,000.

Pollyanna Theatre Co., Austin, TX, for commissioning and actor fees for premier of Duckling Sees The World. $2,500.

Savannah Children’s Theatre Inc., Savannah, Georgia, to fund essential technical theatre equipment. $3,000.

Aurand Harris Fellowship 2007

Larissa Fasthorse, To complete development of a new play, Teaching Disco Square Dancing To Our Elders: A Class Presentation, with a 2 day choreography workshop to develop movement language. $1,000.

Founders Grants 2006

(Award: $700)

AATE Playwriting Network to support seven long-distance apprenticeships to secondary playwriting students with adult playwright in the field. Students will receive written feedback on their plays by correspondence. The student work and the process to develop it will be presented in a session at the 2007 AATE conference.

Aurand Harris Grants 2006

(Average Award: $1,900)

The Open Eye Theatre, Margaretville, New York to produce a series of four Bear Bones workshop productions of new plays for young audiences and families - plays calling for young actors and adults in the cast.

The Marsh Youth Theatre, San Francisco, California to commission and perform an original musical piece entitled Siddhartha, The Bright Path. Siddhartha will be set with Indian music and dance by artists with cultural experience.

Aurand Harris Fellowship 2006

(Average Award: $1,000)

Dan Fenton to support research and the writing of a play based on the exploitation of the Amazon Rainforest.

Jon Klein and Laura Shamas, to support the writing and development of a contemporary holiday play for the whole family.

Founders Grants 2005

(Average award: $1,750)

ASSITEJ/OSA to fund travel subsidies for graduate students and early career professionals and an Intern Mentor to attend the 15th World Congress and Performing Arts Festival of ASSITEJ International IN Montreal, Canada from September 20-30, 2005.

Arizona State University Department of Archives and Special Collections to create transcripts of the Child Drama Collection’s audio and video oral histories of leaders in the field and to provide access points to them on the web.

The Children’s Theatre Company, Minneapolis to support the development and production of a new play for teen audiences, Anon(ymous) by Naomi Iizuka.

Seattle Children’s Theatre in support of the world premier of Robert Schenkkan’s The Devil and Daniel Webster

Oregon Children’s Theatre in support of playwright Eric Coble, playwright for the adaptation of The Giver and its premier production.

Aurand Harris Grants 2005

(Average award: $1,042)

Metro Theatre Company to help support the production and local/regional tour of Stix and Stonz, a new play by Nicholas Kryah that explores the exercise of power and the dynamics of prejudice.

Prime Stage Theatre to support a program integrating theatre and literature, “Connect Kids to Classics.”

Youth Theatre at the University of Salt Lake toward travel costs and related expenses to bring playwright Sandra Asher to Utah for development workshops and rehearsal/performance of a new play.

Theatre del Pueblo of St. Paul toward commission and production expenses for a new play dealing with current Latino issues to be used as the capstone of their bi-lingual Literacy Through Theater residencies.

Aurand Harris Fellowships 2005

(Average award: $750)

Ric Averill, Lawrence KS, in support of his work on two new plays

Christopher Browne Malik, Eutaw, AL, in support of the creation of an interactive Rap and verse play for teens about a school conflict that ends in violence, after which the teen audience, improvising with actors, is challenged to reconstruct a non-violent outcome.

Alisa Weinstein, Williamsville, NY in support of a ten month long residency in New Delhi, India with the National School of Drama’s Theatre-in-Education Company, Sanskaar Rang Toli, a professional adult repertory performing plays and conducting workshops for children.

Founders Grants 2004

(Average award: $4,250)

AATE Playwriting Network for support of three secondary theatre teachers who are committed to developing new works in their schools with the opportunity to observe and participate in the development of a script at one of three development venues.

The Indiana Repertory Theatre in support of the Bonderman Playwriting Project in its transition from the sponsorship of Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis to the Indiana Repertory Theatre.

Aurand Harris Grants 2004

(Average award: $3,000)

The Children’s Theatre Company of Sioux Falls, SD for partial support of playwright Wesley Middleton to participate in rehearsals and performance of “Emperor Incorporated.”

Edgefest, Los Angeles, toward expenses to develop and produce a program to assist Los Angeles based theatre companies develop original one-act plays targeted to children ages 5-15 and their families.

Theatre Building of Chicago in support of “The One-Acts Project” involving the creation and production of two original musicals for children ages 3-6.

Aurand Harris Fellowship 2004

(Award: $3,000)

Max Bush to support artistic development through work on plays designed for high school age audiences.