Pig Iron Listed in McCain/Coburn Report on “Silly” Stimulus Grants

Cast of Welcome to Yuba City, courtesy of Chrissy K Photography

This Wednesday, we awoke to find an unexpectedly early lump of coal in our stocking. Senators John McCain and Tom Coburn issued a report (available here) on 100 purportedly “silly” grants issued by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. A grant to Pig Iron administered by the National Endowment for the Arts, earmarked to retain one of our staff positions and to help fund our seven actors' salaries for Welcome to Yuba City, somehow made the cut (it's at #26, for easy scrolling.) Pretty amazing.

Where to begin? We could say that out of every $100 spent through the stimulus package, only two cents were spent on the arts, and that most of us in nonprofit arts organizations who received those federal dollars made them stretch as far as they'd possibly go. We could scratch our heads at the notion that somehow, an exuberantly funny cowboy/clown piece isn't worthy of funding; that its artists aren't working in “real” jobs, aren't paying taxes or mortgages or heating bills this year.

Mostly, we'll just say this: for three weeks in September in Philadelphia, around 200 people per night traveled up to our converted warehouse space at 5th and Fairmount to see Welcome to Yuba City. They ate at local restaurants, had a drink at the Festival Bar, shopped in Northern Liberties. Some folks came from out of town for the Festival and stayed in Philly hotels. They packed themselves into a sold-out house, gawked at Mimi Lien's stupendous set, and doubled over laughing at priceless comic creations like Charlotte Ford's culturally savvy cowgirl or James Sugg's pink-clad speedwalker. By the time Yuba City got around to its astounding, ecstatic ending (which we won't ruin for anyone), our average audience was a clapping-in-time, convulsively-giggling, wonderful mess.

If you want to tell Senators McCain and Coburn that you think that's a good return on the government's investment, now's your chance. Any gift - from $5 to $50,000 - will demonstrate your support for the value of original, unconventional, and thrilling performance, and make a statement to those who think that art (and artists) are inessential in these times. You can click here to make a gift to Pig Iron now.

(Also, if you'd like to give John McCain, Tom Coburn, or your own representative a piece of your mind about this, then hey, we won't be the ones to stop you. Hometown readers can also sign up for the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance advocacy alerts for further updates on arts funding and legislation.)

Your “silly” pals,

Pig Iron