Miranda Family Fund commits $1 million for scholarships at O’Neill Center
The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center recently announced a $1 million dollar commitment from the Miranda Family Fund to provide scholarships for students at the O’Neill’s National Theater Institute.
NTI features six semester-long programs that offer students a springboard to the professional world.
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Miranda Family Fund supports scholarships to further the inclusion of artists of color across all disciplines of theater.
Lin-Manuel Miranda held an intensive workshop of the musical “In The Heights,” for which he wrote the music and lyrics, at the O’Neill’s 2005 National Music Theater Conference. He went on to write the musical “Hamilton.”
The Miranda Family Fund’s 10-year commitment will ensure that NTI is able to advance access, opportunity, and representation in American culture, according to a press release from the O’Neill. The Miranda Family Fund is working to help transform and diversify the American cultural landscape through investment in young artists and with the shared belief that the stories told and the artists who tell them should represent the diversity of the nation.
Since the fund was established in 2017, 40 students — all young artists of color — have trained at the NTI through the support of the Miranda Family Fund.
In addition to supporting the training while at NTI, the Miranda
Family’s commitment is ongoing for each recipient supported by their gift, and includes curated professional development and networking opportunities and workshops for alumni. Luis and Lin-Manuel Miranda have also helped to raise an additional $1 million for NTI scholarships and scholarship endowment.
“Access is an obstacle for many people looking to pursue a career in the arts, particularly those of color,” Lin-Manuel Miranda says. “My time at the O’Neill was integral to me learning how to tell my story. My family and I hope that this financial commitment will help the O’Neill to continue incorporating an increasingly diverse pool of creators and performers to their unique and impactful programming for years to come.”
Miranda has won three Tony Awards, three Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and the MacArthur Foundation Award.
“We see Lin-Manuel Miranda’s influence, inspiration, and artistry every day in our classrooms.” says NTI Artistic Director Rachel Jett. “The Miranda family’s decade-long commitment ensures that NTI’s unique multidisciplinary training is available to everyone. And that our ensembles — and the audiences that support their work — represent the multitude of voices that will keep this ever-evolving art form vibrant, relevant, and revolutionary.”