2025-2026 Denham Fellowship

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.

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. Cohn was selected for this honor by a committee of theatre professionals chaired by Marya Sea Kaminski and including Pamela Berlin, Desdemona Chiang, Monique Midgette, and Gustavo Zajac.

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.

About The Sound

The Sound is a new musical inspired by true events. Set in 1943 and today, this uplifting musical tells the story of an aging Holocaust survivor who recounts the harrowing days after the deportation of Danish Jews was ordered by the Nazis and he and his family race against the clock to elude capture by hiding in a fishing boat sailing from Denmark to Sweden across The Sound.

About the Fellowship

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.

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 Ockrent Fellowship

SDCF is thrilled to share that Krystyna Resavy has been selected as the 2025-2026 SDCF Mike Ockrent Fellow. She will serve as the Fellow for choreographer Ellenore Scott on Ragtime at Lincoln Center Theater on Broadway.

About Krystyna Resavy

Krystyna Resavy is a New York-based choreographer, creative, and dance educator. She is honored to be the recipient of the 2025 Mike Ockrent Choreography Fellowship and to work alongside Ellenore Scott on Ragtime at Lincoln Center. Recent choreography credits include Annie (Sharon Playhouse), South Pacific (Engeman Theater), The Prom (Sharon Playhouse), True North: The Musical (workshop), The Wedding Singer (New London Barn Playhouse), Guys & Dolls (NLBP), and Mamma Mia! (associate choreographer). Krystyna directed and choreographed Sharon Playhouse’s 2025 Spotlight Gala, as well as served as Christopher Gattelli’s assistant on The Cher Show (Broadway). Her work can be seen throughout New York City, having choreographed Samsung’s Launch Event Move with Galaxy featuring Diplo and Gwen Stefani, Steps in Concert at the Joyce Theater and Skirball Center, Leg Up On Life benefitting The Trevor Project (Sony Hall, HK Hall), The Brearley School, Arts for Alzheimer’s, The Love Project, Jared Grimes’s Run the Night, New York City Dance Alliance, Onstage New York, and more. Krystyna is currently on the Theatre Jazz faculty at Steps on Broadway and guest faculty for New York City Dance Alliance. @krystyna.resavy

About the Fellowship

Established in 2001 by the family of the late director, the Mike Ockrent Fellowship provides an opportunity for an early-career director or choreographer to support an experienced director or choreographer on the production of a big-budget Broadway musical or play. The Fellowship offers an in-depth understanding of the skills necessary to create theatre on a Broadway scale. The Fellow has the opportunity to participate in the entire production process.

Mike Ockrent (1946–1999) was a British stage director. Following his early successes in London—including productions of Educating Rita, The Nerd, and Follies—he transitioned to Broadway in 1986 with Me and My Girl, which earned numerous Tony Award nominations including Best Direction of a Musical and Best Musical. In 1992, he conceived (with Ken Ludwig) and directed Crazy for You, choreographed by Susan Stroman, which won the 1992 Tony Award (Broadway), the 1993 Olivier Award (London), and the 1994 Dora Award (Toronto) for Best Musical. He also directed and created the Madison Square Garden Holiday Extravaganza A Christmas Carol with Ragtime lyricist Lynn Ahrens.

Past recipients of the Ockrent Fellowship include Rebecca Kritzer, mentored by Leigh Silverman and Mayte Natalio on Suffs; Ilana Ransom Toeplitz, mentored by Casey Nicholaw on The Prom; Tomé Cousin, mentored by George C. Wolfe on The Iceman Cometh; Sonjae Kim, mentored by Pam MacKinnon on Amélie; and Benjamin Klein, mentored by Scott Elliott on Barefoot in the Park.

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