Fantasy Playhouse Children’s Theater & Academy receives grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts

Huntsville, Ala. – Fantasy Playhouse Children’s Theater & Academy (FPCTA) has received a $80,000 Creative Places Arts Facilities grant from Alabama State Council on the Arts to fund its renovation of the historic Merrimack Hall, which will serve as our new home beginning in June 2025.

The Creative Places Arts Facilities program strengthens Alabama’s creative economy by providing grants for the construction, renovation, restoration, or enhancement of arts facilities across the state. Public funding, through a special appropriation from the Alabama State Legislature, makes these grants possible and is essential for fostering arts, culture, and community growth.

These funds are being used to complete the renovation of this 24,534 square feet two-story building that has been host to theatre arts programming since 2008. Under the guidance of Arc Space Studios and JS Building Company, FPCTA is re-imagining the first floor to include five large classrooms, a dedicated preschool classroom suite, a podcast/private lesson studio, a costume shop/makerspace, a catering kitchen, and added family bathrooms to support our year round educational programming. Plans for the second floor theatre are less extensive; though FPCTA will be extending wing space and establishing new scenic elements to the current stage as well as adding a production office and ADA compliant restrooms for public audiences.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Alabama State Council on the Arts for helping Fantasy Playhouse and other state arts organizations to invest in our infrastructure. These funds are allowing us to meet the growing demand for our programming and are being directly funneled back into the local economy.

This grant, awarded by the Alabama State Council on the Arts, enables FPCTA to reach new audiences, foster community development, provide the highest quality programming, and demonstrate the importance of arts as a key component for quality of life in Alabama.

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About Fantasy Playhouse Children’s Theater & Academy

Fantasy Playhouse Children’s Theater and Academy (FPCTA) provides theatre arts access through production, education and outreach, reaching tens of thousands of residents annually, the majority of whom are children and youth. FPCTA enriches the lives of children and families through theatre and arts education, encouraging students to become self-confident, academically successful, creative-thinking citizens who are more likely to invest in their communities as adults. FPCTA’s core programs include live children’s theatre productions, classes, camps, workshops, private lessons, and educational outreach through after-school classes, touring programs and a workforce development partnership with Alabama A&M University. Recognizing the transformative power theatre arts can have in the life of a child, FPCTA prioritizes theatre arts access for all by engaging local under-resourced and differently-abled communities.

About Alabama State Council on the Arts

Alabama State Council on the Arts is the official state agency for the support and development of the arts in Alabama. The Council on the Arts works to expand and preserve the state’s cultural resources by supporting nonprofit arts organizations, schools, colleges, units of local government, and individual artists. Arts programs, assisted by Council grants, have a track record of enhancing community development, education, cultural tourism, and overall quality of life in all regions of the state. Alabama State Council on the Arts grants are made possible by an annual appropriation from the Alabama Legislature and additional funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. To learn more, visit arts.alabama.gov.