Applications for the Abe Burrows Award are now open! Applications are due February 25th, 2026 at 6:00pm ET.
The Abe Burrows Award at the SDCF is given annually to a director or director/choreographer who is working as an assistant director. This award comes with an unrestricted $10,000 grant meant to be used to aid the awardee in whatever way allows them to fully focus on their assisting work.
Eligibility & Process:
To qualify for this award:
- You must serve as an assistant director at some point between June 2026 and December 2027. The production you assist for must be directed by an SDC Member in good standing. If you are serving in a role equivalent to assisting but other language is being used to describe your work such as fellowship, apprenticeship, etc. you are eligible for this award.
- You do not need to have secured an assistant director opportunity by the deadline to apply for this award, but you must demonstrate and explain the steps you are taking at this time to secure such an opportunity in this timeframe.
If awarded, the funds will be made available to you in two payouts once you have confirmed your assistant director opportunity. SDCF will confirm the details of your assisting work with the producing theatre and will verify that this award is not being used to replace typical assistant director payment given by that organization.
Application Timeline:
Wednesday, February 4, 2026 – Applications Open
Wednesday, February 25, 2026 – Applications Close
March 2026 – Review applications & select awardee
April 2026 – Announce awardee
June 2026 – Earliest start time of the Assistant Directing opportunity.
How To Apply:
You can preview application questions below:
- Please share a little bit about your approach to directing. What kind of theatre do you hope to make and why? We invite you to share a play you have seen and describe something that struck you about its direction. (3,000 characters)
- What skills do you hope to gain and what do you hope to learn through assisting? Please also speak about why you think this is the right time in your artistic career to focus on assisting. (2,500 characters)
- Please tell us about a particular mentor who has provided guidance at some point in your artistic career. What made them effective as a mentor for you? What did you learn from them that you continue to use in your work? (3,000 characters)
- If you are scheduled to assist on a production, please share information about said production. If you aren’t currently scheduled to assist, please share your plans to secure an assisting opportunity or any ongoing conversations about being an assistant director on a production. (2,500 characters)
- Please attach your resume.
Past Awardees:
2025: Mack Brown and Tai Thompson – Read the announcement here
2024: Violeta Picayo & Sharifa Yazmeen – Read the announcement here
About Abe Burrows:
Born December 18, 1910 in New York City, Abe Burrows graduated New Utrecht High School in Brooklyn and later attended both City College and New York University. His career in radio and television writing began with This is New York (1938), followed by the Rudy Vallee Program (1940), Duffy’s Tavern (1940-1945), and the Abe Burrows’ Show (1946-1947). Burrows then turned to writing for the stage. Burrows wrote, doctored, or directed such shows as Guys and Dolls (1950); Make a Wish (1951); Two on the Aisle (1951); Three Wishes for Jamie (1952); Can-Can (1953): Silk Stockings (1955); Say, Darling (1958); How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1961); Cactus Flower (1965); Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1966); Forty Carats (1970); Good News (1974 Revival); Four on a Garden (1971): and many others. With his collaborator Frank Loesser, Burrows won a Pulitzer Prize for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, he won four Tony Awards. Burrows died on May 17, 1985.
Photo courtesy of the Burrows estate.