The Public is thrilled to announce the Directing Fellowship at The Public Theater, a new initiative focused on identifying and supporting early career directors. The Directing Fellowship is conceived and led by Associate Artistic Director / Resident Director Saheem Ali to create more opportunities for emerging directors.

The inaugural Directing Fellow is Emma Rosa Went, who will make her Off-Broadway debut directing INITIATIVE, written by Else Went, at The Public in Fall 2025. The Directing Fellow is a salaried position at The Public. The program will also include a Directing Group, made up of three directors all at the beginning stages of their career. The inaugural Directing Group cohort members will be selected following an application process in 2025.

"We are thrilled to announce the first phase of a new initiative for directors at The Public. I understand well the challenges faced by early and mid-career directors in nurturing relationships with our industry’s institutions; opportunities to develop one’s artistic voice are few and far between,” said Associate Artistic Director / Resident Director Saheem Ali. “I’m delighted for Emma to be the inaugural recipient of a two-year directing fellowship, culminating in a fully produced mainstage production with INITIATIVE. This marks an important step in The Public's commitment to expanding opportunities and resources available to artists."

Selected for two-year cycles, all members of the fellowship program will have guaranteed opportunities as directors or associate directors, work with The Public’s artistic programs, observe rehearsals for Public Theater productions, receive career development advice from artistic staff, and more.

The Directing Fellowship furthers The Public’s commitment to investing in the careers of promising young artists, inspired by founder Joe Papp’s invitation in 1990 to three emerging directors – George C. Wolfe, Michael Greif, and David Greenspan – to make an artistic home at The Public. They received resources and mentorship at The Public, as well as opportunities to direct mainstage productions, and went on to have extraordinary careers and an incalculable impact on the field.

The Directing Fellowship joins a robust slate of artist development programs and residencies that engage writers, musicians, multi-disciplinary performance artists, and more in the creation of new and generative work. The Public’s programs include the Emerging Writers Group; Joe’s Pub Working Group and New York Voices Commissioning Program; Judith Champion New Work Series; and residencies for playwrights, theater company The Apothetae, and CUNY students. Learn more about The Public's range of artistic development programs and residencies here.

Generous support for the Directing Fellowship is provided by the Marquit-Grieser Fund.

The Directing Fellow position is curated by The Public Theater's artistic staff. It is not an application-based opportunity. The Directing Group cohort will be an application-based opportunity; applications will open in 2025. Sign up to be notified when applications open here.