Theatre Professor’s Social Circus Project is NEFA Finalist

The Nouveau Sud Circus Project, founded and directed by Associate Professor of Theatre CarlosAlexis Cruz, has been named a 2020 National Theater Project finalist by the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA). Chosen from among 90 applicants, the 28 finalists will now complete full applications for Creation and Touring Grants, ranging from $80,000 to $130,000, which fund the development and national touring of new work. The ten awards will be announced later this summer.

“Regardless of which projects ultimately receive funding, these are projects to watch,” said Quita Sullivan, NEFA’s senior program director for theater, “and I hope that other artists, funders, and presenters will look closely at the 28 NTP finalists.”

Nouveau Sud’s proposal is the contemporary circus work La Bestia. Through acrobatics, music, and spoken word, La Bestia addresses immigration and migration, a topic that Cruz and the company have been investigating since Nouveau Sud was established five years ago. La Bestia was a National Theater Project finalist last year, as well, and while it did not win a 2019 Creation and Touring grant, Nouveau Sud did receive a smaller NEFA grant last year and a $25,000 Celebrate Charlotte Arts grant from the Knight Foundation.

Pictured: Professor CarlosAlexis Cruz in performance. Photo by Jeff Cravotta.