Creative Support for Organizations-Round 2

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2021 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$14,910
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
SteppingStone Theatre Company AKA SteppingStone Theatre
Recipient Type
Non-Profit Business/Entity
Status
Completed
Start Date
January 2021
End Date
December 2021
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Anoka
Benton
Carlton
Carver
Chippewa
Chisago
Dodge
Hennepin
Nobles
Olmsted
Ramsey
Scott
Sibley
Washington
Wright
Anoka
Benton
Carlton
Carver
Chippewa
Chisago
Dodge
Hennepin
Nobles
Olmsted
Ramsey
Scott
Sibley
Washington
Wright
Project Overview

Creative Support for Organizations-Round 2

Project Details

SteppingStone Theatre will provide programming for young people as part of a full season of virtual classes and performances.

Competitive Grant Making Body
Board Members and Qualifications

Ardell Brede: former mayor of Rochester; Peggy Burnet: entrepreneur, art collector, and community volunteer; Uri Camarena: business consultant, Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA); Michael Charron: executive director of grants and sponsored programs for Saint Mary's University of Minnesota., Saint Mary's University of Minnesota; Sean Dowse: former mayor of Red Wing; former executive director, Sheldon Theatre; Anthony Gardner, vice president, marketing and communications at CentraCare; Philip McKenzie: team lead with Boutique Air, founder and owner of Bluedoor 74, adjunct college faculty; Mary McReynolds-Pellinen: executive director, Lyric Center for the Arts; Thomas Moss: consultant to nonprofits and government agencies; Dobson West: retired attorney; Christina Widdess: nonprofit consultant; former managing director, Penumbra Theatre

Advisory Group Members and Qualifications

Patricia Black: Patricia Black is a textile and fiber artist in greater Minnesota. She is also a teaching artist, working with Minnesota students grades K-12 and adults. She has served as a reviewer for Arts Board grant panels and volunteered to assist Perpich Center for the Arts projects and other nonprofit arts organizations in greater Minnesota. She currently is a member of the East Central Regional Arts Council board of directors.; Brianna Fisher: Fisher is a youth educator, community builder, and servant learner. Fisher holds a MA from the University of Minnesota in youth development, and a BA in family services and conflict resolution. A long-time youth worker, Fisher has a passion for creating engaging opportunities where young people can thrive within the arts and self-expression.; Susan Foss: Susan Foss is the creator of The Minnesota Goose Garden, a permanent, 30-year landscape art project highlighting Native American culture and history. Foss is a painter, designer, sculptor, and illustrator who has lived in Minnesota since 1969. The mission of the Minnesota Goose Garden is to preserve and promote education of the flora used by the Ojibwe tribes for food, medicine, utility, and ceremony. Foss has unique world traveling history, years in the Master Gardening program of the University of Minnesota. She received an Arts Board Artist Initiative grant in 2017.; Margo Gray: Gray is a Minnesota based experience designer and theater maker whose interests include developing new work, social justice focused art, and creating site specific immersion. Gray recently received an early career research and development grant from Forecast Public Art and is a Metropolitan Regional Arts Council Next Step Fund recipient. Gray is the producing artistic director of Playable Artworks, a former Fulbright Fellow at the Moscow Art Theatre School, an alumna of Grinnell College, and a graduate of the John Wells MFA directing program at Carnegie Mellon University.; Ursula Hargens: Hargens is a ceramic artist, educator, and cofounder of Minnesota New Institute for Ceramic Education (MN NICE), an advanced certificate program in ceramics which she developed in 2014 in partnership with Northern Clay Center. She received an MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University (Alfred, NY) and an MA in art and art education from Columbia University teacher's college (New York, NY). She is a three time McKnight Artist Fellow, has received additional awards from the Jerome Foundation and the Arts Board, and was named 2020 Ceramic Artist of the Year by Ceramic Arts Network, Ceramics Monthly, and Pottery Making Illustrated; Evelyn May: May is a writer and editor based out of Minneapolis. She has been published in Swimming with Elephants, Wingless Dreamer, Brew Your Own, Rain Taxi, and The Metropolitan. Her writing can be spotted across the Internet and on television. May is the founder and head editor at Other Worldly Women Press. She received her MFA in creative writing at Augsburg University.; Stephen Pelkey: Dr. Stephen Pelkey teaches strings privately in the Rochester and Winona areas. Pelkey teaches cello and bass at Saint Mary's University in Winona. Pelkey is a member of the Winona Symphony Orchestra and the Rochester Symphony Orchestra. Pelkey received his bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in cello performance at Northwestern University, Yale University, and University of Houston, respectively. An innovative teacher, Pelkey taught public school orchestra for 25 years in north Kansas. He has freelanced since 1985 in various parts of the country. He was part of a professional quartet and studied with members of the Juilliard String Quartet.

Conflict of Interest Disclosed
No
Legal Citation / Subdivision
Laws of Minnesota 2019 First Special Session, chapter 2, article 4, section 2, subdivision 3
Appropriation Language

ACHF Arts Education

2021 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$14,910
Other Funds Leveraged
$1,504
Direct expenses
$16,414
Administration costs
$0
Number of full time equivalents funded
0.00
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

Sustain access for 105 young artists to participate in theatre-making while providing performance programs for 3200 audience members. 1.Total enrollment in programs. 2.Student evaluations indicate a sense of belonging and agency by creating together in virtual studios. 3.Student and teacher feedback on virtual performance.

Measurable Outcome(s)

Sustain access for 102 young artists to participate in theatre-making while providing performance programs for 2,115 audience members. 1.Total enrollment in programs.2.Student evaluations indicated a sense of belonging and agency by creating together in virtual studios.3.Student and teacher feedback on virtual performances.

Proposed Outcomes Achieved
achieved most of the proposed outcomes
Recipient Board Members
Mike Erlandson, Pondie Taylor, Jared Kemper, Shwetha Vijayakumar, Tamara Davis Cownie, Maggie Dayton, Tom D'Onofrio, Kathy Engesser, Rhonda Feist, Theresa Gravelle Foss, Jennifer Prock, Ben Redshaw, Anna Tobin
Project Manager
First Name
Mark
Last Name
Ferraro-Hauck
Organization Name
SteppingStone Theater Company AKA SteppingStone Theatre
Street Address
55 Victoria St N
City
St Paul
State
MN
Zip Code
55104-7196
Phone
(651) 225-9265
Email
mark@steppingstonetheatre.org
Administered By
Administered by
Location

Griggs Midway Building, Suite 304,
540 Fairview Avenue North,
St. Paul, MN 55104

Phone
(651) 539-2650 or toll-free (800) 866-2787
Email the Agency