The Donald Fowler Theater Arts Memorial Fund was created in 2020 to honor the life of actor, playwright and composer Donald Fowler. The Fund awards seed grants to early-career artists living in the Dallas Metroplex to enable them to create new innovative works of theater, including plays and musicals.
The purpose of these grants is to assist individual artists with the costs of creation at the earliest stages. To date, the Fund has supported the following projects with $5,000 grants:
2026: Two separate grants were awarded in 2026 -
Jenny Ledel "Dust Rises" - As described by Ledel: “In 1914, American Architect Frank Lloyd Wright received a telegram that a tragedy had unfolded at his personal home Taliesin, in Spring Green, Wisconsin. This play explores the events that led up to the violence that took place over 100 years ago. The story explores white privilege, feminism, and patriarchy.” Ledel continued, “What a joy and a thrill to receive this vote of confidence for my play. With the help of the Fund, I will be able to study this story in the exact location it occurred. I will be able to speak there with historians in person about the fine details surrounding this event. The grant funds will also be used to perform a staged reading of the completed draft in Dallas.”
Steven Walters "Grant" - As described by Walters: “'Grant' tells the story of President Ulysses S. Grant’s attempt to reunite the country in the wake of the Civil War. To protect the newly freed Black citizens and maintain order, Grant must confront political resistance in Washington, widespread violence below the Mason-Dixon Line, and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan.” Walters said, “I am humbled to receive an award named in honor of Donald Fowler, a wonderful human and tireless advocate for the arts in North Texas.”
2025: Lauren LeBlanc/Ian Ferguson "The Penumbra" - The 2025 grant was awarded to support the continued development of the new musical "The Penumbra," with Lauren LeBlanc as writer and Ian Ferguson as composer/lyricist. Its narrative weaves the stories of a teenage girl in a struggling family, a town reeling from an escalating pattern of missing children, and an ancient folktale of love and destruction. "The Penumbra" explores themes of identity, grief, and family - the kinds we’re born into and the kinds we choose - and takes an unflinching look at the strange, heartbreaking process of navigating trauma before you can even drive a car. The piece was given a workshop followed by two workshop performances at Bath House Cultural Center in August 2025, and a further workshop at Dallas Children's Theater in Spring 2026.
2024: Janelle Gray "Under the Bridge" - The 2024 grant was awarded to Janelle Gray for her continued development of her new play "Under the Bridge," a story of a Black experience in the United States, examining what it means to be liberated in modern times and showcasing the importance of familial inheritance and the preservation of history. Gray’s prior works include #voiced, presented at University of Texas - Dallas in February 2023, and RAGE, presented by the The Elevator Project of AT&T Performing Arts Center in March - April 2022. "Under the Bridge" was selected for the Baylor New Play Initiative in September 2025.
2023: Catherine D. DuBord "The Last Flapper" - The 2023 grant was awarded to Ms. DuBord and her adaptation of "The Last Flapper," a one-woman play about the life of Zelda Fitzgerald, jazz age icon and wife of American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald. The piece conducted a workshop run at Theater Too at Theater Three in June 2023 and then traveled to Scotland for performances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2023. Ms. DuBord portrayed Zelda Fitzgerald. The piece was directed by Lydia McKay.
2022: Adam C. Wright "Another Night at the Crescent" - With original music inpsired by jazz of the 1930’s and 1940’s, "Another Night at the Crescent" takes place inside the Crescent Moon, a Manhattan nightclub, where a mysterious chanteuse and her backup trio weave a spell of romance for eight lonely souls. The piece received a workshop followed by performances at Dallas Children’s Theater in March 2023.
2021: Holly Doubet "38 Minutes"/"This is Not a Drill" - January 2018 emergency alert issued in Hawaii warning citizens and visitors: BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. The musical follows the timelines of various characters who experience the shock and panic that occurred on that life-altering day. "38 Minutes" received a workshop at Sammons Center for the Arts in December 2021. This piece has been retitled "This is Not a Drill" and had its New York City Off-Broadway premiere at the York Theatre Company in September-October 2025.
Initially a fiduciary fund under the umbrella of The Dallas Foundation, the Donald Fowler Theater Arts Memorial Fund is now an independent Texas non-profit corporation and a federal 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
More information about the Donald Fowler Theater Arts Memorial Fund may be found on its website: donaldfowlerartsfund.com
To make Dallas a home for theatrical creativity and to retain theatrical creators in the Metroplex, it is important to provide these artists with financial support while they begin new projects.
The Fund makes seed grants that encourage nascent playwrights and theatrical composers whose work-in-progress is not yet financially or otherwise supported by a theater or presenter.
Grants are awarded to Dallas Metroplex residents. Metroplex residents whose projects encompass the work of (or collaborations with) artists in other locations are eligible.
Grant applications are reviewed by a dedicated committee of artists and arts non-profit philanthropists and volunteers.
Grant recipients provide a progress report to the Fund at the one-year anniversary of the grant and give notice of any subsequent theatrical production of the sponsored new work.
Initial funding for the Donald Fowler Theater Arts Memorial Fund was comprised of donations primarily received following his unexpected passing in May 2020. The Fund seeks to extend its longevity by increasing its funding. The Fund hopes to grow to be in a position to support multiple artists and projects each year.
The Donald Fowler Theater Arts Memorial Fund invites and considers submissions regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, health and ability status. All creative artists have equal and inviolable dignity, value, and should have full opportunity to participate and to reach their full potential.
Organization name
Donald Fowler Theater Arts Memorial Fund
Tax id (EIN)
99-3814207
Causes
Arts & Humanities
Operating Budget
Less than $100,000
Counties Served
Hunt, Wise, Tarrant, Somervell, Rockwall, Parker, Palo Pinto, Navarro, Montague, Kaufman, Johnson, Hood, Grayson, Fannin, Erath, Ellis, Denton, Dallas, Cooke, Collin
BIPOC Leadership
Neither/None
Address
4127 Douglas Avenue