AGE is proud to announce the launch of its 2022 initiative, the AGE Legacy Playwright Grants (ALP)! In continuing the commitment to the social justice arts movement, AGE Founder, Jane Mantiri has launched the ALP Grant to continue the AGE legacy of investing in artists who have been underrepresented and underserved. Plays produced and directed by women on Broadway and national theatre companies are rare, and this lack of representation negatively impacts BIPOC women and nonbinary artists even more. American Theatre has to do better. Our solution? Invest in those telling the stories.
AGE seeks to change the equity landscape of the American Theatre canon by increasing the representation of women and nonbinary BIPOC playwrights 40+ years of age. Three playwrights will receive individual unrestricted grants of $10,000 each. We are intentionally making our grant funding to BIPOC women and nonbinary playwrights unrestricted. When funders dictate how grant money is used and require complex systems of documentation, oversight, and conditions, it can disempower the recipient. Shared power is a core value for AGE. We are mindful of the layered history of oppression, trauma, and disempowerment for BIPOC women and nonbinary people. Thus, we set out to create an initiative that amplifies the integrity of the recipients.
For AGE, equity means creating environments where everyone can achieve their goals. Giving agency to the recipients is how we practice equity. The recipients will determine the course of their professional journey and we are honored to witness and invest in their success.
$10,000 Unrestricted
March 7, 2022 – April 1, 2022
AGE is committed to curating the AGE Legacy Playwright grants program within the limits of our resources. Therefore, we will only be accepting the first 100 applications.
June 2022
We acknowledge and honor that any selection process is subjective and imperfect. We will work with this in mind and do our best to mitigate any bias or harm. Applicants will be reviewed on their motivation, commitment, and dedication as a playwright to impact the equity landscape of American theatre. And, while applicants must have an original draft of a full length play completed at the time of the application, the focus of the review is on the artist more than the play. AGE honors that their writing is one of many drafts and efforts yet to be birthed in their playwriting career.
“AGE wants to be curative and healing in our relationship with grant recipients. That means respecting our recipients’ dignity and judgment in using the funds towards realizing their goals. We are giving fully and freely, knowing that our recipients will make the world a better place. Together, we are doing something that seldom happens in a world still struggling to find pathways to equity.” -Jane Mantiri AGE Founder
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