Haven Theatre Company to Host THE DIRECTOR'S HAVEN, 10/24-11/4

Haven Theatre Company and Artistic Director Josh Sobel are proud to announce The Director's Haven, an emerging director's showcase, October 24 - November 4, at Collaboraction, Room 300 in the Flat Iron Arts Building, 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave. The Director's Haven, dedicated to putting early-career directors at the forefront, consists of three one-act plays produced in repertory, each helmed by one of Haven's pilot year emerging directors. The productions include Weird Kids directed by Monty Cole; Carrie and Francine directed by Arianna Soloway and Jane Doe 232 by JD Caudill. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at http://thedirectorshaven.brownpapertickets.com. For more information on The Directors Haven or Haven Theatre Company, visit HavenTheatreChicago.com.

In addition to offering the highest-quality productions on stage, most recently Arlene Hutton's Last Train to Nibroc, Haven Theatre is also investing in the next generation of Chicago's artistic voices. The Director's Haven gives directors in the earliest stages of their professional careers a rare opportunity to take risks, hone their crafts and talents and share their vision through a fully staged production of a short play. Giving directors support to produce during their formative years, which includes a full design team, budget, marketing support and more, allows these artists to create quality work as well as provides a platform to further their artistic visibility through the creation of said work.

In keeping with the goal of nurturing new artistic voices, each director is also partnered with a Mentor in the form of an established director from the Chicago theater scene. These Mentors, identified by the directors along with Sobel, serve as resources and sounding-boards through each director's individual creative process.

"It has been a concern of mine for years that there is a distinct lack of opportunities aimed at nurturing and supporting emerging directors," lamented Sobel. "All too often, young artists set up a home base in a city, and find a lack of structure and a lot of closed doors. There is no audition model for directors. Companies often stick to their pre-existing roster of directors, and only rarely post opportunities to apply for jobs. There are very few classes or workshops focused on creating on-its-feet work as a director. The options then become hoping that a meeting over coffee garners enough trust to lead to an opportunity (which is rare), hoping that assisting on productions will eventually grow to something more (which can be inconsistent), or sinking a heap of money into self-producing or starting a company (which not every young artist can afford to do). And while there are a handful of competitive programs out there, there are only a handful, and many of them still look for a certain amount of professional directing experience before they will fully consider an application. Haven aims to fill this hole in early career-building by championing the next generation of directors, showcasing their craft and better connecting them with the Chicago theatre landscape through their work," continued Sobel.

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