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The goal of the Fellowship is to support the development of gifted emerging creative theatrical producers. The Prince Fellowship is committed to sustaining the finest traditions of producing by exposing new talent to the producing process in a manner that supports creative involvement. Although the environment in which theatre is produced continues to change, many of the underlying challenges and principles remain and must be understood and adapted if the art form is to thrive.
The Fellowship is a project-based program that supports the development of the chosen fellow and their project over the course of one year. Each fellow is given access to a selection of courses in the MFA Theatre Management & Producing Program at Columbia University School of the Arts. The specific courses are chosen to best support the fellow's growth. In addition, each fellow receives structured mentorship from a handful of industry leaders who specialize in creative producing and related fields. The goal is to provide consistent mentorship tailored to the needs of the individual fellow. Through these academic and professional support systems, the program aims to empower the fellows as they begin exercising their new skills in all the creative and business areas of development.
The philosophy is that which is good for the art form is good for business. The Fellowship emphasizes that the creative producer's role is to be the instigator, the collaborator, and the leader who gets art on the stage and to the public. The program neither wishes to turn back the clock to 1950 nor settle for the status quo. The Prince Fellowship is looking to empower new producers to reinvent the wheel themselves, on their own terms.
The Fellowship grew out of an idea that T. Edward Hambleton first had in the mid-1990s. He imagined a program that would help foster a new generation of creative theatrical producers who would stand apart from those who were strictly financiers. He worked with Harold Prince, the late Geraldine Stutz, Ed Wilson and the Theatre Development Fund and the idea for the fellowship took shape.
The Founders believed the program would be best served under the umbrella of one of New York's top level educational institutions and approached Columbia University. The University, through Gregory Mosher at the Columbia Arts Initiative and Steven Chaikelson in the Theatre Program at Columbia University School of the Arts, who further developed the vision and structure for the fellowship, provides the Fellows access to the extraordinary academic and cross-disciplinary strengths that Columbia University offers.
Today, through the ongoing generous support of The Broadway League and The John Gore Organization, a new fellow is selected annually.
The Prince Fellowship includes a stipend of $10,000 (subject to tax withholding), a $20,000 budget for the development of a new theatrical production, and access to courses in Columbia's MFA Theatre Management & Producing Program. The 2024 Prince Fellowship will run from September 2024 through August 2025. Prospective applicants can visit here for more information.
The Prince Fellowship is managed by Co-Directors Orin Wolf (President of NETworks Presentations), Steven Chaikelson (Head of the MFA Theatre Management & Producing Program at the Columbia School of the Arts), Aaron Glick (Producer, Former T. Fellow), and Rachel Sussman (Producer, Former T. Fellow).
The Prince Fellowship is generously supported by The Broadway League and The John Gore Organization.