The Stanford Calderwood Fund for New American Plays was established at the Huntington Theatre Company in 2001 as an endowment dedicated to fostering the work of American playwrights at all stages of their careers.
Stanford Calderwood left a legacy in Boston of arts patronage that is nearly unmatched. In his brief stint as WGBH president‚ he was a moving force behind "Masterpiece Theatre‚" convincing Mobil Oil to donate a million dollars to endow the program. As the CEO of Trinity Investment Management from 1981–1999‚ he left his mark on many a cultural institution before his death in May of 2002. Devoted to his wife‚ Norma Jean‚ he made numerous donations in her name‚ including multiple curatorial positions at the Museum of Fine Arts and Harvard‚ as well as green space at both those institutions‚ a professorship at Boston College‚ and the directorships of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum‚ The Cambridge Art Association‚ and the Huntington Theatre Company‚ where Norma Jean was a long–time trustee. The few times Stanford Calderwood allowed his own name to grace his donations‚ it nearly always was paired with an institution devoted to writers and writing‚ such as the MacDowell Colony‚ the Boston Athenaeum‚ and the Huntington Theatre Company.
It is here at the Huntington that we feel his presence most personally –– his generous endowment of a commissioning fund specifically for new plays is not only unusual‚ but the scope of the gift itself is quite nearly unheard–of in the national theatre. Both Stanford and Norma Jean were enthusiastic patrons of the Huntington‚ held great respect for Managing Director Michael Maso‚ and were excited about Artistic Director Nicholas Martin’s plans for the future of the Huntington –– plans that turned on creating programs for new play development where there had been none before. Stanford Calderwood wanted to help Martin and Maso achieve their lofty goals‚ and thus in January of 2002‚ created the Stanford Calderwood Fund for New American Plays. To date‚ the Fund has awarded seven commissions‚ to Jon Robin Baitz‚ Christopher Denham‚ Stephen Belber‚ and the first class of Calderwood Commissioned Huntington Playwright Fellows: Melinda Lopez‚ John Kuntz‚ Ronan Noone‚ and Sinan Unel.
Maso has noted that "the development of new plays for the American theatre is‚ fundamentally‚ uneconomic‚ given the unpredictable nature of creativity and the costs involved in producing plays that do not simply appeal to the lowest common denominator." It is‚ however‚ "an extraordinarily worthwhile challenge to undertake." It is our goal to use these funds to explore all manner of theatrical expression from the American playwright‚ to work at re–thinking and re–imagining the processes of new play development‚ and to provide a groundswell from which plays may spring‚ thus enriching both the American theatre and Boston’s own cultural arts scene.
The Huntington Playwright Fellows
Last season, The Huntington Theatre Company was pleased to dedicate The Calderwood Fund for New American Plays to the well-being of the local playwright. To this end, we commissioned a group of Boston-area writers in whom we deeply believe, and have pledged to support their artistic efforts. As Fellows, the writers have committed to a two-year residency, after which time they become associate artists of the Huntington. The first four writers to participate in this program – Melinda Lopez, John Kuntz, Ronan Noone, and Sinan Ünel – have, over the last year, become part of the artistic life of the Huntington as they’ve participated in a writers' collective, received dramaturgical support and readings of their plays, and have worked with the Huntington's staff, audiences, and students to broaden their experiences as playwrights and artists.
By commissioning early-career local writers, we reinforce the mission of the Huntington's new play development initiatives while channeling our resources back into the community in which we live and work.