NEW FEDERAL THEATER INC
This organization has already been registered
Someone in your organization has already registered and setup an account. would you like to join their team?Profile owner : d*********t@n***************e.c*m
Mission Statement
New Federal Theatre's mission is to integrate minorities and women into the mainstream of American theatre by training artists for the profession, the hiring of designers, technicians and by presenting plays by minorities and women to integrated, multicultural audiences--plays which evoke the truth through beautiful and artistic re-creations of ourselves.
About This Cause
NEW FEDERAL THEATRE-ORGANIZATION AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS New Federal Theatre (NFT), founded by Woodie King Jr. in 1970, grew out of a theatre program at Mobilization for Youth. Since its inception, NFT has provided emerging and established playwrights with the opportunity to have their works produced, it has brought minority actors, directors, and designers to national attention and the vocational training workshops prepare minority people for employment in theatre. New Federal Theatre's mission is to integrate minorities and women into the mainstream of American theatre by training artists for the profession, and by presenting plays by minorities and women to integrated, multicultural audiences--plays which evoke the truth through beautiful and artistic re-creations of ourselves. NFT has brought the joy of the living stage to many minorities who live in the greater Metropolitan area. Most importantly, NFT provides the multi-ethnic New York metropolitan area audiences with first-rate theatre relating to the interest of different cultural groups. The growth of New Federal Theatre parallels the growth of Black Theatre in New York and in the USA. Black Theatre has grown by leaps and bounds since the founding of The Negro Ensemble Company (1967), The New Lafayette Theatre (1968), National Black Theatre(1968), and New Federal Theatre (1970). NFT has produced more plays than all of these theatres combined. The development and the producing of Black plays about the "Black experience" are integral to NFT's growth. In our 49 years, NFT has presented over 300 new plays by minorities and women, more than any other American theatre. NFT's current state and its current needs are its need for general operating support, funding for its play productions, workshop development, and a re-examination of its organization, i.e, exploring new ways to operate in the new century. NFT developed and grew out of the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s. It became a non-profit organization in 1970. It has produced a full season of plays for all of its 49 years. With the inception of National Black Theatre Festival (NBTF) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1989 to this past Festival in 2015 New Federal Theatre has been invited to present a production. We measure NFT's success by the artistry of those playwrights, directors, actors, and designers who worked at NFT over the years. Of note, NFT is the first presenter of Tony Award nominee, For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf. Many artists presented are now a part of the American theatre mainstream including Ntozake Shange, Trazana Beverly, Ed Bullins, Shauneille Perry, Denzel Washington, Laurence Fishburne, Morgan Freeman, Glynn Turman, Samuel L Jackson, Ginny Lim, Vondie Curtis Hall, David Henry Hwang, John Lone, Oz Scott, S. Epatha Merkerson, Phylicia Rashad, Chadwick Boseman (Jackie Robinson in the movie 42, James Brown in the film Get on Up! and Black Panther), Issa Rae (Insecure and her popular Webisode Adventures of an Arkward Black Girl) among others. These artists are recipients of Academy Awards, a Tony Award, an Emmy Award, a Drama Desk Award, a Drama Critic Circle Award, 3 Obie Awards, 30 Audelco Awards, 4 NEA Playwright Fellowships, a Rockefeller Foundation Award, a Kennedy Center Playwrighting Award, and 2 Richard Rodgers Production Awards New Federal Theatre performs the majority of its plays to the multicultural community of New York that we set out to serve in 1970. New Federal Theatre selects plays which interest and bring attention to the different minorities who live in the New York Metropolitan area. NFT market its plays via a professional press agent who reaches out to the traditional New York theatre community through newspaper advertisements. NFT'S staff media consultant handles social media, E-mails, FaceBook, Twitter, 3 times a week. NFT’s Post Card distributor reaches out to churches, community center, the many events populated by African American audiences. NFT offers senior citizens and students discount tickets--or no cost tickets. Recently NFT'S Board added an Audience Development Committee and that committee successfully instituted 3 highly successful "non production, in-between" events. A demographic survey conducted by the NFT was made possible through a grant from the Nathan Cummings Foundation. That survey showed the following: 37% of NFT’s audience came from Manhattan; 27% came from Brooklyn; 11% came from the Bronx; 9% from Queens; 5% from Westchester; 2% from Long Island and the remaining percent from the other boroughs and out-of-state. The NFT’s audience age range is from 36 to 50. Audiences comefrom lower middle class income range. 50% were single and the majority were women. At least 37% attended two or more performances within our season and 18% attended five or more. Fees and salaries to artists include: Production artistic personnel: Playwrights receive a fee of $1,500; a director receives the SSDC designated fee of $1,800 plus 8% pension and Health @ $600; Actors receive the AEA Transitional Contract weekly salary of $275, Stage Manager weekly salary of $330, plus 8% pension and Weekly Health @ $175.00; Assistant Stage Manager weekly salary$303, All AEA Members are paid $175 per week for Health and 8% Pension; Light, Set, Costume, Sound, Projection Designers receive a fee of $500.00 NFT has been the recipient of numerous awards i.e. The Drama Critic Circle Award, The Drama Desk Award, three (3) Village Voice Obie Awards, two (2) Richard Rodgers Production Awards, a Newsday’s Oppenheimer Award, and thirty (30) Audelco Awards. Woodie King, Jr. received an Obie Award for Sustained Excellence, a TCG Zeisler Award, a Paul Robeson Award from the Actors’ Equity Association, four (4) Honorary Doctorates, in January 2012 he was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame, and, in May 2013 he received the Edwin Booth Award. NEW FEDERAL THEATRE WORKSHOPS NFT’s WORKSHOPS are an important component of our programming and the WORKSHOPS draw upon the experiences and expertise of instructors who have worn the hats of all aspects of creating theatre. The WORKSHOPS complement the full-scale performance aspect of our mission and provide ground for minority artists. For 49 consecutive years, New Federal Theatre has produced full seasons of excellence in the theatre and is regarded as one of this nation’s premier theatrical institution. NFT pioneered in the development of new theatre concepts and provided an avenue for the emergence of new African American talents who now are major forces in the theatre, motion picture, and television industries. Most importantly, NFT provides multi-ethnic New York metropolitan area audiences with first-rate theatre relating to the interest of different cultural groups. NEW FEDERAL THEATRE BOARD OF DIRECTORS NFT is a member or Board Serve New York City. That organization helps non-profits find new Board members. NFT also seeks out new member. The Board meets quarterly. Decisions are voted on by a quorum. Committees are in place for additional meetings. NFT’s current Board is diverse in race, gender, culture, religious and generational and qualified to oversee the proposed productions and infrastructure needs of the organization. Committees consist of Finance Committee, Executive Committee and Audience Development Committee. The Executive Director interfaces with Committee heads regarding disseminating materials bank resolution signatures, etc. Staff members occasionally will make presentations to the Board regarding upcoming projects marketing and publicity campaigns and to answer any oversight questions they may have.