Fayetteville State University receives NEA grant to support world premiere
Fayetteville State University receives NEA grant to support world premiere
Grant one of 832 Art Works grants totaling $23.3 million in funding nationwide
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Rocco Landesman announced that the Department of Performing and Fine Arts at Fayetteville State University (FSU) is one of 832 non-profit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant. The Department is recommended for a $15,000.00 grant to support the commission of a new play entitled And Then Came Tomorrow by Walter Allen Bennett, Jr. “I’m proud to announce these 832 grants to the American public including And Then Came Tomorrow,” said Chairman Landesman. ”These projects offer extraordinary examples of creativity in our country, including the creation of new work, innovative ways of engaging audiences, and exemplary education programs.”
Walter Allen Bennett, Jr. is the 2011-2013 FSU Visiting Professor in Theater. Mr. Bennett is working on a host of projects, courses, and performances, including work with FSU’s vibrant 24 Hour Theatre Project, a student short film festival, and script development. Bennett holds a MFA in playwriting from Yale University’s School of Drama and an MFA in Acting from UCLA. The culmination of his tenure is the world premiere of a new play especially written for FSU and Fayetteville. Inspired by Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin In The Sun,” the new play addresses similar issues – race relations, the American Dream, equality – but in the context of “post-racial” America.
Walter Allen Bennett has written and/or produced and executive produced more than 200 episodes of series television. His break into television came as a writer on the long running, Emmy Award winning “The Cosby Show.” From there, he became a writer/producer on “704 Hauser Street,” created by Norman Lear and then went on to become a producer on the hit comedy “In the House,” starring LL Cool J and Debbie Allen. He then became executive producer of “The Steve Harvey Show.” Bennett has written pilots for CBS, FOX and Nickelodeon Networks and wrote HBO’s first original programming for the Internet entitled “The Deadwood Mysteries.”
In March 2012, the NEA received 1,509 eligible applications for Art Works requesting more than $74 million in funding. The 832 recommended NEA grants total $22.3 million, span 13 artistic disciplines and fields, and focus primarily on the creation of work and presentation of both new and existing works for the benefit of American audiences. Applications were reviewed by panels of outside experts convened by NEA staff and each project was judged on its artistic excellence and artistic merit. “The NEA received hundreds of applications from all over the country and they selected ours. It is an honor to have the NEA recognize the quality work we do at FSU in the arts,” said Dr. Earnest Lamb, Chair of the Department of Performing and Fine Arts.
For a complete listing of projects recommended for Art Works grant support, please visit the NEA website at arts.gov.
Performances of And Then Came Tomorrow are April 20, 21 and 25-28, in Butler Theater on the campus of Fayetteville State University. Call the FSU box office at 910-672-1724 for tickets. For more information about this performance or the Department of Performing and Fine Arts, please contact Dr. Earnest Lamb at 910-672-1571.