awesomely awesome
i am so excited today because i wrote my very first grant narration! usually i'm just proofreading them, but today i got to whip it out from my very own brain. it was quite exciting.
and i'm working right up to the time of popping. i mean, i love my job. plus i live right across the street, work 20 hours a week with no real set schedule. doesn't matter as long as my shit gets done, which it does. and it gets done because i love my job. and the no. 1 reason i love it is because: IT'S THE FIRST TIME EVER THAT MY "USELESS" ART HISTORY DEGREE CAN NO LONGER BE CONSIDERED "USELESS"! in other words, the first time in my professional career that my college degree subject directly pertains to my job. i write grants and shmooze for the arts, yo. at the largest regional art center between san francisco and portland, ore. and i'm the development associate and board liaison. (it actually sounds a lot fancier than it is in reality, but doesn't it sound so fancy!?) anyway, i was sitting in this marketing meeting recently and had this giant epiphany of, "holy shit! so THIS is when an art history degree can come in handy." it was truly very exciting, even if i get paid squat. but welcome to world of nonprofits: you do it because you love it.
so, here's my very first grant narration.
Dell’Arte’s Rural Residency Program
Project narrative for the North Coast Communities Advancing the Arts Grant
The mission of Dell’Arte is to create theatre, a professional theatre training program and a community-based arts center that revitalizes traditional physical theatre forms to explore contemporary concerns.
The Dell’Arte School of Physical Theatre is a professional actor training school, and is the only one of its kind in the United States, attracting students from all over the world. Part of this professional theatre training is a one-year Physical Theatre Program that culminates with a 10-day annual student immersion, known as the Rural Residency Program, in a North Coast community. This program brings quality theatre experiences to communities that might not otherwise have an opportunity to experience live theatre.
A goal of the Rural Residency Program is to highlight the cultural and geographic uniqueness of each area, dispelling the isolation that often prevents the arts from being accessible and affordable. A core value of Dell’Arte is the practice of “theatre of place,” or the exploration of the relationship between artists and their communities. Through this dearly held tradition, our students have the opportunity to enrich the diverse cultures of our rural communities.
Performances in which every community member has the chance to participate are the proud hallmark of Dell’Arte’s Rural Residency Program. At the same time, the program allows our students to experience life and create art away from the mainstream, ensuring that art has the potential to become a part of everyday life for everyone.
In this one-of-a-kind program, Dell’Arte students split into two groups, and each group takes up residency in a rural community for eight to 10 days. During their residency, students get to know individual community members on a one-on-one basis through workshops and community meetings and dinners. At the end of their time, students create a theatrical event inspired by the setting and character of the location. Since its inception in 2004, the Rural Residency has served Petrolia, Forks of Salmon, Whitethorn, Whale Gulch and Tacoma, Ore., touching the lives of many in these isolated areas.
Dell’Arte is looking forward to 2007’s Rural Residency Program, which will mark the program’s fourth year. From May 29 to June 7, students will take up residency in Orleans and Bridgeville. These communities can expect an artistic exchange with a group of 15 to 20 emerging theatre artists. Our students are between the ages of 20 and 35, and not only come from all over the U.S., but also from all over the world, including India, Sweden, Canada, Norway, Denmark and Switzerland.
The total cost for the Rural Residency Program is $9,000, and Dell’Arte is requesting $2,500 from the North Coast Communities Advancing the Arts Grant. These funds will be used to help offset transportation and camping costs. Two rental vans, and two additional vehicles, will need to be rented for the duration of the program. The award would also go toward paying for camping spaces at Grizzly Creek State Park near Bridgeville, the nearest available camping area to the town.
Dell’Arte will measure the success of this program through community feedback. In August, an evaluation form will be sent to each community contact person asking for his or her suggestions, which will be applied to future Rural Residencies to ensure the ongoing success of this annual program. We will also solicit community feedback throughout the process of the program, and the number of community members who choose to participate will also measure success.
It is hoped that every member of the community of Orleans, with an estimated population of 619, and Bridgeville, with an estimated population of a few dozen, will benefit from this program. The Rural Residency Program will also benefit our students by instilling in them the importance of rooting their art within a sense of community. Emerging artists have the exciting opportunity of getting away from mainstream culture to immerse themselves within the communities of Northern California, places that are culturally, geographically and artistically unique and like no other place in the world.
Through the Rural Residency Program, a symbiotic relationship is nurtured between the artists and the communities, and it is the goal of the program to be a life-affirming experience for all involved. A cultural exchange transpires as our international students bring with them their own cultures from all over the world. The program, which serves as students’ culmination of study with Dell’Arte, allows them to marry their training with their own personal theater aesthetic while tapping into each area’s geography and culture as a catalyst for inspiration.
For more than 30 years, Dell’Arte has been committed to the idea of ensemble creation. The Rural Residency Program takes this idea one step further, and out of the theatre setting, to apply it to communities at large. The program is an experimental collaboration, which is completely generated and inspired by a rural community. Throughout the course of the program, communities bring forth specific issues they face to raise awareness about them. The program ends with a performance piece created within the time of immersion, and each performance is dependent upon the issues raised and the character of the community.
Dell’Arte partners with area organizations, such as local schools and community centers. In Bridgeville, students will visit senior luncheons and a Van Duzen Watershed Fire Safety Council meeting. It is hoped that the program will foster community building and pride in Bridgeville. Orleans has expressed interest in being exposed to Dell’Arte’s experimental approach to theatre, and adult and school workshops are planned there.
The Rural Residency Program seeks to have a lasting impact on each community by getting it to look differently at the world as well as expanding its cultural horizons. By celebrating each community’s uniqueness, the program enlarges the worldview for both community and students.
Dell’Arte believes in the cultivation and everyday application of creativity as a means of inspiring and reviving community spirit. We believe in the seriousness of laughter. Through entertainment and the sharing of information, both students and communities are enriched by highlighting our common interests and thus strengthening our connections. Dell’Arte’s Rural Residency Program mutually benefits our students and the communities they visit by bridging the gap between artist and audience.
and i'm working right up to the time of popping. i mean, i love my job. plus i live right across the street, work 20 hours a week with no real set schedule. doesn't matter as long as my shit gets done, which it does. and it gets done because i love my job. and the no. 1 reason i love it is because: IT'S THE FIRST TIME EVER THAT MY "USELESS" ART HISTORY DEGREE CAN NO LONGER BE CONSIDERED "USELESS"! in other words, the first time in my professional career that my college degree subject directly pertains to my job. i write grants and shmooze for the arts, yo. at the largest regional art center between san francisco and portland, ore. and i'm the development associate and board liaison. (it actually sounds a lot fancier than it is in reality, but doesn't it sound so fancy!?) anyway, i was sitting in this marketing meeting recently and had this giant epiphany of, "holy shit! so THIS is when an art history degree can come in handy." it was truly very exciting, even if i get paid squat. but welcome to world of nonprofits: you do it because you love it.
so, here's my very first grant narration.
Dell’Arte’s Rural Residency Program
Project narrative for the North Coast Communities Advancing the Arts Grant
The mission of Dell’Arte is to create theatre, a professional theatre training program and a community-based arts center that revitalizes traditional physical theatre forms to explore contemporary concerns.
The Dell’Arte School of Physical Theatre is a professional actor training school, and is the only one of its kind in the United States, attracting students from all over the world. Part of this professional theatre training is a one-year Physical Theatre Program that culminates with a 10-day annual student immersion, known as the Rural Residency Program, in a North Coast community. This program brings quality theatre experiences to communities that might not otherwise have an opportunity to experience live theatre.
A goal of the Rural Residency Program is to highlight the cultural and geographic uniqueness of each area, dispelling the isolation that often prevents the arts from being accessible and affordable. A core value of Dell’Arte is the practice of “theatre of place,” or the exploration of the relationship between artists and their communities. Through this dearly held tradition, our students have the opportunity to enrich the diverse cultures of our rural communities.
Performances in which every community member has the chance to participate are the proud hallmark of Dell’Arte’s Rural Residency Program. At the same time, the program allows our students to experience life and create art away from the mainstream, ensuring that art has the potential to become a part of everyday life for everyone.
In this one-of-a-kind program, Dell’Arte students split into two groups, and each group takes up residency in a rural community for eight to 10 days. During their residency, students get to know individual community members on a one-on-one basis through workshops and community meetings and dinners. At the end of their time, students create a theatrical event inspired by the setting and character of the location. Since its inception in 2004, the Rural Residency has served Petrolia, Forks of Salmon, Whitethorn, Whale Gulch and Tacoma, Ore., touching the lives of many in these isolated areas.
Dell’Arte is looking forward to 2007’s Rural Residency Program, which will mark the program’s fourth year. From May 29 to June 7, students will take up residency in Orleans and Bridgeville. These communities can expect an artistic exchange with a group of 15 to 20 emerging theatre artists. Our students are between the ages of 20 and 35, and not only come from all over the U.S., but also from all over the world, including India, Sweden, Canada, Norway, Denmark and Switzerland.
The total cost for the Rural Residency Program is $9,000, and Dell’Arte is requesting $2,500 from the North Coast Communities Advancing the Arts Grant. These funds will be used to help offset transportation and camping costs. Two rental vans, and two additional vehicles, will need to be rented for the duration of the program. The award would also go toward paying for camping spaces at Grizzly Creek State Park near Bridgeville, the nearest available camping area to the town.
Dell’Arte will measure the success of this program through community feedback. In August, an evaluation form will be sent to each community contact person asking for his or her suggestions, which will be applied to future Rural Residencies to ensure the ongoing success of this annual program. We will also solicit community feedback throughout the process of the program, and the number of community members who choose to participate will also measure success.
It is hoped that every member of the community of Orleans, with an estimated population of 619, and Bridgeville, with an estimated population of a few dozen, will benefit from this program. The Rural Residency Program will also benefit our students by instilling in them the importance of rooting their art within a sense of community. Emerging artists have the exciting opportunity of getting away from mainstream culture to immerse themselves within the communities of Northern California, places that are culturally, geographically and artistically unique and like no other place in the world.
Through the Rural Residency Program, a symbiotic relationship is nurtured between the artists and the communities, and it is the goal of the program to be a life-affirming experience for all involved. A cultural exchange transpires as our international students bring with them their own cultures from all over the world. The program, which serves as students’ culmination of study with Dell’Arte, allows them to marry their training with their own personal theater aesthetic while tapping into each area’s geography and culture as a catalyst for inspiration.
For more than 30 years, Dell’Arte has been committed to the idea of ensemble creation. The Rural Residency Program takes this idea one step further, and out of the theatre setting, to apply it to communities at large. The program is an experimental collaboration, which is completely generated and inspired by a rural community. Throughout the course of the program, communities bring forth specific issues they face to raise awareness about them. The program ends with a performance piece created within the time of immersion, and each performance is dependent upon the issues raised and the character of the community.
Dell’Arte partners with area organizations, such as local schools and community centers. In Bridgeville, students will visit senior luncheons and a Van Duzen Watershed Fire Safety Council meeting. It is hoped that the program will foster community building and pride in Bridgeville. Orleans has expressed interest in being exposed to Dell’Arte’s experimental approach to theatre, and adult and school workshops are planned there.
The Rural Residency Program seeks to have a lasting impact on each community by getting it to look differently at the world as well as expanding its cultural horizons. By celebrating each community’s uniqueness, the program enlarges the worldview for both community and students.
Dell’Arte believes in the cultivation and everyday application of creativity as a means of inspiring and reviving community spirit. We believe in the seriousness of laughter. Through entertainment and the sharing of information, both students and communities are enriched by highlighting our common interests and thus strengthening our connections. Dell’Arte’s Rural Residency Program mutually benefits our students and the communities they visit by bridging the gap between artist and audience.