ABOUT THE FELLOWSHIP
The Denham Fellowship is awarded annually to women who are early and mid-career directors to further develop their directing skills. The Denham Fellowship comes with a $10,000 award. Established by Mary Orr Denham in 2006 with a bequest to the SDC Foundation in honor of her late husband, Reginald H. F. Denham, the Denham Fellowship is awarded annually to women who are early and mid-career directors to further develop their directing skills. The Denham Fellowship recipient is selected by the Denham Committee, which is made up of theatre professionals.
COMMITTEE NOMINATIONS
Denham Adjudication Committee Nominations will open July 13th 2026
Learn more about the Denham Fellowship Application Process below
APPLICATION TIMELINE
July 13th, 2026 – Committee Nominations Open
July 24th, 2026 – Committee Nominations Close
August 3rd, 2026 – Denham Fellowship Applications Open
August 31st, 2026 – Applications Close
November 2026 – Awardee Announced
ELIGIBILITY
The Denham Fellowship is open to women who are SDC Members and Associate Members in good standing.
Candidates may apply to the Denham Fellowship either to augment a fee offered to the director by a producing organization, or to cover/augment a director’s fee on a self-produced project.
PAST RECIPIENTS
Past recipients include Dalia Ashurina, Cristin Carole, Colette Robert, Arpita Mukherjee, Michelle Bossy, May Adrales, Tea Alagić, Rachel Alderman, Kathleen Amshoff, Jessi Hill, Joanie Schultz, Pirronne Yousefzadeh, Bridget Leak, Hannah Ryan, Diane Rodriguez, and Shirley Jo Finney.
2025-2026 FELLOW
SDCF announced Charlotte Cohn has been selected as this season’s SDCF Denham Fellow for her upcoming production of The Sound, opening in May 2026 produced by Center Stage Theatre, a program of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Rochester.
ABOUT CHARLOTTE COHN
Photo by Russ Rowland
Charlotte Cohn is a director, actor, and producer who was born in Denmark and raised in Israel, the youngest daughter of a Jewish survivor of WWII. A long-standing member of New York’s theatre community, she is dedicated to the development of new work, collaborating closely with playwrights to bring fresh voices to the stage. THE SOUND is a new musical inspired by her father’s escape during WWII, co-written with Jason Odell Williams (playwright, Church & State) with music and lyrics by Christian Douglas (current star of Broadway’s Moulin Rouge!). Charlotte directed a one-night presentation of the musical at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan.
As a director, Charlotte most recently helmed the UK premiere of Canned Goods by Erik Kahn at Southwark Playhouse in London, following her direction of the play’s world premiere in the United States. Her directing credits also include productions at Berkshire Theatre Group’s Unicorn Theatre, Jazz @ Lincoln Center, Safra Hall at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, The Cell Theatre, Premiere Stages, and American Theatre Group in New Jersey.
Charlotte produced the New York Times Critics’ Pick Handle with Care and the acclaimed Church & State. As an actress she appeared on Broadway in Baz Luhrmann’s La Bohème and Coram Boy. An Ovation Award winner and Bay Area Critics Circle Award nominee, Charlotte continues to champion bold, human-centered storytelling across all mediums. In addition to her independent projects, she mentors emerging playwrights through TRU (Theatre Resources Unlimited) and serves on the moderating team of the Playwrights-Directors Workshop at The Actors Studio, where she is a lifetime member.