Grant for Ruskin Group Theatre Company

Grant Information
Requested	15,000
Granted	7000.00
Categories	Arts
Location	United States
Grant Cycle	2012

Organization Info
501c3 Organization	Ruskin Group Theatre Company
Organization Website	http://www.ruskingrouptheatre.com

Grant Description
Description	Dear Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation, On behalf of the Board of Directors and staff of The Ruskin Group Theatre Company, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to submit this grant proposal to the Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation. The Ruskin Group Theatre Company is a 501(C)(3). In a tough economy in which we have watched many theatre’s in Los Angeles and around the country fold, we are very proud to report that due in large part to foundations and supporters like you, we are thriving. The economic crises that began in 2008, and that continues at present has been trying. We have had to withstand a tough economy where from 2008 through to the present, many of our donations were dramatically reduced; yet due to the belief that theater matters, we have turned a negative into a positive, and as a result have been more successful then ever. 2012 was our most successful year to date. Here are the 2012 highlights A Year In Review 1. Forty -Six (46) weeks of performances 2. Thirteen (13) L.A Stage Awards (“ Tragedy of The Commons” & “ Sideways the Play” ) (15) Critics Choice Awards including “Pick of the Week” by the L.A Weekly for “The Lonesome West”, “Sideways - The Play” & “A Child Left Behind” 3. National Press Coverage - ”Sideways the Play “ & “Paris and “The Solvit Kids” 4. Record Breaking Year at the Box Office 5. Expanded Outreach Program - Partnership With Mattel Children’s Hospital at Ucla 6. Expansion of Board of Directors 7. Civic leadership in the community 8. Samuel French publishes “Paris” & “The Solvit Kids” with RGT recognized as producing theatre and company One of the exciting new programs we expanded in 2012 was the partnership with Mattel Children's Hospital. We bring actors into the hospital bi-monthly and in 2013 we are going to expand it to a weekly program. A grant from you would help us to expand the pool of actors we can bring in. Actors in 2012 came in on a volunteer basis we want to be able to pay for their inoculation's and live scans as they are giving up their time and gifts to be with these children. If given a grant we will also use the funds to continue to produce ground breaking theatre.
Used for	With assistance from the Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation The Ruskin Group Theatre has just celebrated it's 10th Anniversary. With your continued support we hope to expand our outreach program at the UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital and continue to produce world renowned live theatre in Santa Monica.
Benefits	Art expresses the human experience. The theatre benefits the world precisely because we are human beings. And being human beings we need more than food, security, esteem, and love. We need to be self-actualized. That is, we need to create; we were meant to create. And the height of creating is experience. Unlike all other art forms, the theatre is a creation of the experience of human living. Theatre is expression. Artists create an experience about our relationship with our world. We express who we are by exploring the relationship between ourselves, between ourselves and other people, between ourselves and nature, between ourselves and our society, and between ourselves and ourselves. That exploration leads to a literal experience for audience members as well as artists. This way, audience members share the expression. By sharing in the experience, audience members also become expressive. Actors recognized this phenomenon as "electricity" or "being connected" during a performance. As human beings, we are driven to explore and understand and feel and express ourselves in our world.