In 2017, Senator James Lankford (R-OK) produced a report called Federal Fumbles Vol. 3: 100 Ways The Government Dropped The Ball. The report lists lists $473.6 billion in wasteful and inefficient federal spending.

In this report, Senator Lankford outlined $30,000 by the NEA to grant a production of “Doggie Hamlet.” According to Senator Lankford:

“As evidenced in previous editions of Federal Fumbles, the American public’s love for William Shakespeare has sometimes translated into unusual and unnecessary federal expenditures. For instance, tens of thousands were spent to support a production of Silent Shakespeare in 2015.18 However, the strangeness of those fumbles pales in comparison to a $30,000 NEA grant to support a production of Doggie Hamlet.

Doggie Hamlet actually includes humans yelling or running toward very confused sheep and dogs.20 The production, which does not include any actual lines from Hamlet, is conducted outdoors in a 30-by-50-foot field in New Hampshire. The play is described as “a beautiful and dreamlike spectacle weaving instinct, mystery, and movement into an unusual performance event.”

Many people view art subjectively, and there are likely many who would enjoy watching this play. However, with $20 trillion in national debt, it is difficult to explain to taxpayers in Oklahoma or Montana—even the people who work with sheep daily—why $30,000 was spent for a few people to run around a field yelling at sheep. The NEA should refocus its efforts and its support on grants that advance the arts and our national interests.”

In December of 2018, I filed a FOIA request for records relating to this grant. Below, you will find the records that came back under the FOIA.

Document Archive

Doggie Hamlet – $30,000 Production by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) [26 Pages, 1MB] – This was NEA FOIA Case F19-008.

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The post Doggie Hamlet – $30,000 Production by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) first appeared on The Black Vault.

This is the first telephone call of a brand new conversation. We are just now learning how to really bring this community together to speak with the government. What that looks like legally. We’re still trying to figure out the laws of putting government websites of Facebook and the use of Twitter. This is all being sorted out. We are participating in history as it’s being made, so bear with us as we learn the language so that we can speak to each other safely. And we can really work together to move the needle to get stuff done.” Some journalists speculated that this was evidence that Sergant was aware of the possibility he might be crossing the line into advocacy. At the time of the call, the federal government was drafting new policies concerning federal agencies’ use of social media; these were released the following month.

The NEA countered the allegations by asserting that Sergant had acted unilaterally and without the approval of then-Acting Chairman Patrice Walker Powell, and that the call was not a means to promote any legislative agenda but rather to inform members of the arts community of an opportunity to become involved in volunteerism through the United We Serve program. They also noted that the call had nothing to do with grantmaking.

The Black Vault was able to obtain the personal e-mails of Yosi Sergent through the FOIA.  They came in separate PDF files, but were combined into one for easy download and research.

26 documents are still being withheld due to FOIA exemptions (b)(5) and (b)(6)

Declassified Documents

 Yosi Sergent’s E-mails from 7/7/09 – 8/26/09, Release 1 [286 Pages, 24.91MB]

 Yosi Sergent’s E-mails from 7/17/09 – 9/24/09, Release 2 [871 Pages, 65.56MB]

 Yosi Sergent’s E-mails not released above, random dates, Release 3 [257 Pages, 65.56MB]

 Communication between Senator Barack Obama and the NEA from 2005-2007 [68 Pages, 11.93mb]

The post National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Controversy, 2009 first appeared on The Black Vault.