SDC Announces Weill Fellowship With John Doyle And James Blaszko

Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF), the not-for-profit foundation of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), announced today that Director James Blaszko has been named the 2019 Kurt Weill Fellowship recipient. With generous support from The Kurt Weill Foundation, Blaszko will serve as Assistant Director to SDC Member, Tony Award-winner, and Classic Stage Company's (CSC) Artistic Director John Doyle on his upcoming production of Marc Blitzstein's The Cradle Will Rock at CSC, opening on April 3, 2019.

"We here at the Kurt Weill Foundation are excited about how our partnership with SDCF can introduce a new generation of stage directors to the work of Kurt Weill and Marc Blitzstein," states Brady Sansone, Director of Programs and Business Affairs at The Kurt Weill Foundation for Music. "We're especially pleased that this Fellowship will allow James to further his experience with Blitzstein's repertoire, having previously worked on a production of Regina."

This year, with an increased focus on midcareer directors, the Fellowship opportunity was open to all SDC Members and AssociateMembers, as well as SDCF's 2018-2019 Observership Class. Blaszko was selected from a pool of 54 directors.

Blaszko made his directorial debut with an original adaptation of Cyclops: A Satyr Play, at American Repertory Theatre's Oberon. Last season, Blaszko staged Puccini's Il Trittico in South Korea, the opening ceremony of the Harare International Festival of the Arts in Zimbabwe, and an original dance/theatre work based on the memories of a ballerina before and after her brain hemorrhage in New York City. He has worked as a creative producer for ArtsEmerson, programming assistant at Harlem Stage, and has assisted and supported productions with Beth Morrison Projects, National Black Theatre, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Opera Omaha, Bronx Opera, Concrete Temple Theatre, The Drama League, Elevator Repair Service, City Theatre Company and Jeff Stark.

Established in 2013 by the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music, the Kurt Weill Fellowship offers an opportunity for emerging and mid-career directors to assist a master director on a stage work of Kurt Weill or Marc Blitzstein. Through these Fellowships, directors will gain first-hand experience with the processes and specific approaches of master artists and thereby expand their own artistry, enrich leadership and collaboration skills, and further their knowledge of directing opera and/or musical theater. In addition, the Fellow will acquire greater understanding of Kurt Weill's and Marc Blitzstein's theatrical catalogue and an ability to draw on this in future work.