DirectorsLab Chicago 2019 Seeks Applicants

The DirectorsLabChicago (DLC) Steering Committee and Artistic Director Wm. Bullion are pleased to announce their 2019 DirectorsLab to be held Sunday-Saturday, August 18-24, 2019, at Victory Gardens Theater as well as in other prominent Chicago theater venues throughout the week-long collaborative symposium for stage directors. The theme for this year's Lab is "In the Room." Applications are available now at www.directorslabchicago.com and the application deadline is April 30, 2019.

"As leaders of their creative spaces, captaining teams of other artists and steering conversations, directors hold significant responsibility and influence," says DLC Managing Director Anna Trachtman. "Inspired by the strongly-held Chicago values of accessibility and accountability, our committee chose this year's theme to encourage participants to share and interrogate their own processes for building and maintaining the best rooms."

DirectorsLabChicago offers this annual week-long Lab as its flagship program. Now in its fifteenth year, the DLC has hosted 185 U.S.-based and 43 international directors, exploring themes such as "All Art is Political," "The Power of Myth and Ritual" and "The Kinetics of Directing." Previous presenters have included Robert Falls (Goodman Theatre), Kabuki master Shozo Sato, Martha Lavey (Steppenwolf Theatre Company), Leon Ingulsrud (Siti Company), Anne Cattaneo (Lincoln Center Theater), Chay Yew (Victory Gardens), and many others.

The Lab gathers directors from all over the world for a week of in-depth investigation of a single topic from multiple angles. It is geared toward professional directors in early- to mid-career stages, who are selected through a rigorous application process. As in years past, the Lab will consist of workshops and panel discussions with master artists, peer-led sessions, and visits to various Chicago productions.

DirectorsLabChicago was founded in 2005 by stage directors Elizabeth Margolius and Karin Shook as a result of their experience at the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab in New York. The artist service organization is very generously supported by the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab, Haven Theatre, and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, as well as by Victory Gardens Theater, primary host for the 2019 Lab.

More information about this year's theme, including details about eligibility and the application process, are available at directorslabchicago.com/lab. Applications will be accepted through Tuesday, April 30, 2019.