The Educational Theatre Foundation’s (ETF) new Thespian Relief Fund has awarded Merrillville High School Thespian Troupe #1692 a grant of $1,500 to support theatre education and production during the 2020-21 academic year.
Merrillville High School’s grant will help pay the induction dues for new members into the Thespian Troupe. The grant will also offset lost revenue from various productions in the spring and fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’ve lost out on a lot of revenue from shows being cancelled or only being produced in a virtual format,” says Tom Mackey, Merrillville High School Thespian Troupe Director. “It’s not just the ticket sales that we lose, but also revenue from concessions and fundraisers.”
The Performing Arts Department at Merrillville was forced to cancel the annual One Act Festival and postpone its spring production of Little Shop of Horrors until the fall. Attendance was limited due to health regulations.
The fall production "Swagger" was performed virtually. The relief grant will help cover licensing and production costs.
“Even though we’re in the midst of a pandemic, our students are still eager to be on stage and create art,” says Mackey. “We’ve been able to safely produce theatre so far, but there are still costs involved.”
The relief grant will also allow up to 20 new Thespian Troupe members to be inducted without having to pay the associated dues.
“A lot of families have not fully recovered from the economic impact of the pandemic,” said Mackey, “so this grant helps our students earn the recognition they deserve without putting a financial strain on their families.”
The Performing Arts Department and the Thespian Troupe will continue planning for the spring musical and a 10-minute play festival. More information on these events will be announced.
The Thespian Relief Fund was established to help school theatre programs facing financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a recent survey from the Educational Theatre Association, about half of responding schools lost between 26% and 50% of their revenue last season when schools were shuttered and productions canceled.
To date, ETF has awarded $48,000 in grants to 56 schools. More than 5,000 theatre students across the United States will benefit from these gifts.
The Thespian Relief Fund grants provide timely financial support to theatre programs in need. The grants are awarded in two categories:
$500 grants for schools to start or renew a Thespian Troupe and cover lifetime fees for 10 students.
$1,000 grants to assist school theatre programs that, because of COVID-19, have been negatively impacted by cancellation of events or loss of projected revenue.
Initial donations for the Thespian Relief Fund came from Project Sing Out!, a one-night livestreamed event conceived by Tony Award nominee and Thespian alum Hailey Kilgore.
The event, which took place in July, raised funds for ETF to support arts education specifically in low-income communities and communities of color. It can still be viewed exclusively on Playbill.com’s YouTube Channel and Facebook page.
Donations to support the Thespian Relief Fund are now being accepted by the Educational Theatre Foundation.
The Educational Theatre Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Educational Theatre Association, which is the home of the International Thespian Society.
ETF provides essential financial support to enhance excellence in theatre education and to expand access to school theatre programs for every child, putting them on a more positive life path.
ETF is focused on three areas: creating sustainable musical theatre programs where there previously were none through JumpStart Theatre; awarding need-based grants to schools through the Thespian Relief Fund; and fostering racial equity in school theatre through the Pathway program.
In 2018 alone, ETF awarded more than $650,000 in grants, directly impacting high school theatre programs in 50 cities and enabling the development of musical theatre programs in diverse middle schools in six states.