Drama League Accepting Stage Director Applications

The Drama League has opened the applications for its 2021 Directors Project Fellowship and Residences, offering unique opportunities for early and mid-career stage directors to advance their artistry, expand their careers, and develop and stage new work. The deadline for completed applications is Noon (12 pm) US EDT on Monday, January 4, 2021.

For over a century The Drama League has launched the careers of award-winning directors who have gone on to Broadway, Off-Broadway, television, and film. Over 60 alumni are now the artistic directors of theaters across America and Europe. With the anticipated re-emergence of the performing arts sector next year, the theater community can look forward to Drama League programs that support exceptional artists and sustainable careers in the theater for decades to come.

Applications are now available at www.dramaleague.org for:

• The Classical Directing Fellowship, a partnership with Red Bull Theater (New York, NY) that immerses a director in the life of a company working in the classical canon, designed to bring diverse voices into the productions and institutions dedicated to this work.

• The Hangar Directing Fellowships, a partnership with the Hangar Theatre (Ithaca, NY), is an intensive practicum in the artistic life of a regional theater. Designed to hone leadership skills and creative abilities within an institution, the Fellows serve as artistic leaders of the Lab Company for the summer season at the Hangar Theatre throughout the fellowship experience.

• The New York Directing Fellowships, founded in 1984, nurture artistry, open doors, and usher in the maturation of skills and talent, preparing a director to work professionally at the highest levels the field can offer.

• The Next Stage Residency gives stage directors unique, supportive opportunities to develop new plays, musicals and theater projects. Residencies include scholarship prizes, rehearsal space, mentorship, and networking opportunities with fellow artists.

• The Beatrice Terry Residency for Womxn Writer-Directors focuses on the development of new work by an emerging female-identified writer-director, culminating in a writing residency and in-progress showing.

Each Drama League Directing Fellowship offers stipends, network building, skill acquisition, mentorship, creative development and administrative support. Full descriptions of each residency may be found at http://dramaleague.org/programs/directors-project/fellowships.

Due to the pandemic, a number of other programs have already selected 2021 recipients. These include the Leo Shull Musical Directing Fellow Sivan Battat, the Public Works Directing Fellow Tayana-Marie Carlo, and three of the Hangar Fellows, Christian Avila, Jasmine B. Gunter, and Nicholas Polonio.

The Drama League Residency Programs have developed many award-winning productions, including The TEAM's RoosevElvis (Vineyard Theatre, London's Royal Court Theatre); The Chonburi International Hotel and Butterfly Club (Williamstown Theatre Festival); The Cotillion... (New Georges/The Movement Theatre Company); Ripe Time's The World Is Round (BAM); Blue Ridge (Atlantic Theatre Company); The ARTS (LaMaMa); Distant Star (Abrons Arts Center), Georama (NYMF/Repertory Theatre of St. Louis); Assembled Identity (HERE); America Is Hard To See (Lifejacket/Edinburgh Fringe Festival); THE PEANUT BUTTER SHOW (Little Lord/New York Theatre Workshop); Rady&Bloom's The Upper Room (New Ohio); and Piehole's Hand Foot Fizzle Face (JACK).

The Drama League Director Residency Program is made possible thanks to the generosity of The Howard Gilman Foundation, The Riggio Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and The Leo Shull Foundation for the Arts. Special thanks to The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust for supporting The Drama League.

Programs are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

For more information, please visit dramaleague.org.

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