The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, formerly known as Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, 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. SDC collectively bargains contracts with producers, creating the national standards for stage direction and choreography. An Executive Board elected from the Membership oversees negotiations.
Purpose
Professional Stage Directors and Choreographers become members of SDC in order to unite with one another and be legally protected in their work. SDC covers the employment of Directors and Choreographers working on Broadway, National Tours, Off-Broadway, Association of Non-Profit Theatre Companies in New York City, Resident Theatre or League of Resident Theatres, Resident Summer Stock Companies or Council of Resident Stock Theatres, Dinner Theatre or Dinner Theatre Agreement, Regional Musical Theatre and Outdoor Musical Stock. SDC provides the options of a Tier, Regional Commercial or Special contract for its members whom would like to work for other theatres that it does not deal with directly.
Composition
According to SDC's reports to the Department of Labor, the union is composed of "members" and "associate members," with the latter ineligible to vote in the union. Since 2005, when membership classifications were first reported, the percent of total membership considered "associate members" has grown from 18% to 33%, one third of the union. SDC offers two levels of membership: Full Membership or Associate Membership. Full members are required to file contracts no matter where they are working. Associate members are not required to file contracts. Among SDC’s many members include: Walter Bobbie, Jo Bonney, Desdemona Chiang, Graciela Daniele, Moises Kaufman, Thomas Kail, James Lapine, Kenny Leon, Pam MacKinnon, Casey Nicholaw, Lisa Portes, Harold Prince, Seret Scott, Bartlett Sher, Leigh Silverman, Susan Stroman, Liesl Tommy, and Julie Taymor.
SDC Foundation
The Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation is an educational non-profit affiliate of the SDC founded in 1959, 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 Fichandler Award to recognize contributions to regional theatre. SDCF also publishes "The Journal for Stage Directors and Choreographers" and "The Stage Directors Handbook." SDC was founded by former union president, Shepard Traube along with 164 others. Among the other founders were Abe Burrows, Harold Clurman, Agnes de Mille, Bob Fosse, Gene Kelly, Elia Kazan, Elmer Rice and Stuart Vaughan. Since then, there has been sixteen other presidents and executive directors of the union. The members founded SDC with the desire to create a union to empower stage directors and choreographers. On March 27, 2015, SDC, SDC Foundation and SDC-League Pension & Health Funds officially moved to their new address on West 44th Street between 8th and 9th Avenue in NYC. It had been previously located on Broadway in NYC. Their new location includes a café, conference rooms, and staff areas. In order to become a member of SDC, you must apply for membership via their online application on their website. Full member initiation fee is $2,000 and the annual dues are $250. Associate Member initiation fee is $325 and the annual dues are $75.
