The Irene Gandy Directing Assistantships

An opportunity for Early-Career Directors
2027 Application Opens September 2026
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Lamar Jefferson and Kimberly Marable in the Guthrie Theatre/McCarter Theatre Center co-production of "Blues for an Alabama Sky," directed by Nicole A. Watson, assisted by Jessica Natalie Smith. Photo: Dan Norman

ASSISTANTSHIP DETAILS

OVERVIEW
  • In an effort to remove barriers to access that disproportionately affect BIPOC/Global Majority directors in the early stages of their careers, The Drama League Irene Gandy Directing Assistantships partner with acclaimed stage directors to provide assistant directing opportunities to early-career directors from historically underserved communities on productions across the United States.
  • The Drama League provides each assistant director financial resource, travel as outlined in the Summary section, and pre-production preparation assistance.
  • The Irene Gandy Directing Assistantships address disproportionate impediments to access for historically underserved communities…impediments that are pervasive and damaging to the field’s future viability. They also offer a rare opportunity for the passing of knowledge, skills, and experience from one generation of directors to the next, offering a road map to successfully employ in rehearsal, casting, and production. Lastly, it ensures a multiplicity of voices in this important creative role, better serving the entire community.
  • NUMBER OF ASSISTANTSHIPS: Varies, offered annually
  • ELIGIBILITY: Before applying, visit the  F.A.Q. page for full eligibility details.
  • SCHOLARSHIP PRIZE: $950/wk for in-person rehearsal/preview period, not to exceed seven (7) weeks (maximum $6,650, can be less depending on production weeks). Partial housing cost reimbursement may be provided for out-of-town Recipients (see Housing below).
  • HEALTH INSURANCE REIMBURSEMENT: None
  • TRAVEL COVERAGE: If the Recipient lives more than 35 miles from the production location’s metropolitan area, The Drama League will furnish one round-trip economy airfare, train, car or bus (depending on distance) from any U.S. Continental city. Baggage fees, airport transfers, and in-city transportation are not provided. Travel arrangements are managed by The Drama League. 
  • HOUSING: Housing is NOT provided for this Assistantship, and will be the responsibility of the Recipient to acquire and maintain if they do not live in the production’s metropolitan area. Recipients living more than 35 miles from the metropolitan area of the city of production can receive an additional partial housing cost reimbursement of up to $600/week for in-person duration. 
  • OTHER BENEFITS: VIP Pass to all publicly offered Drama League programming during the Assistantship period; access to alumni-focused programs and events; lifetime Drama League Membership
  • LIABILITIES 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.
1. ASSISTANTSHIP PREPARATIONS | Virtual (Zoom)
  • DATES: July, occasional/remote, schedule TBD by The Drama League
  • DESCRIPTION: Assistant Directors begin discussions of the practice, expectations, and evolving role of the position, and begin early conversations with their Mentor Director.
  • TRAVEL/HOUSING: Virtual, no travel/housing necessary
  • DATES: TBD (Varies by production, in person, 3-7 weeks)
  • DESCRIPTION: Assistant Directors meet with their Mentor Directors and production teams on pre-production virtually/online as necessary. They will travel to join the Mentor Director for in-person rehearsals, tech, previews and opening night, working in service to the production and the director’s vision as needed.
  • TRAVEL COVERAGE: If the Recipient lives more than 35 miles from the production location’s metropolitan area, The Drama League will furnish one round-trip economy airfare, train, car or bus (depending on distance) from any U.S. Continental city. Baggage fees, airport transfers, and in-city transportation are not provided. Travel arrangements are managed by The Drama League. 
  • HOUSING: Housing is NOT provided for this Assistantship, and will be the responsibility of the Recipient to acquire and maintain if they do not live in the production’s metropolitan area. Recipients living more than 35 miles from the metropolitan area of the city of production can receive an additional partial housing cost reimbursement of up to $600/week for in-person duration. 
APPLY NOW
F.A.Q. PAGE
JAMIE CASTAĂ‘EDA
Jaime Castañeda is the Artistic Director of Dallas Theater Center; he also previously served as Associate Artistic Director of La Jolla Playhouse (2014-18), and Artistic Associate at Atlantic Theater Company (2009–14). His previous credits Poor Yella Rednecks and Vietgone  (ACT), The Luckiest, Seize the King, At the Old Place, Guards at the Taj (La Jolla Playhouse), The Canadians (South Coast Repertory), Chimichangas and Zoloft (Atlantic Theater Company), The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Dallas Theater Center), The Royale (American Theater Company), The Motherfucker with the Hat (Kitchen Dog), Tiger Style! (O’Neill), Welcome to Arroyo’s (Old Globe), Red Light Winter (Perseverance Theatre). Castañeda is a recipient of the Princess Grace Award, a Drama League Directing Fellowship, and holds a BFA from Texas Christian University and an MFA in Directing from University of Texas at Austin.
BEN VILLEGAS RANDLE
Ben Villegas Randle is the Artistic Director of New Conservatory Theatre Center, San Francisco’s premier LGBTQ+ theatre for 45 years. Recent directing credits include How To Make An American Son (Bay Area Premiere NCTC, West Coast Premiere Profile Theatre) by Christopher Oscar Peña, the West Coast Premiere of To My Girls by JC Lee (NCTC), Michael John LaChiusa’s Hello Again (DirectorFest, NYC), and Associate Director to Michael Mayer on Galileo (Berkeley Rep). World premieres include Into the Clear Blue Sky and warplay by JC Lee; Sagittarius Ponderosa by MJ Kaufman; The Fisherman’s Wife by Steve Yockey. Ben has also worked at New York Stage and Film, BAM, Latinx Playwrights Circle, NYU/Strasberg, Atlantic Training Company, and West Edge Opera. B.A. San Francisco State University; Drama League Musical Theatre Directing Fellow; Manhattan Theatre Club Directing Fellow; Lincoln Center Theatre Directors Lab.

PREVIOUS MENTOR DIRECTORS
Recipients have served as Assistant Directors on past productions with directors May Adrales, Lili-Anne Brown, Tatyana-Marie Carlo, Jennifer Chang, Desdemona Chiang, Melissa Crespo, Valerie Curtis-Newton, Timothy Douglas, Rebecca Martinez, Lisa Portes, Nicole A. Watson, Whitney White, Dawn Monique Williams, Schele Williams, and Pirrone Yousefzadeh.
Irene Gandy Assistant Directors have been a part of productions at B.A.M., Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Court Theatre, Denver Center Theatre Company, Geffen Playhouse, Guthrie Theatre, Lincoln Center Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, McCarter Theatre Center, New York City Center, New York Theatre Workshop, The Public Theater, Seattle Rep, Syracuse Stage, Trinity Rep, Yale Repertory Theatre, and on Broadway national tours, among others.
The Drama League is a career accelerator and creative home for those who, in whole or in part, identify as directors — the artists who stand in the center of collective artmaking in theater, film, television, streaming, and all creative industries that utilize live performance. The Drama League offers acclaimed access, training, mentorship and opportunity for these artists and their collaborators.  First established in 1916 and founding The Directors Project in 1982, alumni of its programs, collectively known as The Directors Project, create over 1,100 projects each year for audiences around the world, numbering in the tens of millions. To be a part of supporting future generations of artists, please visit dramaleague.org/membership.
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ABOUT IRENE GANDY

A Tony Award Honoree for Lifetime Excellence, Irene Gandy began her Broadway career in 1973 as a publicist with the Negro Ensemble Company. She has worked on over 100 Broadway shows, including Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Purpose, Our Town, Purlie Victorious, Ohio State Murders, The Piano Lesson, Our Town, August: Osage County, Glengarry Glen Ross, Radio Golf, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, Lady Day At Emerson Bar and Grill, Bubbling Brown Sugar, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Me and My Girl, Spring Awakening, Talk Radio, Speed-The-Plow, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Chinglish, The Heidi Chronicles, Thoughts of a Colored Man, American Son, Fiddler on the Roof, You Can’t Take It With You, and The Wiz, among others. Working with producer Jeffrey Richards for over three decades, Ms. Gandy is the only Black female press agent in the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers. She is the recipient of the National Action Network’s Woman of Excellence Award, the Vanguard Award from Black to Broadway Productions, the Black Public Relations Society Award, the Black Pride NYC Pioneer Award, the Vivian Robinson/AUDELCO Pioneer Award for Excellence in Black Theatre, and the NAACP David Weaver Prize for Excellence in the Arts. In 2008, she became the first female press agent to be immortalized with a Sardi’s caricature.

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