Howard Sherman Named Director of Communications & Education at Stage Directors and Choreographers Society

Laura Penn, Executive Director of SDC, the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, today announced the engagement of Howard Sherman as the union's first Director of Communications and Education. Sherman began in the position on October 23.

Regarding the appointment, Penn said, "As the union has grown both its programming and its services to members over the past few years, it has become increasingly clear that our senior staff was missing an essential element, namely clear communications within the field and the education community. Having known Howard as a colleague for many years, I know he'll be an extraordinary asset to both the staff and the field and I'm delighted to have him with us."

Sherman said, "I have been committed to collaborating with, supporting and celebrating the work of all of the artists who work in theatre. This new position gives me the opportunity to delve deeper into the work of directors and choreographers and to make their contributions to theatre and the work of their Union known better known at both the professional and training levels, while at the same time developing new initiatives to reach out to aspiring professionals to enhance their education."

Howard Sherman has been Executive Director of the American Theatre Wing and Eugene O'Neill Theatre, Interim Director of the Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts, Managing Director of Geva Theatre, General Manager of Goodspeed Musicals, and Public Relations Director of Hartford Stage. He founded the Arts Integrity Initiative at The New School of Drama in 2015, and will continue to operate that program, in particular its efforts against theatrical censorship. As a writer, Sherman has written for The Stage in London, Stage Directions, American Theatre, The Guardian, Slate and many other outlets.

SDC is the theatrical union that represents 4,000 professional stage Directors and Choreographers throughout the United States. Its mission is to foster a national community of professional stage directors and choreographers by protecting the rights, health, and livelihoods of all its Members. SDC has jurisdiction over the employment of directors and choreographers working in the following areas: Broadway and National tours, Off-Broadway, ANTC (Association of Non-Profit Theatre Companies, New York City), Resident Theatre (League of Resident Theatres-LORT), Resident summer stock companies (Council of Resident Stock Theatres -CORST/TSS), Dinner Theatre (Dinner Theatre Agreement-DTA), Regional Musical Theatre (RMT), and Outdoor musical stock (OMS).