Barbara Whitman Award
The Barbara Whitman Award is an award for early career theatre directors. It was endowed by Barbara Whitman and was first awarded in 2021. It is awarded annually to a female, transgender or non-binary candidate, who must have directed three plays and is nominated by another professional. Selection is made by a made of people from the theatre industry and it is administered by the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation. The award comprises a cash prize of $10,000 for the winner. Other finalists receive $1000.
Whitman was inspired to endow the award after seeing how few awards were made to directors. Its aim is to support early career practitioners as well as to create greater visibility for their work. Those selected for the award have "developed a clear and distinctive artistic voice and demonstrated unique vision in their theatrical work".