Vergil's Coffee Table

Over at my regular blog (Vergil’s Coffee) I write a weekly thing called “Coffee Stains.” This week I tell the story of writing the Lilly Teacher Creativity Grant while weaving in my proposal. Here’s the beginning:

40 Plays in 40 Days

Project Summary: I plan to accomplish the ultimate renewal and experience for anyone who enjoys words: to see performances of all of William Shakespeare’s plays in one summer by actors who are amateurs in the park to professionals on an air-conditioned stage.

I’ll begin with the end to save you from reading the rest of this blog entry: My proposal for the 2009 Lilly Endowment Teacher Creativity grant was accepted Saturday. This was my seventh proposal in as many years and I’m a bit happy (and, perhaps, relieved). The grant is all about “teacher renewal”: the idea that wouldn’t it be nice to give teachers in the state of Indiana the chance to do something really cool in the summer so when those same teachers get back into the classroom that fall, the students would be getting back a re-energized teacher?

Read the rest: Coffee Stains: Don’t Get Too Excited

So, I received the “big envelope” from the wonderful people at the Lilly Endowment, INC informing me that my Teacher Creativity grant was accepted for 2009.

This was my 7th attempt for the grant (more about that later).

Anyway, my summary of my proposal is as follows:

Project Summary: I plan to accomplish the ultimate renewal and experience for anyone who enjoys words: to see performances of all of William Shakespeare’s plays in one summer by actors who are amateurs in the park to professionals on an air-conditioned stage.

So, with approximately 3 months until the summer, I’m trying to plan to see all 38 Shakespeare’s plays in 40ish days.

The game’s afoot!