Theater News

Drama League Announces Lineup for "DirectorFest 2019"

The 35th annual directors festival will include master director conversations with Lear deBessonet and Ruben Santiago-Hudson.

Lear DeBessonet is set for a Master Director Conversation during the 2019 DirectorFest.
Lear deBessonet is set for a master director conversation during the 2019 DirectorFest.
(photo provided by Richard Hillman Public Relations)

The Drama League has announced the 2019 lineup of DirectorFest, the only festival in the United States exploring the art of contemporary stage directing. For its 35th year, the festival will include six fully staged productions, a showcase evening of a new musical, discussion forums, and conversations with notable directors. DirectorFest will take place January 11-28, 2019, at various locations around New York City: the New Ohio Theatre, the Drama League Theater Center, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, and Joe's Pub.

Highlights of the festival include a reimagined new staging of a Stephen Sondheim's Marry Me a Little, the New York premiere of The Clitorish by Mara Nelson-Greenberg, and the North American premiere of This Is Not Hamlet, conceived by Bulgarian director Boyan Kracholov.

Chosen last spring from over 330 applicants nationwide, the directors presented this year — Jennifer Chang, Tara Elliott, Kemar Jewel, Seonjae Kim, Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li, Whitney White, and Kracholov, recently completed various programs as part of the Drama League Directors Project.

In addition, the festival will include master director conversations with Lear deBessonet and Ruben Santiago-Hudson. The lineup also includes plays and musicals by Caryl Churchill, Jean Genet, Mara Nelson-Greenberg, and Charles L. Mee.