A Transformative Gift for TTO
WITH A $3 MILLION TRANSFORMATIVE GIFT FROM MACKENZIE SCOTT AND DAN JEWETT, THE THEATER OFFENSIVE, A BOSTON-BASED QUEER AND TRANS PEOPLE OF COLOR CULTURAL INCUBATOR, ADVANCES EQUITY IN THE THEATER INDUSTRY
Boston, MA — The Theater Offensive (TTO)’s Executive Director and Cultural Strategist Harold Steward announced today that TTO has received the largest individual contribution in its history — a $3M unrestricted gift from MacKenzie Scott and Dan Jewett. TTO is among a group of 286 nonprofit organizations receiving grants as part of Ms. Scott’s latest, $2.7 billion round of philanthropic gifts.
The $3M gift comes at an important moment in the history of TTO – a social change organization that uses theater and the creative process to deconstruct oppressive practices and policies to liberate Queer and Trans People of Color (QTPOC).
Steward, who joined TTO in 2017, has led the organization into a new period of financial stability while creating a unique aesthetic vision for the Company. Steward led the development of a strategic plan that included a model for shared leadership -- integrating existing staff with new vision and voices.
Steward said the extraordinary gift will be used as an investment in TTO’s future, applying pandemic lessons to a radical new vision for Queer life and wellness that TTO is calling Queer Regeneration and Rebirth. Specifically, funds will help support plans for program enhancements; a more equitable organizational infrastructure; and for seeding new investments in people and ideas.
Wholeness, Emotional Risk, & Tenderness. This Is how the spell works. We take care of ourselves, we take care of each other, we take care of our people.
When announcing the gift, Steward said: I have immense gratitude for MacKenzie Scott and Dan Jewett for selecting The Theater Offensive to be a recipient of such a transformative gift. During this prolonged pandemic and the ongoing racial upheaval, we committed to being a people-centered & mission-focused organization no matter what the risk may be. This gift allows us to continue to fulfill that commitment, but it also has allowed us to ask ourselves a new set of questions including: what’s unique about our influence, cultural rights & responsibilities in service of stewarding this fantastic resource? And how do we affirm that distinction and be strategic and resourceful at this moment?
TTO grew out of the Queer guerilla street theater troupe, United Fruit Company, and was founded in 1989 in response to the HIV/AIDS crisis. Today, the organization’s mission is to present liberating art by, for, and about Queer and Trans People of Color that transcends artistic boundaries, celebrates cultural abundance, and dismantles oppression.
TTO employs groundbreaking, interactive artistic programming to discover and promote works by QTPOC. TTO also creates thought-provoking programs, including educational programs, youth-centered leadership programs, community-led artistic experiences, and people-powered civic engagement opportunities.
The work of TTO is made possible by a community of artists, advocates, staff, board and supporters who believe in the power of artistic expression to create change. While accepting this transformative gift, TTO expresses its gratitude not only to Ms. Scott and Mr. Jewett, but to its entire community for the support they continue to provide as TTO evolves and grows. In the words of Ms. Scott, “Generosity is generative. Sharing makes more.”
Whether through political art and conversations like its #VoteOffensively initiative last Fall, or by commissioning life-giving art from QTPOC playwrights and performers through its Queer Republic commissioning program, TTO envisions a future of possibility and rebirth. Taking Alice Walker’s words as inspiration: “the nature of this flower is to bloom.”