The Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center will accept applications for its 18-month fellowship for early-career theater directors on January 11-15. 

The National Directors Fellowship is the result of a partnership between the O’Neill Center, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, National New Play Network and Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation. 

Now in its second iteration and aimed at emerging directors with at least one credit outside of an educational setting, the NDF will take on 25 participants for its Jul. 2016 – Dec. 2017 program. The fellowship describes its aims as follows: "It connects early-career directors to a vast network of new writers, expands access to professional support services, and provides laboratory-like environments for observation and experimentation, equipping tomorrow’s stage directors with the skills, knowledge, and network to advance new play development and production around the country." 

"Response from the directorial community has been overwhelming; the National Directors Fellowship has clearly met a real need in supporting early career directors. I’m excited by this expansion of the O’Neill’s mission to support early career theater artists of all stripes, and to continue this work with our partners," commented O’Neill Executive Director Preston Whiteway. "The current group of five fellows will shortly move to their professional opportunities at NNPN theaters around the country."

For more information, application requirements, deadlines and the fellowship timeline, visit http://www.theoneill.org/professional-development-and-education/ndf.

You can also email ndf@theoneill.org or call (860) 443-5378 x227 to inquire about the program and application. 

Click here for the application preplist.

[via Broadway World, TheONeill.org]