The Boston Area Guild of Puppetry gives out small grants to help our members create new works and explore dimensions of puppetry that are new to them. While we realize small grants are not enough to underwrite large productions, we believe that new work is vital to puppetry and to individual artists, and want to help as we can.
CRITERIA:
Grants will fund projects in which puppets are an important component, using Bil Baird’s definition of a puppet as “an inanimate figure that is made to move by human effort (not mechanized) before an audience” (Baird, The Art of the Puppet). However, if your new work stretches the boundaries of this puppetry definition, you are welcome to submit a proposal.
Grants will fund the creative process of making a new puppet performance piece, which may include creating puppets, sets and backdrops; a stage if it is specific to the new work; writing a script; rehearsing and choreographing the show. Puppeteers may use grant money to pay themselves or others for these processes, or to buy materials.
Grants may fund short or long pieces, performed live or through video. Applicants should be BAGOP members who are paid up and who have been members for at least one year. The work must be performed or presented to an audience within two years of receipt of grant funds.
HOW TO APPLY:
The application period starts in January, and the deadline is March 30th. Applications will be reviewed by the New Works Grant Committee, Judith O’Hare and Kurt Staven, and recipients will be notified by the end of April.