The Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF), the philanthropic arm of the union representing theatrical directors and choreographers, has announced the winner of the annual Barbara Whitman Award. The 2025 recipient is Autumn Angelettie.
Created in 2021 by Tony Award-winning producer Barbara Whitman, the accolade acknowledges “a woman, trans or non-binary director who has developed a clear and distinctive artistic voice and demonstrated unique vision in their theatrical work.” The award comes with an unrestricted monetary prize totalling $10,000.
Angelettie serves as the associate director of the Broadway premiere of Kimberly Belflower’s “John Proctor Is the Villain.” Angelettie’s additional Main Stem credits include assistant directing the 2024 revival of “Home” for Roundabout Theater Company (RTC), a post which was the culmination of her tenure as RTC’s 2023-2024 directing fellow. Angelettie also recently directed “Covenant” at Theater Alliance in Washington, D.C.
“I am a director driven by a core question first posed by June Jordan, ‘…as a Black feminist, I must ask myself: Where is the love? How is my own lifework serving to end these tyrannies, these corrosions of sacred possibility?,’” Angelettie said in a statement. “The cultivation of art to build a better world is my lifework, and it is an extraordinary honor for my voice and artistry to be recognized in this way. Words can hardly encapsulate my gratitude to Barbara Whitman, SDCF, the award committee and Shanara Gabrielle, artistic director of Theater Alliance, for the nomination. At a time where the theatre, and our world, face critical dangers, this award is an affirmation and a humbling investment in my practice that I intend to honor through continuing the work toward cultural transformation.”
“It was another extraordinary year of applicants for this award and on behalf of the committee, I am thrilled that Autumn has been selected as this year’s awardee,” noted Whitman. “She is joined by four wonderful finalists who are all worth knowing. I’m excited to see where their careers take them.”
In addition to Angelettie, four finalists were named: Dmitri Victor Barcomi, Fran de Leon, Emily Lyon and Caitlin Ryan O’Connell. Each will receive an unrestricted prize of $1,000.
The winner and finalists were selected through a multi-round committee process. The first-round committee comprised Chris Burney, Luis Castro, Melissa Crespo, Cara Hinh, Leigh Silverman and Tamilla Woodard. The second-round committee included Rebecca Aparicio, Whitman, Benita de Wit and Woodard.
