Playwrights Foundation
For General Support
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Amount$90,000
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Program
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Date Awarded7/21/2008
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Term36.0 Months
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Type of SupportGeneral Support/Organization
Overview
The Bay Area Playwrights Foundation (BAPF) was founded in 1976 as one of the first new play development organizations in the United States. Each year the organization selects six full lengthy plays and four one-acts (from over 400 submissions) to present as part of its annual summer festival. The playwrights are paired with directors, dramaturgs and professional Bay Area actors and perform a ‘staged reading’ of the new work before audiences at San Francisco’s Magic Theatre (a Hewlett grantee). Over the years, Festival alumni have gone on to win every major award in the theater world, including the Tony, the Obie, and the Pulitzer. In addition to the festival BAPF also conducts year round playwriting workshops aimed at both veteran playwrites and novices who participate in a new play bootcamp which promises that "by the end of this 6-Day workout, you’ll finish a 40-page one-act or die trying." BAPF has one full time staff member, director Amy Mueller, and two part –time staff and with organizational effectiveness support from Hewlett is currently undertaking a strategic planning process to determine how it can support its programming without a producing arm. Earned income, primarily from ticket sales to the festival and class tuition, makes up only 25% of BAPF’s revenues. With renewed operating support, PF will hire audience development and marketing staff to increase contributions and provide greater organizational stability.
About the Grantee
Grantee Website
www.playwrightsfoundation.org
Address
1616 Sixteenth Street, Suite 350, San Francisco, CA, 94103-5164, United States
Grants to this Grantee
for general operating support
Playwrights Foundation supports contemporary playwrights by helping them to develop and present new plays. Its programs include artist residencies, public readings, a biennial Bay Area Playwrights Festival, and coproduction partnerships. Its programs serve early- and mid-career playwrights, bridge the gap between play development and production, and help to create a more inclusive theatrical landscape. Across the history of the organization, the foundation has served well over 500 playwrights. Support of Playwrights Foundation aligns with the Performing Arts Program’s Artists strategy.
for executive coaching, strategic planning, and board development
Playwrights Foundation is a development center for new plays that provides artist residencies, staged readings, an annual playwright’s festival, and co-production partnerships that help develop the careers of early-and mid-career playwrights. Its programs serve approximately 65 playwrights and 3,000 audience members each year. Support for executive coaching, strategic planning, and board development will assist this 46-year-old service organization through a transformational period, and ensure its longevity as a dynamic and healthy home for playwrights, benefitting both local and national communities.
