Stage Directors and Choreographers Society Announces Evan Yionoulis as Executive Board President

Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), the theatrical union that unites, empowers, and protects professional stage directors and choreographers throughout the United States, announced Evan Yionoulis as Executive Board President. In addition, SDC shared the results of its 2019 Executive Board election, welcomed new Members to the Union's Honorary Advisory Committee, and announced Sheryl Kaller as the recipient of this year's President's Award for Extraordinary Service at Monday's Annual Membership Meeting.

Yionoulis, an Obie Award-winning director, has directed new plays and classics in New York and across the U.S, including a 20-year tenure as a Resident Director at Yale Repertory Theatre, where she also served on faculty at the Yale School of Drama. In March of 2018, she was appointed the Richard Rodgers Director of the Drama Division of The Juilliard School. Yionoulis was elected as SDC Executive Board President for a three-year term.

"I cannot imagine a better successor," said outgoing SDC Board President Pam MacKinnon. "Evan is a deep thinker, hugely knowledgeable of our contracts, our By-laws, our craft, our Members' needs. She is a perfect president for these fast and complicated times."

"It is an honor to serve SDC's Membership with fellow Board members who are so passionately committed to ensuring that directors and choreographers across the country are recognized for their invaluable contributions to the field," said Yionoulis. "Under Pam MacKinnon's leadership, our union has remained strong. I look forward to continuing to bolster the protections we offer and positioning our Members to be ever more effective leaders in ensuring diverse, equitable, and respectful workplaces."

Incumbent board members Anne Bogart, Mark Brokaw, Liz Diamond, Michael John Garcés, Pam MacKinnon, Eric Ting, and Michael Wilson were reelected to three-year terms as At-Large members. Leah C. Gardiner and Seema Sueko were newly elected to the board to serve as At-Large members. Also newly elected were D. Lynn Meyers as Central Regional Representative and Lydia Fort as Southeast Regional Representative.

SDC also announced that in honor of SDC's 60th Anniversary, the Executive Board and Executive Director welcomed five new members to SDC's Honorary Advisory Committee: Graciela Daniele, Emily Mann, Oz Scott, Daniel Sullivan, and Victoria Traube. They join Committee members Karen Azenberg, Pamela Berlin, Julianne Boyd, Marshall W. Mason, Ted Pappas, and Susan H. Schulman. The Honorary Advisory Committee consists of both past SDC Presidents and select individuals who provide guidance to the Executive Board on issues of import to the Union and the industry.

The meeting concluded with MacKinnon's presentation of the President's Award for Extraordinary Service to Sheryl Kaller. Kaller, who has been a Member of SDC since 2001, has served on numerous negotiating committees, including for the 2007 and 2015 Association of Non Profit Theatre Companies, New York City (ANTC) negotiations and the 2017 League of Resident Theatres (LORT) negotiation. In 2019, Kaller chaired the ANTC Negotiating Committee immediately after serving on the Off-Broadway Negotiating Committee.

In presenting the President's Award to Kaller, MacKinnon said, "During both of these negotiations, not only did Sheryl demonstrate profound leadership, but also the kind of steadfast resolve that allowed those committees to achieve significant gains in salaries, expanded benefits for development, and coverage for Fight Choreographers, for whom she was a fierce advocate."

SDC is the theatrical union that represents 4,300 professional stage Directors and Choreographers throughout the United States, protecting the rights, health, and livelihood of all its Members working in jurisdictions including: Broadway and National tours, Off-Broadway, ANTC (Association of Non-Profit Theatre Companies, New York City), Resident Theatre (League of Resident Theatres-LORT), Resident summer stock companies (Council of Resident Stock Theatres -CORST/TSS), New England Area Theatres (NEAT), Dinner Theatre (Dinner Theatre Agreement-DTA), Regional Musical Theatre (RMT), and Outdoor musical stock (OMS). SDCweb.org