Don't let the curtain fall on your theater company without searching for grants.
There are many grants and funding options available for theater companies. You just have to know where to look. Whether your company needs funding for playwriting, development or production details, there is an appropriate grant for you.
National Grants
A great place to start your investigation of funding is with national grant opportunities such as the National Endowment for the Arts in the United States, which offers several grants up to $250,000 for theater companies. In Canada, try the Canada Council of the Arts. Here you will find a wide variety of grants available for various stages of theater production. For example, the NEA offers a New Play Development Program, which funds non-profit theater organizations creating new works for the stage. There are similar grants available for new directors and actors.
Depending on what stage of production your play is in, you may qualify for additional funding. If your play is still in development, you may try applying for a residency grant. Awards for these grants vary from offering room and board to recompense and stipends for the period when your play is being written. If your production is completed and you are looking to take it on the road, there are a number of travel grants for which you may qualify.
Expanding Your Search
Keep in mind, when applying for grants it is important to cast your net wide. Just because an arts-related grant does not specifically mention that it is open to theater companies, does not mean that you should count it out. There are a large number of grants geared towards the nebulous field of artistic development, which are open to theater companies as well as visual artists, writers and filmmakers, and should not be overlooked on your quest for funding.
Additionally, there are a number of grants outside the realm of artistic endeavors, which may be applicable to your project. Is your theater director a woman? Is your theater company made up of Asian Americans? There are grants available for women in leadership roles and for Asian American organizations, and searching these niche markets will widen your field and increase your chances for funding.
Local and Regional Grants
There are many benefits to focusing on national grant opportunities---there are more that you will qualify for, and they often offer larger amounts of money. However, leaving no stone left unturned in your search for funding means sifting through the various regional grants for which your organization may qualify. FundsNetService.com has a great list of national and regional grants available from Hawaii to Central America to Southern France.
No matter where you live or the specifics of your theater project, there is a grant opportunity right for you. Start your search with national endowment organizations, but don't be afraid to expand beyond national grants for the arts and into regional and niche-specific funding.
