The Tina Packer Women of Will Directing Fellowship
Tina Packer: Artist, Visionary, Leader. The Founding Artistic Director of Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Mass., Tina has blazed trails as a woman director of Shakespeare. She has deeply explored the role and development of Shakespeare’s women as an actor, director, educator, and scholar, and is the author of Women of Will: Following the Feminine in Shakespeare’s Plays.
In honor of her accomplishments, Shakespeare & Company created the Tina Packer Women of Will Directing Fellowship to further the development of early-career stage directors who identify as women and have a passion for Shakespeare.
This Fellowship was conceived and funded by Shakespeare & Company actor and training alumnus John Douglas Thompson, with matching funds from an anonymous donor, and additional gifts from a group of Shakespeare & Company women directors mentored and inspired by Tina.
The Women of Will Fellow is in residence during the summer rehearsal period of a Shakespeare production that is helmed by an experienced woman director and will observe this director in addition to serving as Assistant Director throughout the process.
In 2024, Lauren Davis of Baltimore, Md., was named the inaugural Women of Will Fellow. She assisted director Kate Kohler Amory at the outdoor, main-stage production of The Comedy of Errors and observed Tina Packer directing an enhanced staged reading of The Winter’s Tale.
The 2025 Women of Will Fellowship will be awarded to assist on the Company’s indoor main-stage production of The Taming of the Shrew, co-directed by Tina Packer and Artistic Director Allyn Burrows. The Fellowship dates are July 21 – August 16. The Fellow will receive a stipend of $3,500, domestic round-trip travel reimbursement, and a private room in shared company housing.
We intend that the Fellow will continue to have access to their Mentor Director, the members of an advisory committee of women directors, and other members of Shakespeare & Company following their time in Lenox. Thus, Fellows will continue to receive nurturing and support for their development as theater artists and Shakespeareans who bring a contemporary and culturally diverse female gaze to the plays and to the theater community.
Fellows will then join in creating a legacy of Women of Will mentoring others in the field.
Criteria
Candidates are early-career directors who identify as women and have a passion for Shakespeare. While there are no specific degree requirements for this Fellowship, applicants will have completed any academic training. Applicants will be directed outside of an academic program for at least three years. They will have a demonstrated interest in directing Shakespeare, and have some experience doing so.
Directors enrolled in a graduate program who will complete their degrees by June 2025 may apply if they meet the other criteria. Those currently completing their undergraduate degrees will not be considered at this time.
“Early-career director” does not imply an age limit, and we appreciate that the trajectory of an artist’s career is not always linear or obvious. Directors who have previously worked primarily in other areas of the theater, or who have reentered the field after a pause, are encouraged to apply if they meet the other criteria.
Tina Packer’s life work is rooted in the belief that diverse approaches to and perspectives on Shakespeare illuminate the plays and expand our shared understanding of Shakespeare’s world and our own. We encourage and welcome female-identifying directors of historically underrepresented groups to apply.
Timeline
Applications are due by midnight Eastern time on Sunday, Feb. 23. Semi-finalists will be contacted in early to mid-March and asked to provide 2 letters of recommendation and an additional production essay. Final interviews will be conducted remotely and a Fellow selected by the end of March.
Application
Please provide:
- A brief narrative Bio (up to 200 words).
- A resume that includes your directing experience, other relevant theater experience, and training (not more than two pages). Please include dates, indicate if your directing credits are for productions, readings, or workshops, and include the name of the producing organization as well as the venue (for example, if the production was at a college or university, give us the name of the school instead of, or in addition to, the name of the theater space). For academic productions, please clarify if you directed the play as a student, a visiting director, or a faculty member.
- Responses to these three prompts:
- How would you describe your relationship to Shakespeare? (up to 200 words)
- Why are you interested in this Fellowship at this time in your life and work trajectory? What do you hope to learn and receive, and how do you feel you can contribute to The Taming of the Shrew’s company and process? Who are you as a collaborator? (up to 300 words)
- Please describe a full theater production you have directed within the last two years. What was your vision for the production? How did you articulate and communicate your vision to your collaborators? What do you feel were your strengths and weaknesses in the process? While we are happy for you to write about a Shakespeare production if possible, if you feel you are better represented by a production of a different playwright’s play, you are welcome to write about that. We want to get a sense of who you are and how you see yourself as a director. (500-600 words)
How to Apply
Applications may be submitted via Apply Now button at the top of this page, or e-mailed to Producing Associate Ariel Bock at abock@shakespeare.org.
