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THE DRAMA LEAGUE OF NEW YORK INC
NEW YORK, NY · EIN 136160961 · Form 990 · FY2024 · Medium ($1M-$10M) · dramaleague.org
revenue
$2.1M
expenses
$1.9M
net assets
$1.5M
employees
17
program ratio
77%
mission · from form 990

THE DRAMA LEAGUE IS THE PREEMINENT CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT HOME FOR DIRECTORS, OFFERING ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITY TO THEM, THEIR COLLABORATORS, AND THE AUDIENCES THEY INSPIRE ACROSS THE WORLD.

profile · synthesized from sources

The Drama League of New York is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the development and support of theater directors. It offers the Drama League Stage Directing Fellowships, a two-year program providing emerging directors with financial support, health insurance reimbursement, creative retreats, and immersive experiences at major theater institutions across the U.S. The program includes professional development, mentorship, and opportunities to direct projects, culminating in industry exposure.

irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2024

What they reported doing

  1. #1 primary $324K
    ANNUAL AWARDS:PRESENTATION OF THE DISTINGUISHED PERFORMANCE AWARD AND HONORING OUTSTANDING ARTISTS FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE CURRENT THEATER SEASON.
  2. #2 $205K
    MEMBERSHIP PERFORMANCES:THE ORGANIZATION OFFERS SERVICES TO MEMBERS INCLUDING ATTENDANCE AT THEATRICAL PERFORMANCES.
named programs · 4 · from sources

What they call their work

DirectorFest
Capstone event where fellows direct a professional workshop of their own project, culminating in a public staged reading attended by industry professionals, with support from The Drama League’s artistic staff.
Directors Project Retreat at Carnegie Mellon
Annual technique-focused directing intensive in Pittsburgh, PA, held in residence at Carnegie Mellon University, where fellows work with professional actors and acclaimed director-mentors in a risk-free, process-oriented environment.
Directors Project Week
Annual intensive week in New York City featuring workshops, performances, and meetings with industry leaders, culminating in the Drama League Awards, designed to introduce fellows to the theater industry.
Drama League Stage Directing Fellowships
Two-year fellowship program for emerging directors offering $100,000 in scholarship support, health insurance reimbursement, creative retreats, and professional placements at eight major theater institutions including Manhattan Theatre Club, Lincoln Center Theater, and Berkeley Repertory Theatre.
activities · 11 groups

What they do

  • Emerging Filmmaker Support Programs 3 activities
    • Administers fellowship, residency, assistantship, and exchange programs for directors
      Offers a suite of fellowships, residencies, assistantships, and international exchanges each season to provide creative support, financial stability, and career advancement for early and mid-career stage, film, and television directors globally.
    • Offers one-on-one strategic mentoring for directors
      Provides personalized strategic planning and mentoring services to support directors in the creative industries with career advancement and project development.
    • Operates director referral service
      Provides a referral service connecting producers, theater companies, businesses, and universities with qualified directors for productions and projects.
  • New Play Development Programs 2 activities
    • Provides creative incubation residencies for director-led projects
      Offers a one-week in-person residency providing time, space, and up to 40 hours of exploratory rehearsal for directors and collaborators to develop new work, including a staged reading in New York City produced with New York Stage and Film.
    • Supports fellows in directing public performances and festivals
      Facilitates hands-on directing experience for fellows through initiatives such as co-directing the Short New Play Festival at Red Bull Theater, hosting DirectorFest with public staged readings, and supporting public workshop productions at institutions like the Rose Theatre in London and Chautauqua Theater Company.
  • Theatre Awards and Honors Administration 1 activity
    • Awards the Distinguished Performance Award annually
      Presents the Distinguished Performance Award each year to honor outstanding artists for their contributions to the current theater season. This is the oldest theatrical honor in North America.
  • Professional Networking Events 1 activity
    • Hosts professional development workshops and industry gatherings
      Organizes annual professional development workshops, artist gatherings, and networking events for directors and creative professionals in theater, film, and television.
  • Alumni Community Building 1 activity
    • Maintains and supports a global alumni network from The Directors Project
      Supports a network of over 500 alumni who collectively direct approximately 1,100 productions annually and lead theaters across the U.S. and internationally; conducts ongoing alumni record updates and database reporting.
  • Artist Residencies and Studio Programs 1 activity
    • Offers play development residencies for women and nonbinary director-writers
      Provides a dedicated residency program for women and nonbinary stage directors who are also writers or adapters of their work, offering $4,000 in financial support, up to $2,550 in artist stipends, travel assistance, and resources for an industry reading in NYC.
  • Podcast and Radio Production 1 activity
    • Produces the "Ta(l)king Direction" podcast
      Produces and distributes the "Ta(l)king Direction" podcast featuring in-depth interviews with leading directors in theater, film, television, and media; co-produced during the pandemic as part of public programming.
  • Event and Production Volunteer Coordination 1 activity
    • Provides administrative and production support for artistic programs
      Delivers hands-on administrative, logistical, and production support across artistic departments, including coordination for Directors Project Week, Benefit Gala, Drama League Awards, meeting documentation, and preservation of production materials such as posters for the Legacy Wall.
  • Subsidized Rehearsal and Performance Space 1 activity
    • Provides studio rentals at below-market rates in NYC
      Offers affordable rehearsal, class, workshop, and reading space through below-market studio rentals in New York City.
  • Mentorship and Professional Development Programs 1 activity
    • Supports artistic development through in-person intensives and retreats
      Hosts an annual technique-focused directing intensive at Carnegie Mellon University and an in-person accelerator week in New York City, where fellows engage in scenework, mentorship, workshops, and industry networking, culminating in formal introductions at The Drama League Awards.
  • Uncategorized 2 activities
    • Provides on-set shadowing opportunities in television and film
      Arranges on-set shadowing experiences for mid-career theater directors on major studio television productions, including placements on NBC’s DOUBT and Disney+’s A Small Light, and supports table reads at the New York Stage and Film Filmmakers’ Workshop.
    • Runs the Stage Directing Fellowship with financial awards and health insurance support
      Awards $100,000 in financial support to each of two emerging directors every other year through the Stage Directing Fellowship, along with up to $10,000 in health insurance reimbursement over the two-year period.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$2.05M
Contributions & grants$1.13M55%
Program service revenue$882K43%
Investment income$36K2%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$1.92M
Program expenses77%
Admin / overhead10%
Fundraising14%
Salaries & benefits$868K
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$1.80M
Cash$549K
Investments$888K
Liabilities$259K
Net assets$1.54M
Liquid reserves9.0 mo
4 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue +11.7%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

paid leadership · 2
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
GABRIEL STELIAN-SHANKS ARTISTIC DIRECTOR 40 $188K
BEVIN ROSS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 40 $175K
board members · 18
  • ANNE KAUFFMAN — DIRECTOR
  • ARTHUR POBER — DIRECTOR
  • BONNIE COMLEY — PRESIDENT
  • DARIN ODUYOYE — 4TH VICE PRESIDENT
  • ELENA ARAOZ — DIRECTOR
  • ESTEFANIA FADUL — DIRECTOR
  • FREDERIC J SIEGEL — DIRECTOR
  • GWYNN MACDONALD — DIRECTOR
  • IRENE GANDY — SECRETARY
  • JENNIFER JOHNSON-BLALOCK — DIRECTOR
  • JOHNATHAN LONNER — DIRECTOR
  • KUMIKO YOSHII — 1ST VICE PRESIDENT
  • MARY JAIN — 3RD VICE PRESIDENT
  • PAULA KAMINSKY DAVIS — DIRECTOR
  • SARAH HUTTON — 2ND VICE PRESIDENT
  • STAN PONTE — DIRECTOR
  • TRISH CHAMBERS — TREASURER
  • UNA JACKMAN — DIRECTOR
relationships · 24

Who they work with

  • A Certain Something Partner — Co-founded by Nilan, longtime educator and Associate Artistic Director at The Drama League.
  • Apple Partner — Distributed the TA(L)KING DIRECTION podcast
  • Carnegie Mellon University Partner — Collaborates to host a directing retreat for fellows, offering technique training and access to professional actors and mentors.
  • Carnegie Mellon University Partner — Hosts an annual directing intensive retreat for Stage Directing Fellows with professional actors and director-mentors.
  • Carnegie Mellon University Partner — Partner institution hosting the Directors Project Retreat for FutureNow Directing Fellows
  • Chautauqua Theater Company Partner — Collaborative partner in the FutureNow Fellowships, hosting residents and co-producing the FutureNow Festival
  • Hubbard Hall Center for the Arts and Education Partner — Co-hosts the Beatrice Terry Residency, providing facilities, rehearsal space, and artist housing in Cambridge, NY.
  • Irene Gandy Partner — Namesake of the Directing Assistantships program, indicating a partnership or honorific affiliation
  • Jonathan Larson Coalition — Invoked as an inspirational figure whose artistic philosophy informs the organization's values.
  • Lavina Jadhwani Partner — 2014 alumnus of The Directors Project and Chicago-based director and advocate
  • Manhattan Theatre Club Partner — Partner theater institution where Stage Directing Fellows engage with artistic departments and develop readings or workshops over two seasons.
  • Mark Brokaw Partner — 1986 alumnus of The Directors Project and former member of The Drama League Board of Directors
  • New York Stage and Film Partner — Collaborates on the Television and Film Directing Fellowship, hosting fellows at its Filmmakers’ Workshop in Poughkeepsie, NY.
  • New York Stage and Film Partner — Collaborates with The Drama League to produce the staged reading and host the creative residency phase in Poughkeepsie.
  • New York Stage and Film Partner — Partner theater institution where Stage Directing Fellows participate in summer new work development and direct their own projects.
  • Noël Coward Foundation Funder — Provides financial support for the Rose Directing Fellowship.
  • Red Bull Theater Partner — Partner theater institution where Stage Directing Fellows co-direct the Short New Play Festival.
  • Rose Theatre Partner — Partnership to host the Rose Directing Fellowship, providing artistic mentorship, production opportunities, and housing in London.
  • Spotify Partner — Distributed the TA(L)KING DIRECTION podcast
  • The Drama League Directors Project Network — Flagship program offering career development opportunities for directors at all stages.
  • The Playwrights' Center Partner — Partner theater institution where Stage Directing Fellows observe and participate in new work development and playwright support programs.
  • Tom Kirdahy Partner — Honored as the 2026 Arts Ally recipient at the Drama At The Disco benefit event.
  • Universes on Stage Partner — Steven Sapp, a Next Stage Director In Residence, is affiliated with Universes on Stage, indicating a professional connection between The Drama League and the organization.
  • Zora Neale Hurston Coalition — Invoked as an inspirational figure whose literary insight guides the organization's vision for the future.
strategies · 4

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Artist-Led Field Advancement
    methodology: artist-led governance
    By embedding working directors in governance and programming decisions, we strengthen mentorship and field-wide development because artist leadership ensures institutional strategies remain grounded in creative practice and community need.
  • Comprehensive Career Development for Directors
    methodology: comprehensive artist development
    By providing sustained, long-term support through fellowships, residencies, mentorship, and production opportunities, we advance artistic leadership and impact because directors thrive when given continuous access to resources, creative space, and professional pathways across their careers.
  • Equity-Centered Support for Underrepresented Directors
    methodology: equity-focused artist support
    By intentionally centering women, nonbinary, and BIPOC directors—especially those who write or adapt their work—we counter systemic inequities in theater because targeted support enables marginalized artists to overcome structural barriers and lead artistically.
  • Process-First, Risk-Positive Artistic Incubation
    methodology: process-first_training
    By prioritizing creative process over product and normalizing mistakes as generative, we foster innovation and growth because a low-pressure environment enables directors to experiment, reflect, and develop bolder artistic practices.