Getting a grant in any field of work is difficult, but getting a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) can be extremely hard.
Every year musical theatres and arts programs across the country apply to be given money from the NEA to help support various productions and performances.
This year, Columbus’ own The Contemporary Theatre of Ohio has been granted a $10,000 "Challenge America" award for their upcoming production of “Fat Ham,” which will be directed by David Glover and follows a young, queer Black man named Juicy as he faces challenges with his family and identity all while attending a backyard barbecue, according to the the theater's website.
Christy Farnbauch, executive director of The Contemporary Theatre, said having the NEA grant validates their work.
“It really is a seal of approval for your work, right,” Farnbauch said. “Having the NEA endorsement on a play, we can use that support and then endorsement for long after this project.”
Farnbauch said though the grant will help with every aspect of the show’s production, but it will mainly help pay actors and market the show.
“Certainly, it'll help us pay actors, which the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ohio Arts Council really want to pay,” Farnbauch said. “They want to pay for the art, so they want to pay actors. We'll probably use a little bit of it on marketing.”
Farnbauch said the grant is specifically targeted towards a specific project, and she knew the themes of the show would be perfect for the grant.
“We knew that we were going to do ‘Fat Ham’ far enough in advance that we could write the grant about that," Farnbauch said. “And because ‘Fat Ham’ is about celebrating the black queer experience, it was a community builder and everything we do is connected to the current moment and building empathy. And so, the theme just really, really lined up nicely.”
When the rights for “Fat Ham” became available, Farnbauch said she knew the theatre would have to try and secure a grant, because of the show just getting off Broadway and having won a Pulitzer Prize, securing the rights could be a challenging process.
Thankfully, Farnbauch said they were able to secure the rights to the show with some ease.
“When the race became available, we applied, and thankfully, we got them, we were approved, and we just knew that the theme of the show and the conversations that will evoke is just really aligned with our vision and mission, which is a great filter for everything that we do,” Farnbauch said.
Now that The Contemporary had the rights to the show, Farnbauch said the theatre’s attention turned towards applying for the grant, which was another long process. Luckily, Farnbauch’s own experience with the NEA helped with the theatre’s application.
“I have been a grant writer for a long time in my career,” Farnbauch said. “I think lots of people in the nonprofit world, especially the arts, are and so I've known about NEA funding.”
Overall, Farnbauch is thankful for the grant and understands how important it is for the show.
“I'm really proud,” Farnbauch said. “... the money is wonderful, and to have their seal of approval on our work is also really meaningful.”
Performances of “Fat Ham” will take place from March 6 to March 23 at Studio One at The Riffe Center. For more information, including exact showtimes and ticket prices, visit The Contemporary Theatre of Ohio’s website.