The Drama League Holds Open House to Kick-Off Season

The Drama League Theater Center threw open its doors for a "Welcome Back Celebration." It was a welcome back to the Drama League's in-person programming, theater, and live events in the world's greatest city. The invite-only guests included the Drama League Members, staff, Board, and Directors Project alumni. Dozens of guests gathered at the Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley Studio Lab to toast the new theater season and tour the Drama League Center's Tribecca offices.

Board President Bonnie Comley shared the inspiring statistics by stating, "Our Drama League Directors Project alumni include 22 Tony Award nominees, 9 of whom have won the Tony Award for Best Direction. This season, 30% of announced Broadway and off-Broadway shows will be directed by Drama League alums. Over 100 alumni are in artistic leadership positions nationwide. Many more alums are serving as Assistant and Associate Directors across the country, representing an astonishing breadth of influence and impact on the American theater."

Artistic Director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks also announced the expansion of The Directors Project, the Drama League's comprehensive career development program for directors that began in the early 1980s. Bevin Ross explained, "The Drama League is a Membership organization, and we could not support the development of the next generation of leaders in the field without our members' support. Membership provides critical career development opportunities for the Directors who direct many of your favorite shows each year. When you become a member, your support provides a life-long artistic home for directors and the audiences who enjoy their work. Tony Award-winning directors like Hadestown's Rachel Chavkin, Come From Away's Christopher Ashley, Moulin Rouge's Alex Timbers, and the upcoming 1776's Diane Paulus all got their start thanks to our members. Now's your chance to help the next generation of theater makers."

A Drama League motto is "Theater for everyone needs everyone," so membership is open to all with multi-tier donation levels, which may include: exclusive ticket offers, private actor talkbacks, and awards voting privileges. Two major fundraising events at The Drama League are open to the public, The Annual Drama League Awards in the spring and this year's Drama League Gala on October 17th.

Membership Manager, Olivia Ragan, led a toast to the group that included Townsend Teague, Anita Durst, Helen O' Rourke, Sanaz Ghajar, Patrick Sirullo, Bernadette Norm, Catalin Stelian, Merrie L. Davis, Don Roy King, Liesl Lar, Annette Pfister, Cameron King, Danielle Allen, Mike Teele, Joey Guastella, Julie Ridge, Eileen Sherman, Kate Forsatz, Frankie Lane, James Blinken and others. The open house wine bar was sponsored by City Winery, and the fun photo booth was the creation of @catalinmedia. To become a member, attend the gala, or learn more about the Drama League, go to www.DramaLeague.org

Check out photos from the event down below!

Photos: Eugene Gologursky/Gettyimages and Catalin Stelian/@catalinmedia