Thanks to donations made through ETF’s Theatre ALIVE! benefit, Thespian Relief Grants have been awarded to every school that has applied — a total of 145 grants to 114 schools as of March 1. See the entire list of winning schools.
ETF established the Thespian Relief Fund to help school theatre programs recover from pandemic-related box-office losses. Grant recipients are using these funds to buy new equipment for virtual shows, pay for show rights, improve technical theatre facilities, and simply sustain: For some programs, these grants are the only funds they have to keep their programs going.
And the teachers receiving those grants are incredibly grateful for the support. Here’s what recent grant recipients have had to say:
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!! We have nothing right now — we need this SO MUCH!!!”
— Patrick Laxson, Troupe 10001 at Wilbur D. Mills University Studies High School in Little Rock, Arkansas
“Our community continues to be hit hard by the pandemic, and our Thespian troupe/drama club is such an important place for maintaining a (virtual) place for expression and belonging.”
— Robyn Paley, Troupe 89056 at A. Mario Loiederman Middle School for the Creative and Performing Arts in Rockville, Maryland
“Thank you a million times over for this amazing grant for our students. This will make such a huge impact for our students and theatre community!”
— Paige Hutchinson, Troupe 3414 at Rockdale County High School in Conyers, Georgia
In addition to the financial assistance, all 114 grant recipients have also received free streaming licenses from sponsor Broadway Licensing.
Grants continue to be available to schools who need them. In fact, Concord Theatricals is sponsoring an additional $7,500 in grants during March for Theatre in Our Schools Month.
