The Rose Directing Fellowship
Applications Open Now
Deadline: February 2, 2024

THE ROSE DIRECTING FELLOWSHIP

Founded by the legendary director Sir Peter Hall and modeled on the original Rose Theatre – an Elizabethan theater that staged the early plays of Christopher 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. Please see our F.A.Q. page for eligibility questions.
Exchange Outline
Assistantship Duration
11 Continuous Weeks, approximately mid-August to early November
Assistantship Frequency
Offered every year
Assistantship Recipients
One recipient each cycle
Scholarship Prize
$850/wk for in-person period at the Rose Theatre, Kingston-Upon-Thames, London
Health Insurance Reimbursement
Up to $200 total for travel health insurance reimbursement, should the recipient desire
Program Timeline
Click each month for program details
June (TBD, occasional, online/remote)
EXCHANGE PREPARATIONS
The Fellow begins with a training seminar of the practice, expectations, and evolving role of assistant directors with professionals in the field, prior to their time at the Rose Theatre. This period may also include virtual meetings with staff and creative teams of the Rose Theatre and The Drama League.
Eleven (11) continuous weeks, approximately mid-August to early November)
ROSE THEATRE ENGAGEMENT
The Recipient travels to the Rose Theatre in London, where they serve as the Assistant or Associate Director on a Mainstage production in the Rose Theatre’s season. As part of their season, the Rose Theatre will offer a two-week public workshop of a new project, to be directed by the Recipient, utilizing the Youth Theatre Company of actors aged 16-22, through the Learning and Participation Department. The project, which will be chosen in consultation with the Recipient, will culminate in a public presentation in one of the Rose Theatre’s performance spaces. The Fellow will also integrate into the artistic team of the Rose Theatre, under the mentorship of Artistic Director Christopher Haydon, Producer David Sloan, and the Director of Learning and Participation, Lucy Morrell.
Additional Benefits
- Round-trip airfare for Recipient to/from London, from a city in the continental United States. Baggage fees, transit, buses, and in-city transportation in London are not included
- Complimentary housing provided by the Rose Theatre, featuring a private room inside a private residence
- VIP Pass to all publicly offered Drama League and Rose Theatre programming during Exchange season
- Access to Alumni Programming and Events
- Lifetime Drama League Artistic Membership
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.  Â
About The Rose...
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 Theatre, an Elizabethan theatre built in 1587 that staged the early plays of Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare, among others. It features a shallow thrust stage, including seating in the pit area and reaching a total number of 822 seats.
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The Rose officially opened in 2008 with Hall’s production of Uncle Vanya, although he also directed an “in the raw” production of As You Like It within the shell of the uncompleted building in December 2004. The Rose’s highlights include Hall’s revival of Alan Ayckbourn’s Bedroom Farce (which later transferred to the West End); Judi Dench in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Romeo and Juliet starring Tony nominee Sharon D Clarke; NoĂ«l Coward’s Hay Fever; Joely Richardson in The Lady from the Sea; and a reimagining of Jane Austen‘s Persuasion featuring the music of Frank Ocean, Dua Lipa and Cardi B. In 2023, The Rose welcomed Adjoa Andoh (Lady Bridgerton of Netflix’s “Bridgerton”) as the star and director of a new revival of Richard III.
About Kingston...


Kingston upon Thames is in southwest London, beautifully situated 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 the Rose Theatre. A center of shopping and commerce over centuries, Kingston’s Ancient Market is still held daily in the Market Place, where dozens of shops offer fish, jewelry, locally-grown produce, artisanal coffee, rare foods and flowers. Kingston’s main open space is the River Thames, with its lively frontage of bars and restaurants.
In the 13th century, Kingston became the first crossing point of the Thames upstream from London Bridge; its bridge, in fact, gave it great importance. In 1989, major shopping streets in the town center were turned into pedestrian zones. In the early 2000s, the Charter Quay development completed the riverside walk, as well as adding bars, restaurants and the Rose Theatre, which opened in 2008. Other cultural organizations in the area include the Kingston Orpheus Choir, the Kingston Museum, the Stanley Picker Gallery, the Kingston Philharmonia, and a number of annual arts festivals. Kingston is featured regularly in literature, film and television. It is where the comic Victorian novel Three Men in a Boat begins; cannons aimed against the Martians in H. G. Wells‘ The War of the Worlds are positioned on Kingston Hill. Actor Tom Holland, musician Eric Clapton, author P.D. James, photographer Eadweard Muybridge, and rapper Stormzy were born in Kingston and its surrounding areas.
QUESTIONS?Â
You may find your answer on our F.A.Q. page for artists,Â
which includes information about eligibility, application materials, and more.Â
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About the Drama League
The Drama League is a creative and career development home for directors, and a platform for dialogue with, and between, the audiences they inspire in theater, film, television, online, 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 our community supporting future generations of artists, please visit dramaleague.org/membership.