WIT receives new NEA grant to support classes at Project Create
Washington Improv Theater is pleased to announce that we have been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to receive a Grants for Arts Projects award of $15,000 to support our ongoing work with Project Create during the 2025 fiscal year.
The award will support the continuation of our highly successful improv classes program for adults at the Anacostia venue. The courses, which cover the foundations of improv, are free for residents of Wards 7 and 8.
Breaking down barriers
“Now in its fourth year, the program is flourishing and this grant ensures that we will be able to continue to attract new students,” says WIT Education Director Kacie Peterson.
“The funding is also a testament to the talent of WIT’s teaching artists and the quality of our curriculum. We’re very grateful to the NEA for their ongoing and generous support, which helps us break down barriers, build connections, and share the power of improv with as many people as possible.”
This is WIT’s fifth consecutive NEA award (and sixth overall). The $15,000 sum ties with what we received in 2023 as the highest-ever amount allocated to the program by the NEA.
Building community connections
NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD says her organization is “proud to continue our nearly 60 years of supporting the efforts of organizations and artists that help to shape our country’s vibrant arts sector and communities of all types across our nation.”
She adds, “It is inspiring to see the wide range of creative projects taking place, including [those of] Washington Improv Theater.”
In total, the NEA will award 1,127 Grants for Arts Projects awards nationwide totaling more than $31.8 million as part of today’s announced FY25 grants.
More about Project Create
Project Create provides opportunities for creative youth development through accessible, multidisciplinary arts education to empower young people and amplify their voices.
The organization’s programmatic goals are to create art, opportunity, and community. Those align with WIT’s core values of building community and facilitating creative joy and self-discovery through the artform of improvisation.
WIT has two courses at Project Create starting this week: a Level 2 class about scene dynamics with Matt Mansfield and a Level 4 class about ensemble work with Adam Levine.
If you live in Wards 7 or 8 and want to take a class, CLICK HERE.By the numbers
So far, 14 students have completed all five levels of WIT’s core curriculum at Project Create and 19 students are currently enrolled. It’s expected that at least one more cohort will graduate from the program in 2025.
“It’s been great to see students and grads alike take part in other aspects of the WIT community,” says Kacie. “For example, The Third Graders is an indie improv team that was started by Project Create classmates. They’ll be performing on opening night of WIT’s new performance series Laughing Matters.”
Former and current Project Create students have also participated in WIT festivals and our coached long form improv training program called The Harold.
In addition to grant-funded adult classes, WIT also plans to continue after-school improv classes at Project Create this year. Youth classes are free for Project Create’s community members and will be taught by longtime teaching artist Dave Johnson.
Awesome Teachers
WIT is grateful to the many teaching artists who have shared their knowledge and passion for improv with the students at Project Create since the program’s inception.
In 2024, classes were taught by Sol Aziz, Kacie Peterson, Dan O’Neil, Peter Jones, and Jeff Bollen.
Previous instructors include Krystal Ali, Darnell Eaton, Clyde Thompson, Eva Lewis, Caroline Howe, Jason Walther, Jamal Newman, Lauren Emily, and Jeff Bollen.
Photo: WIT Education Director Kacie Peterson (far left) poses with a group of Project Create students following their showcase last June. By Mikail Faalasli.