22 Mar Press Release | Applications open for The Kevin Spacey Foundation (KSF): Artists of Choice Awards 2017
Applications open for The Kevin Spacey Foundation (KSF): Artists of Choice Awards 2017
The Kevin Spacey Foundation (KSF) has announced the launch of this year’s KSF Artists of Choice Awards, their flagship funding and mentoring initiative for artists in the genres of Theatre, Dance, Film and Musical Theatre. Applications are open to artists resident in the UK and USA.
KSF Artists of Choice Awards will be made to four UK-based and four US-based artists or companies, each will receive £10,000 or $10,000 in funding and year-round mentoring from KSF.
Previous winners included Alexander Zeldin (Beyond Caring, National Theatre & The Yard), Ghazi Albulwi (Highly Suspect, The New Group NY), Stephanie Batten-Bland (Patient(ce), Brooklyn Dance Festival BAM), Robby Graham (Speakeasy, Dance City Newcastle & touring), India Dupre (Stripped, Audience & Jury winner, Edmonton International Film Festival) and Joseph Varca (The Village of Vale, New Victory Theatre).
2016 UK recipient Andrew Whyment of Squint said of the Awards, “It adds credence and financial freedom to the project. It is allowing us to take greater risks than ever before.”
Kevin Spacey, Founder of KSF said:
‘I’m looking forward to seeing some great applications and welcoming new talent into our already brilliant and successful arts collective.”
Steve Winter, Executive/Creative Director of KSF, said:
“I’m proud of the artists that we’ve discovered over the last two years, their projects have been inspiring and hugely creative.”
Alongside Kevin Spacey a panel of respected creatives will help select the recipients. Last year’s panel included choreographer Wayne McGregor (Studio Wayne McGregor), actress Hayley Atwell (ABC’s Agent Carter), songwriter Benj Pasek (La La Land), actress & singer Cynthia Erivo (The Color Purple), actor Rupert Friend (Homeland), playwright Anna Ziegler (Photograph 51) and composer & lyricist Maury Yeston (Nine: The Musical).
2016 Recipients were:
THEATRE (UK): Andrew Whyment of Squint. Fear & Loathing is a sprawling journey through the Western World’s increasingly fragmented landscape. Inspired by verbatim material gathered on the US Presidential Election campaign trail, Fear & Loathing asks, “Where are we heading?”
DANCE (UK): Joshua Ben-Tovim of Impermanence Dance Theatre. Baal will use the body to illustrate pages of Bertolt Brecht’s Baal, an explosive and poetic text that channels key anxieties of our age such as social isolation, mental health and rage.
FILM (UK): Megan Devaney and Finbarr Crotty of Bear Print Films. Out of his Misery set in rural Ireland, follows eight-year-old Cal who mistakenly believing his parents are planning to murder his senile Granddad takes it upon himself to save the day.
MUSICAL THEATRE (UK): Adam Lenson. Wasted is an explosive rock musical drama that tells the remarkable story of the Bronte Siblings. The piece previewed at four public work in progress performances of material as part of the West Yorkshire Playhouses’ Brontë Season.
THEATRE (USA): Matt Barbot. El Coquí Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom, follows the story of Alex, and out-of-work comic artist who creates a hero that represents everything he believes it means to be Puerto Rican. Winner, Kennedy Center’s Darrell Ayers Award for Outstanding Student Written Play for Young Audiences.
DANCE (USA): Ephrat Asherie of Ephrat Asherie Dance. Riff this, Riff that explores the vernacular jazz roots of the contemporary street and social dances of breaking, hip hop and house. The piece was part of largest street art festival: FiraTarrega.
FILM (USA): Parker Hill of Lioneyes Pictures. Homing In, is a short drama about Cal an overworked middle-aged man who after a long day at work he drives home to his suburban neighbourhood but find himself in the wrong house with a more interesting family.
MUSICAL THEATRE (USA): Kamala Sankaram. Looking at You, a techno-noir music theater work mixing electronic dance music, crime jazz and lyric operatic arias. It explores the impact of modern technology on privacy, using data from audience members in the show.
Timeline:
Applications open: Now
Applications close: 14 April 2017
Interviews:
UK - Monday 15 – Friday May 19. 2017,
USA – Monday 22 – Friday May 26. 2017
Awards Made: Early June 2017
Notes to Editors:
Contact: Steve Winter, Kevin Spacey Foundation – [email protected]
ABOUT KSF
The purpose of The Kevin Spacey Foundation (KSF) is to discover, train, fund and mentor emerging artists in drama, dance, music, and film as well as developing life enhancing theatre-in-education projects across the globe, in line with its vision statement to: ‘Send the elevator back down’.
KSF’s recipients are those seeking a career in the performing arts and film predominately - but not limited to - secondary school children, further and continuing education students, undergraduates (freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors), post graduates, graduates or those without formal education but the talent and drive to succeed.
Its inaugural project was Richard’s Rampage a global arts initiative linked to the world tour of Richard III starring Kevin Spacey in the title role. Since then KSF has evolved into a scholarship and grant giving entity offering 24 fully funded places to university via its KSF SCHOLARSHIPS programme and financial support to individuals and companies in the performing arts or film through KSF ARTISTS OF CHOICE AWARDS. In 2014 it formalized its offer further by introducing a third stand of activity, KSF LEARNING that uses theatre-in-education to improve aspiration through bespoke projects and workshops.
www.kevinspaceyfoundation.org
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