Stage Directors And Choreographers Foundation Opens Application Period For The Charles Abbott Fellowship

Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF), the not-for-profit foundation of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, has opened the application for the first of this season's two Charles Abbott Fellowships and announced the timetable for the second Fellowship application process. The fellowship opportunities will be with Curt Columbus, artistic director of Trinity Repertory Company in Providence RI on his production of the musical Ragtime at Trinity Rep, and with Joseph Haj, artistic director of the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis MN on his production of the musical West Side Story at The Guthrie.

Each Charles Abbott Fellow will have the opportunity to participate in the entire production process including conceptual meetings, design discussions, and casting sessions when possible, in addition to first rehearsal through opening night. Fellowship recipients are chosen by a committee of SDC member directors and choreographers. All early-career directors and director/choreographers are eligible for this opportunity; SDC affiliation is not necessary.

The Charles Abbott Fellowship comes with a $3000 stipend.

Applications are now being accepted for the Fellowship with Curt Columbus on Ragtime, with an application deadline of 12 noon eastern time onDecember 12, 2017, the recipient will be announced at the end of January, and the fellowship will take place from March 27 - April 30, 2018.

The application period for the Fellowship with Joseph Haj on West Side Story will open December 18, with a deadline of January 20, 2018. The recipient will be announced mid-March and the fellowship will run from May 15 through June 22.

Complete details on how to apply can be found at www.sdcfoundation.org/opportunities/fellowships/the-charles-abbott-fellowship.

Established by a wide group of friends and colleagues of Charles Abbott to honor him upon his retirement as Artistic Director of Maine State Music Theatre, the goal of the Charles Abbott Fellowship is to help early-career directors and director-choreographers of promise develop their skills in directing musical theatre by allowing them access to the entire rehearsal process, as a master artist directs a classic American musical in a regional theatre of national recognition. Mentors for The Charles Abbott Fellowship have historically been the artistic directors or resident directors of the host theatre. This Fellowship will continue to present a new generation of gifted artists with education in, and understanding of, the directorial skills necessary to create musical theatre, the workings of regional theatre, and the leadership of those artists shaping the regional arts landscape.

Founded in 1965, Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation exists to foster, promote, and develop the creativity and craft of stage directors and choreographers. SDC Foundation's mission is to create access to the field, to connect artists, and to honor the theatrical legacy of these artists. The centrality of the director's/choreographer's role in theatre and the impact that they have on other artists' careers-from playwrights to designers to actors-makes SDC Foundation's services essential to the theatre industry's health and continued vitality.