Lyric Stage Offering Lyric Next Stage Directing Fellowship

Producing Artistic Director Spiro Veloudos and Associate Artistic Director A. Nora Long today announced LYRIC NEXT STAGE - Lyric Stage's new program to support the development of the many early and mid-career directors who get their start in Boston, encouraging them to consider Boston a viable artistic home.

Ms. Long describes the need for such a program:

"As a Boston native, I have always wanted to be able to live and work here, but figuring out how exactly to do that has been hugely challenging. The path for a professional life as a director is by far the most nebulous anywhere. Actors audition. Playwrights submit. In Boston and nationally, there are a number of new work development arms. There is even a specific local job fair for designers and technical artists. But, how do you become a director? I've spent more than a decade trying to build a career as a director, whether by blindly submitting my resume, participating in short play festivals, or trying to land coveted assistantships. The Lyric Next Stage Directing Fellowship program would be one of only a handful of director mentorships nationwide, providing a unique opportunity to transition early-career directors into a professional life."

"By providing a bridge into the professional world for emerging artists, we ensure that future generations of Lyric Stage directors continue to reflect the diversity of our city. The program supports fellows by exposing them to a professional working environment, observing and assisting professional directors at work, developing and refining their craft and aesthetic and by providing career development experience by reviewing resumes, portfolios, and project proposals. The program will culminate in a showcase of the fellows' work in which we invite local Artistic Directors to attend."

Director applicants must be Greater Boston-area residents and must not be enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate training program at the time of their fellowship. As has been our practice at the Lyric Stage, we will aggressively pursue an inclusive application process.

The program is a season residency (August, 2017 - May, 2018) with a $2000 grant offered to each participant to offset costs associated with the program.

Application deadline for the 2017-18 Season is April 15, 2017

More details and an application form can be found at lyricstage.com/getinvolved/employment.cfm.

The Lyric Stage Company of Boston is Boston's oldest resident theatre company. Founded in 1974 by Polly Hogan and Ron Ritchell, its mission is to produce a range of live theatre, reflecting the different cultures of the Greater Boston area, and providing an intimate home for established and emerging Boston-based artists. Since 1997, the Lyric Stage has been led by Producing Artistic Director Spiro Veloudos, and, with Managing Director Matt Chapuran, produces seven shows each season to an annual audience of over 35,000, including 2,200 season ticket holders, in an intimate 240-seat theatre, established in 1991 in the YWCA Building at 140 Clarendon Street. In addition, the Lyric Stage offers Lyric First Stage, an educational summer program for teens, and Lyric First Curtain, which offers theatre-based education in non-traditional learning environments. Its partnership with the Boston Dance Alliance offers subsidized rehearsal space, and through a partnership with Fresh Ink Theatre, it supports the development of new plays by local playwrights. Highly acclaimed for the breadth, excellence, and variety of its productions, the Lyric Stage is the recipient of 31 Elliot Norton Awards, and 63 Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) Awards.