Beatrice Terry Directing Residency

A Partnership with New York Stage And Film

Application Deadline: January 3, 2025

The Cotillion, written and developed by Colette Robert in the Beatrice Terry Directing Residency, premiered in 2023 at The Movement Theatre Company and New Georges in New York City. Photo: Loreto Jamling

The Drama League Directing Residencies are designed to support the interrogative processes of generative directors, creating work that includes live performance. The residencies offer financial support for a multi-stage developmental process, rehearsal and administrative space, dramaturgical/mentor support from the artistic staff of the partner companies, and the opportunity to share the findings of the process publicly.


The Beatrice Terry Residency, a partnership with New York Stage And Film, is designed for stage directors who identify as generative artists…that is, both writer and director of projects, directing AND writing or adapting the text of the theatrical production.


The Terry Residency is specifically open to women and nonbinary people; the Residency seeks to make space and resources for these communities, who often encounter sexism, gender bias, misogyny, and other barriers as creators when they choose to both write and direct simultaneously. This residency is named for Drama League alumnus Beatrice Terry, who pioneered her own approach to theatrical creation during her lifetime, as a writer and director of her own work in a male-dominated field.


The Residency will include four phases:

  • Pre-Residency Activity that includes generating text and ideas to explore during the NYSAF Residency, and dramaturgical and logistical planning with The Drama League;
  • A Creative Residency during New York Stage And Film’s Summer Season in Poughkeepsie, NY that that prioritizes explorative efforts on the dramatic material;
  • An Inspiration Experience offered by The Drama League to expand understanding and experiential learning about the project; and
  • A Staged Reading, produced by New York Stage And Film and presented at the Drama League Studio Lab in New York City. This reading will be presented as part of New York Stage and Film’s New York City programming.


The Drama League is not, and will not be, the producers of the project itself, nor producers of any public or private event in conjunction with this residency.


Applications are especially welcome from directors who identify as members of populations that have historically been denied equity, access, inclusion or belonging in the field and in society, who have been marginalized, underrepresented, and/or those whose paths to direction may have been nonlinear or nontraditional. This includes, but is not limited to, Black, Indigenous, Latine (Latino/Latina), AAPI (Asian-American/Pacific Islander), MENASA (Middle Eastern/North African/South Asian), Biracial, Mixed-Race, Global Majority, LGBTQIAA2+, non-binary directors, disabled, and/or immigrant directors or directors not born in the United States. Please see our F.A.Q. page for eligibility questions.

Program Partner: New York Stage And Film

New York Stage and Film is a not-for-profit company dedicated to both emerging and established artists in the development and production of theater and film by creating community, supporting process, and uplifting original artistic voices. The New York Times calls the company a “formidable breeding ground for new work,” and dozens of notable works trace their developmental roots to NYSAF, including Tony Award winners HAMILTON, HADESTOWN, SIDE MAN and THE HUMANS; Broadway productions such as THE NOTEBOOK, AMERICAN IDIOT, JUNK, and BRIGHT STAR; and Pulitzer winners and finalists such as DOUBT, THE WOLVES and Taylor Mac’s A 24-DECADE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC.

Details

Program Duration

Periodically over the course of one year, determined in consultation with the Recipient.

Program Frequency

One residency, offered every year.

Scholarship Prize

Recipient receives $5,000 to cover expenses related to the Residency. Up to two (2) collaborating artists are optional for NYSAF Creative Residency ($100/day not to exceed $500/person). For the staged reading, the collaborating artists, number and scope to be determined in partnership with New York Stage and Film. Production of the Stage Reading will be handled by New York Stage and Film.

Health Insurance Reimbursement

None.

Travel Coverage

For the Creative Residency (see Timeline below), round-trip train travel from New York City to Poughkeepsie is provided for Recipient and up to two (2) optional collaborators; baggage fees and in-city transportation in Poughkeepsie are not provided. Travel is not provided for the Inspiration Experience or the Staged Reading, and is the responsibility of the Recipient and collaborating artists.

Housing Coverage

For the Residency’s Creative Residency (see Timeline below), artist housing in Poughkeepsie is provided for Recipient. Housing is not provided for the Inspiration Experience or the Staged Reading, and is the responsibility of the Recipient and up to two (optional) collaborators.

Liability and Insurances

Recipient will not be an employee of TDL or its partners, instead a recipient of an educational program and will be considered as such under insurance policies. Recipients are advised to pursue their own liability, health and other insurances.

Other Benefits

VIP Pass to all publicly offered Drama League programming during the Assistantship period; access to alumni-focused programs and events; and a lifetime Drama League Membership.

Timeline

Click each month for program details

About Beatrice Terry...

Beatrice Terry (1960-2012) was a founder of the theatre ensemble Lesbian Pulp-O-Rama, and an accalimed freelance director. Her New York directing credits included productions at the Ensemble Studio Theatre, HERE Arts Center and Pearl Theatre Company. She was the associate director on a number of Broadway productions, including Memphis, God of Carnage, La Bete, The Caretaker, and Leap of Faith; she was assistant director on the Tony-winning Broadway production of Spring Awakening, and later worked on its national tour. She became an indispensable collaborator for directors like Michael Mayer, Christopher Ashley, Matthew Warchus, David Jones and more. As a playwright and director, Ms. Terry frequently faced gender bias when pursuing a holistic practice of her creativity that includes both disciplines simultaneously. The Beatrice Terry, founded in her member by Mr. Mayer, The Drama League, and Ms. Terry's widow, Gretchen Michelfeld, attempts to address this bias in the field with resources and transparency.

Nicole Spiezio and Tommy Heleringer in the Morgan Gould's I Wanna Fucking Tear You Apart, which was developed in the Beatrice Terry Residency and had its world premiere at the Studio Theatre in Washington, DC. Photo by Teddy Wolff

Fellowships

The Drama League Fellowships are career-transforming opportunities for stage directors focusing on creative learning, skill building, and career development.

Residencies

The Drama League Residencies develop and incubate director-led projects for live performances, utilizing the resources of the Drama League in New York City.

About the Drama League

The Drama League is the preeminent creative development home for directors, offering access and opportunity to them, their collaborators, and the audiences they inspire across the world in theater, film, television, online content, and anywhere live performance is found.  Launched in 1916, The Drama League is one of the longest continuously-operating arts service organizations in the United States.  To be a part of supporting future generations of artists, please visit dramaleague.org/membership.