Proceeds from W. Kamau Bell's comedy show supporting local arts
W. Kamau Bell supports local arts organizations
Bell is supporting more than a dozen local arts organizations impacted by the National Endowment of the Arts grants canceled earlier this month, by offering a run of stand-up comedy shows and giving the proceeds to 13 them.
BERKELEY, Calif. - Bay Area comedian and TV host W. Kamau Bell announced he’s giving back to the local arts scene that supported his dream.
Bell is supporting more than a dozen local arts organizations impacted by the National Endowment of the Arts grants canceled earlier this month, by offering a run of stand-up comedy shows and giving the proceeds to 13 of them.
"It's about supporting the local art scene and making up for what our government refuses to do," Bell said.
After a years-long hiatus, the TV host recently returned to stand-up comedy at the Berkeley Rep for his show "Who’s with Me," and is reprising the show.
The backstory:
Managing Director at Berkeley Rep Tom Parrish said Bell offered to help, and the nonprofit decided to extend the proceeds to other local arts organizations that lost funding.
"They came up with a list of 13 different theaters and my wife, being a dancer, said ‘can we throw some dance companies in there,’" Bell said.
"We’re going to try and make those whole that did not receive any reimbursement on their grants and then split the proceeds evenly with the rest," Parrish said.
The following theater and dance companies will benefit from the shows:
- Berkeley Repertory Theatre
- American Conservatory Theater
- Theatre Works Silicon Valley
- Theatre Bay Area
- San Francisco Youth Theatre
- Marin Shakespeare Company
- Oakland Theater Project
- New Conservatory Theatre Center
- Magic Theatre San Francisco
- Children’s Fairyland in Oakland
- Crowded Fire Theater Company
- Zaccho Dance Theatre
- Dance Mission Theater
Bay Area roots:
Bell credited the Bay Area arts scene for his career.
"Without theater's nurturing talent, I don't have the career I have right now," he said.
"If we let the Trump administration target all these theaters, you’re going to look up and be like, ‘wow, it certainly got boring around here,’ and that would be a sin if the Bay Area got boring," Bell added.
Many of the organizations getting a cut of the proceeds from Bell’s comedy show support new artist work, like Crowded Fire, whose finance and fundraising manager Julie McCormick said the theater lost $15,000 dollars in grant cancellations intended to pay for their Matchbox Series – a free reading series for local and national playwrights.
"It’s an important opportunity for them to develop their work and get it ready for production," McCormick said. "This offer coming out of the blue was a godsend."
McCormick said if not for this support, the theater would be forced to cancel or scale back the program.
"The majority of the artists we support are Black Indigenous People of Color, and that's one of the things that the NEA is stepping back on supporting," she said. "By getting their start at Crowded Fire, that hopefully paves the way to greater recognition and the ability to share their work in other places."
McCormick said the theater is appealing the grant termination, but does not expect to be successful.
"We don’t know what’s going to happen with the National Endowment for the Arts or what the priorities for funding will be, but we have a strong a sense that what we received in the past is unlikely to happen in the future," Parrish said.
The show:
"Who’s with Me" runs from June 17 to 22 at the Berkeley Rep.
"It's really important right now to find who our people are," Bell said about the show. "It's a whole show saying, ‘this is who I define my people as,’ and ‘here's what I define as not my people.’"
Tickets range from $30 to $100 with the option to upgrade to a VIP experience to meet Bell.
The Source: Original KTVU reporting
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