Art
Support of St. Lawrence University Arts & Theater
Bill Martin, an alumnus of St. Lawrence University, has maintained a devout commitment to arts programming on the St. Lawrence campus as well as a commitment to enriching off-campus student experiences. In 2018, Bill donated a $1.5 million gift to support theater and performing arts programming at St. Lawrence University for years to come. Bill’s gift will create an endowment that will fund performance programming, operations and capital improvement needs. The fund will give the Department of Performance and Communication Arts the ability to improve performance facilities and purchase new equipment such as sound, lighting and instruments.
For several years, Bill has been supporting students who take part in St. Lawrence’s Liberal Arts in New York City program by creating internship and cultural excursion opportunities in the performing arts world.
deCordova
In 2018, Bill Martin joined the board of trustees of the deCordova Museum and sculpture garden and sponsored the exhibition, Sculpting with Air. Two contemporary sculptors, Ian McMahon and Jong Oh, created site-specific artworks at deCordova by shaping the intangible element of air.
Bill also supported the Yayoi Kusama exhibit, Where the Lights in My Heart Go, at the deCordova Museum sculpture garden in 2018.
The Emerald Necklace Conservancy
Bill and Dr Dan Cziczo are with internationally famous artist Fujiko Nakaya and SPIDER at the Cziczo lab on April 30, 2018.Fujiko san is presenting a number of fog sculptures on various Emerald Necklace sites this summer. Her father is a pioneer in atmospheric science whose work Dr. Cziczo has followed closely over the years. (www.emeraldnecklace.org).
Bill is a sponsor of the fog sculptures by Fujiko Nakaya, celebrating the original work of Frederick Law Olmstead designing in the 1880’s Boston’s series of parks called the Emerald Necklace. Learn More
Theatre
The Vagrant Trilogy
Bill Martin supported the play development and co-produced The Vagrant Trilogy by Mona Mansour.
The Winning Side
The Winning Side is based on the true story of Wernher von Braun, Chief Rocket Engineer of the Third Reich and one of the fathers of the U.S. space program and explores the hidden history behind America’s 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing. Bill Martin funded development of the play, which was presented by the Epic Theatre Ensemble and was supported by the Smithsonian Fellowship at the National Air and Space Museum.
The Colorado New Play Festival
Bill Martin is a board member of The Colorado New Play Festival.
Epic Theater
Having joined its board in 2002, Mr. Martin served as Board Chair of Epic Theatre Ensemble, a New York-based Off-Broadway, OBIE award-winning theatre organization (www.epictheatrectr.org). Having resigned from the Board in 2014, Mr. Martin continues to fund new play development through the Blue Paint Series.
The Kumi and Bill Martin Foundation sponsors the annual series within EPIC, which has presented several plays for the first time including 2007 OBlE award-winning “NO CHILD …” among others. Epic is the 2009 winner of the Coming Up Taller award presented by President and Michele Obama for their work in Inner City Schools through the Shakespeare Remix program. Epic has formed a relationship with one of the independent living foundations Bill founded in the ’70’s, NILP, and together they sponsor a summer theatre program in Lawrence, Mass, where students with severe disabilities create and publically perform their plays.
Representative Plays developed and Produced by EPIC during Bill Martin’s leadership include:
- Nilaja Sun’s No Child… {2007 OBIE Award}
- Sarah Ruhl’s Passion Play {2010 Best Three Plays in NY}
- Judith Thomson’s Palace of the End
- Verne Thiessen’s Einstein’s Gift
- Zak Berkman’s Beauty on the Vine
- Nilaja Sun’s Pike Street
- Jeanne Sakata’s Hold These Truths
Lark Theater
Bill Martin serves as the Co-chair of the LARK Global Exchange Initiative.
In 2019, the Lark Theater plans public presentations of the following plays: The Last Turk in Transylvania, What Bears Dream and Big Indian.
The LARK Theater has presented five of Bill Martin’s plays either publicly or through its Roundtable Program. These plays include:
- Jimmy Crow Plays Golf One Day 2018 public presentation (Download: Program)
- The Fortunate Ones April 2016
- What Bears Dream Public Salon Presentation The Lark —2016
- Big Indian LARK Roundtable 2016
- Blood Map LARK Roundtable 2015
In 2014 and 2015, LARK Theatre Company presented two of Mr. Martin’s plays, “Blood Map” and “The Fortunate One” in their Roundtable Series. A third play, “Jimmy Crow Plays Golf One Day,” was in the Roundtable presentation in 2016. Mr. Martin produceed “The Fortunate One” in 2017. He serves on LARK’s Global Exchange Task Force regarding new play development in Mexico, Russia, the Middle East and China.
To learn more, click here.
MOSAIC Theater
Bill and Kumi Martin produced The Return, a play written by Hanna Eady & Edward Mast and directed by John Vreeke, which showed at the Mosaic Theater Company in the summer of 2017. The Return is underwritten by Deborah Carliner & Robert Remes, Kumi & Bill Martin, and the Garber-Saleh Trust, with additional support from Debbie J. Goldman.
MOSAIC presented Bill’s play, the Alchemist of Jerusalem at the Kennedy Center in September 2018
Film
Ambitions Debt
Bill Martin was the Executive Producer of the film, Ambitions Debt (IMDB), about the post-apocalyptic world, the story follows the downfall of Rome’s most honored citizen, Marcus Brutus, as he conspires to assassinate Julius Caesar, in order to forestall tyranny and preserve democracy. Ambitions Debt won the 2017 Grand Jury Award Best Narrative Feature at the American Black Film Festival.
Ambitions Debt was nominated and won the International Black Film Festival in Nashville, Tennessee in October 2017. It also was awarded honorable mention for the Newark Black Film Festival Paul Robeson Award. For a list of the play’s latest awards, click here.
View posterOther Films
In addition, Mr. Martin has sponsored three award-winning documentaries with film maker Jocelyn Ajami. “Queen of the Gypsies” won the Lincoln Center Award in its Dance in Film series.