As one of six American non-profit regional theatre companies named to the "Leading National Theatres Program" on December 15, Actors Theatre of Louisville received a $400,000 challenge grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, it was announced by Marc Masterson, the theatre’s Artistic Director.
Awarded as a joint initiative of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the grant will establish a fund for artistic programming within the theatre’s endowment.
"Our panel found Actors Theatre to be a leader in the field in terms of quality of work, level of commitment to artists in creative endeavors and significance in seeding the field through play development," explained Joan E. Spero, President of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
"We take pride in this distinguished recognition and know that commitment to our mission here at Actors Theatre makes an impact on theatre across the country and around the world," said Masterson.
"Receiving this coveted grant is a vote of confidence for our work in Louisville from two highly regarded national foundations," stated Alexander Speer, Actors’ Executive Director. According to Speer, the grant must be matched dollar-for-dollar by new contributions for the theatre’s endowment received from November 2004 through September 2007.
