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Applications open for annual Directors Lab West to be held
in Pasadena in May/June 2026
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The Directors Lab West Steering Committee is pleased to announce Directors Lab West 2026, once again in partnership with Tony Award-winning Pasadena Playhouse, Producing Artistic Director Danny Feldman, and Boston Court Pasadena, Artistic Director Jessica Kubzansky, both contributing to host this eight-day theater intensive conference.
Since 2000 Directors Lab West has brought dedicated emerging and mid-career theatre directors and choreographers together with master artists, enabling them to inspire each other to dream and create the future of the American Theatre. After a one-year hiatus, due to the southern California fires, Directors Lab West will take place Saturday, May 30 through Saturday, June 6, 2026.
Approximately 50 artists are selected from a large pool of interested applicants. Those selected participate in workshops, lectures, panel discussions, roundtables, and collaborative artistic explorations with one another and with a slate of esteemed theater-makers. There is no cost to participate, and attendance is by application only. Applicants must have professional experience as a theater director and/or choreographer. The Lab is not open to students or those returning to school, but current students are encouraged to apply for annual apprenticeships.
The 2026 Directors Lab West application deadline is Friday, March 13, 2026, at 5 pm PST.
Only the first 100 applications will be considered.​
For more information and to complete an application, visit directorslabwest.com
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Directors Lab West is led by steering committee members Che’Rae Adams, Ernest Figueroa, Debbie McMahon, Janet Miller, and Emmett Murphy, and is supported by the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and presented in partnership with Tony Award-winning Pasadena Playhouse and Boston Court Pasadena. Additional support for this year's Lab is provided by production coordinator Christopher Cid, and associate producers/DLW alumni Shanna Beauchamp-Hill, Susan Dalian, Brian Fretté, Estela Garcia, Carrie Klewin Lawrence, Holly Rothchild, Kristi Schultz, and Joann Yarrow.
Directors Lab West was established in 2000 by Nick Abruzzo, Ernest Figueroa, Olivia Honegger, Kappy Kilburn and Andrew Sachs with the support and encouragement of the Lincoln Center Theater Lab’s Founding Director, Anne Cattaneo, with a single goal: to create a place for emerging and mid-career Stage Directors and Choreographers to be in the same room and learn from each other and from masters of the craft. Since then, the Directors Lab West has served over 600 directors and choreographers with hundreds of prominent guest artists volunteering their time to speak with Lab participants, including luminaries such as Jack O’Brien, Randy Newman, Tonya Pinkins, and Jason Alexander, among many others.
For more information and a full list of past alumni and guest artists, please visit directorslabwest.com.
For questions and press inquiries, email directorslabwest@gmail.com
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Directors Lab West is hosted by Tony Award-winning Pasadena Playhouse and Boston Court Pasadena
and sponsored by the generous support of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society