NEW LONDON — Contracts had been signed and work was already underway on the New London Barn Playhouse’s new musical based on a children’s book by a local author when the email from the National Endowment of the Arts arrived earlier this month.
The $10,000 the federal agency had awarded to the nonprofit organization in 2024 was being rescinded. The grant accounted for about half of the project’s total cost. Now, the organization will have come up with roughly $20,000 to go forward with a touring production based on New London author Kathy Lowe’s book “Tommer’s Earthly Friends.”
New London Barn Playhouse was one of hundreds of organizations to receive an email on May 2 stating that the NEA was rescinding funding that had previously been awarded, according to reporting by National Public Radio.
The email noted that the NEA was updating its grant policies to focus on projects “that reflect the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President. Consequently, we are terminating awards that fall outside these new priorities,” according to cancellation letters Upper Valley arts organizations shared with the Valley News.
Other Upper Valley organizations have also reported having grants cut short.
■Northern Stage in White River Junction had the remaining $20,000 of a $30,000 grant rescinded for a production of the musical “Shook” by Zoe Sarnak and Mike Lew, managing director Jason Smoller said.
■The Library Arts Center and Richards Free Library in Newport will not receive $10,000 in funding for a community mural project, Library Arts Center executive director Kate Luppold said.
■The Vermont Symphony Orchestra, which is based in Burlington but hosts events throughout the state including two recent shows in White River Junction, lost out on $25,000, executive director Elise Brunelle said.
In all these instances, organizations had already committed the funds, or in some cases spent them, and have appealed the NEA’s decisions.
Once grants are awarded, organizations incorporate that money in their budgets with the understanding that the money will follow, Luppold said. Organizations are also expected to closely adhere to the timelines they submitted with their applications, meaning work often starts without the grant money in hand.
“It’s hard because those were the last of the Biden administration grant cycle,” Luppold said in a phone interview. “We were given the letter of award last December, the press releases to use … and we’ve been waiting on a check. We were expecting it since January.”
The 21 artists involved in creating murals that will hang in Korn Alley in downtown Newport have already been paid. The Library Arts Center is figuring out a plan to replace that money in its budget if its appeal does not go through.
The New London Barn Playhouse is in a similar situation.
“Our project timeline began before we were notified of our grant termination, so the playwright, composer, and book author have already spent many hours working on the project and creating a working draft of the script,” Sage Tokach, director of education, wrote in an email.
Due to fears about funding cuts, the nonprofit included a clause in the contracts that said they would be paid once the organization officially received the funds from the NEA grant.
New London Barn Playhouse has appealed the NEA’s decision.
“If our appeal is unsuccessful, we will need to launch a targeted fundraising campaign to recover the necessary funds and maintain the project’s original level of professionalism,” Tokach wrote.
Part of the project calls for putting the musical on the road to schools in Vermont and New Hampshire this fall. Set in rural New Hampshire, the musical “explores local ecosystems as well as themes of friendship, grief, and dealing with change,” Tokach wrote. Plans were also in the works for partnerships with community organizations to host student workshops based on the state’s ecology and stories.
“While this musical will provide an exciting, entertaining live arts experience for local children and families, it is much more than just a fun show,” Tokach wrote. “This is Barn Playhouse Education’s first opportunity to commission and develop a new musical, allowing us to contribute to the larger canon of works in the Theatre for Young Audiences field.”
Vermont Symphony Orchestra is trying to find a way to make up for the $25,000 loss, Brunelle said. It’s considering raising ticket prices, as well as providing fewer free community programs.
“The NEA is welcome to identify new policy priority areas for future grants,” Brunelle wrote in an email. “However rescinding grants based on prior policies in place during the application period, is unacceptable and an unethical business practice.”
Northern Stage had two NEA grants rescinded, including $20,000 that the organization had already received for its current production “The Vermont Farm Project: A Farm-to-Stage Musical,” Smoller said. Getting that notice “makes it feel pretty performative,” he said in a phone interview. “They were not requesting reimbursement of the cash.”
When Northern Stage signed the $30,000 grant contract for “Shook,” it originally stipulated that performances of the musical must be done by 2026. In the email to Smoller terminating the grant, the end date was “changed administratively” to May 31 of this year, according to a copy Smoller shared with the Valley News.
Smoller has submitted for reimbursement, as well as appealed the NEA’s decision. While federal funding makes up a small piece of Northern Stage’s annual fundraising efforts, it’s seen as a “badge of honor” to have national recognition to support the work the organization does.
“It’s not a significant loss, but we see the funding as extremely important because NEA funding is project specific and it supports the development of new work,” Smoller said.
Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
