Biancosino Awarded Gielgud Fellowship by SDCF

The Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF) is proud to announce the recipient of the 2007-08 Sir John Gielgud Fellowship. Ms. Michole Biancosino was selected by Laird Williamson from a competitive pool of candidates to serve as his Assistant Director on his upcoming production of Coriolanus for Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, OR.

Ms. Biancosino holds a BA in Theatre and English from Middlebury College from which she graduated Summa Cum Laude and a MFA from Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts, where she received the Marilyn F. Someville Award for Excellence in the Arts. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of Project Y Theatre Company based in New York and co-founded the New Orleans Theatre Experiment in 2006.

The Sir John Gielgud Fellowship for Assistant Directors of Classical Theatre originated in 1996 when Sir John Gielgud donated his Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SSDC) pension to SDCF. His wish was to create opportunities for early-career directors with a strong interest in the classics to be mentored by masters in the field of classical theatre. The Fellow works with the Mentor Director on all aspects of the production, including dramaturgy, casting, design conferences, production meetings and rehearsals.  In addition to the extraordinary practical experience, the Fellow receives a monetary award and a free one-year Associate Membership to SSDC. This endowment has enabled young directors to assist such prominent theatre artists as Darko Tresnjak, Daniel Sullivan, Brian Kulick, Libby Appel, Michael Kahn, Sir Peter Hall and Mark Lamos. Application to the Fellowship is by invitation only.

Since 1965, the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF) has been the only national organization dedicated exclusively to supporting the craft and artistry of stage directors and choreographers.  Among its core initiatives are the Observership Program (for Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Regional Theatre with Mentor Directors or Choreographers including Kathleen Marshall, Walter Bobbie, Rob Ashford, Doug Hughes, Mark Brokaw, and Chay Yew), the Mildred and Shepard Traube Fellowship (for Broadway Observerships), the Mike Ockrent Fellowship  (for an aspiring Broadway director), the Director/Choreographer Network (a monthly series of informational discussions followed by networking opportunities), the Director/Dramatist Exchange, the One-on-One Conversation Series, and craft publications, The Journal for Stage Directors and Choreographers and Stage Directors Handbook.

For further information about the SDCF and its programs, go to www.sdcfoundation.org