USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) are pleased to announce the 6th annual Arts Journalism Institute in Theater and Musical Theater. View press release here.

Electronic applications are now available. Click here to apply.

About the Institute

John Lahr, senior drama critic of The New Yorker, gives keynote address at the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT).

The NEA Institute in Theater and Musical Theater is an 11-day intensive workshop for writers, editors, broadcast and online producers from the 50 states and Puerto Rico. Based in Los Angeles, the Fellowship provides a total immersion experience that includes attending as many as ten performances or rehearsals. Participants will meet theater professionals ranging from directors and administrators of L.A.’s primary theater companies to critics of national stature, who will engage them individually for writing instruction and exercises. Professional sessions addressing changes in the media industry will be offered and special attention will be paid to building multimedia skills and storytelling. No specialized knowledge of theater is required. Staff journalists and freelancers who work in print, radio, TV or online media are welcome to apply. View the Frequently Asked Questions for more information about applying to this program.

Important details

• Institute dates: May 17-27, 2010
• How to apply : Go to http://nea.uscannenberg.org/application.php to fill out an electronic application for the 2010 Fellowship, instructions are provided. Only electronic applications will be accepted.
• Application deadline: March 11, 2010, received no later than 11:59pm Pacific Standard Time (PST).
• Individuals living or working outside of the United States are NOT eligible to apply. Click here for all eligibility requirements.
• Location: USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, downtown Los Angeles. Hotel is located in Little Tokyo. 
• Cost: Most costs are covered by the Institute, including travel to and from L.A., hotel, Internet at the hotel, transportation within the city and most meals.
• Click here to learn more about the Institute.

Performances this year's participants might attend

• World premiere of "Road to Saigon" developed and directed by Jon Lawrence Rivera at East West Players
• "Bengal Tiger Baghdad Zoo" by Rajiv Joseph at the Mark Taper Forum
• Jonathan Brielle's musical, "Nightmare Alley," directed by Gilbert Cates at the Geffen Playhouse
• American premiere with Malcolm McDowell of "Tynan" at the Kirk Douglas Theatre
• "The Playboy of the Western World" by celebrated Irish playwright John Millington Synge at A Noise Within
• American premiere of "The Arsonist" performed by the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble

Select highlights from 2009

• Front row (left to right): Ann Powers, Jeff Weinstein, Barbara Isenberg,  Robert Christgau, Ella Taylor and Steven Leigh Morris.

  Back row (left to right): Dominic Papatola, Sasha Anawalt, Douglas McLennan, Ariel Swartley and David L. Ulin.

  Not pictured: Gordon Davidson, Laura Emerick and Michael Phillips

  Master classes -- one-on-one sessions -- with writing experts. (pictured right)
• "What is Theatre Song?" -- a lecture-demonstration by Jack Viertel, artistic director of New York City Center Encores! and creative director of Jujamcyn Theaters, with live performers, including pianist Brad Ellis of "Glee."
• Keynote address by Steven Leigh Morris, playwright and critic-at-large for L.A. Weekly. (watch keynote address here)
• Workshop on distinguishing what a director brings to a production vs. what actors bring vs. what the playwright brings at A Noise Within. 
• Workshop on the contributions of costume, set and lighting designers at the Mark Taper Forum.
• Group flip camera projects with Douglas McLennan. (video coverage produced by Kirstin Heinle, communication management student '09) 
• World premiere of "Our Mother's Brief Affair" by Richard Greenberg at South Coast Repertory.
• World premiere of the new adaptation of Moliere's play, "Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme" at City Garage.

Comments from past fellows and their editors

"I couldn't have asked for a better mix of the sweepingly theoretical and the palpably concrete. One day would see furious discussion over the ways that technology has impacted the journalistic landscape, the next would offer fresh ideas for approaching, and advocating for, the arts in my community."
~ Glen Weldon, Washington City Paper and npr.org, D.C.

“I use things I learned through the Institute every day.”
~ Sharon Eberson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pa.

“Amazing, inspiring and career-changing.”
~ Bridgette Redman, Lansing State Journal, Mich.

"The Institute helped me make crucial connections with other writers and editors. It surely opened my mind about the myriad ways to cover the arts, and I’ve definitely made the jump from ink on paper to blog, voice and video.”
~ Wendy Rosenfield, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Pa.

Other related events

A National Summit on Arts Journalism
The NEA was a major sponsor of the first-ever virtual National Summit on Arts Journalism held at USC Annenberg in October 2009. A partnership of the four NEA Arts Journalism Institutes and the National Arts Journalism Program, the summit explored new ideas for arts coverage and journalism business models in front of a live and virtual audience of nearly 20,000 people.

Flyover: Art in the American Outback
Inspired by their NEA Theater Institute experience in 2007, four fellows launched "Flyover: Art in the American Outback" on ArtsJournal.com. The blogsite focuses on the "flyover" states and the distinctive issues facing the nation's theater critics and artists outside major cities.

Institute leadership

Sasha Anawalt, Director
Arianna Sikorski, Program Coordinator

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