NEW YORK CITY: Black Theatre Coalition (BTC), an organization aimed at building a sustainable and ethical roadmap to increased employment for Black theatremakers, has opened applications for its paid BTC Fellowship Program. The organization has been building these programs over the last 11 months. Applications will be accepted through July 16, and fellows will receive $50,000 in salary over the 12- month fellowship.
“Once we identified just how vast the disparity is between the perceived inclusivity onstage and the utter dearth of Black professionals offstage, we began outlining ways in which we could address and ultimately eradicate this invisible imparity,” said co-founders T. Oliver Reid, Warren Adams, and Reginald “Reggie” Van Lee in a joint statement. “This outline provided a clear path forward for our organization and our entire industry. It’s high time to end this ‘illusion of inclusion’ by reshaping the theatrical ecosystem for those who have been marginalized by systematically racist and biased power structures that have endured since the dawn of the American theatre.”
Fellowships will be offered in producing, writing, composition, directing, choreography, set design, lighting design, costume design, sound design, video design, wigs/hair design, stage management, theatre management, musical direction, casting, marketing and advertising, public relations, digital media, and talent agenting, with a 24-month fellowship available in general management. Two fellowships will be awarded for each category, except for general management and producing, which will both include six fellows each.
The fellowships will include immersion in these specified areas of the industry on a daily basis, working with industry leaders and learning the process of theatremaking from the executive, creative, and/or administrative areas. Fellows will also connect with industry leaders through BTC sponsored events. Mentorship will be included throughout the program from Black professionals as well as BTC Accomplices within the companies where fellows will be placed. BTC will also produce pop-up events, allowing the full cohort of fellows the opportunity to work together to put their skills into practice.
The funding partners and selection committee for the fellowship will be named at a later date. More information on the program, as well as the application, is available on BTC’s website.
