Theatre Communications Group Announces Recipients For PLAYS FOR THE PEOPLE: IN THE STACKS

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, has announced the recipients of Plays for the People: In the Stacks. With funding from the Mellon Foundation, TCG has provided $25,000 total in book credits to the fifty recipient organizations, helping to expand and diversify their drama collections. Since its founding in 1984, TCG Books has grown to become North America's largest independent trade publisher of dramatic literature, with 20 winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama on its book list.

“There's nothing like that magical moment of discovery when you take a play off a shelf and find your own experience reflected,” said Karena Fiorenza, Chief Operating Officer, TCG. “Yet too often, publicly available drama collections haven't reflected the diversity of the communities they serve. Thanks to support from the Mellon Foundation, our In the Stacks program will help these fifty organizations expand and diversify their collections.”

“We're thrilled to see such a wide range of organizations reflected in the In the Stacks recipient list,” said LaTeshia Ellerson, Chief Growth Officer, TCG. “At a time when books are being censored and taken off shelves simply for telling an inclusive range of stories, the need for programs like Plays for the People is more important than ever.”

The In the Stacks program provided the recipients with a $500 credit each for books published by TCG Books, including shipping costs. The credit could also have been applied to the cost of access to the TCG Books Play Collection on Drama Online. The In the Stacks recipients are: 

The Actors Conservatory; Atlanta University Center, Robert W. Woodruff Library; Brooklyn College; California State University, Northridge; CCM Acting; College of Southern Idaho; Colorado Mesa University, Dept. of Theatre Arts; Cornish College of the Arts; Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre; Door County Library; East West Players; The Ensemble Theatre; Flint Repertory Theatre; Frostburg State University, Department of Theatre and Dance; Fullerton College; Greater Hartford Academy for the Arts Half Day Program; Howard University Library; The Huntington Theatre Company; Indigenous Peoples Task Force; Ithaca College Library; The Klinck Memorial Library, Concordia University Chicago; Loyola University Theatre Library; Manatee School for the Arts; Mary Baldwin University; McDaniel College; Molloy University, James E. Tobin Library; Mukogawa U.S. Campus; North Miami Public Library; Notre Dame Academy; Omaha Theater Company at The Rose; Peace of the City, Inc.; Pillsbury House Theatre; Roosevelt University; Seattle Rep; Spotlight Theatre Club, Long Beach City College; Texas Southern University; Theatre of the Oppressed NYC; Troupe of Friends; University of California, Davis Department of Theatre and Dance; University of Central Florida Dept. of Theatre; University of Dallas, Cowan-Blakley Library; University of North Carolina at Charlotte Theatre Department; University of North Texas Libraries; University of Texas at El Paso; University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries; Veterans Writing Project; Windward Community College, Hawai'i Conservatory of Performing Arts;  Worcester State University; The Young Company at Whitney Young Magnet High School.

Since its founding in 1984, TCG Books has grown to become North America's largest independent trade publisher of dramatic literature, with 20 winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama on its book list. The book program commits to the life-long career of its playwrights, keeping all of their plays in print. TCG Books' authors include: Annie Baker, Nilo Cruz, Jackie Sibblies Drury, Larissa FastHorse, Athol Fugard, Quiara Alegría Hudes, David Henry Hwang, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Adrienne Kennedy, Tony Kushner, Young Jean Lee, Lynn Nottage, Suzan-Lori Parks, Sarah Ruhl, Heidi Schreck, Stephen Sondheim, Sanaz Toossi, Paula Vogel, and August Wilson. TCG Books events are supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Follow TCG Books on Twitter and Instagram at @BooksTCG.

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the nation's largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. The Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. Learn more at mellon.org.

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, leads for a just and thriving theatre ecology. Since its founding in 1961, TCG's constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres to over 700 Member Theatres and affiliate organizations and over 7,000 Individual Members. Through its programs and services, TCG reaches over one million students, audience members, and theatre professionals each year. TCG offers networking and knowledge-building opportunities through research, communications, and events, including the biennial TCG National Conference, one of the largest nationwide gatherings of theatre people; awards grants and scholarships to theatre companies and individual artists; advocates on the federal level; and through the Global Theater Initiative, TCG's partnership with the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, serves as the U.S. Center of the International Theatre Institute. TCG is North America's largest independent trade publisher of dramatic literature, with 20 Pulitzer Prizes for Drama on the TCG booklist. It also publishes the award-winning American Theatre magazine and ARTSEARCH, the essential source for a career in the arts. TCG believes its vision of “a better world for theatre, and a better world because of theatre” can be achieved through individual and collective action, adaptive and responsive leadership, and equitable representation in all areas of practice. TCG is led by Chief Growth Officer LaTeshia Ellerson and Chief Operating Officer Karena Fiorenza. www.tcg.org.