Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation, the not-for-profit foundation of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, is now accepting nominations for the 2022 Barbara Whitman Award.

Founded in March of this year, the award will be presented annually to a female, trans, or non-binary early-career director who has demonstrated unique vision in their work and carries with it an unrestricted grant of $10,000. The award was inspired by The Next Stage report "On the Edge: The Lives and Livelihoods of Stage Directors and Choreographers," published in October 2020, which highlighted the lack of financial security and creative opportunities for women and people of color required to keep them in the theatre industry.

Whitman is a theatrical producer currently represented on Broadway with Diana. Her long list of credits includes A Raisin in the Sun, Burn This, Fun Home, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Next to Normal, War Paint, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, as well as the upcoming A Strange Loop.

Sharifa Yasmin was named the inaugural recipient in April 2021, with directors Ty Defoe, Miranda Haymon, Tara Moses, Aya Ogawa, Tatiana Pandiani, and Mei Ann Teo selected as finalists.

Nominations will be accepted through December 21. For guidelines, visit SDCFoundation.org.