“The play is hilarious,” said
Ekstrand. “The subject matter
is so close to home for an arts
organization. It’s about a small
town arts council sending out a
grant to a single artist and all of
the politics and drama and personal strife that goes into this
choice. They’re trying to find out
who is the most deserving artist,
but it’s very complicated; it’s not
just who’s the best artist, it’s a lot
of other stuff too.”
New Jersey Stage
Although the play is set in
Kansas, it could take place anywhere. The same debates occur
behind closed doors throughout New Jersey and the entire
country. People on the committee know each other well and
know many of the same artists.
They are all pushing their own
agendas, whether they are even
aware of it or not. As usual when
money is being given to artists,
controversy is bound to follow.
January 2015
pg 98