$350,000 Grant from the Longwood Foundation Becomes Basis for Matching Challenge
Funding Supports a Two-and-a-Half-Year Program Expansion Initiative for Live Performances and Education Initiatives
Clear Space Theatre Company has received a $350,000 grant from the Longwood Foundation to support a two-and-a-half-year initiative designed to expand access to professional theatre and arts-based learning in coastal Delaware.The grant is the largest single operating grant received from a private foundation in Clear Space’s 22 year history. Through matching philanthropic support at events like Do More 24 (March 5-6, 2026) and additional earned revenue generated through expanded programs, Clear Space intends to match this grant award between January 2026 and June 2028.
The funded project, titled Scaling Potential, Building the Future, will address capacity limitations at Clear Space’s current facility through short-term leases of additional performance and classroom space, hiring additional staff to support expanded programming, and commissions of new work for future seasons. Scaling Potential, Building the Future enables Clear Space to expand its programming model and infrastructure to better align with the new performing arts center it plans to build at 11 Christian Street in downtown Rehoboth Beach in the years to come. Demand for both performances and Arts Institute programs has grown significantly in recent years, often exceeding what the theatre can accommodate, leading to both the long term construction project and this near term expansion.
Plans include launching a flexible seating “black box” performance venue for 3-4 productions each year starting in 2027. While the black box theater will host smaller, innovative, and newer productions, mainstage productions will receive expanded runs of major shows on the mainstage. Through this approach, Clear Space will increase the number of available seats in its season by a significant margin, allowing more residents and visitors to experience live professional theatre.
To help support programming in the black box theater in 2027, through this funding Clear Space will begin to commission new plays with themes resonant to the community in Coastal Delaware. Workshops of these new plays may begin as early as the summer of 2026.
This funding will also support expanding Clear Space’s Arts Institute, which provides arts-based learning for children, teens, and retired adults. Additional classes, summer camps, and new satellite locations for expanded programs are planned, with a commitment to improving both geographic accessibility as well as access for low- and middle-income families through scholarships.
“This support from the Longwood Foundation will truly catalyze live theater and arts-based learning in Coastal Delaware,” shared Clear Space Managing Director Joe Gfaller. “As our region grows, it is critical that our arts infrastructure grows along with our community. Expanding our programming model to offer productions of different scale throughout the year will not only prepare us for our new building but also ensure that we can continue to provide an excellent balance of offerings on stage for everyone who calls our region home. We are deeply grateful to the Longwood Foundation for this transformational gift.”
All funds raised during Clear Space’s Do More 24 campaign will help to support matching the Longwood Foundation’s grant award. Gifts to Clear Space can be made on https://www.domore24delaware.org/fundraisers/clear-space-theatre-company.
