Mu Performing Arts recognized with prestigious national grant
(Minneapolis – December 21, 2007) Mu Performing Arts is proud to announce that it has received a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation for $100,000 on behalf of the National Asian American Theatre Project (NAATP). This grant will support three related programs of the NAATP:
1) The 2nd National Asian American Theater Conference to be held at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, MN, June 5-8, 2008. Mu Performing Arts and Pangea World Theatre will be the co-hosts.
2) Strategic Planning for the NAATP to develop a plan that will include organizational
development and guidelines for future operations.
3) The 2nd National Asian American Theater Festival to be held in New York City in 2009.
This grant is part of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation's Fund for National Projects initiative, which is designed to support projects that strengthen the national infrastructure of dance, jazz, presenting and/or theatre.
The National Asian American Theatre Project was created in 2003 and is presently made upon representatives from the following companies:
Asian Arts Initiative, Philadelphia, PA
Asian American Theater Company, San Francisco, CA
East West Players, Los Angeles, CA
Ma-Yi Theatre, NYC, NY
Mu Performing Arts, Minneapolis, MN
National Asian American Theater Company, NY
New WORLD Theater, Amherst, MA
Pan Asian Repertory, NYC, NY
Pangea World Theater, Minneapolis, MN
Second Generation, NY
TeAda Theater, Los Angeles, CA
Background of the NAATP
June 2006 marked the first ever National Asian American Theater Conference, which was held in Los Angeles and hosted by East West Players. It was conceived and developed in 2003 at a seminar sponsored by the Theater Communications Group that was held at the White Oak Conservation Center in Florida.
The seminar focused on theaters of color, and the Asian American members present formed a national steering committee which decided that it was time for a national gathering of Asian American theater companies and individual artists. Once this process was initiated, planning meetings at the National Performance Network annual conference in 2005 moved the idea forward.
That first conference, titled Next Big Bang, proved to be historic not only in origin but also in action and consequence. It was a memorable opportunity for many Asian American artists from around the country to encounter each others' work and ideas through meetings, workshops and performance showcases. Realizing the importance of the momentum created by that first conference, the national steering committee, now with representatives from eleven companies, planned and carried through the first National Asian American Theater Festival, held from June 11-24, 2007 in New York City, and are now in the process of planning Shaping Our Voice and Vision, the 2nd National Asian American Theater Conference to be held in Minneapolis/St. Paul in June 2008.
Background of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
The mission of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (www.ddcf.org) is to improve the quality of people's lives through grants supporting the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research and the prevention of child maltreatment, and through preservation of the cultural and environmental legacy of Doris Duke's properties.
