The Drama League Directors Project
Frequently Asked Questions
A Resource Guide for Prospective Applicants
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General Questions

Absolutely! There are a number of ways to reach us.
  • For the fastest response, questions about The Directors Project programs or applications should be emailed to directorsproject(at)dramaleague.org.
  • For questions about The Drama League in general, email artistic(at) dramaleague.org. Please do not email both addresses, duplication will only cause a delay in response.
  • Another great way to connect is at our free Q&A sessions, held virtually on Zoom, where you can meet and talk to our artistic staff about your questions. The Q&As are offered in the autumn each year. If there are sessions coming soon, you’ll find them listed on our Workshops And Events page.
Fellowships, Residencies, Assistantships, Exchanges, and Services for directors working in theater, film, television, and related fields. You can find each program page in the navigation bar above.
A lot! Each has its own area of focus and benefits, with radically different experiences. We’re sure you’ll find something in The Directors Project that feels perfect for you! Click here to read about them.
That’s up to you! Some things to consider:
  • Many of our Fellowships are for theater directors, but others are for film, television, and filmed media.
  • Some Residencies are for directors who develop and direct the work of their collaborators; others are for directors who both write and direct their own work.
  • Some opportunities are for early-career directors, while others are for those in the middle or later stages of their career.
  • Some opportunities are as long as two years in duration, others just a few weeks.
Absolutely. However, it would be a very unique director who needs ALL of the programs we offer. We recommend looking at what each program offers, and apply to those that truly match your priorities and needs.
  • There’s no such thing as a ‘perfect fit,” in our opinion.
  • If you feel a program would be generally of use to you, we look forward to reading your application.
  • Some programs require a different level of experience than others, or focus on a different kind of directorial work, so we suggest you read the descriptions carefully. 
  • The two-year programs aren’t for everyone, we understand; they are for directors who are interested in a deep, extended opportunity…which means, during that time, that OTHER opportunities may not be possible.
  • Please make sure that you are fully committed to participating in the WHOLE experience before applying to any program. If you are the recipient, we will require you to make it your personal priority for that period of time.
  • Applicants must be available for all program activities during the program period, without exception. Conflicts with the program components will result in the cancellation of those components, without being rescheduled, and a resulting reduction in the program and its effectiveness.
  • The Drama League supports your directing career…congratulations on the gig!
  • Conflicts with program activities, however, will result in the cancellation of those components and a reduction in the program, without being rescheduled.
  • Therefore, we strongly encourage you to ensure you can participate in the entire program timeline before you apply.

Eligibility Questions​

Yes. The Drama League Directors Project advances career opportunities and development for directors working in the creative sector and related fields. We believe it is important to offer these opportunities to as wide a range of artists as possible; we encourage all directors, including members of underinvested communities, those who have historically been underrecognized in leadership, and those whose paths to direction may have been nonlinear or nontraditional, to apply. This includes, but is not limited to, Black, Indigenous, Latino/Latina, Asian-American/Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern/North African, South Asian, Southeast Asian, biracial, mixed-race, Global Majority, LGBTQIAA2+, women, non-binary, and disabled directors, as well as directors from rural or non-urban localities. This also includes directors both nationally and internationally. Everyone!
Yes. Applicants must have served as the ‘director of record’ — the lead director for theater or other live performance — for a minimum of three productions before applying. These can be professional, semi-professional, or community theater productions, of any size or scale, as long as they opened for live performance to a public audience.
Any theatrical production event where you directed performers in a live setting, that “opened” publicly in front of an audience for at least one (1) performance, where you were:
  • paid to direct, or
  • you produced it yourself, or
  • you directed at a company where you agreed to forego a salary or stipend (as one might at a community theater)
For The Drama League, productions could be single performances, or longer runs…doesn’t matter to us! Outdoor, site-specific, promenade, and other hybrid productions are welcome as well. But there are some requirements. To apply, you must have directed a minimum of three (3) productions for:
  • a theater company, commercial producer, or institution of any size, where you were paid a fee to direct a production that opened to a live audience for a minimum of one (1) public performance; and/or
  • a community, semi-professional, or non-professional theater company/institution where you were EITHER paid OR unpaid to direct a production that opened to a live audience for a minimum of one (1) public performance. In this category, we understand directors sometimes work without financial compensation
  • productions at universities/colleges/high schools for which you were paid a fee to direct, and where you were not a student at the time.
We need evidence of your directing career in performance. So we can’t consider amy of the following as credits towards the eligibility minimum:
  • play readings, workshops, or private showings
  • productions where you served as an Associate Director, Assistant Director, Tour Director, Resident Director, or Observer (there will be a section in the application to list these activities if you wish, but they do not count towards eligibility)
  • student productions (i.e., theater productions that occurred at a university, college or high school as part of your educational experience)
  • productions that had no live audience at its performance (i.e., film, television, etc.)
  • productions that have not yet occurred (i.e., that you are scheduled to direct in the future, but have not opened yet)
While we deeply respect your credits in acting, assistant direction, associate direction, choreography, intimacy choreography, stage management, etc., they do not count towards the eligibility minimum of directing credits.
Yes! Being hired to direct at a university can be counted towards the eligibility requirement. Directing as a student, however, cannot.
No. Recipients cannot be enrolled in any high school, undergraduate or graduate degree program during the program’s period of support. Please check each program’s timeline on its individual program page to see when it begins and ends.
No. We understand that directors come to their profession from a variety of paths and experiences.
Not at this time. And when submitting evidence of your production work in your application (production photos or video work samples), we recommend that you do not use samples from co-directed projects, as it will be impossible for the selection panel to distinguish your work from the work of your collaborator.
  • The answer is (a qualified) yes. Any applicant who is not a U.S. citizen will need to obtain all documents and permissions (visas or otherwise) to spend the time listed in the program’s timeline in the United States or, in the case of the Rose Fellowship, in the United Kindom. This time commitment ranges from one week to two years, depending on the program.
  • AND, even though our programs are educational in nature and not considered employment, they come with a monetary scholarship prize that some nations (including the United States) consider taxable. Please check with your own country’s embassy, ministry, or municipality to ensure you understand the responsibilities you undertake when applying.
  • One other thing: The Drama League offers air travel for some of its programs, but only for domestic (U.S. originating) flights. For those living outside of the United States, program participation means you will have to fly to/from the continental United States first on your own, and then The Drama League will coordinate travel inside the country.
To be fair to all applicants, there will be no deadline extension. We suggest finishing your application and submitting it at least 72 hours before the deadline, to ensure you don’t encounter any internet outages or software difficulties.
  • In very loose, general terms, we think of an Early-Career Director as someone who is at the beginning of their professional journey, recently completing any educational path they have taken and being 1-3 years into their career.
  • A Mid-Career Director, then, might be someone who has been working in the field for 4-6 years or more, and an Established Director would be anyone who has done more than that. 🙂
  • HOWEVER, we understand these categories, even as general as they are, are not incredibly effective when elucidating the career paths of artists. They are not important to us, nor discussed in our selection panel’s deliberations.
  • Why not? Well, just because you’ve worked consistently for ten years does not mean that opportunities have come your way; similarly, directors who have only been working a few years may have luckily moved quickly to big opportunities, and do not need the same things their peers need. In truth, every individual comes to directing on their own path.
Of course! It is hoped, however, that you will talk about this in your answers, and address the reasons you feel you are the ideal candidate for the program.

Application Questions

No. Our application software, Submittable, allows you to begin an application and then save your work in process, and return to it at a later time. The Drama League will not be able to view your application until you confirm that it is complete. If you choose to work on the application in multiple sessions, we recommend you set personal reminders of the deadline (or 72 hours before the deadline, so you have time to complete it).
All of our applications require:
  • your full (legal) name
  • your pronouns
  • mailing address
  • telephone number
  • email address
  • a headshot or professional photo of yourself
  • your directing website or substitute online presence, like a Linked(In) page
  • an URL link to samples of your directing work (photos and/or optionally videos)
  • two professional references (just their names and contact information, not letters from them)
  • A list of your directing credits, and assistant/associate credits if you have them
  • You will also need to provide short narrative answers to questions related to your directing practice, and to the particular program.
  • For the Next Stage and (Re)Engage Residencies, which develop new works, you’ll also need to upload work samples of the script, drafts, and have permission from the author to apply if you are not the author.
  • For the Beatrice Terry Residency, where a director writes and directs their own work, you’ll need to upload samples and a previous work.
  • For the (Re)Envision Residency, you’ll need to upload a draft of the play or translation.
  • For the FutureNow Fellowships, the director will apply with a playwright, who will need to provide information as well. Please refer to the application for further details.
To us, your Directorial Practice should detail…
  • the hallmarks of your directing style and your influences;
  • why directing is the medium you’ve chosen to impact your fellow citizens with;
  • directing techniques you employ in your work;
  • the process you employ when directing. Some things that you might discuss are how you read texts, take notes, approach research, execute rehearsals, lead production meetings, give and receive notes, approach casting, utilize previews, etc.
  • and most importantly, what you feel distinguishes you from everyone else applying. 
  • To be clear: we are NOT asking about you personally, only about your Directorial Practice. Sharing your background, identity, or family history might be informative, but it’s not the point.
  • In general, they’d like to understand what you direct (and why), what you need, and how the program can help you.
  • We encourage you to use direct, concise language, and steer clear of jargon.
  • Follow the “less is more” rule; you do not have to use the maximum word count.
  • Mentioning influences, inspirations and references are helpful contextually for the application readers, who may be unfamiliar with your work.
  • When Drama League applications ask for work samples, we suggest that the language you use about your work match what the panel will see in the samples. Being specific with rich, sensory language can help us understand how your directing relates to the work samples you are sharing.
  • The panel is looking for authentic people with a clear, exciting point of view on the world. 
  • Although our applications do not ask for an “artist statement” (we reject the way they sometimes box artists), the advice in this article is terrific for approaching our application in general.
No. Because we do not have written consent and a verifiable pre-event set of applicants and guests, we do not record the Q&A sessions. Furthermore, we want applicants in those sessions to speak freely, and recording sometimes inhibits their open communication. We encourage you to join us for these sessions, which are listed each autumn on our Workshop and Events page. Due to the large number of applicants and the small size of our staff, we are unable to offer one-on-one sessions.
Some applications are free, and some have a small administrative fee to cover the cost of the application software, but no one has to pay to apply to The Drama League Directors Project. For programs that have an administrative fee, anyone may request a fee waiver by emailing artistic@dramaleague.org. We want to support directors who want to be a part of this community, and the application fee will not be a barrier for anyone.
Reach out to us at directorsproject@dramaleague.org. We’re here to help!
All applicants will be notified of their status by the last week of April. Please do not reach out inquiring about application status prior to April 25th; if you have not received an email from us April 26th, reach out to artistic@dramaleague.org and we’ll be happy to update you.

Questions?

Email directorsproject@dramaleague.org with program questions, or artistic@dramaleague.org with administrative questions. Due to volume, answers may take up to three (3) business days.

Stage Directing Fellowship

Program Page: Drama League Stage Directing Fellowships
The Scholarship Prize for this opportunity is $100,000 over two years, disbursed in equal monthly installments for 24 months.
No. The Fellowships are designed to be similar experiences, but not identical…each provides its own unique relationship to theater institutions and their missions. They also differ in timing because, well, the American theater is complicated. (Eight theater companies working together on one project, as you can imagine, is rare!) For that reason, applicants are matched by The Drama League and the partner theaters to the track that best suits both the institution and the recipient. If you are selected to receive one of these Fellowships, you will be informed which track you are being selected for in advance.

Television and Film Directing Fellowship​

Program Page: Television and Film Directing Fellowships
Yes. This Fellowship is a bridge for mid-career or established theater directors to make their first foray into these related, but different, fields.
No, BUT…we do expect to see evidence of interest and curiosity prior to applying. This opportunity is intended for working theater directors who are serious about expanding into film, television, streaming, or other related disciplines. This curiosity might be classes or workshops you’ve taken, experiments using iPhones, short films directed or other experiences with filmed material, or individual study. In other words: you don’t have to have filmed anything (yet), but this is not for those with only casual interest.

Rose Directing Fellowship​

Program Page: Rose Directing Fellowship
The Rose Theatre will offer the recipient housing in a private room in a beautiful home near the theater. You’ll be well taken care of!
No, the Recipient will be responsible for their own travel around London while there. However, the staff of the Rose will make every effort to help you obtain tickets to performances at other theaters, and to connect you with interesting people in the London theater community.
Similar to production and arts leader practices in the United States, you will have a regular schedule both for production (rehearsals, meetings, tech, previews, etc.) and a schedule as a member of the team at Rose. The particulars of the schedule will be worked out with the Rose Theatre leadership as we get closer to the Fellowship period.
As we type this (December 2025), Rose Fellowships participants will not need to receive a work visa for this program, as it is an educational opportunity under 90 days. A tourist visa from most countries is acceptable, and Americans may enter as tourists freely. However, we should ALSO say that visa and immigration policies do shift unexpectedly these days, so in future years (2027 and beyond) please check details in country of origin.  
Yes, and it’s incredibly easy….you can do it online or via the official app, and in most cases it only takes a few days. There’s more information here.

FutureNow Fellowships​

Program Page: FutureNow Fellowships
Yes…as a team! A director and a playwright apply together for this program, suggesting a play they are working on together to be developed and receive a workshop production at the end of the Fellowship. Along the way, they both have many other experiences to enhance and grow their careers.
Their full name is the FutureNow New Play Labs — part of the public season at Chautauqua, with rehearsals, tech, opening, the works! The New Play Labs are cast with actors from the Chautauqua Acting Conservatory, and the designers are the Chautauqua Design Fellows…professional, early-career artists in both cases. The productions are NOT, however, designated as world premieres…we want you to retain that for elsewhere, as premieres are often negotiated in production agreements. Rather, this is a full-bodied effort for the artists to see their work in its fullness, and see what it still might need later, so they can make choices about the play’s next steps.
Yes. Here are the guidelines on the kind of plays CTC is looking for in the FutureNow New Play Labs:
  • LENGTH: All FutureNow projects must have a maximum run time of two hours total, including any intermissions. This is to ensure adequate turnover time in the FutureNow New Play Labs productions.
  • CASTING: All Play/Projects must utilize a maximum of one (1) to three (3) actors. If the play has more than three characters, please include a character doubling plan in your script for three actors. This is to ensure that the production can be cast effectively from the CTC Conservatory Acting Company. 
  • CONSERVATORY: FutureNow New Play Labs will be cast from members of the CTC Conservatory Acting Company, ages 21-35; while a diverse ensemble, no specific casting requirements can be guaranteed, and may require casting actors whose age and characteristics differ from the characters. All roles should be age appropriate; for instance, CTC will not cast a 70-year-old character with an actor in their 20’s or 30’s.
  • STAFFING: New Play Labs will not have fight or intimacy choreographers available. Play/Projects proposed for this program should not call for them or require them.
  • CONTENT: Plays/Projects involving onstage rape, trauma, abuse or extreme sexual situations cannot be produced at Chautauqua Theater Company as a New Play Lab.
  • DESIGN: FutureNow New Play Labs are audience-attended workshop productions, and therefore employ turnovers rather than fully-articulated designs. All design work is accomplished by the CTC Design Fellows, who begin pre-production in person at CTC with the Directors and Playwrights. The intention of this developmental process is to provide you with growth towards an eventual premiere elsewhere…in this environment, design gestures are the goal, rather than a fully-designed production.
No.
The Scholarship Prizes are separate: the Director receives theirs from The Drama League, while the playwright receives theirs from Chautauqua Theater Company. Travel for both will be handled by The Drama League; housing for both will be handled by CTC upstate. As to the difference in Awards, the Directing Fellows have multiple experiences that require more time from them, as well as multiple duties at CTC – they also assistant direct on mainstage productions, among other things. 

Beatrice Terry Directing Residency ​

Program Page: Beatrice Terry Directing Residency
While directors often direct the work written by others, the Beatrice Terry Residency is designed for directors who generate their own texts, adaptations, or source materials…that is, they are both writer AND director of their projects. This means that we expect applicants to have a fair amount of projects in their history where they directed works they also wrote.
The answer is…maybe! The Terry Residency is designed for stage directors who, most often, write the productions that they also direct. While anyone who identifies in this manner is welcome and encouraged to apply, it is our hope that this dual focus is an integral part of your artistry.
We get this question more often than one might expect. For the Beatrice Terry Residency, we employ an inclusive understanding of women and nonbinary folk. The residency seeks to make space and resources for these communities, who often encounter additional barriers when they choose to both write and direct their work simultaneously…barriers that men have historically NOT faced in the field. While we accept applications from everyone, of course, we consider the legacy of bias that has historically plagued the arts sector, and attempt to correct for it.
To create a full developmental process, the recipient will receive a week-long residency at Hubbard Hall Center for the Arts and Education, about three hours north of New York City. The recipient will have access to beautiful artist housing, theaters, rehearsal spaces, and the beautiful natural surroundings of Cambridge, NY. If they desire, they can be joined by collaborators and Drama League staff to develop the piece, and it is possible to have a limited number of volunteer actors there read pages if desired. At the end of the time there, there can be an open presentation of the work-in-progress attended by the supportive local community, which we encourage recipients to do! The Recipient then has up to two years to further develop the work, in which time they can, if they wish, receive space and financial support for a reading at The Drama League in New York City.
Hubbard Hall Center for the Arts and Education is in Cambridge, NY…a beautiful, but remote, small town near the Vermont border. As such, there are no public transit options. The closest train and airport are an hour away; the closest grocery store is fifteen minutes away. While staff can coordinate some rides for you, we’ve learned that a car will make your time at Hubbard Hall much more enjoyable.

Next Stage Directing Residency ​

Program Page: Next Stage Directing Residency
The idea behind the Next Stage Directing Residency is to assist in that sometimes-difficult middle section of a piece’s development — that period when the piece is past its genesis, but needs deep thought, refinement and interrogation by artists before it is ready to be produced. Simply put, we’re hoping to take your piece to the “next stage” of its journey, in a director-led, rehearsal-based developmental workshop that follows the questions and impulses of the director. Unlike the Beatrice Terry Residency, this Fellowship is open to all directors and can be based on the work of other playwrights if you wish.
At The Drama League, we believe that community is key to artistic growth, and providing a moment of community in a developmental process can provide crucial insights and joyful discovery for everyone involved. We’ll work with all recipients to make sure the moment of open rehearsal is safe, supportive, enjoyable, and art-forward.
Wonderful! The Recipient will receive a one-week residency during NYSAF’s Summer Season at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY, about an hour north of New York City. There, you’ll be joined by some of your collaborators and Drama League staff to explore the piece in a director-led, rehearsal-based process. The following winter, there will be an open presentation of the work-in-progress, which takes place at The Drama League in New York City and is produced by New York Stage And Film.

(Re)Envision Directing Residency ​

Program Page: Next Stage Directing Residency
The idea for this residency is for a director to explore a new concept for an pre-existing play…not to create an entirely new text based on that play. It is not a writers’ residency, and will focus on the issues faced by directors when exploring plays from previous eras. We understand that the notion of “adapting” a play varies widely in practice, and that any ancient text might require a few cuts (as many directors do with Shakespeare or the Greeks, for instance). In some cases, there might be light restructuring. But a wholesale adaptation is, in our view (and in the view of copyright law) a completely new work…essentially, you’ll have made a new play fashioned from the bones of an old one. To re-do the text isn’t the same as re-envisioning the original text. All of our other residencies, however, can consider full adaptations. As for THIS residency, we do understand there may be grey areas. If you’re still unsure if your project would be considered an edit or an adaptation, please email directorsproject@dramaleague.org with the details and we’ll talking specifically about your piece.
In the United States, a work is said to be in the public domain when its copyright expires, allowing free use of the text without compensation to the author. (Shakespeare and Sophocles, for instance, do not receive royalty checks.). Copyright for a play generally lasts for a term of 95 years from its publication date for works published between 1930 and 1977. For works published after January 1, 1978, the copyright term is the life of the author plus 70 years. The public domain currently includes almost all works published in the United States prior to 1923; all works published without a copyright notice between 1923 and 1977; and all works published without a copyright notice from 1978 to 1989, and without subsequent registration within 5 years.
Sadly, no…translations, if written in the last 75 years, are probably under copyright control. Usually the information page in a printed script will have this information. To work from a translation, make sure both the original play AND the translation version are both in the public domain.
There are many online resources for hunting possible plays. Project Gutenberg is a free resource that offers over 50,000 works in the public domain in ebook format. The Duke University School of Law provides annual analysis of works entering the public domain.
To create a full developmental process, the recipient will receive a week-long residency at Hubbard Hall Center for the Arts and Education, about three hours north of New York City. The recipient will have access to beautiful artist housing, theaters, rehearsal spaces, and the beautiful natural surroundings of Cambridge, NY. If they desire, they can be joined by collaborators and Drama League staff to develop the piece, and it is possible to have a limited number of volunteer actors there read pages if desired. At the end of the time there, there can be an open presentation of the work-in-progress attended by the supportive local community, which we encourage recipients to do! The Recipient then has up to two years to further develop the work, in which time they can, if they wish, receive space and financial support for a reading at The Drama League in New York City.Toggle Content
Hubbard Hall Center for the Arts and Education is in Cambridge, NY…a beautiful, but remote, small town near the Vermont border. As such, there are no public transit options. The closest train and airport are an hour away; the closest grocery store is fifteen minutes away. While staff can coordinate some rides for you, we’ve learned that a car will make your time at Hubbard Hall much more enjoyable.

Irene Gandy Directing Assistantships​

Program Page: Irene Gandy Directing Assistantships
There is no specific industry standard for the position of Assistant Director. However, it is a crucial role on many theatrical teams. In most cases, they support the Director in their work on the production. This can mean anything: administrative tasks, coffee runs, but also creative support; the Assistant Director may take notes for the director or take their own, for instance. They may support with staging or in production and design meetings. They are often utilized significantly in tech and previews to help shape the performance. Every director works with the Assistant Director slightly differently, but the best directors utilize this position as a second eye on the process, and benefit from two heads looking at the same issues.
No. Directing Observerships are not offered by The Drama League. While observerships can offer a chance to learn by watching, they generally have no artistic role on the project and are not credited positions on the artistic team.
Because of the timing of the application process, it is almost always impossible to know the show you will be asssiting on…theaters simply don’t lock in their performance schedules publicly far enough in advance. However, applicants who are selected as Semi-Finalists will interview directly with the Mentor Directors, and if we know what the show is at that point, we’re happy to share it! Theaters that have participated in the past include some of the largest in America — Lincoln Center Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, New York Theatre Workshop, Denver Center Theatre, Geffen Playhouse, Trinity Rep, Guthrie Theatre, and Seattle Rep, among others.

Questions?

Email directorsproject@dramaleague.org with program questions, or artistic@dramaleague.org with administrative questions. Due to volume, answers may take up to three (3) business days.

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