Alumnus Keenan Tyler Oliphant '21 Receives Drama League Directing Fellowship

The Drama League (DL) recently announced that alumnus Keenan Tyler Oliphant '21 has been awarded a 2021 Drama League Directing Fellowship. Oliphant will be a New York Directing Fellow alongside two other recipients. 

The fellowship, which is part of the DL's Directors Project originally founded in 1984, will provide Oliphant and fellow recipients with financial assistance, career development, workshops run by industry professionals, and production opportunities at various theaters. The program is well-known for being one of the most  prestigious and developmental programs for early-career directors. Former recipients include Chadwich Boseman, directors Michael Mayer, Diane Paulus ’97, and over 350 more. 

According to Drama League Artistic Director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks, "As theatre begins to open to live performances again, The Drama League is supporting and preparing directors as leaders in that effort. These directors, chosen from hundreds of applicants, are phenomenally talented artists. The productions they will create, and the stories they will tell, will reverberate loudly as some of the first theatrical work of the post-pandemic era. We are honored to amplify their voices and can't wait for everyone to experience their imaginations."

Keenan Tyler Oliphant is a Theatre-maker and Director from Cape Town, South Africa. He is a founding member of Mixing Bowl Productions, an underground music theatre company which focuses on the promotion of alternate and contemporary music theatre works. As Artistic Director he has produced and directed premier devised pieces In-between and Private Parts at the South African National Arts Festival. Since relocating, Oliphant has directed collaborative pieces at festivals including Dixon Place’s Hot Fest, Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Festival, and The International Human Rights Arts Festival. He was a part of the New Ohio Producers Club 2020 and a member of the Clubbed Thumb Directing Fellowship 2020/21. He has served as second assistant director to Rachel Chavkin ’08 (Moby Dick A.R.T Cambridge 2019), Raja Feather Kelly (We’re Gonna Die Second Stage Theater New York 2020) and is Associate Director for the Bengson’s work in progress OHIO (St Ann’s Warehouse).