Shakespeare in American Communities
$1.17 Million Will Support Shakespeare Programming for Young People Across America
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, Arts Midwest announced the recipients of $1.17 million ($1,172,579) in Shakespeare in American Communities grants, with $1 million ($1,002,580) going to 43 professional theater companies partnering with schools, and $170,000 going to 7 organizations working with students in the juvenile justice system.
Celebrating its 21st year in 2024, Shakespeare in American Communities is a theater program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. The program supports high-quality productions and educational activities exploring the work of William Shakespeare in middle schools, high schools, and juvenile justice facilities throughout the United States.
Theater companies are able to choose to either perform a play by Shakespeare or conduct performances that use the works of William Shakespeare as an inspiration. Paired with these performances, each company will host educational activities with students to creatively explore Shakespeare’s work and its context. These performances and educational events will take place between August 1, 2024 and July 31, 2025.
Applicants can choose a range of grant awards ($15k-$25k) to help smaller organizations meet the required match more easily. Four new Juvenile Justice grantees were awarded this year and six new grantees were awarded Schools grants.