The grants will also enable U.S. theatre professionals to identify potential partners for future work. The award, which is presented biennially at the TCG National Conference, provides national visibility to the recipient as well a grant to support activities specifically tied to the development of the craft of directing. The award is supported by proceeds from the Alan Schneider Memorial Fund. FirstStage , a new pilot program, to support commissions of new musicals, plays, adaptations or translations for inter-generational audiences. It is the intention of this program to support the creation of theatrically sophisticated works that acknowledge young people's intelligence and inspire their imagination and creativity, while providing a fully realized theatrical experience for adults.
TCG member theatres current on their dues payments.
By providing playwrights with the resources to devote substantial time to writing and theatres with funds to produce new work, the program seeks to ensure the vitality of the American theatre. The funds for these grants will be generated by the Aetna Presents Plays of the Century Celebration at Jujamcyn Theaters' Eugene O'Neill Theatre in New York City during November and December 1999. Each selected partnership will receive two grants.