Black Latino Playwright Conference at State University San Marcos receives Access to Artistic Excellence grant from the National Endowment of the Arts

The Black and Latino Playwrights Conference at State University-San Marcos has received a 2011 Access to Artistic Excellence grant from the National Endowment of the Arts.

The $15,000 award will support the Black and Latino Playwrights Conference, providing an opportunity for black and Latino playwrights to develop new, unpublished and unproduced plays through a week-long rehearsal process culminating in staged reading presentations. Texas State is one of 1,145 not-for-profit national, regional, state and local organizations recommended for a grant as part of the federal agency’s second round of fiscal year 2011 grants. In total, the Arts Endowment will distribute more than $88 million to support projects nationwide.

The 2011 Black and Latino Playwrights Conference will be held Sept. 12-18, with staged readings Sept. 16, 17 and 18. The conference is headed by Artistic Director Eugene Lee, whose acting credits include Good Times, Blacklisted and Coach Carter, and Associate Artistic Director Joe Luis Cedillo, a playwright-directors and former literary manager/dramaturge at the Alley Theatre in Houston.

Eugene Lee

The conference annually lends an ear to new voices and helps writers--in collaboration with directors, actors and dramaturgs--shape their stories and hone their craft in an environment that allows the writer to explore, grow and learn fearlessly. For more information about the Black and Latino Playwrights Conference, visit www.theatreanddance.txstate.edu/blackandlatino. About the National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts was established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. To date, the NEA has awarded more than $4 billion to support artistic excellence, creativity and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. The NEA extends its work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector.

To join the discussion on how art works, visit the NEA at at www.arts.gov.

Posted by Jayme Blaschke University News Service May 25, 2011 University News Service, 480 J.C.Kellam Phone: 512.245.2180. Fax: 512.245.2336