SDCF Podcast Series

As live productions resume across the country, theater artists and managers are working to reopen for audiences. There are several conversations they must respond to—namely the ongoing pandemic and calls for action for equity and inclusion. This series will elevate those conversations, hearing from a group of theater leaders, directors and choreographers about their experiences on returning. In the first installment of this series we hear from Producing Artistic Director of Philadelphia Theatre Company Paige Price and director of The Garbologists at Philadelphia Theatre Company Estefanía Fadul as they join us in conversation and discuss the process of putting up this production. Learn more about the panelists here: https://sdcfoundation.org/sdcf-conversation-series-returning-to-rehearsal/ Join our mailing list: https://forms.gle/4yBHJSyu98cQw2Qm8

In this episode, the SDCF 2021 Zelda Fichandler Award Winner, Mark Valdez is interviewed by Michael John Garcés and they discuss everything from the most beautiful theater and how art can influence policy to rethinking the need for traditional performance spaces and leavening heavy themes with silliness and surprises. This podcast took place in early February 2022, Mark is now the current Artistic Director for the Mixed Blood Theatre. The Zelda Fichandler Award recognizes directors and choreographers who have demonstrated great accomplishment to date with singular creativity and deep investment in a particular community or region. The award was named after Zelda Fichandler who was the founding artistic director of the Arena Stage in Washington D.C. You can find this year's recipient and finalists here.   Mark Valdez is an LA-based director, writer, and cultural organizer. His work has been seen at community venues and professional theatres across California, including a tomato field in Grayson, a de-commissioned Catholic cathedral in downtown LA, as well from the stages of La Peña Cultural Center in Berkeley to the stages of Ricardo Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood for a Center Theatre Group produced production. Nationally, Mark has worked at theatres such as the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, where he created A Road to a Dream, a community collaboration along a 10-mile stretch of the Buford Highway, to shed light on the toll our nation’s broken immigration policies have on families and communities; Arizona’s Childsplay Theatre where he adapted and directed Gary Soto’s book, Chato’s Kitchen, about a low-rider gato from East LA; and Trinity Rep in Providence, where he directed A Christmas Carol that included 85 community choirs. His play Highland Park is Here, won the Audience Award at the Highland Park Film Festival and will be featured in Re:Encuentro, the national Latina/o/x Theater Festival. He is a current Board member of Double Edge Theatre and Cornerstone Theater Company, and a former Board member of TCG. Mark is currently working on The Most Beautiful Home…Maybe, a multi-city project that aims to influence housing policy utilizing performance, cultural organizing, and creative community development strategies.

SDCF announced the honorees of this year’s Joe A. Callaway Awards, Gordon Davidson Award, and The Zelda Fichandler Award. The Awards were presented virtually on Monday, February 8, 2021 at 8pm ET. The Joe A. Callaway Awards was presented to Danya Taymor for her outstanding direction in Heroes of the Fourth Turning (Playwrights Horizons), and to Travis Wall for his outstanding choreography in The Wrong Man (MCC Theater). The finalists for this award are Knud Adams and Les Waters. The Joe A. Callaway Awards recognize excellence in directing and choreography in New York City and are the only awards given by peer directors and choreographers for work on a single production. The Gordon Davidson Award was presented to Seret Scott. The Gordon Davidson Award is bestowed annually by SDCF to recognize a director or choreographer for lifetime achievement and distinguished service in the regional theatre nationally. The Zelda Fichandler Award was presented to Kamilah Forbes. The finalists for this award are Carol Dunne, Seema Sueko, and Pirronne Yousefzadeh. The Zelda Fichandler Award is SDCF’s first award devoted to the regional theatre. With this award, SDCF acknowledges the profound impact the founders of regional theatre have had on the field, honoring their legacy through the recognition of the extraordinary directors and choreographers who are transforming the national arts landscape with their unique, creative work and deep investment in a community. The Breakout Award was presented to Jenn Rose.  The Breakout Award is given to a director or choreographer for a production or selection of work that signals a shift in a career and the beginning of critical recognition — a “rising star” moment. For 2020, the winner and finalists were chosen on the above criteria and directed or choregraphed digital work during the pandemic that made an impact.

On Thursday, October 8th, 2020 SDCF Trustee Sheldon Epps continued his conversation on artistic leadership with Gordon Davidson Award recipient Seret Scott. Scott and Epps discussed her wide-ranging and inspiring achievements and her work with the Free Southern Theatre in the 1960s, her performances as an actress on Broadway and beyond, and her remarkable career as a freelance director across the country.

On August 25th, 2020 SDCF Trustee and Artistic Director Emeritus of Pasadena Playhouse Sheldon Epps moderated a second roundtable conversation with regional Artistic Directors new to their roles about facing the specific challenges of the moment. He was joined by Melia Bensussen (Hartford Stage), Tim Bond (TheatreWorks Silicon Valley), David Ivers (South Coast Repertory), Rob Melrose (Alley Theatre) and Sarah Rasmussen (McCarter Theatre Center).

On July 22, 2020 SDCF held a webinar with financial behaviorist, Jacquette Timmons. Jacquette spoke with us about financial planning during long-term unemployment and shared her unique blend of strategic budgeting advice coupled with candid talk about the ways our emotions play out in our financial lives.

On July 9th, 2020 SDCF hosted a virtual roundtable conversation, moderated by Sheldon Epps, SDCF Trustee and Artistic Director Emeritus of Pasadena Playhouse. He led a conversation about the challenges and opportunities of leading a non-ethnic specific organization as a leader of color. Sheldon was joined by Artistic Directors Robert Barry Fleming (Actors Theatre of Louisville), Nataki Garrett (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Jacob Padrón (Long Wharf Theatre), Hana Sharif (Repertory Theatre of St. Louis), and Stephanie Ybarra (Baltimore Center Stage).

We’re excited to share the second episode of The Founder’s Series with Anne Kauffman, as part of SDCF’s Masters of the Stage. In this episode, Anne speaks with Jonathan McCrory, Artistic Director and Sade Lythcott, CEO of the National Black Theatre. They discuss Dr. Barbara Ann Teer’s revolutionary vision and the founding of Harlem’s National Black Theatre; how Jonathan joined the National Black Theatre team and how together, Sade and Jonathan have reimagined the theatre’s mission, audience and visibility in the 21st century.

The Founder's Series was created by Anne Kauffman, Artistic Director of Encores! Off Center at New York City Center, as part of SDCF’s Podcast Series. In this series, Anne interviews artistic directors and founders who have had a lasting impact on the nonprofit theater community around the country. In this episode Anne talks with Emily Mann, Artistic Director of the McCarter Theatre Center, about her career journey as a female director, the adversity she’s faced, and how she has navigated these situations, including the current COVID-19 crisis, with strength.

American Shakespeare Center's Artistic Director, Ethan McSweeny sat down with Geoffrey Kent in a new episode of SDCF Podcast Series: Careers in the Classics.

Evren Odcikin, Founder of Maia Directors, sits with M. Graham Smith to discuss career and craft of working in regional theaters.

American Shakespeare Center's artistic director, Ethan McSweeny sat with Eric Tucker in the new SDCF Podcast Series, Careers in the Classics.

On July 6th, 2019, American Shakespeare Center's artistic director, Ethan McSweeny sat with Sharon Ott, the director of ASC's production of Antony and Cleopatra, for the inaugural episode of the brand new SDCF Podcast Series, Careers in the Classics.

Elizabeth Williamson, Associate Artistic Director at Hartford Stage, sits with M. Graham Smith to discuss career and craft of working in regional theaters.

This episode, was recorded at Stage Directors and Choreographers offices on May 22, 2019. Director Robert O’Hara interviews SDC Foundation Board of Trustees President, Sheldon Epps.