The Drama League has announced the twelve stage directors who have been selected as the 2019 Directing Fellows of The Drama League Directors Project: NJ Agwuna, Sharifa Elkady, Raz Golden, Chika Ike, Rebecca Marzalek-Kelly, Ismael Lara, Jr., Amanda McRaven, Lindsey Hope Pearlman, Ben Randle, Tai Thompson, Gabriel Torres, and Sophia Watt.
They will be publicly introduced to the professional theatre community during the 85th Annual Drama League Awards, which will be held on Friday, May 17, 2019 at the Marriott Marquis Times Square (1535 Broadway). More information can be found at dramaleague.org
The twelve Fellowship recipients, who will spend the next year as part of the award-winning program, have been accepted into five different programs of study: the New York Directing Fellowships, the Hangar Directing Fellowships (a partnership with the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, NY), the Classical Fellowship for Directors of Color (a partnership with The Old Globe of San Diego, CA; the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival of Garrison, NY; and Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA); the Leo Shull New Musicals Directing Fellowship (a partnership with New York Stage and Film), and the Public Works Fellowship (a partnership with Public Works Dallas and Dallas Theater Center).
"These exceptional directors are going to change the face of the American theatre, of that I've no doubt," noted Drama League Executive Artistic Director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks, "not only in New York, but in Chicago, Milwaukee, Los Angeles, Houston, and the other places these directors call home."
The 2019 Fellows will join the ranks of alumni including Tony Award winners Diane Paulus (Jagged Little Pill), Michael Mayer (Burn This), Christopher Ashley (Come From Away), Sam Gold (King Lear), Rebecca Taichman (Indecent), Pam MacKinnon (The Parisian Woman), as well as Rachel Chavkin (Hadestown), Alex Timbers (Moulin Rouge!, Beetlejuice), Anne Kauffman (Mary Jane), and more.
The Drama League Directors Project, has become the preeminent development program for theatre directors, providing them with career-changing experiences in the professional theatre. Its 350-plus alumni can be found working in all aspects of the entertainment profession: on and off Broadway, at regional theatres companies, in film and television, and as artistic leaders at 60 regional theatres across the country. Many are producers, writers, agents, administrators, and educators at some of the finest professional training programs. 'Drama League Directors' have been honored the Tony, Emmy, Obie, Drama Desk, Princess Grace, Bessie, Drama-Logue, Barrymore, and Jefferson Awards.
The Drama League advances the American theater by providing a life-long artistic home for directors and a platform for dialogue with, and between, audiences. Founded in 1916, it is one of the nation's oldest continuously-operating, not-for-profit arts advocacy and education organizations. Through its programs, initiatives and events, The Drama League serves over 3,000 artists and 15,000 audience members each season.