Beatrice Terry Directing Residency
A Partnership with Hubbard Hall Center for the Arts and Education
Application Opens Mid-September 2025
The Cotillion, written and developed by Colette Robert in the Beatrice Terry Directing Residency, premiered in 2023 at The Movement Theatre Company and New Georges in New York City. Photo: Loreto Jamling
RESIDENCY DETAILS
OVERVIEW
OVERVIEW
The Beatrice Terry Residency, a partnership with Hubbard Hall Center for the Arts and Education, is a play development opportunity designed for women and nonbinary stage directors who identify as generative artists…that is, they are both writer and director of projects, directing AND writing/adapting the text of the theatrical production.
In a week-long residency, the Recipient and up to three collaborating artists will complete the creation of an early draft of a new piece the Recipient plans to direct, utilizing the Hubbard Hall theatre, rehearsal spaces, grounds, and resources to develop ideas as both writer and director. There is also an opportunity for a Community Sharing at Hubbard Hall at the conclusion of the experience.
The Beatrice Terry Residency is specifically designed for women and nonbinary people; the Residency seeks to make space and resources for these communities, who often encounter sexism, bias, misogyny, and other barriers when they choose to both write and direct simultaneously. This residency is named for Drama League alumnus Beatrice Terry, who pioneered her own approach to theatrical creation during her lifetime, as a writer and director of her own work in a male-dominated field.
The Drama League Directing Residencies are designed to support the interrogative processes of generative directors, creating work that includes live performance. The residencies offer financial support for a multi-stage developmental process, rehearsal and administrative space, dramaturgical/mentor support from the artistic staff, 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, nor producers of any public or private event in conjunction with this residency.
SUMMARY
SUMMARY
2026 DATES OF RESIDENCY: November 2-8, 2026
NUMBER OF RESIDENCIES: One (1), offered annually.
ELIGIBILITY: Before applying, visit the F.A.Q. page for full eligibility details.
SCHOLARSHIP PRIZE: Recipient receives $4,000 to cover expenses related to the Residency. Up to three (3) collaborating artists receive financial stipends ($850/person, not to exceed $2,550 total). All prize and stipends are taxable under U.S. law, and recipients will be responsible for tax payments.
HEALTH INSURANCE REIMBURSEMENT: None.
HOUSING INFORMATION: Artist Housing for the residency is provided by Hubbard Hall in the Lovejoy Artist Residency, on the Hubbard Hall campus.
TRAVEL INFORMATION: The Drama League will provide an additional $1000 maximum travel stipend, which may be used to cover gas/mileage, rental cars, or train tickets to Albany, the nearest train station. NOTE: automobile travel is recommended. At their discretion, Hubbard Hall may be able to arrange pick up from Albany to Hubbard Hall, but this is not guaranteed. Recipients are advised to plan their travel before applying.
OTHER RESOURCES: If requested prior to the Residency, volunteer actors from the Cambridge community may be available for work as needed during the Residency period. Should the Recipient evolve the piece in the following two years where they deem it ready for an industry reading in New York City, The Drama League will provide an additional $1000 in resources or space rental for this purpose, as well as e-communications support. The Recipient will serve as the producer of this reading, or designate another person or entity to do so. This is an optional benefit, and is not required by The Drama League; we recognize that works at early stages of creation take different paths to fruition.
OTHER BENEFITS: VIP Pass to all publicly offered Drama League programming during the Fellowship 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.
TIMELINE
TIMELINE
1. PRE-RESIDENCY PLANNING | Online (Zoom)
1. PRE-RESIDENCY PLANNING | Online (Zoom)
DATES: Summer/Fall (TBD, Occasional, online/remote)
DESCRIPTION: The Recipient meets with Drama League and Hubbard Hall staff to prepare for the process ahead, including script development, casting, scheduling, and other elements.
2. WRITING PERIOD | Location TBD by Recipient
2. WRITING PERIOD | Location TBD by Recipient
DATES: Summer/Fall
DESCRIPTION: The Recipient will work on preparation of the script as they determine, supported by the scholarship prize and the Drama League Artistic Staff.
3. HUBBARD HALL BEATRICE TERRY RESIDENCY | Cambridge, NY
3. HUBBARD HALL BEATRICE TERRY RESIDENCY | Cambridge, NY
2026 DATES: August 3-9, 2026
DESCRIPTION: The recipient and their additional collaborators receive time and space to self-facilitate exploratory rehearsal at Hubbard Hall. Additional volunteer actors may be available from the Cambridge arts community, if requested prior to the residency. The opportunity to share findings with the Cambridge community is offered at the end of the Residency.
4. ADDITIONAL READING RESOURCES | New York, NY
4. ADDITIONAL READING RESOURCES | New York, NY
DATES: Optional, up to two years after Hubbard Hall Residency
DESCRIPTION: Should the Recipient evolve the piece in the following two years where they deem it ready for an industry reading in New York City, The Drama League will provide an additional $1000 in resources or space rental for this purpose, as well as e-communications support. The Recipient will serve as the producer of this reading, or designate another person or entity to do so. This is an optional benefit, and is not required by The Drama League; we recognize that works at early stages of creation take different paths to fruition.
FELLOWSHIP PARTNERS
THE DRAMA LEAGUE
THE DRAMA LEAGUE
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. Launched in 1916, 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.
HUBBARD HALL
HUBBARD HALL
Since 1878, Hubbard Hall Center for the Arts and Education has developed, produced, and presented theater, music, opera, dance, and the visual arts, and in recent years has become a world-class development center for new work in beautiful Cambridge, NY. Since 1977, Hubbard Hall’s current nonprofi t has engaged thousands of artists, students, and audience members. As a training ground for both young and seasoned artists, Hubbard Hall continues to develop a new generation of artists and audiences while providing opportunities for individuals to take new risks and stretch beyond their comfort zone. Through classes in dance, theater, music, movement, visual arts, puppetry, creative writing, martial arts, yoga, and even gardening, Hubbard Hall gives students of all ages an opportunity to train, collaborate, and thrive. They have recently developed award-winning works by Ryan J. Haddad, Misha Shayok Chowdury, and others.
ABOUT BEATRICE TERRY...
Beatrice Terry (1960-2012) was a founder of the theatre ensemble Lesbian Pulp-O-Rama, and an accalimed freelance director. Her New York directing credits included productions at the Ensemble Studio Theatre, HERE Arts Center and Pearl Theatre Company. She was the associate director on a number of Broadway productions, including Memphis, God of Carnage, La Bete, The Caretaker, and Leap of Faith; she was assistant director on the Tony-winning Broadway production of Spring Awakening, and later worked on its national tour. She became an indispensable collaborator for directors like Michael Mayer, Christopher Ashley, Matthew Warchus, David Jones and more. As a playwright and director, Ms. Terry frequently faced gender bias when pursuing a holistic practice of her creativity that includes both disciplines simultaneously. The Beatrice Terry, founded in her member by Mr. Mayer, The Drama League, and Ms. Terry's widow, Gretchen Michelfeld, attempts to address this bias in the field with resources and transparency.
