Directors rarely receive time or resources for their own explorations, risks, or experimentations; usually, they must do so rapidly in rehearsal or previews, where production concerns and the needs of other artists must be prioritized. The Next Stage Directing Residency aims to fill this gap in development. In these weeks, directors are given moments of their own, to mine their creativity in three dimensions, without the pressure of production. Given space to imagine visceral, complex staging possibilities, directors can create more meaningful productions. The Next Stage Directing Residency is designed for stage directors to support a work they are attached to for possible future production — either a project they are directing, or one in which they are also a generative creator in other aspects (director-writer, director-designer, etc.).

The Drama League Directing Residencies support the interrogative process of a director creating work that includes live performance. The residencies offer financial support for a multi-stage developmental process, rehearsal and administrative space, mentorship from the artistic staff of the partner companies, and the opportunity to share the findings of the process publicly. The Drama League and its partners are not, and will not be, the producers of the project itself, and will only support the stated activities of this residency.