Apply for [Inside] the Ford 2008-2009 Winter Partnership Program

Application Due: Wednesday, April 2, 2008 (Electronic Submission and Postmark)
To access and complete the online application, click here.

For more information about the ITF Winter Partnership Program and Guidelines, click here.

History and General Information

The indoor theatre space at the Ford has a history of serving intimate theatre in Los Angeles. For decades it was rented by numerous groups, most notably the Mark Taper Forum, who made it the home of their second stage Taper, Too from 1972 to 1997. In 1998 the space was extensively renovated and re-named [Inside] the Ford. Its first season, 1998-1999, featured three productions presented under the Los Angeles County Art Commission’s subsidized rental program designed to help theatre companies without permanent facilities. From 2000 through 2004, [Inside] the Ford hosted a season of new plays and musicals co-produced by County-based theatre companies and the Arts Commission and supported by A.S.K. Theatre Projects. Since 2005, [Inside] the Ford has been the home of the Ensemble Theatre Collective, known as ETC, a collaboration of five L.A.-based theatre companies and the Arts Commission supported in part by the Flintridge Foundation. ETC winds up its Ford residency in April 2008.

Building upon the success of the Ford Theatre Summer Partnership Program which provides support to Los Angeles County-based producers and performing arts organization to present events in the Ford Amphitheatre, the Arts Commission is launching the [Inside] the Ford Winter Partnership Program. Recognizing that many Los Angeles County-based theatre companies do not have permanent performance homes and that the cost of producing theatrical works has become prohibitively expensive in the area, the Arts Commission through the Winter Partnership Program will provide an opportunity for theatre companies without a permanent performance venue to produce in one of the best under 99-seat theatres in Los Angeles County at a highly subsidized cost and with significant marketing support.

Similar to a grant program, proposals for the [Inside] the Ford Winter program are considered on a competitive basis. The Arts Commission will partner with three theatre companies and assist each to present a proposed theatrical work. To submit a proposal under this program, please read through the entire guidelines and then complete an application available at www.FordTheatres.org.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply to the [Inside] the Ford Winter Partnership Program, applicants must:

Be a Los Angeles County-based theatre company without a permanent performance home;
Have a minimum of three years of theatre producing experience within the past 5 years;
Propose a full length run of a production with an approximate 1 week load-in, 1 week rehearsal and tech and 4 weeks of performance with a minimum of 5 performances per week. Performances should be full-length and run between 90 minutes and 2 ½ hours;
Be able to produce a new work (world premiere), a work new to the Los Angeles area (regional premiere) or classical repertory interpreted and presented in an innovative way; and,
Be able to produce and run their show in one of the following range of dates:

October 20, 2008 – December 22, 2008
January 5, 2009 – March 2, 2009
March 9, 2009 – May 4, 2009

Application Workshops

Ford Theatre staff will host two workshops to review the application process, discuss eligibility and requirements of applying arts organizations, and answer questions about the Winter Partnership Program and producing at the Ford. Applicants applying to the [Inside] the Ford Winter Partnership Program are required to attend one workshop. These workshops will be held at the [Inside] the Ford Theatre at 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East in Hollywood on the following dates and times:

Parking for these workshops is free. Please RSVP with your name, organization, email address and phone number to publicevents@arts.lacounty.gov or call 323-856-5793.