Ten theatre students have been selected to participate in this year's Cody Renard Richard Scholarship Program. Broadway Advocacy Coalition and Broadway producer and stage manager Cody Renard Richard (Thoughts of a Colored Man) have awarded $100,000 to the 2024 cohort, which marks the program's fourth year of supporting emerging theatrical leaders of color working behind the scenes.
Recipients this year include Uchenna Agbu (Rutgers University), Genevieve Bellavance (University of California, Berkeley), Shavante Brogley (Webster University), Paul Molina (Carnegie Mellon University), Meili Monk (University California, Irvine), Phanésia Pharel (University of California San Diego), Tia Smith (Yale University), Natalia Jiménez Torres (Florida State University), Joshua Treviño (Texas State University), and Mary (MK) Ware (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill).
Each student will receive a $10,000 grant in addition to mentorship, netwroking opportunities, and an all-expenses paid trip to New York City to experience the city's theatre in person. The program's mission is to uplift and support the next generation of theatre professionals of color.
“I’m looking forward to sharing space with this incredibly diverse group of young leaders. With each year we deepen our community and I have no doubt that these students will be invaluable," says Richard.
Previous members of the program have since gone on to work on Broadway in shows like Hamilton, Hell's Kitchen, Lempicka, and Sweeney Todd, as well as on on tour with Jagged Little Pill and Tina Turner: The Tina Turner Musical, and also across the country at Regional theatres like Utah Shakespeare Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, Lincoln Center, and the Public Theatre.
This year’s selection committee featured prominent BIPOC theatrical professionals including Richard, Lawrence Bennett, Jhanaë Bonnick, Dria Brown, Yang-Yang Chen, Ann James, Zhailon Levingston, Tina McCartney, Kenneth McGee, and Nzinga Williams.
The program is supported by the Jeffrey Seller Family Foundation as well as The Miranda Family Fund, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids, Jujamcyn Theaters, Tiger Baron Foundation, The Theater Leadership Project, Kevin McCollum, Thomas Kail, Junkyard Dogs, Jenny Steingart, Lee Perlman, Heather Gilbert, Gavin Creel, and Jill Furman. The Jeffrey Seller Family Foundation and The Miranda Family Fund serve as lead sponsors.
For more information, visit here.
