NEW YORK CITY: The Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF), the nonprofit arm of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, has announced the recipients of the 2022-23 Professional Development Cycle 2 opportunities. The program provides early-career directors and choreographers the opportunity to observe and support their more experienced colleagues during the production process.
Recipients include Gabbie Ballesteros, Irvin Mason Jr., Felichia Chivaughn, Tianding He, Alexandra Haddad, and Kunal Prasad.
The program provides access for directors and choreographers who have not seen the work of an experienced director or choreographer or have not previously worked on high-level productions. Recipients are divided into shadows, observers, and fellows. Shadows are short-term opportunities to watch one specific aspect of a production process, while observerships are production-long opportunities to watch the production process from first rehearsal to opening night. Fellowships allow recipients to support a director and/or choreographer during a production process as a member of the artistic team.
Ballesteros will shadow choreographer Annie B. Parson and associate choreographer Elizabeth DeMent in the Broadway production of Here Lies Love, which began performances last week. Mason Jr. will shadow director Maggie Burrows on the production of Little Shop of Horrors at the Muny in St. Louis.
Chivaughn is observing director Patricia McGregor’s production of The Mountaintop at the Geffen Playhouse, and He will observe director Stephen Burdman’s production of Richard III at New York Classical Theatre.
Finally, Haddad has been named a fellow on director Amanda Dehnert’s production of Love’s Labour’s Lost at Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, while Prasad will serve as a fellow on director and choreographer Sam Pinkleton’s production of The Wizard of Oz at the American Conservatory Theater.
Applications for the SDCF’s 2023-24 Cycle 1 opportunities are now being accepted through July 7.
The Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation celebrates, develops, and supports professional stage directors and choreographers throughout every phase of their careers. The foundation works to build a theatrical community that reflects the cultural, racial, and gender diversity of the nation by creating opportunities for artists of all backgrounds.
