NYSCA Increases Support of the Depot Theatre with 2020 Grant

(L-R:) Dan Bob Higgins, Joshua Betz, Patrick Scholl, Kenney Green, and Devin J. Hall perform in the Depot Theatre’s 2019 main stage production of FOREVER PLAID. (Credit: Depot Theatre)

The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) has increased its commitment to the Depot Theatre with a grant of $17,000 per year for each of the next three years. The grant is the largest multi-year general-operating support NYSCA award to the Depot since 2008.

NYSCA grants, with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, support the transformative impact of the performing, literary, visual and media arts in New York State. The Depot Theatre is one of 462 arts organizations across New York State receiving a total of $8,383,993 million in grants through NYSCA’s Round II FY2020 funding to support arts programs that drive New York State’s economic growth and community health.

“New York’s cultural sector is a driving force in our state’s economy,” said Katherine Nicholls, Chair, New York State Council on the Arts. “As our arts organizations expand their audiences and programs with NYSCA support, we will serve many more New Yorkers and build the vitality of our communities statewide.”

“This increased commitment will have a tremendous impact on both our long term budget planning and our ability to achieve our strategic goals,” said Cheri Phillips, President of the Depot Theatre Board of Trustees. “On behalf of the Depot, we are grateful to Governor Cuomo, the New York State Legislature and, especially, the dedicated staff at NYSCA for their continued confidence in the mission and direction of the theatre.”

In 2017, the Depot Theatre replaced the seating and carpeting in its 134-seat theatre. The project was funded in-part by a facilities program grant from NYSCA. In 2018, NYSCA awarded the Depot a multi-year general-operating grant of $15,000 per year for two years. In 2019, an additional full time Associate Director/Company Manager position was made possible in its initial year with funding via a New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) workforce development grant, the result of a successful Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) Initiatives Consolidated Funding Application (CFA).

NYSCA will award a total of $41 million to arts organizations across New York State for FY2020. The second of three rounds of NYSCA funding for FY2020 includes support for museums, theatres, and arts organizations that drive tourism and anchor communities and arts education programs essential to learning for all ages, including public school students, aging populations and at-risk youth.

The Depot Theatre is a non-profit, professional theatre located in a historic, functioning 1876 train station in the Adirondacks, and is the only theatre in the Adirondacks that operates under an agreement with Actors’ Equity Association. The theatre currently offers 3-4 productions in the summer along with educational outreach programs. 2020 will be the theatre’s 42nd season.

For more information about the Depot Theatre, visit depottheatre.org or call 518.962.4449.

About Depot Theatre

The Depot Theatre is a non-profit, professional theatre located in a historic, functioning 1876 train station in Westport, N.Y., and operates under an agreement with Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. In addition to its volunteer board of trustees, the theatre depends on the support and generosity of its loyal donors, volunteers and community members. Committed to promoting and providing exposure to the performing arts in the Adirondacks, the Depot Theatre invites all to “Take a journey without leaving the station.” Learn more and get tickets at depottheatre.org.