Monday, February 12, 2018

More Than $25 Million Awarded for Arts Projects Nationwide

Includes $20,000 awarded to Horizon Theatre Company for the New South Young Playwrights Festival

ATLANTA – National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu has approved more than $25 million in grants as part of the NEA’s first major funding announcement for fiscal year 2018. Included in this announcement is an Art Works grant of $20,000 to Horizon Theatre Company for The New South Young Playwrights Festival. The Art Works category is the NEA’s largest funding category and supports projects that focus on the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and/or the strengthening of communities through the arts.

“It is energizing to see the impact that the arts are making throughout the United States. These NEA-supported projects, such as this one to Horizon, are good examples of how the arts build stronger and more vibrant communities, improve well-being, prepare our children to succeed, and increase the quality of our lives,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “At the National Endowment for the Arts, we believe that all people should have access to the joy, opportunities and connections the arts bring.”

“Horizon Theatre would like to thank the National Endowment for the Arts for this grant to our New South Young Playwrights Contest and Festival which is focused on the development of the next generation of American dramatists,” says Horizon Co-Artistic Director Lisa Adler. “We are truly grateful for the support the NEA has provided for not only Horizon and our commitment to the growth and education of young artists, but to so many other significant arts events and programs in the Atlanta area.

This year, Horizon Theatre will host its 20th annual New South Young Playwrights Festival May 28 – June 2, 2018. The Festival is a FREE summer playwriting intensive for a diverse group of 20-25 high school and college student contest winners. Horizon solicits play submissions from students in high schools, colleges, training programs, conservatories and theatres nationwide. Students come from all across the country to take part in a series of classes, seminars, workshops, roundtables and rehearsals with professional artists, teachers and playwrights. The Festival culminates in a public showcase of their newly written short plays. As part of the Festival, Horizon Theatre provides participants with housing and meals for the entire week – including breakfast, lunch and dinner. Horizon Theatre receives no income from Festival participants or activities; The Festival’s continued success is contingent upon funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Art Works category. And this award will be pivotal in assisting us with providing young people with the chance to develop their skills as writers, thinkers and communicators in the company of peers and professionals for our 20th annual New South Young Playwrights Festival in 2018.

Horizon is currently accepting submissions from high school and college age writers for the 2018 New South Young Playwrights Contest and Festival. The application deadline is March 1, 2018. For more information or to apply, go to: http://www.horizontheatre.com/education-and-community/young-playwrights/

Now in its 34th season, Horizon Theatre Company has been bringing exciting regional and world premieres of contemporary plays to Atlanta audiences since 1983. Our mission is to connect people, inspire hope and promote positive change through the stories of our times. As a leader in professional contemporary theatre in the Southeast, we produce new plays and develop writers that offer fresh perspectives on our ever-changing world – stories that are entertaining, thought-provoking, relevant and accessible. Our programming includes a five-play mainstage season; our New South Play Festival that develops plays from, for and about the contemporary South; our Family Series for younger audiences; and other educational and outreach programs, including the New South Young Playwrights Festival.

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