The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded grants of $1 million each to three theaters across the United States, NPR reports.

Grants were awarded to the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut; Portland Center Stage in Portland, Oregon; and Actors Theatre of Louisville in Kentucky. The grants will support the work of the artistic directors of each theater, including their efforts to expand the theaters’ audiences.

The Long Wharf Theatre recently left the physical location it had called home for 60 years to cut costs and is experimenting with performing in various venues across New Haven. Portland Center Stage is a new theater focusing on bringing diverse perspectives to their audience. And the Actors Theatre of Louisville is re-centering its focus on new, local stories, as opposed to the international Humana Festival of New American Plays that it previously hosted.

Mellon Foundation program officer for arts and culture Stephanie Ybarra told NPR the theaters’ leaders have a proven track record “in the ways that they advocate for their theaters, their communities, and the ways that they use their platforms for local artists and the national conversation.”

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