NEW YORK: The Black Theatre Coalition (BTC) has named its inaugural cohort of producing fellows as part of a larger fellowship program. The yearlong fellowship places each fellow with job placement in a Broadway producing office along with a $50,000 annual salary. Fellows will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in creative development, marketing, public relations, and production oversight.

The class of producing fellows and their placements includes Tyra Ann-Marie Willson with Disney Theatrical Group; Adam Hyndman with Octopus Theatricals; Danielle Covington with Tom Kirdahy Productions; and Amy Marie Haven with Iowa Stubborn LLC-Kate Horton/Rashad V. Chambers.

“My team and I are thrilled to be participating in the Black Theatre Coalition fellows program,” Tony-winning producer Tom Kirdahy said in a statement. “BTC is helping to bring about essential change in the theatre industry. They are blazing a trail for a better tomorrow and we are honored to be a part of that journey.”

The BTC fellowships provide fellows the opportunity to work alongside industry leaders at the highest levels, learning the process of theatremaking from executive, creative, and/or administrative areas. Fellows will also receive mentorship and guidance throughout the program from Black professionals in the industry and from BTC Accomplices within companies and offices where fellows will be placed. BTC will also create pop-up events in which the full cohort of fellows can put their skills into practice.

BTC’s ongoing Broadway fellowship program has so far funded 20 fellows, eight apprentices, and six regional fellowships in cooperation with the John Gore Organization and Broadway Across America.

The Black Theatre Coalition was founded in 2019 to address the disparity between the growing inclusivity onstage versus the near-non-existence of Black professionals offstage, and to dismantle the systemically racist and biased ideology in the theatrical job space.