Drama League Unveils New Partners For 2024 FutureNow Directing Fellowships - Applications Now Open

The Drama League has revealed details today of the new expansion of its FutureNow Directing Fellowships, the award-winning development program that has launched the careers of many of today's most acclaimed Broadway directors, including Rachel Chavkin (Hadestown), Lear deBessonet (Into The Woods), and Michael Mayer (Funny Girl).

Chautauqua Theater Company (Producing Artistic Director Jade King Carroll, General Manager Emily Glinick site) has joined The Drama League and longtime partner TheaterWorksUSA (Artistic Director Barbara Pasternack, Associate Artistic Director Jillian Carucci site) to offer the new program for emerging stage directors.

The FutureNow Fellowships now include a $10,000 Scholarship Award plus an additional paid contract to direct a national remount tour at TheaterWorksUSA; opportunities to assist on mainstage productions and new play workshops at CTC; The Drama League's career accelerator program Professionals Week in New York City; travel and housing for all three engagements; and smaller projects, series, and exploration of the related fields of producing, dramaturgy and choreography.

Applications are now open at https://dramaleague.org/apply, and Will Close January 16, 2024. The FutureNow Fellowships will commence in May 2024.

Interested applicants can attend free in-person and virtual Q&A sessions about the newly-redesigned FutureNow Directing Fellowships on November 20th, by reserving their space at http://www.dramaleague.org/events.

“I've admired CTC's long standing commitments to new talent for years, and am thrilled that we've found a way to join forces to serve the next generation of directors,” said Mr. Stelian-Shanks. “The company is offering world-class talent to this important cultural region and to America; it will be exciting to bring extraordinary young directors into this orbit, and watch them grow right before our eyes.”

"Chautauqua Theater Company has, for decades, been a leader in lifting new plays and new artists into the national landscape," said CTC Producing Artistic Director Jade King Carroll. "Like The Drama League, our commitment is to making sure theater has a vibrant future -- one with exciting, diverse, and well-trained talent at its center. We're ready to help these directors of tomorrow begin their journey today."

Added Drama League Executive Director Bevin Ross: “We are excited to expand our coalition of partner organizations to include one of New York State's most prestigious companies. Chautauqua Theater Company now joins Manhattan Theatre Club, McCarter Theatre Center, Keen Company, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Hubbard Hall Center for the Arts and Education, New York Stage and Film, Red Bull Theater, the Rose Theatre, and of course our FutureNow Fellowship partner TheaterWorksUSA. It is an honor to work together in service of the field.”

The FutureNow Directing Fellowships join the other artist development programs at The Drama League, collectively called The Directors Project, which feature significant expansions for the 2024 class, including a first-ever international fellowship for emerging directors with the Rose Theatre in London, UK; Obie Award-winning Keen Company to produce DirectorFest, offering historic Off-Broadway debuts for the Drama League's Stage Directing Fellows; new partnerships with Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Chautauqua Theater Company, and Hubbard Hall Center for the Arts and Education; expanded opportunities with Manhattan Theatre Club, McCarter Theatre Center, New York Stage and Film, and Red Bull Theater; and the establishment of The Drama League Film Fund to assist stage directors looking to expand their work into film and television.

As the nation's only full-time creative and career development home for directors, The Drama League continues its dedication to evolving The Directors Project's umbrella of programs each year, expanding to serve artists in new ways, as the cultural landscape continues to transform post-pandemic. Financial stability, creative well-being, and guaranteed opportunities are core tenets of The Directors Project – which is now entering its 41st season, and whose illustrious alumni direct over 1,000 productions each season on Broadway, Off-Broadway, across North America, and beyond.

Applications for the Fellowship, Residency, Fund, and Assistantship programs are now available at dramaleague.org.

OTHER NEW INITIATIVES INCLUDE:

THE DRAMA LEAGUE STAGE DIRECTING FELLOWSHIPS: a two-year experience for early-to-mid career stage directors, supported by an unprecedented $100,000 scholarship prize per recipient ($50,000 per year), up to $10,000 in health care insurance reimbursement ($5,000 per year), and a wide range of unparalleled opportunities at the organization's Theater Center in New York City and at the Fellowship's partner institutions Manhattan Theatre Club, McCarter Theatre Center, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Hubbard Hall Center for the Arts and Education, New York Stage and Film, Red Bull Theater and Keen Company.  During the two years, the selected Fellows will have an extended residency and direct Off-Broadway at the Obie-winning Keen Company; internal directing projects during an extended residency at Manhattan Theatre Club or McCarter Theatre Center; direct staged readings at Red Bull Theater; assist on major new projects at Berkeley Rep and New York Stage and Film; and additional career-building activities.  Two applicants will be accepted per cycle, the first of which will begin in May 2024. The deadline for applications is November 30, 2023. Selected Fellows will be celebrated at The Drama League Awards in May 2024. The full program description can be found HERE.

THE DRAMA LEAGUE ROSE DIRECTING FELLOWSHIP: for early- and mid-career directors interested in expanding beyond the borders of the United States, the Rose Directing Fellowship offers the opportunity to serve as Assistant or Associate Director on a mainstage production at the acclaimed Rose Theatre in London, as well as direct a two-week public workshop of a new project, utilizing the Rose Theatre's Youth Theatre Company. The Rose Directing Fellowship offers an embedded experience for a director inside one of the world's most acclaimed companies, learning techniques of arts leadership, directorial practice, and cross-cultural artmaking, an acceleration into the deeply interconnected theater landscapes of the United Kingdom and the United States. The deadline for applications is February 2, 2024. Selected Fellows will be celebrated at The Drama League Awards in May 2024. The full program description can be found HERE.

THE DRAMA LEAGUE FILM AND TELEVISION DIRECTING FELLOWSHIPS: a 4-7 week production experience for mid-career stage directors interested in expanding their work to include film and/or television directing. The program includes on-set shadowing experience, as well as introductions to mentors and industry professionals.  Recipients will be mentored by the Emmy-nominated writer/director/showrunner Tony Phelan (“Grey's Anatomy,” “A Small Light”). Two or more applicants will be accepted for this Fellowship position, which will begin in June 2024. The deadline for applications is February 2, 2024. The full program description can be found at HERE.

THE DRAMA LEAGUE FILM FUND: To assist stage directors who are making filmed projects, The Drama League Film Fund will offer grants to complete short films, pilot projects, series, or features for film, television, hybrid, or online/streaming. The Fund will prioritize applications from alumni of Directors Project programs and will offer grants ranging from $5,000-$25,000 to one or more projects, and the Recommendation Committee includes award-winning directors including Tony Phelan (Fire Country, Grey's Anatomy, A Small Light), Keith Powell (Young Rock, Interview with the Vampire, Home Economics), and Jessica Petelle (Trigger Point, V-Wars, The Shannara Chronicles). The full program description can be found HERE.

THE DRAMA LEAGUE DIRECTING ASSISTANTSHIPS: Each season, The Drama League will partner with established BIPOC/Global Majority stage directors to provide assistant directing opportunities on productions across the United States to the next generation of early-career BIPOC/Global Majority directors, sharing knowledge, access, and creative energy in production processes.  For each recipient, The Drama League will pay the assistant director's salary, and reimburse housing, travel and health care costs. In 2024-25, The Drama League Assistant Directors will be paired with four nationally-renowned directors: Timothy Douglas (Where The Mountain Meets The Sea, Signature Theatre), Candis C. Jones (Cullud Wattah, Public Theater), Rebecca Martínez (Bite Me, WP Theater), and Valerie Curtis-Newton (Last Night and the Night Before, Steppenwolf Theatre Company). Applicants will be accepted for the 2024-25 season. The deadline for applications is January 2, 2024. The full program description can be found HERE.

THE DRAMA LEAGUE DIRECTING RESIDENCIES: The Drama League's Directing Residency programs, including the Beatrice Terry Directing Residency and the Next Stage Residency, will continue in expanded, reimagined formats that expand the development from a one-week workshop to two weeks of development, both at The Drama League and at New York Stage and Film and Hubbard Hall Center for the Arts and Education, respectively. The deadline for the Beatrice Terry Residency and Next Stage Residency is March 1, 2024. The full program description for the Beatrice Terry Residency can be found HERE and the Next Stage Residency can be found HERE.

THE FUTURENOW DIRECTING FELLOWSHIPS: The FutureNow Directing Fellowships will announce their new program description and application in early October. Updates as they occur will be found HERE.

INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES: In September, The Drama League will travel with American directors to Tbilisi, Georgia, for a first-ever workshop in musical theater techniques at the Vaso Abashidze Music and Drama State Theater. The company will work on scenes from Kiss Me, Kate, Damn Yankees, Hair, Into The Woods, Chicago, and more, with plans to have an American-Georgian collaboration in 2024-25. In March 2024, The Drama League's International Directors Gathering will welcome to New York City rising directors from Bulgaria, France, Georgia, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, and the United States for an in-person convening and possible future collaborations with American theater professionals. The program description can be found HERE.

EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES: The Drama League Directors Project Salon, curated by Tony Award-nominated director Sheryl Kaller, offers unfiltered, transparent conversations year-round for professional directors on the changing landscape of the arts sector. The Drama League's renowned podcast, Ta(l)king Direction, offers an archive of in-depth interviews with directors, playwrights, producers, and artistic leaders in the American and International theater communities.  More information on each can be found at www.dramaleague.org.

Programs of The Drama League are made possible thanks to the generosity of our supporters including the Howard Gilman Foundation, The Hyde and Watson Foundation, the Sylvia W. & Randle M. Kauders Foundation, the Jolene McCaw Family Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, the Leo Shull Charitable Fund for the Arts, and the Trust for Mutual Understanding. 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, the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, and the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature. A special thanks goes out to Drama League Members, who provide important underwriting support for The Directors Project, as well as Drama League Directors Project Alumni, who collectively direct over 1,000 plays worldwide each season.

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