Time is often the most precious resource for a writer – and Cincinnati playwright Maggie Lou Rader just gained a rare gift of it.
The actor/writer received a $5,000 grant from the Ohio Arts Council’s Individual Excellence Awards, which gives her the financial support to focus solely on her work. Rader is one of 77 artists across Ohio this cycle – and one of 10 from the Greater Cincinnati and Dayton region – who will use the award to step back from daily obligations and dedicate themselves to new creative projects.
Represented by the Bret Adams Agency in New York and a former resident artist at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Rader plans to use the grant to develop a new play inspired by stories from her great aunt and Norma Wallace while continuing work on “Blood to Drink,” a dark comedy set during the Salem Witch Trials that explores internalized misogyny.
“This funding is an absolute gift,” Rader said. “Not only is the financial award life-changing, but it’s incredible validation that I can be not just a working artist, but a thriving artist right here in Cincinnati.”
Providing freedom to create
The Individual Excellence Awards are a competitive annual program that recognizes artistic achievement and supports artists as they create new work across Ohio. The awards aim to give the selected artists the financial freedom to experiment, refine their craft and hopefully advance their careers.
A panel reviews applications and makes funding recommendations based solely on the exceptional merit of each artist’s past work.
This cycle attracted 469 submissions across seven categories: choreography, criticism, fiction, nonfiction, playwriting and screenplays, poetry, and music composition. In total, the program will distribute $375,000 to 77 artists: 73 individual recipients and two collaborative teams, with each team member receiving $2,500.
Other local IEA recipients include choreographer Kent De Spain of Dayton; fiction writers Erin Flanagan of Kettering and Jessica Strawser of Loveland; composer Tyler Kline of Cincinnati; playwright Brandon North of Kettering; and poets Ellen Austin-Li and Holli Carrell, both of Cincinnati. Cincinnati fiction writers Chris Bachelder and Jennifer Habel also received a joint award.
No artists from the region won awards in the criticism or nonfiction categories.
“Our communities are full of artists who make their livelihoods, hone their crafts, start their businesses, and share their talents right here in the Buckeye State,” said Donna S. Collins, executive director of the Ohio Arts Council, which funds and supports arts experiences to strengthen communities across Ohio. The state agency provides grants, resources, and services to artists, nonprofits, arts programs, and educators.
The Individual Excellence Awards rotate artistic categories each cycle. Last February, 13 artists from Cincinnati and Dayton received awards in crafts, design, media arts, and visual arts. In 2024, when this round’s categories last appeared, the panel selected 12 local artists, including Flanagan, Strawser and Kline.
“By supporting outstanding artists, the Ohio Arts Council recognizes the value of individual creativity and the essential role that arts and culture play in our lives,” Collins said.
Helping artists make it anywhere
For Rader, the grant represents both practical support and personal validation.
“There’s such pressure as a theater practitioner to move to New York, which I’ve never wanted to do,” she said. Although glad to work regularly in Cincinnati, making a living here hasn’t always been easy.
“It can be tough to focus on writing while the back of my brain criticizes me for not generating more household income,” Rader said. Her husband is an artist as well, so their ability to pursue creative work means money is “always tight.” This grant, she said, allows her to take a break from her “side hustle” and dedicate time to “creative time.”
Early plans are for Rader to use that time to schedule a writing retreat to an Ohio state park this summer.
“Having time to just write is an incredible gift,” she said.
The award, she added, proves that artists can follow their passion without giving up the places and people that inspire them. They don’t have to choose between their art and where they call home.
“It means the world to be recognized as an artist who has made her home here in Cincinnati on my own terms,” Rader said.
- INDIVIDUAL EXCELLENCE AWARD RECIPIENTS
A complete, alphabetized list of IEA recipients in this funding cycle follows. A filterable spreadsheet is also available for download. - Choreography
Alice (Blumenfeld) Lawhorn, Parma Heights
Talise A. Campbell, Cleveland
Kent De Spain, Dayton
Alisha Jihn, Columbus
Joshua Manculich, Columbus - Criticism
Emily Barton, Oberlin
W.S. Randall, Columbus - Fiction
Chris Bachelder, Cincinnati, and Jennifer Habel, Cincinnati (collaboration)
Ayendy Bonifacio, Toledo
Seth Borgen, Akron Diane Callahan, Columbus
Thad DeVassie, Powell
Elizabeth Eschelman, Westerville
Dave Essinger, Bluffton
Brad Felver, Toledo
Erin Flanagan, Kettering
Stephanie Harrison, New Albany
Joe Kapitan, North Royalton
Mindy McGinnis, Cardington
Kiley Autumn, Columbus
Hilary Plum, Cleveland Heights
Alyssa Quinn, Mount Vernon
Jessica Lee Richardson, Cleveland
Jessica Strawser, Loveland
Emily Taylor, Columbus
Anthony Tognazzini, Oberlin
Laura Maylene Walter, Cleveland
Ghassan Zeineddine, Oberlin - Music Composition
Ty Alan Emerson, South Euclid
Brian Harnetty, Columbus
Jesse Jones, Oberlin
Tyler Kline, Cincinnati
Robert McClure, Athens
Chris Neiner, Cleveland Heights
Adam Roberts, Akron
Vera Stanojevic, Columbus - Non-Fiction
Tanya Bomsta, Columbus
Alice Cone, Kent
Louise Ling Edwards, Columbus
Mya Frazier, Columbus
David Giffels, Akron
Michael Loderstedt, Cleveland
Shelley Mann Hite, Columbus
Caryl Pagel, Cleveland Heights
Mary Quade, Madison
Ira Sukrungruang, Delaware - Playwriting/Screenplays
Kari Barclay, Lakewood
Maggie Cregan, Cleveland
Matthew Dilts-Williams, Akron, and Mick Jones, Lakewood (collaboration)
Matt Foss, Toledo
Thomas W. Hayes, Cleveland Heights
Jay Johnson, Columbus
Brandon North, Kettering
Eric Pfeffinger, Toledo
Maggie Lou Rader, Cincinnati
Charles Smith, Athens
Greg Vovos, Rocky River - Poetry
Ellen Austin-Li, Cincinnati
Sayuri Matsuura Ayers, Columbus
Thomas Barlow, Columbus
Akhim Yuseff Cabey, Columbus
Holli Carrell, Cincinnati
Babette Cieskowski, Columbus
Amanda Stovicek D’Alessandro, Mayfield Heights
Amanda Hodes, Oberlin
Joey S. Kim, Ottawa Hills
Julia Kolchinsky, Columbus
Amanda McGuire, Bowling Green
Jennifer Moore, Bowling Green
Elizabeth Lindsey Rogers, Oberlin
Michelle R. Smith, Twinsburg
Orchid Tierney, Howard
Guy Vincent, Cuyahoga County
William C. Wells, Lima
Catherine Wing, Cleveland Heights
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