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I haven’t posted in a while so I thought I better get on the stick, as painful as that sounds, and do something about it. 

I have been busy, nevertheless, as hopefully my list of activities will indicate.  I felt that just blowing out a list of activities will suffice and then I can enhance the description of each as necessary.

June

Attended the Dramatist Guild conference, Playwrights in Mind, at George Mason in Fairfax, Virginia.

Applied for, and was accepted to, the Devised Theatre class at CPT.

Applied for, and was accepted to, Springboard at CPT.

• Andrew Jackson ate my homework: a racial farce

July

Met with Peter Roth every Wednesday to discuss our proposed new theater and the notion of bringing live TV to theater… ha ha ha.  No, seriously.  Have been developing the story bible almost continuously this summer.

Attended the first meeting of the newly-born Bessemer Project: consisting of theatre artists, Rachel Baird, Michael Parsons, Peter Roth, Jaclyn Villano, Michael Geither, Michael Oatman, Michael Williams, Jarod Witkowski, Dan Riordan, Claire Robinson May, and myself.

August

Got a bite from Athena Theatre with a request for the full script for Lord of the Burgeoning Lumber (sent the synopsis two years ago!)

Applied for the Creative Workforce Grant through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture (hope the trend from June continues!)

Applied for an Ohio Arts Council Individual Artist grant (hope the trend from June continues!)

September

Might be working with Jared Bendis on a written piece to supplement his work at Ingenuity.

I think that about covers it for now…

CONVERGENCE-CONTINUUM GOT A SURPRISE NATIONAL AWARD FROM THE ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG FOUNDATION!
The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation (New York) selected 16 arts organizations from around the country this year to award grants to, and convergence-continuum is one of them! This three-year, $10,000-a-year grant is not anything that we (or any of the other recipients) applied for. It’s done by anonymous nomination from local arts leaders, and came as a complete surprise. The Foundation selects arts organizations from culturally rich, but under-funded regions. This year the regions were Cleveland, Boise, Buffalo, Kansas City and Phoenix. And by the way, not only are the grants a surprise, but also kind of a mystery. They don’t reveal who the nominators are. (But clearly, someone really likes us!) For more on the Foundation and the awards check out their website at http://rauschenbergfoundation.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=143&Itemid=104

Thanks to all of you who have made this huge honor possible! The grants are intended not only to keep struggling arts organizations going, but to help them expand their programs and activities, and to take new risks. I’ve got a number of ideas about what to do with the “bonus cash” this will leave us, and I’d like to hear yours, too! Please send me your wish lists! You can send them to me at clydesimon@sbcglobal.net. I’d love to hear from you.