The Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA) received a $10,000 Arts Works grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. PCPA was one of 133 organizations to receive funding from the NEA this year. In the spring of 2017, Art Works granted almost $4 million in theater and musical theater grants.
The NEA grant will go toward PCPA’s upcoming production of Fences, supporting residencies for actor Derrick Lee Weeden, who will portray Troy Maxson in the August Wilson play, as well as director Timothy Bond. In addition to their residencies, the grant will also fund Bond and Weeden to instruct master classes for PCPA’s conservatory programs, YPP Fall Intensives, to lead workshops in partnership with local high schools, and to participate in public open forum sessions and pre-show interviews.
“Support from the NEA will allow our students and community to have access to Weeden and Bond—to see their transformative work and to engage with them as artists both at the play and in the classroom,” Artistic Director Mark Booher said in a release. “PCPA’s terrific resident company and long-standing relationship with the diverse communities of the Central Coast, together with the special support from this venerable federal agency, will enable many to have access to these nationally recognized artists.”
PCPA’s production of Wilson’s Fences will run from Sept. 15 through Oct. 1. For tickets or more information, visit pcpa.org or call 922-8313.
This article appears in Jul 20-27, 2017.