Shakespeare in American Communities:
Shakespeare for a New Generation
2009-2010 Request for Proposals

Shakespeare in American Communities is a national theater initiative bringing performances, educational activities, and educational toolkits to audiences across the country. This is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with Arts Midwest.

Shakespeare in American Communities: Shakespeare for a New Generation reaches middle- and high-school students in underserved schools throughout the United States with high-quality, professional productions of Shakespeare’s plays.

Arts Midwest invites proposals from nonprofit professional theater companies to perform works by Shakespeare for middle- and high-school students between June 1, 2009 and May 31, 2010. Approximately 35 theater companies will receive matching grants to support performances and educational activities for students from a minimum of 10 schools. Applicant review will be based on artistic excellence and artistic merit.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Theater companies must:

• Be a nonprofit 501(c)(3) professional U.S.-based company.
• Have a minimum of three years’ experience working with schools or school districts to provide performances of Shakespeare or classically-based repertoire for middle- and/or high-school students.

PROJECT GUIDELINES

In order to fulfill the goals of Shakespeare for a New Generation, theater companies must:

• Conduct activities between June 1, 2009 and May 31, 2010.
• Present a Shakespeare play in text-based performance. The intent of this initiative is to support high-quality productions that give students exposure to Shakespeare in live performance. While productions may be somewhat abridged, they should offer students the opportunity to hear Shakespeare’s text and to experience, to the extent possible, a full performance of the play. Performances may be held in the school, the theater company’s own facility, or a community venue, but must be in partnership with schools or school districts. Productions loosely based on Shakespeare’s text do not meet the intent of this initiative and do not qualify for support.
• Conduct related educational activities with students and teachers. These must take place in conjunction with a performance and may include, but are not limited to, workshops, discussions, seminars, or other relevant activities.
• Reach students from a minimum of 10 schools. Some of the schools should be underserved, with students who lack access due to geography, economic conditions, ethnic background, or disability. This may include schools in rural or urban communities or on Native American reservations.
• Credit fully the National Endowment for the Arts and other sponsors in print and digital materials.
• Comply fully with all federal statutes and regulations, and with program reporting requirements.

OPTIONAL: SHAKESPEARE PROGRAMMING FOR
AT-RISK YOUTH

Theater companies that meet the Shakespeare for a New Generation eligibility requirements and program guidelines, and that have a program for juvenile offenders may be eligible to receive an additional $10,000 to support their work to reach this specific youth population. For the purpose of this component, juvenile offenders are defined as youth, 18 years or younger, who have been found guilty in the juvenile justice system of committing a delinquent act.

To be eligible for this component, theater companies must:

• Have a minimum of two years’ experience partnering with the juvenile justice system (juvenile facilities or detention centers, educational schools/programs specifically for juvenile offenders or incarcerated youth, court-appointed programs, short- or long-term treatment centers, transition centers, etc.) to provide educational programs for juvenile offenders.
• Engage a minimum of two teaching artists with strong credentials and experience working with juvenile offenders.
• Conduct an educational residency exploring Shakespeare’s text through frequent contact over a significant number of weeks.
• Demonstrate a capacity to work with this target population.
• Demonstrate an ability to adapt residency to practical barriers of working with the juvenile justice system.

Theater companies seeking support for this component are required to submit additional materials. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice is funding this component.

GRANT AMOUNTS

The standard grant award is $25,000. Grants must be matched on a 1-to-1 basis with non-federal funds.

Theater companies selected for the juvenile offenders component will receive an additional $10,000, for a total grant of $35,000. The additional $10,000 for activities reaching juvenile offenders does not require a matching contribution from the theater company.

Note: There can be no overlapping costs between expenses supported by Shakespeare in American Communities AND expenses supported directly by the National Endowment for the Arts through their other granting programs, including expenses related to the juvenile offenders component.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Theater companies will be selected based on:

• Quality of the production as evidenced by materials submitted.
• Quality of the educational activities as evidenced by materials submitted.
• Ability and plans to reach required number of schools, including underserved schools.
• Intent to further deepen or broaden existing activities, thereby resulting in greater impact on students (such as reaching new and/or underserved schools, providing educational activities to more students, enhancing artistic staff’s training, updating educational materials, etc.).
• Ability to carry out the proposed activities, including the appropriateness of the budget and capacity of the personnel as evidenced by materials submitted.

Note: Geographic diversity may be taken into consideration in the selection of companies.

Additional criteria for juvenile offenders component:

• Quality of proposed educational residency as evidenced by materials submitted.
• Ability to carry out the proposed residency, including the appropriateness of the budget, capacity of teaching artists, and ability to adapt residency to practical barriers of working with the juvenile justice system as evidenced by materials submitted.

SELECTION TIMELINE

eGRANT APPLICATION - SUBMIT ON OR BEFORE JANUARY 22, 2009

New to Arts Midwest’s eGRANT? Register a login and password.
Contact Christy Dickinson at 612.238.8019 if you do not remember your previously created login or password.

• Prepare your eGRANT application as outlined below.
• Enter your information in eGRANT.
• Review it for accuracy.
• Submit your eGRANT application by January 22 in order to prepare your hard-copy proposal package.
• Assemble your hard-copy proposal package using the instructions provided in eGRANT.
• Mail your hard-copy proposal package to be received in Arts Midwest's office by 4:00 p.m. CST January 23.

Instructions: Questions #1 through #5

• Prepare your responses to these questions in a Word document.
• No italic, bold, or underlined text or formatted bullets will be accepted.
• The length of each response must be within the character limit as indicated. To determine the number of characters in a Word document, click on “Tools,” select “Word Count,” and view the number of characters (with spaces).
• Once your responses are complete, copy and paste them in the corresponding areas of the eGRANT application.

1. Description of proposed activities (4,500 character limit)
1. Please provide production information, including the selected Shakespeare play(s), director(s), and approximate running time(s). Provide a brief artistic point of view or intent that illuminates your company's approach to the play selection. Describe the team of actors to perform the play. Is the play a main stage production, a student matinee, performance at a school, etc.? If your company does not have a significant history of performing Shakespeare, describe other work that demonstrates your ability to create a high-quality performance experience for students. If the play is to be significantly abridged, please discuss how the work qualifies as a text-based production.
2. Please provide a detailed description of your educational activities, including the total number and length of activities, how the content relates to the selected Shakespeare play(s), who will lead the educational activities, the grade level of the students participating, and an estimate of how many students will participate.
3. Provide any additional information pertaining specifically to the proposed project, particularly if it is reflected in the corresponding program budget. Include information about any additional program partners.
   
   
2. Participating schools (1,600 character limit)
   Provide a complete description of the schools and student audiences you will reach with your proposed activities. What is your strategy for reaching out to schools?
   
   
3. Impact of funding (1,600 character limit)
   Describe how support from Shakespeare for a New Generation will enable your company to further deepen or broaden existing activities, thereby resulting in greater impact on students (such as reaching new and/or underserved schools, providing more educational activities to students, enhancing artistic staff’s training, updating educational materials, etc.).
   
   
4. Theater company description (4,500 character limit)
   Include significant achievements (institutional advances/initiatives, major awards, grants, etc.); history of your successful presentation and production of theater; and qualifications, background, and experience of your artistic staff that demonstrates your company’s capacity to conduct Shakespeare for a New Generation activities.
   
   
5. Relevant biographies, (4,500 character limit) such as your artistic director, education director, production director, and/or creative artist(s).

Instructions: Question #6
Applicants must use the formatted Excel spreadsheets below, one for 2006-2007 and one for 2007-2008, to provide a representative sampling of school performances from the last two completed years of programming. ONLY ONE PAGE PER YEAR will be forwarded to the panel for review. Upload the completed spreadsheets to your eGRANT application as instructed in eGRANT.

2006-2007 School Performances
2007-2008 School Performances

6. Past school performances spreadsheets for 2006-2007 and 2007-2008. Please provide a representative sample of the schools that participated in your company’s performances for 2006-2007 and 2007-2008. Provide a brief paragraph summarizing your performance each year and indicate the percentage of total programming your sampling represents.

Instructions: Questions #7 and #8
Applicants must use the formatted fill-in budgets below by choosing either the Word or PDF document. Upload the completed budgets to your eGRANT application as instructed in eGRANT.

7. One-page organizational budgets for the current and previous fiscal years.
   Word or PDF
   
   
8. Two-page program budget for performances and educational activities related to your proposed Shakespeare for a New Generation project.
   Word or PDF
   
   

Additional documents for applicants requesting funds for the juvenile offenders component: Questions #9 through #11
Theater companies seeking support for the juvenile offenders component must provide the following three documents. For the additional program budget, choose either Word or PDF document and, upon completion, upload it to eGRANT as instructed. Create the one-page narrative and biographies in Word or PDF using 11-point type, single-spaced, 1" margins and upload as instructed in eGRANT.

9. Additional program budget for juvenile offenders component. Include only expenses and revenues related to the residency for juvenile offenders.
   Word or PDF



10. Please provide a one-page narrative describing your company’s experience partnering with the juvenile justice system; the educational residency, including number of teaching artists, Shakespeare’s text to be selected, and number of times a week and duration of the residency; and how your residency has the ability to adapt to practical barriers of working within the juvenile justice system.
    
    
11. One-page biographies of teaching artists, including their credentials and experience working with juvenile offenders.

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS NEEDED

Applicants must mail to Arts Midwest the following additional materials in a proposal package. Further instructions of how to assemble your proposal package are provided in eGRANT.

• One-page signed statement from your artistic director discussing your company’s mission and goals in relation to your proposed participation in this initiative.
• One-page signed statement from your education or program director discussing your company’s educational programming and how students will benefit from their participation.
• Two one-page letters of support from school officials referencing their past participation in Shakespeare (or other classical theater) educational programs provided by your theater company, including artistic quality, program management, and ability to effectively work with student audiences.
• Copy of your theater company’s federal tax exempt ruling under IRS Section 501(c)(3).
• Additional material for applicants requesting funds for the juvenile offenders component. One-page letter of commitment from a facility/center/program within the juvenile justice system referencing their past relationship with your theater company and your capacity to conduct educational residencies for juvenile offenders.
• Three 9 x 12 envelopes labeled with your theater company’s name and each containing the following identical samples.

1. Educational study guides, which will be carefully reviewed by the panelists. Include a cover sheet briefly explaining how these study guides are distributed to teachers. Please note: Failure to submit a study guide will indicate to the panelists that your company does not produce one.
2. Production photos, sample house programs, and/or season or educational program brochures.
3. DVD work sample (optional, but highly recommended—please contact Christy Dickinson at 612.238.8019 if you have questions). Submit a work sample that is relevant to your project and represents the level of artistic excellence of the artists involved and/or the artistic merit of the company. WORK SAMPLE WILL NOT BE RETURNED.
• Provide up to 15 minutes worth of a sample. The panel will review two-to-three minutes of your sample. The work sample does not need to portray the Shakespeare play which you intend to perform, but it should be representative of the performance or educational activities for which you are requesting support.
• Please identify a starting point for your work sample that you feel best demonstrates your company’s artistic quality. If your DVD is appropriately chaptered, please let us know at which chapter to begin the review for the panel.
• Label your work sample with your company’s name, title of work, and provide the playwright, director, and key performers in your eGRANT application.

HARD-COPY PROPOSAL PACKAGE
DUE ON OR BEFORE JANUARY 23, 2009

Assemble your hard-copy proposal package as instructed in eGRANT. Mail it to arrive in Arts Midwest’s office on or before 4:00 p.m. CST on January 23, 2009. This is not a postmark deadline. We do not accept e-mailed or faxed materials.

Please send your entire hard-copy proposal package to:
Shakespeare for a New Generation
Arts Midwest
2908 Hennepin Avenue, Suite 200
Minneapolis, MN 55408
612.341.0755

QUESTIONS

If you have any questions regarding this Request for Proposals or the proposal process, please contact Christy Dickinson, program director and accessibility coordinator at Arts Midwest, at shakespeare@artsmidwest.org or 612.238.8019.

IMPORTANT: Submit your eGRANT by Jan. 22 in order to complete your hard-copy proposal package.

FORMATTED DOCUMENTS FOR eGRANT

Past School Performances

  2006-2007
  2007-2008

Organizational Budgets

Word (fill-in)

PDF (fill-in)

Program Budget

Word (fill-in)

PDF (fill-in)

Juvenile Offenders Budget

Word (fill-in)

PDF (fill-in)

COMPLETE

hard-copy proposal packages must be received in Arts Midwest's office by 4:00 p.m. CST on Jan. 23, 2009.