Call for Directors
Lyric Music Theater – 2026–27 Season
Lyric Music Theater is pleased to invite directors to apply for consideration for our 2026–27 season. We are seeking artists who are excited to collaborate, engage thoughtfully with our community, and bring strong artistic vision to the Lyric stage.
We welcome applications from directors with a range of experience levels. While prior directing experience is required, candidates do not need to be veteran directors or previous Lyric artists—early-career directors are warmly encouraged to apply.
About the Process
Lyric’s upcoming season will be selected from a published list of potential productions, available via the Application Form, and director proposals will play an important role in shaping both the final season lineup and director assignments.
How to Apply
Directors will apply via the Application Form, which will guide candidates through the proposal process. Applicants will be asked to:
- Select up to three (no more than three) productions from Lyric’s provided list
- Rank their selections in priority order
- Respond to a series of questions that will serve as their directing proposal, including artistic interest, vision, and relevant experience
Applicants should also be prepared to provide professional references who can speak to their directing work. Directing at Lyric is not employment but does carry a stipend.
A Note on This Year’s Process – Why We are Taking a New Approach
In recent seasons, Lyric has taken time to reflect on how our director selection process can better serve artists, audiences, and the broader theater community. By pre-selecting a slate of potential titles, we aim to be thoughtful stewards of everyone’s time and energy—focusing proposals on shows that we know we can realistically produce given our space, resources, and production capacity. This approach also reflects increased collaboration with neighboring theaters to avoid overlapping seasons and licensing conflicts, which can impact both artists and audiences. Finally, curating a shortlist of potential productions allows us to build a season with strong variety and balance—one that supports a wide range of creative voices while ensuring we can fully resource and support the directors, production teams, and performers who bring these shows to life.
What’s Different This Year
Because Lyric has used different processes in recent seasons, we want to clearly outline a few important updates for 2026–27:
- Proposals are limited to Lyric’s published list.
Director proposals may only be submitted for titles appearing on Lyric’s list of potential productions. Lyric will not accept unsolicited proposals for productions outside of this list. These proposals will be used to help select the season and match directors with shows based on interest and enthusiasm. - Optional additional title interest.
Directors may list up to two additional titles they feel strongly about that do not appear on Lyric’s list. No proposals will be accepted for these titles. They will only be considered if the submitted proposals do not provide sufficient interest to support the selection of a full season. - Interviews and references are part of the process.
Directors whose proposals align well with Lyric’s artistic goals will be invited to participate in an interview with Lyric representatives and will be asked to provide at least one reference who can speak to their directing work.
Timeline
- Application Deadline: Tuesday, December 23
- Application Review: Rolling
- Interviews: Scheduled on a rolling basis in December 2025 and January 2026
- Final season and director assignments: January 2026
We value clarity, collaboration, and care in this process, and we’re grateful for the time and thought directors bring to their applications. We look forward to learning more about your work and exploring the possibility of working together in the 2026–27 season.
Questions can be directed to Stacey Koloski, Director of Performance Operations at performance@lyricmusictheater.org
