This grant supports and expands the Columbia@Roundabout program, an innovative partnership between the Columbia University School of the Arts (CUSA) and Roundabout Theatre Company, another Tow grantee. Started with support from The Tow Foundation in 2016, this program seeks to bridge the disconnect between the institutions that produce theater and those that train its artists and practitioners. This is accomplished by providing CUSA theater MFA students with rigorous internships and fellowship programs, opportunities for student playwrights to have their work professionally showcased at Roundabout, and in-depth training to prepare students to work as teaching artists.

In the highly competitive world of professional theatre, there often exists a disconnect between the institutions that produce theatre and those that train its artists and practitioners. This three-year grant funds a new partnership between the Columbia School of the Arts’ Theatre MFA program, and Roundabout Theatre Company to provide theatre internships for qualified students, opportunities for student playwrights to see their work presented in professional readings at Roundabout, and to train MFA students as teaching artists.