Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers
Encyclopedia
The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), formerly known as Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SSDC), is an independent national labor union
established in 1959, representing theatrical directors and choreographers
, working on Broadway
and on National tours, Off-Broadway
, and in various resident, regional
, stock
and dinner theatres
throughout the United States.
Member representatives collectively bargain contracts with producers creating the national standards for stage direction and choreography. An executive board elected from membership oversees negotiations.
Award to recognize contributions to regional theatre. SDCF also publishes "The Journal for Stage Directors and Choreographers" and "The Stage Directors Handbook."
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
established in 1959, representing theatrical directors and choreographers
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
, working on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
and on National tours, Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
, and in various resident, regional
Regional theatre in the United States
Regional theaters, or resident theaters, in the United States are professional or semi-professional, theater companies that produce their own seasons. The term regional theatre most often refers to professional theatres outside of New York City...
, stock
Summer stock theatre
Summer stock theatre is any theatre that presents stage productions only in the summer within the United States. The name combines both the seasonal time of year with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes...
and dinner theatres
Dinner theater
Dinner theater is a form of entertainment that combines a restaurant meal with a staged play or musical. Sometimes the play is incidental entertainment, secondary to the meal, in the style of a sophisticated night club, or the play may be a major production with dinner less important, or in some...
throughout the United States.
Member representatives collectively bargain contracts with producers creating the national standards for stage direction and choreography. An executive board elected from membership oversees negotiations.
Purpose
SDC serves its membership of stage directors and choreographers, and their profession, through various functions:- Elevating standards.
- Developing communication.
- Dissemination and exchange of ideas.
- Aiding development and training.
- Increasing the esteem and developing all conditions of the profession.
SDC Foundation
The Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF) is an educational non-profit affiliate of the SDC founded in 1965, dedicated to supporting the craft and artistry of stage directors and choreographers. SDCF goals are to provide opportunities for exchange of knowledge, to provide opportunities to practice the craft, to promote the profession to emerging talent, to distribute craft and career information and to increase the awareness of the value of members' work. SDCF programs include the Observership Program, Artistic Fellowships, Director/Choreographer Network Meetings, Director/Dramatist Exchanges, the One-on-One Conversation Series and the Joe A. Callaway and "Mr. Abbott" Awards. In 2009, as part of the SDC 50th Anniversary, SDCF established the Zelda FichandlerZelda Fichandler
Zelda Fichandler is an American stage producer, director, and educator, best known as cofounder and longtime artistic director of the Arena Stage theatre in Washington, D.C....
Award to recognize contributions to regional theatre. SDCF also publishes "The Journal for Stage Directors and Choreographers" and "The Stage Directors Handbook."