Venturous Capital Grants

Productions We Support

We make grants to small and medium-sized not-for-profit theater companies to support productions of text-based, author-driven new plays that are

• ambitious in scale,
• epic in scope,
• challenging in form,
• controversial in subject matter,
• experimental in concept,
• (and/or) unabashed in their theatricality.

In short, plays that are venturous.

Our support is limited to new plays, though not necessarily to world premieres. We welcome the opportunity to support second/third productions and other stagings of new plays with the playwright’s involvement, in which case we may ask that the theater provide a statement from the playwright.

Work We Do Not Fund

These grants do NOT fund the following genres/processes:

• Musicals
• Musical theater work including operas, concerts, cabaret, etc.
• Dance, dance theater pieces, movement-driven theater, mime, etc.
• Plays for children/young audiences
• Solo performance pieces
• Plays authored/devised by companies or collectives
• Holiday shows
• New plays that have already been widely produced, or that have received major productions in New York City, London, or other English-speaking theater capitals
• Commissioning
• Developmental processes such as readings, workshops, etc.
• Non-AEA productions or AEA showcases.

Important note: We do not support non-AEA productions under any circumstances. These grants do not support projects produced on any of the AEA showcase codes.

See below for examples of specific costs these grants do and do not fund.

Theater Eligibility

Support is limited to productions at small- and medium-sized theaters with annual budgets of under $5 million.

Theaters must be professional, independent producing organizations located within the U.S. that produce plays on Actors’ Equity Association contracts. They must be not-for-profit 501 (c) 3 organizations or be fiscally sponsored by a 501 (c) 3 organization.  

We support co-productions. However, all involved producing organizations, producing partners, and above-the-title entities must meet the criteria described above in order for a project to be eligible for support.

We do not make grants to individual writers or non-producing organizations under this program.

Requirements for Funded Productions

• Text-based, author-driven, full-length new plays
• Produced in the United States by an eligible theater company (see above)
• Must offer reasonable compensation to the author via a royalty, fee, etc., exclusive of any commission or performance fees.
• Produced under an AEA collective bargaining agreement with a minimum of TWO performers employed on an AEA contract, not counting stage managers and understudies. No AEA showcases.
• Full productions open to the general public for a run of at least 13 performances. Workshops and staged readings will not be funded.
• Preference for plays written by authors who identify as American or who reside in the US.

Please see above for info about genres/processes we do NOT fund.

Specific Costs These Grants Fund

Our grants cover extraordinary integral expenses necessary for the production of a new play—specific expenses without which the play could not be produced. We do not support enhanced production values or costs associated with specific production styles.

The expenses we fund must be:

• Extraordinary – beyond standard producing expenses;
• Integral – costs without which the play could not be produced; and
• Essential – we do not support enhancements to raise the level of production or to accommodate a particular production concept.

These grants are intended to remove perceived obstacles to production by underwriting unusual expenses. Eligible extraordinary expenses typically include:

• Cast size—support for additional performers in large-cast productions
• Extraordinary technical requirements
• Additional production elements
• Unusual casting challenges
• Puppets, video, etc.
• Other expenses—you tell us.

Specific examples of supported costs from successful past applications:

• AEA compensation and fringe for additional performers in large-cast productions
• Out-of-town expenses for artists in unusual circumstances
• Musicians and choreographers for plays that involve music, dance, movement, etc. as an integral narrative element, but that are not musicals
• Additional rehearsal time due to unique production requirements
• Costs involved in mounting multiple productions of individual authors’ works (plays staged in rep, commitment to produce 3-5 plays, etc.)
• Interactive technology for the cast or audience members’ use during performances.

What These Grants Do NOT Fund

Because these grants are intended for extraordinary costs, we do NOT fund routine production expenses.

Also, we do NOT fund enhanced production values, i.e., expenses that enable the theater to stage the play at a higher level.

Examples of specific expenses we do NOT fund:

• Normal director/designer/actor salaries and other regular production costs
• Playwright royalty/compensation
• Playwright travel, housing, or other standard author expenses
• Enhanced design elements
• Period costumes
• Costs related to star casting
• Standard projection equipment rental/purchase
• Workshops, readings, and other developmental processes
• Lobby display/decoration
• Non-production costs such as marketing/PR, outreach, education, etc.
• Compensation for non-AEA performers

Size of Grants

$5,000 – $35,000

Note: Grants of $30,000 and above are awarded only in extraordinary circumstances. Grant amounts are based on the specific extraordinary expenses described in your application. They are production-specific and are NOT related to any previous support. In general, smaller and more specific requests are more likely to be funded at 100%.

Our selection committee is composed of independent theater professionals including playwrights, directors, producers, and dramaturgs, along with VTF staff members. The committee rotates with each grant cycle.