NEW YORK CITY: The Drama League has announced the 2017 fellows who will participate in the Directors Project. From hundreds of applicants, 11 directors have been selected and will be at the Drama League Awards on Friday, May 19.
The recipients have been accepted into four different programs: the Fall Directing Fellowships, the Hangar Directing Fellowships, the Classical Fellowship for Directors of Color, and the Leo Shull New Musicals Directing Fellowship.
“Chosen from hundreds of talented early-career directors, these 11 fellows are truly extraordinary,” said artistic director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks in a statement. “The Drama League is making a commitment to their careers for their entire lives, beginning this spring.”
Bonnie Gabel, Matt Dickson, Flordelino Lagundino, and Rebecca Martinez will take part in the New York Fall Directing Fellowship, working both regionally and in New York City. The fellowship will conclude with an Off-Broadway festival of their work.
The Hangar Directing fellows are Michael Alvarez, Jillian Carucci, Tom Costello, and Gabriel Vega Weissman. In partnership with the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, N.Y., the fellows will lead a resident acting company in programming, directing, and producing the second stage season at the Hangar.
Justin Emeka and Kholoud Sawaf are the recipients of the Classical Fellowship for Directors of Color. They will assist with mainstage productions and the direction of educational and touring programs at three of America’s leading theatrical homes for classical work this summer.
Laura Brandel will participate in the Leo Shull New Musicals Directing Fellowship, a five-week program dedicated to the craft of developing and directing new musical theatre works.
“These directors will get exceptional opportunities to access the highest levels of the professional theatre community,” said program director Sherri Eden Barber in a statement. “I know from my own experience as an alumna of the Directors Project, the critical impact it will have on their future creative work and their career trajectories.”
The Drama League Directors Project, founded in 1984, provides emerging directors with developmental programs and experiences in the professional theatre world.
