SDCF awards Fellowships for early-career, mid-career, and established artists throughout the year. See below for information. When a fellowship is currently open for applications, it will be reflected under this description. To be on our mailing list to learn about when fellowships open, please email foundation@sdcfoundation.org
Denham Fellowship
The Denham Fellowship was 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 annual award goes to women who are early or mid-career directors to further develop her skills. Candidates may apply to the Denham Fellowship under one of two plans: fee enhancement or self-producing.
Past Denham Fellows include: Cristin Carole, Colette Robert, Arpita Mukherjee, Michelle Bossy, May Adrales, Tea Alagic, Rachel Alderman, Kathleen Amshoff, Jessi Hill, Joanie Schultz, Pirronne Yousefzadeh, Bridget Leak, Hannah Ryan, Diane Rodriguez, and Shirley Jo Finney.
Eligibility and Process: SDC Members and SDC Associate Members in good standing may apply. Application must be made with a scheduled production in mind. The Denham Fellowship recipient is selected by a committee of theatre professionals. In accordance with the donor’s bequest, this is an award specifically for women. Applications typically open in June each year and notifications happen in September.
Applications for the 2024 Denham Fellowship closed in July 2024.
Mike Ockrent Fellowship
The Mike Ockrent Fellowship was established in 2001 by the family of the late director; it provides an opportunity for an early career director to support an experienced director on the creation of a big-budget Broadway musical or play. The Fellowship provides an in-depth understanding of the skills necessary to create theatre on a Broadway scale. The Fellow will have the opportunity to participate in the entire production process.
Past Okrent Fellows include: Rebecca Kritzer mentored by Director Leigh Silverman and Choreographer Mayte Natalio; Ilana Ransom Toeplitz mentored by Casey Nicholaw; Tomé Cousin, mentored by George C. Wolfe; Sonjae Kim, mentored by Pam MacKinnon; and Benjamin Klein, mentored by Scott Elliott.
Eligibility and Process: Candidates should be either SDC Member or SDC Associate Member in good standing. Finalists are interviewed by the mentor, who select the recipient.
This fellowship opportunity opens when in alignment with the right production so there is currently no set schedule for the next fellowship opportunity. Updates will be provided.
Sir John Gielgud Fellowship
This Fellowship originated in 1996 from a generous contribution from Sir John Gielgud to provide opportunities for early career directors to study the craft of directing classical plays by supporting an experienced director.
Past Gielgud Fellows include: Saheem Ali, mentored by Michael Mayer; Desdemona Chiang, mentored by Bill Rauch; Chika Ike mentored by Daniel Sullivan & Charles Newell and Tyne Rafaelli, mentored by Julie Taymor.
Eligibility and Process: Candidates must be nominated by an SDC Member or SDC Associate Member in good standing. Nominees can be Members or non-Members, and must submit an application. Applicants are screened by a panel of theatre professionals and finalists are interviewed by the mentor, who selects the recipient.
The Sir John Gielgud Fellowship was sunset in 2022.
Shepard and Mildred Traube Fellowship
The Traube Fellowship was established in 1999 in celebration of the 40th anniversary of SDC, and to honor the legacy of Shepard and Mildred Traube. The Fellowship supports the development of future Broadway artists by providing members of the SDCF Observership Class the opportunity to observe an experienced director or choreographer on a Broadway production.
Past Traube Fellows include: Inés Braun mentored by Mark Brokaw; Sash Bischoff, mentored by Rob Ashford; and Rhonda Kohl mentored by Kathleen Marshall.
The Shepard and Mildred Traube Fellowship was sunset in 2022.
Charles Abbott Fellowship
The Charles Abbott Fellowship was established in 2008 by friends of the regional theater director to support early and mid-career directors interested in musical theatre. Fellowships provide the opportunity to support an experienced director – who is also the host theatre’s Artistic Director – on an American musical in a regional theatre of national recognition. This Fellowship provides a unique education in the skills necessary to create a musical, the workings of regional theatre, and the leadership of those artists shaping the regional cultural landscape.
Past Abbott Fellows include: Robert Barry Fleming, mentored by Molly Smith, AD of Arena Stage; Brandon Ivie, mentored by Eric Schaeffer, AD of Signature Theatre (VA); and Christine O’Grady Roberts, mentored by Joseph Haj, AD of the Guthrie Theatre, Marina Montesanti, mentored by Diane Paulus of A.R.T, and Emma Cavage, mentored by Mark S. Hoebee.
Eligibility and Process: Only SDC Members and Associate Members may apply. Applicants are screened by a panel of theatre professionals. Finalists are interviewed by the mentor, who selects the recipient. Applications for the Charles Abbott Fellowship open typically once a year and depends on the selected production so the application timeline shifts from year to year.
Applications for the 11th Annual Charles Abbott Fellowship closed in September 2023.
Harold Prince/Kurt Weill Fellowship
Established in 2013 by the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music, this Fellowship nurtures an early-career director or choreographer annually by placing them as an associate on a stage work of Kurt Weill or Marc Blitzstein, under the guidance of a master director or choreographer. Each year’s production, selected by the Kurt Weill Foundation, is a theatrical work composed by Weill or Blitzstein and may include musical theater, opera, operetta, and dance works.
Past Weill Fellows include: Jenny Bennet and Alison Moritz, both mentored by Tazewell Thompson; Shaun Patrick Tubbs, mentored by John Fulljames; and James Blaszko, mentored by John Doyle.
Eligibility and Process: SDC Members and Associate Members may apply. Applicants are screened by a committee including staff members from both the Kurt Weill Foundation and SDCF, as well as other theatre professionals. Finalists are interviewed by the mentor, who selects the recipient.
Applications for the Fellowship open when there is a production available so the application timeline shifts from year to year.
For more information on the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music and their programs, please visit kwf.org .
George C. Wolfe Fellowship
Established in 2011 by friends of the luminary director, the George C. Wolfe Fellowship offers professional directors and choreographers the chance to explore an area of interest, and thereby add another weapon to their artistic arsenal to be used to help shatter the perceived boundaries restricting their career. The Fellowship provides funds for the development of an interest that will add muscle to the recipient’s artistry, something the demands and rigor of their career have prevented them from pursuing.
Previous recipients include JoAnn Yeoman, who explored the effects period costumes and accessories have on the physical and psychological aspects of actors and singers; and Imani Douglas, who conducted an in-depth analysis of 1920 – 1945, beginning with the Harlem Renaissance and extending through the war years, researching encounters between people of color and Nazis.
Eligibility and Process: Applicants must be SDC Members or SDC Associate Members with six or more years of professional experience as a lead director or choreographer. The recipient is chosen by a committee comprised of at least five renowned theatre professionals including at least two Members of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
Applications for this opportunity open when available. There is not set timeline for when the opportunity opens in any given year.
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