Peninsula Players Theatre
Peninsula Players Theatre has received a matching grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board in the amount of $22,583, an increase of 17% above the amount awarded to the theater last year through the Wisconsin Arts Board’s Creation & Presentation Program.
Peninsula Players again ranked among the highest-scoring applicants for these state grants awarded on a competitive basis through a rigorous evaluation process. Panelists cited the 74-year-old theater’s good long-term financial health, increasing attendance, range of programming and creative efforts to engender local community interest.
2008 was a record year for Peninsula Players, with more than 40,000 patrons attending the five summer and autumn productions at its 16-acre setting on the cedar-lined shores of Green Bay. Another 4,000 attended a range of free community outreach programs including theater tours, seminars, school programs and the Players’ signature winter program, The Big Read Door County.
These grant funds will support Peninsula Players’ continued development and presentation of outstanding theatrical productions and community programs as the theater prepares for its historic 75th Anniversary Season in 2010.
Funds from the Wisconsin Arts Board will augment the strong support Peninsula Players receives from the community and visitors through ticket sales, individual contributions and corporate and foundation support, including the National Endowment for the Arts. Organizations that receive Arts Board funding are required to match state tax dollars with such additional public and private funds.
“It’s nice to see that panelists across the state recognize the quality of this Door County icon,” says State Representative Garey Bies. “I’m pleased that this grant helps Peninsula Players continue to produce quality entertainment for Door County residents and visitors.”
Peninsula Players’ allocations from the Wisconsin Arts Board have increased to record levels the last two years as the Arts Board revised its grant-making programs to better reflect its goals to nurture creativity, cultivate expression, promote the arts, support the arts in education, stimulate community and economic development and serve as a resource for people of every culture and heritage in Wisconsin’s communities. The Wisconsin Arts Board is a state agency with a budget of $3,262,000 for fiscal year 2009.
Peninsula Players is America’s oldest professional resident summer theater and is unique in the country for its diverse productions, continuing loyalty to a resident company, and its beautiful setting of 16 wooded acres along the cedar-lined shores of Green Bay. In the past 74 years, the theater has become a Door County landmark and its cornerstone arts institution, attracting audience members from throughout Wisconsin and across the country. For more information, visit www.peninsulaplayers.com.
