Rose Directing Fellowship

A Partnership with Rose Theatre, London, UK

Application Deadline: January 3, 2025

Rose Theatre's revival of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Sally Cookson, starring Tony nominee and three-time Olivier Award winner Sharon D Clarke (Caroline, Or Change) as the Nurse.

For early and mid-career directors interested in expanding their understanding beyond the borders of the United States, The Rose Directing Fellowship offers the opportunity to serve as Assistant or Associate Director on a mainstage production at Rose Theatre in London, as well as direct a two-week public workshop of a new project, utilizing Rose Theatre’s Youth Theatre Company. Over the course of the Fellowship, the Recipient will become an integral part of the artistic team of the Rose.


Founded by the legendary director Sir Peter Hall and modeled on the original Rose Theatre – an Elizabethan theater that staged the early plays of Marlowe and Shakespeare – today’s Rose Theatre is the largest producing theater in Southwest London and one of the largest in the United Kingdom. The Rose Directing Fellowship offers an embedded experience for a director inside one of the world’s most acclaimed companies, learning techniques of arts leadership, directorial practice, and cross-cultural artmaking…an acceleration into the deeply interconnected theater landscapes of the United Kingdom and the United States.


This program deeply encourages applications from early-career stage directors who self-identify as Global Majority, Black, African-American, Hispanic, Latine (Latino/Latina), AAPI (Asian-American/Pacific Islander), Indigenous, MENASA (Middle Eastern/North African/South Asian), Biracial persons, Mixed-Identity persons, Persons of Color, and/or people of historically marginalized communities. Applicants currently enrolled in a program of higher learning will not be considered until after it is completed. Applications are welcome from directors whose paths to direction may have been nonlinear or nontraditional. Please see our F.A.Q. page for eligibility questions.

Program Partner: Rose Theatre

The Rose Theatre, in Kingston upon Thames in Southwest London, was founded by the legendary director Sir Peter Hall in 2008. Its roots, however, reach much further — the theatre’s design and layout is based on the original Rose, an Elizabethan theatre built in 1587 that staged the early plays of Marlowe and Shakespeare. The Rose’s highlights include Hall’s revival of Alan Ayckbourn’s Bedroom Farce (which transferred to the West End); Judi Dench in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Romeo and Juliet starring Tony nominee Sharon D Clarke; Joely Richardson in The Lady from the Sea; and Jane Austen‘s Persuasion featuring the music of Frank Ocean, Dua Lipa and Cardi B. Their world premiere adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go was the first project selected for the Rose Directing Fellowship.

Details

Program Duration

11 Contiguous Weeks between August 2025-May 2026, to be determined.

Program Frequency

One (1) Fellowship offered every year.

Scholarship Prize

$850/wk for in-person period at the Rose Theatre, Kingston-Upon-Thames, London, not to exceed 11 weeks (maximum $9,350).

Health Insurance Reimbursement

Up to $200 total for travel health insurance reimbursement.

Travel Coverage

Round-trip economy airfare for Recipient to/from London, from a city in the continental United States. Baggage fees, transit/buses, airport transfers, and in-city transportation in London are not included.

Housing Coverage

Artist housing provided by the Rose Theatre, featuring a private room inside a private residence.

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.

Other Benefits

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

Timeline

Click each month for program details

About Kingston Upon Thames...

Kingston upon Thames is in southwest London, on the banks of the River Thames. The town is notable as the site in which eight Saxon kings were crowned, beginning in the tenth century. The earliest record of Kingston is from 838 AD, when it hosted a meeting between King Egbert of Wessex and Ceolnoth, Archbishop of Canterbury. A large stone played an integral part in the coronations; the stone currently resides on the grounds of the Guildhall, directly across from Rose Theatre. Kingston’s Ancient Market is still held daily in the Market Place, where shops offer fish, jewelry, locally-grown produce, artisanal coffee, rare foods and flowers. In the 13th century, Kingston became the first crossing point of the Thames upstream from London Bridge, which gave it great importance. In the early 2000s, the Charter Quay development completed the riverside walk, as well as adding bars, restaurants and the Rose Theatre. Other organizations in the area include the Kingston Orpheus Choir, the Kingston Museum, the Stanley Picker Gallery, the Kingston Philharmonia, and a annual arts festivals. Actor Tom Holland, musician Eric Clapton, author P.D. James, photographer Eadweard Muybridge, and rapper Stormzy were born in Kingston and its surrounding areas.

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.