The NEA Stepped Back. You Can Help Us Step Forward.
Help Motus Raise $70K in Four Weeks
In May 2025, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) rescinded its grant to premiere & tour Motus Theater’s newest project: Youth Behind & Beyond Bars: Stories from the Juvenile Justice System.
“Motus gives people like me—who the system tried to erase—a mic and a stage.
That shouldn’t be controversial. It should be funded.”
— Juaquin Mobley, Motus Theater’s Youth Behind & Beyond Bars Project Strategist & Monologist
This powerful monologue performance shares the true stories of adults who survived being incarcerated as youth in adult prisons. These stories challenge harmful systems—and invite us to imagine a more just future.
While the NEA stepped back, Motus is stepping forward.
Motus Theater will honor our commitment to our monologists, artists, and community. But we need your help.
Over the next four weeks, Motus needs to raise $70,000 to Tour these critical stories across the region.
There are many ways you can support:
Give Online
Mail a Check
Payable to:
Motus Theater
📮 P.O. Box 6080, Boulder, CO 80306
Donate Stock or via your Donor Advised Fund
We gratefully accept gifts in stock, via donor advised funds, or multi-year pledges.
When the NEA Stepped Back,
You Stepped Up
This spring, the NEA rescinded a $35K grant for our new youth justice production. But thanks to your support, we didn’t scale back—we moved forward. Together, we raised over $56K to launch and tour Motus Theater’s Youth Behind & Beyond Bars, featuring autobiographical monologues from men incarcerated as youth, sharing how the juvenile legal system failed them and how they are now leading the way toward a more just future. Huge gratitude to project funders and donors!
