Hangar Drama League Directors
Every summer, the Hangar Theatre and the Drama League team up to give four future artistic leaders the extraordinary experience leading the Hangar’s Lab Company, producing the Wedge Series, and directing KIDDSTUFF productions. Applicants for the Hangar Drama League Directing Fellowship submit a production essay and artistic statement, which are reviewed by a panel. This pool is narrowed to 16 candidates, who come to New York for a day of interviews with three panels of national theatre artists. Once selected, the four Hangar Drama League Directing Fellows join an incredibly prestigious group of alumni, including Sam Gold (whose Broadway credits include The Glass Menagerie with Sally Fields and Fun Home, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Direction), Rachel Chavkin (director of the hit musical Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812), and Hangar’s own Artistic Director Michael Barakiva! This season, the Hangar Theatre and the Drama League are pleased to introduce Ithaca audiences to these four inspiring directors.
The Hangar is excited to welcome our 2019 Hangar Drama League Directing Fellows!
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Sharifa Elkady
Sharifa Elkady is a trans Egyptian-American director from Charleston SC. She is the artistic director and founder of Sojourner Stage Theatre Company as well as a 2018-2019 Directing Apprentice at Actors Theatre of Louisville. She has also completed internships at Weston Playhouse in Weston, Vermont and Theater J in Washington, D.C. Elkady graduated cum laude from Winthrop University with a B.A. in theatre performance and a minor in sociology. She uses these two areas of study to produce pieces of theatre that are not only powerful, but focus on socio economic issues and marginalized communities. www.sharifaelkady.com
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Ismael Lara, Jr.
Ismael Lara, Jr. is a Latinx director from Southeast Texas. He champions work that aids the fight against injustice and creates a bridge between underrepresented communities and the theatrical institution. Selected directing credits: And All the Dead Lie Down by Harrison David Rivers (Convergence-Continuum, workshop), Aunt Leaf (Cleveland Play House), The Mint Play (Cleveland Public Theatre). Assistant credits: Guards at the Taj, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Junk, The Chinese Lady (Milwaukee Rep), The Family Claxon (Cleveland Public Theatre, World Premiere). Ismael is part of the 18/19 SDC Observership Class and will be attending Northwestern to receive his MFA in Directing Fall 2019.
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Amanda McRaven
Amanda McRaven (MFA, UC Irvine) tells feminist stories. SDC Associate; Lincoln Center Directors Lab; LA Stage Alliance Ovation Award for her direction of The Pliant Girls; Fulbright Award (Community-based Theater, New Zealand); Co-Founder, Make Trouble advanced ensemble theater training (www.maketrouble.org). Amanda also teaches theater to incarcerated populations and is an advocate for performance as social justice. In addition to freelancing, she is committed to creating heart-driven work with her company, Fugitive Kind (www.fugitivekind.org). Other Credits: 16 Winters, or The Bear’s Tale (American Shakespeare Center), Penelope (California Repertory); The Discord Altar (OperaWorks), Assistant Director: The Clean House (Lincoln Center), Two Gentlemen of Verona (OSF). www.amandamcraven.com
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Sophia Watt
Sophia Watt is the associate director at Rec Room Arts and a freelance director in Houston, Texas. Directing credits include: The Effect (Match), Oleanna, The Visit and Creatures of Habit (The Landing Theatre Company), Hedda Gabler (artist residency at Rec Room Arts), Three Sisters (Guest artist at University of Houston). She has assistant directed for Theresa Rebeck at the Alley Theatre, and James Bohnen and Bill Brown at the University of Houston. She is an artistic associate with Titan Theatre Company and an alumni of a Barn Arts Residency, the Lincoln Center Director’s Lab, and SDCF Observership class 2016-2018. BFA:The Hartt School. MFA: University of Houston. www.sophiawatt.com
