NEA TCG CAREER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR Directors SUPPORTED IN PART BY THE FORD FOUNDATION 2005-2007 PROGRAM DESCRIPTION Since 1987, The National Endowment for the Arts and Theatre Communications Group have provided financial support and creative opportunities to exceptional early-career stage directors who seek a career in America’s not-for-profit professional theatre. Candidates for the Career Development Program must have directed at least three fully-staged professional productions. The program offers recipients the opportunity to spend six months over a two-year period developing their directing skills, expanding their artistic boundaries and increasing their knowledge of the field. Program activity may include assistantship, observation, research and travel. Recipients may also direct projects under the guidance of one or more designated mentors. Each program is hand-tailored, matching the recipients’ goals to appropriate and challenging assignments. This program is administered by Theatre Communications Group in association with the National Endowment for the Arts and supported, in part, by the Ford Foundation's New Works Program. Under the program, $22,500 will be given to seven early-career stage directors of exceptional talent. The Ford Foundation's support will enable each recipient to receive up to $1,000 to support ongoing life needs such as health insurance, child care or elder care. The recipients will be chosen by a national, independent and aesthetically diverse selection panel (jointly appointed by TCG and the National Endowment) through a competitive application review process. The finalists will be interviewed by the panel in New York City. These guidelines and application will be downloadable at www.tcg.org in December 2004. ELIGIBILITY I Potential for the program to contribute to the I Candidates must be citizens or permanent residents of the applicant’s artistic growth United States at the time of application. I Capacity to carry out the program, including I Candidates must be prepared and able to relocate receptivity to new ideas during the program period, if necessary, for the successful completion of specially tailored career THE PROCESS TAKES PLACE IN TWO STAGES: development placements. I ROUND 1: Based on application materials, a small group of I Candidates must have no professional or personal finalists is chosen and requested to submit three letters of commitments which would prevent them from recommendation; devoting six full months to program-related activities. I ROUND 2: Finalists travel to New York City and are I Candidates must have directed at least three fully staged interviewed by members of the selection panel who professional productions. (Productions are subsequently choose the recipients. The personal interview considered professional if all artists are paid for their work; is an essential part of the selection process. Round-trip productions at educational institutions or transportation and hotel accommodations will be provided community theatres do not meet this requirement.) to finalists who live outside of the New York City area. I Candidates who have not directed professionally for at least one year after completing their academic training are PROGRAM ACTIVITIES generally not eligible. Individual programs are designed to afford new opportunities and I Candidates enrolled in, or on leave from, university or assignments to work with artists or theatres with whom the conservatory training programs at the commencement recipient has not previously had a close association. Recipients of the program period are not eligible. are not, however, precluded from accepting work as long as it I Candidates may not maintain salaried staff positions does not conflict with program assignments and does not prevent during NEA/TCG Career Development Program activities. the recipient from devoting six full months to the program. I Previous recipients of a National Endowment for Utilizing suggestions from the selection panel, the program the Arts Director Fellowship, NEA/TCG Director staff works with the recipient to find placements with one or Fellowship or the NEA/TCG Career Development more senior directors and other freelance or institutionally Program for Directors are not eligible to apply. based artists, including, when appropriate, cross-disciplinary assignments (e.g. directors working with designers or THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN DESIGNED TO BENEFIT DIRECTORS dramaturgs). The placements may take the form of residencies at with a strong commitment to a career in the not-for-profit theatre institutions, working relationships with individual professional theatre. Directors who hope to work exclusively in mentors, or community-based projects. Recipients should expect other disciplines, such as opera, are not eligible. to be involved with assisting or observing pre-production planning Candidates of diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply to and day-to-day artistic activities anywhere in the country. The this program. No applicant will be discriminated against on the program staff also works with both freelance mentors and host basis of race, sex, religion, sexual orientation, color or national theatres to develop directing opportunities for recipients (e.g. origin. workshops or productions in second spaces). In addition to key work assignments, the program arranges and SELECTION PROCESS supports travel and observation for recipients and makes it THE APPLICATION PROCESS FOR THE NEA/TCG CAREER possible for recipients to attend productions and to meet leading Development Program is highly competitive and only seven theatre artists throughout the country. The program precludes directors will be chosen from the nationwide applicant pool. A recipients from working with the selection panel members during national independent selection panel (jointly appointed by TCG the two year program period. and the National Endowment) consisting of institutionally-based As part of the program’s benefits, recipients receive resource and freelance directors and a lay person evaluates applicants information, a subscription to American Theatre magazine and according to the following criteria: various TCG publications pertinent to the program. The 2005-2007 recipients will also be invited to attend TCG’s National Conference I Talent, skills, artistic excellence and professional experience in June 2006. I Potential for future excellence as a stage director I Commitment to a career in the not-for-profit professional theatre CALENDAR STIPENDS & REPORTING Application postmark deadline February 7, 2005 REQUIREMENTS Finalist notification May 9, 2005 I Each recipient receives a stipend of $22,500. Finalist recommendation deadline May 27, 2005 I Stipends of $3,500 will be paid at the beginning of each Finalist interviews (New York City) July 28 & 29, 2005 month devoted to program activities, with the final $1,500 Notification of recipients Week of August 1, 2005 stipend paid upon acceptance of the recipient’s final report. Recipient orientation August 2005 I Each recipient will also be eligible to receive up to $1,000 to Earliest commencement date October 1, 2005 support ongoing life needs such as health insurance, child TCG National Conference June 2006 care, and/or elder care. Requests for supplemental funds Latest completion date September 30, 2007 will be considered after the recipients have been chosen. Recipients’ final reports due October 31, 2007 Forms will be provided at that time. I As a condition of the support, each recipient is required to submit six monthly interim reports. A final report, HOW TO APPLY which will be submitted to the National Endowment, G All applications must be typewritten or word-processed is due 30 days after the end of the program period on using a print size no smaller than 11 point Times New October 31, 2007. Roman with page margins at least one half inch on all I The program director also administers a travel fund which sides. Please do not exceed the space provided; additional enables recipients to visit theatres located in other parts of pages will not be considered. The application form may not the country and reimburses nominal costs associated with be reformatted. observerships, tickets for productions and research G Applicants must submit two (2) single-sided, unstapled expenses approved by the program staff. Housing and per copies of the five-page application form and two (2) single- diem costs are the responsibility of the recipient. sided, unstapled copies of a complete resume listing I Stipends cannot be used to underwrite fees for production dates and locations. Fully staged professional directing jobs, unless those assignments are related to the productions must be marked with an asterisk. Applications goals the recipient articulates in their application and must be postmarked by the February 7, 2005 deadline. interview. Faxes will not be accepted. G Applicants must provide proof of United States citizenship or permanent resident status by FOR MORE INFORMATION submitting a photocopy of either their birth certificate, CONTACT: voter registration card, passport or green card. Sheela Kangal, Senior Artistic Programs Associate, A driver’s license and social security card are not or Michael Francis, Artistic Programs Associate, acceptable proof of U.S. citizenship. Monday – Friday, 10AM - 6PM EST at Theatre G Finalists will be notified May 9, 2005 and required to submit Communications Group, 520 Eighth Avenue, three letters of recommendation by May 27, 2005. Please 24th Floor, New