2020 Emergency Response Grants
The 2020 Emergency Response Grants
In response to the national closure of theaters due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, The Bret Adams and Paul Reisch Foundation reinvented the means by which it distributed the funds for their 2020 Idea Award for Theatre. In place of our usual awards, the Foundation offered emergency grants of $2,500 each to playwrights, composers, lyricists and librettists who had a full professional production cancelled, closed, or indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 closures. The Bret Adams and Paul Reisch Foundation initially planned to distribute 40 grants of $2500 each. The Venturous Theater Fund of the Tides Foundation and New Dramatists supported additional grants to playwrights.
The Foundation awarded 80 grants of $2,500, a total of $200,000, for theatre writers impacted by COVID-19.
The recipients applied for consideration and were randomly selected via an electronic lottery.
““We want to get money to people who need it now. At the very moment when theatres began announcing they were canceling productions and shows started closing, a small group of concerned theatre Samaritans ran towards the emerging doom to put forward the simple but ‘big’ idea that together we can and should help those in need.””
Recipients
Raquel Almazan
Kevin Artigue
Hilary Bettis
Liza Birkenmeier
Seth Bisen-Hersh
Jessica Blank & Erik Jensen
Carlyle Brown
Darcy Bruce
Diana Burbano
Heather Chrisler
Heather Christian
Julian Christopher
Kate Cortesi
Patricia Cotter
Nathan Davis
Guadalís Del Carmen
Jeremy Desmon
Noah Diaz
Christopher Dimond
Sarah Einspanier
Will Eno
Bonnie Gleicher
Daniel Goldstein
Kirsten Greenidge
Katori Hall
Kate Hamill
Jessica Huang
Caroline Hewitt
Justin Huertas
Anthony Hudson
Ruben Santiago Hudson
Candrice Jones
Sukari Jones
Barbara Kahn
Nambi E. Kelley
Hannah Kohl
Abe Koogler
Michael A. Kooman
Michael John LaChiusa
Rehana Lew Mirza
Haruna Lee
Melissa Li
Ethan Lipton
David M Lutken
Steven Lutvak
Caroline V. McGraw
Aaron Meicht
Omar Vélez Meléndez
Tony Meneses
Anna Moench
Nahal Navidar
Ronan Noone
Yea Bin
Diana Oh
Matthew Paul Olmos
Marisela Orta
Andrew Palermo
Zach Redler
Gab Reisman
Marco Antonio Rodriguez
Steph Del Rosso
Elyssa Samsel
Laura Schein
Madhuri Shekar
Mat Smart
Celine Song
Gary Soto
Caridad Svich
Alexandra Tatarsky
Shaun Taylor-Corbett
Melisa Tien
Jillian Walker
Stephanie Kyung Sun Walters
Cheryl L. West
Whitney White
Jason Odell Williams
Sam Willmott
Chris Wiseman
Nathan J. Yungerberg
Karen Zacarias
Daniel Zaitchik