DirectorsLabChicago Announces 2017 'Engaging and Challenging a Distracted World' Lab

Artistic Director Wm Bullion has announced the 2017 DirectorsLabChicago to be held Sunday, August 20, through Friday, August 26, 2017, primarily at Victory Gardens Theater on Chicago's north side. The theme for this year's Lab is Director­-Audience: Engaging and Challenging a Distracted World.

DirectorsLabChicago offers this week-long Lab each summer as its flagship program. Now in its thirteenth year, the Lab has hosted 170 U.S.-based and 38 international directors, exploring themes such as The Language of the Stage, The Power of Myth and Ritual and The Kinetics of Directing. Previous presenters have included Robert Falls (Goodman Theatre), Martha Lavey (Steppenwolf), Leon Ingulsrud (Siti Company), Anne Cattaneo (Lincoln Center Theater), Chay Yew (Victory Gardens), and many more.

The Lab gathers directors from all over the world for a week of in-depth investigation of a single topic from multiple angles. It is geared toward professional directors in early- to mid-career stages, who are selected through a rigorous application process. As in years past, the Lab will consist of workshops and panel discussions with master artists, peer-led workshops, and visits to various ChicaGo Productions.

DirectorsLabChicago was founded in 2005 by stage directors Elizabeth Margolius and Karin Shook as a result of their experience at the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab in New York. The artist service organization is very generously supported by the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, as well as by Victory Gardens Theater, our primary host for the 2017 Lab.

More information about this year's theme, including details about eligibility and the application process, are available at directorslabchicago.com/this-years-lab. Applications will be accepted through Sunday, June 25, 2017.

Questions about the Lab may be directed to Bullion at billy@directorslabchicago.com. Learn more about DirectorsLabChicago at directorslabchicago.com and facebook.com/DirectorsLabChicago.