Photos: The Drama League Professionals Week Producers Dinner

The Drama League's Gabriel Stellian Shanks (Artistic Director), Bevin Ross (Executive Director), and Bonnie Comley (Board President) welcomed the 2023 Directing Fellows at Sardi's in Times Square. The Directing Fellows Dinner is one of the many opportunities for the Directors Project Fellows in their initiation week in New York City. The week ends with the annual Drama League Awards, where the cohort is formally introduced to the theater community. The fellows are then matched with organizations and mentors for a lifelong connection to The Drama League.

The 2023 Drama League Directors Project has chosen fourteen directors for fellowships, assistantships, and residencies. The recipients include NJ Agwuna, Héctor Alvarez, Nehprii Amenii, Michelle Chan, Justin Emeka, Lyam B. Gabel, Diego González, Nadia Guevara, Alex Keegan, Ann Kreitman, Sanhawich Meateanuwat, Vanessa Ogbuehi, Ibi Owolabi and EJ Soto.

The annual dinner is an invited event for producing and other behind-the-scenes professionals to share their experiences with the directing fellows in an intimate setting. Lending their voices as mentors for the dinner included Tony Award Winning Producers Irene Gandy, Stewart F. Lane, Willette Klausner, Rose Caiola, Tony nominees Kumiko Yoshii, Townsend Teague, Lamar Richardson, Manny Klausner, and other award-winning theatermakers Nilan, Riki Kane Larimer, Catalin Stelian, and Barbara Von Borstel.

The Drama League is a home for stage directors and a platform for dialogue with and between the audiences they inspire. Founded in 1916, the organization is one of the longest-running, continuously operating arts service organizations in the United States. The Drama League offers a broad portfolio of acclaimed Fellowships, Residencies, Assistantships, Exchanges, and Learning Opportunities for directors at all stages of their careers in order to accelerate their development and support the most impactful creative work possible.

The dinner was hosted by The Drama League Board President Bonnie Comley and her husband, Stewart F. Lane. Comley and Lane were honored with a famous Sardi's caricature presented by Max Klimavicius in 2016. In the heart of New York's Theater District, Sardi's has been the toast of Broadway for 100 years.

To learn more, visit: www.DramaLeague.org

Photo Credit: Genevieve Rafter Keddy