Theatre and performance institutions throughout the state have suffered during the pandemic but grants are helping out. The National Endowment for the Arts has provided a grant to the Off Square Theatre Company in Jackson.
The federal grant will help to support personnel and facilities costs in response to the pandemic. This is in addition to CARES funding.
"We as an organization would have had to have very different conversations about the infrastructure that we maintain, the capital resources that we have, and the ramping back up when it becomes safe to resume in person programming," said Natalia Macker, the company's artistic director. "I would anticipate we would be looking at a longer period to get back to what quote-unquote normal was for us."
Due to funding, the theatre company has held educational programming virtually and works on innovative ways to continue to interact and educate kids in the community like a radio play.
Macker said it's important to remember that arts are an important part of the economy and enhance educational opportunities.