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| Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation | |
|---|---|
| Name | Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation |
| Type | Nonprofit |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Headquarters | New York City |
| Location | United States |
| Key people | Joseph Haj, Victoria Bussert |
Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation is a United States nonprofit organization serving practitioners in Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional theatre, and dance. It supports directors and choreographers through grants, residencies, research, and advocacy linked to institutions such as Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, American Repertory Theater, and Brooklyn Academy of Music. The foundation engages with major artists and organizations including Susan Stroman, Julie Taymor, Bob Fosse, Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey, and Jerome Robbins to preserve legacies and advance contemporary practice.
The organization was established in 2008 following discussions among leaders from Actors' Equity Association, Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, Helen Hayes Awards, Tony Awards, and producers associated with Broadway League and Off-Broadway. Early initiatives drew on precedents set by New Dramatists, Theatre Communications Group, Jacob's Pillow, and New York Theatre Workshop to create a unified resource for directors and choreographers. Over time it expanded collaborations with Public Theater, Roundabout Theatre Company, Second Stage Theater, Goodman Theatre, and Steppenwolf Theatre Company while documenting artistic practice through archives related to Library of Congress, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, and the collections of Museum of the City of New York.
The foundation's mission emphasizes artistic longevity, career sustainability, and the preservation of creative process in the lineage of figures like Twyla Tharp, Agnes de Mille, Garth Fagan, Peter Brook, and Judith Jamison. Programs include fellowship models inspired by MacArthur Fellows Program, research initiatives modeled on National Endowment for the Arts reports, and residency formats similar to Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and SITI Company. The organization supports documentation projects paralleling archival work for August Wilson, Eugene O'Neill, Arthur Miller, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Stephen Sondheim.
The foundation administers grants and awards to support staged development, choreography creation, and professional transition akin to awards from Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ford Foundation, Guggenheim Foundation, MacDowell, and Whiting Foundation. Competitive offerings include project grants, emergency relief similar to Actors' Fund assistance, and legacy grants that echo honors such as the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical and Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Recipients have included artists affiliated with New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Mark Morris Dance Group, and Martha Graham Dance Company.
Professional development programs mirror pedagogical approaches found at Juilliard School, Yale School of Drama, Columbia University School of the Arts, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. The foundation offers masterclasses, workshops, and mentorships drawing on practitioners from Adrianne Lobel, Anne Bogart, Ethan Hawke, Oskar Eustis, and David Henry Hwang. Training emphasizes directing and choreographic craft, career management, and industry navigation in contexts involving Broadway, West End, Stratford Festival, and Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Governance structures include a board with leaders from Chautauqua Institution, National Endowment for the Arts, American Theatre Wing, Tony Awards Administration Committee, and producing entities like Disney Theatrical Group and Cameron Mackintosh Ltd. Funding sources combine private philanthropy from foundations such as Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and Bloomberg Philanthropies, government support analogous to NEA Grants, corporate sponsorship from entities aligned with Live Nation and AXS, and revenue from benefit performances at venues like Broadway Theatre and Avery Fisher Hall.
The foundation advocates for labor standards and creative credit in partnership with Actors' Equity Association, SAG-AFTRA, United Scenic Artists, and DGA. Advocacy campaigns reference issues raised in disputes involving Shubert Organization, Nederlander Organization, and producers of major musicals including Hamilton (musical), The Lion King (musical), and Wicked (musical). Programmatic partnerships include collaborations with Lincoln Center Theater, The Public Theater, Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, New York Theatre Workshop, and international partners like Royal Shakespeare Company and Comédie-Française to support cross-cultural exchanges and touring.
Notable beneficiaries and collaborators include directors and choreographers such as Susan Stroman, Julie Taymor, Christopher Wheeldon, Martha Clarke, Twyla Tharp, Bob Fosse (posthumous programs honoring legacy), Jerry Mitchell, Michael Bennett, Garry Hynes, Ivo van Hove, Phyllida Lloyd, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Pina Bausch (via archival projects), and emerging artists from institutions like Princeton University, Harvard University, Brown University, Northwestern University, and Carnegie Mellon University. The foundation's grants and residencies have facilitated premieres at Lincoln Center Theater, Public Theater, La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Arena Stage, The Old Vic, and Sydney Opera House, and influenced policy discussions at forums including Theatre Communications Group National Conference, Tony Awards Administration Committee meetings, and sessions hosted by National Endowment for the Arts.
Category:Theatre organizations in the United States