Select an appropriate theatrical project before applying for a grant, one that reflects your staging capabilities and for which you either have staging rights or is public domain. Staging rights are your legal rights to perform or stage a particular theatrical work. Public domain refers to a work, such as a Shakespeare play, which is copyright-free and requires no staging rights. Make sure that you represent a nonprofit theater organization rather than yourself as an individual when applying. Congress no longer permits direct NEA grants to individuals.
Make a comprehensive list of everything you will need to complete and stage your theater project. Create a proposed budget that includes all likely expenses. Also, assess how your project might positively impact your community, support theater as a whole and/or act as an educational model. These are three areas the NEA takes into serious consideration when considering grant applications.
Study the application process for NEA theater grants. Application guidelines for NEA grants are available on the NEA website. They are also available through grants.gov, a website managed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that offers help in finding and applying for all types of federal grants, including theater grants.
Fill out the application form, following the guidelines. Before submitting the application form, create a cover letter to submit with your application. This letter should be brief, but it should address the goals you hope to accomplish via a theater grant.
Check out the NEA's “Fast-Track Review Grants” to see if your theater project might qualify. Also called “Challenge America Fast-Track” review, this type of grant is processed more quickly by the NEA because it is specifically tailored to reach an underserved segment of the population. Age, ethnicity and geography are some areas addressed in this type of NEA grant.
Submit your application. Your application will then be sent to NEA staff for initial review, to see if it is correctly completed and if you are eligible for a grant. The staff will contact you if there are questions. Next, the grant is reviewed by a panel of experts in your grant's specific field.
Wait for the NEA to contact you. If your grant passes the panel, and grant funds are available in this area, your application is sent to the National Council on the Arts for review in open session. If approved, it is then recommended to the NEA chairman, who makes the final decision on your grant.
Watch your mailbox. Do not call or email the NEA about your grant application. You will be contacted by letter, whether you qualify or not. An official grant award notification will be sent if your application is accepted.