The 2024 Samuel G. Roberson Jr. Resident Fellowship has been awarded to artivist Abby Thompson and Chicago's Filament Theatre to develop the play Alex in Windyland.
The 2024 Samuel G. Roberson Jr. Resident Fellowship is an annual grant awarded to a Black theatre artist to fund a residency or collaboration with a Chicago-area non-profit organization. The Fellowship provides the artist with a grant of $20,000, and the partner organization receives $7,500 to support their work with the artist. Applications were reviewed by an external panel of Chicago directors, actors, playwrights, and administrators.
Said League of Chicago Theatres Executive Director Marissa Lynn Jones in a statement, “We are honored to administer this fellowship, a generous gift from McMullen & Kime Charitable Trust, to support the work of Black theatre artists in honor of Sam Roberson, a respected teacher, actor, director, artistic director, and champion of social justice theatre. Sam was one of the first people I worked with when starting my career, and I am honored to keep his legacy alive in this way. We're excited to announce Abby Thomson as this year's recipient and are excited to see the implementation of her artivism in this project. Through this partnership with Filament, we look forward to Alex in Windyland engaging Chicago's youth and exposing them to important themes within the foster care system in Chicago.”
Thompson added, “It's a rare opportunity for an independent artist to be given the financial support for the time to devise, play, and create alongside other artists of color in Chicago! To build upon this already begun new play development project, Alex in Windyland, of this magnitude requires resources and finances and I am grateful to the League of Chicago Theatres for the chance to do so. This is a dream come true to be given this opportunity to create, meet, and journey alongside local artists in the city to tell powerful stories.”
Alex in Windyland is a new play that explores youth in the foster care system. Based on research and experience working alongside youth in Chicago’s foster care system, all of the content in the play is originally sourced from youth-curated ideas as well as dramaturgical and research interviews with community members including child psychologists, case workers, and mentors.
Awarded by The League of Chicago Theatres, the fellowship is funded by the McMullen & Kime Charitable Trust and administered by the League of Chicago Theatres.
