DETROIT—BoxFest Detroit, an annual theatre festival that showcases and creates opportunities for women directors, has announced the winners of its 2017 festival. BoxFest Detroit 2017 ran Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons and evenings, August 18–26, at Planet Ant Theatre.

BoxFest Detroit produces festivals that grant women directors the opportunities to direct original shows of their choice and win awards to help further their careers in directing. The winning director of the festival-long audience vote competition is given the opportunity to direct a show with Planet Ant Theatre’s One Act Series. This year’s Planet Ant Theatre’s One Act Series winner is Charity Clark-Anderson. Charity Clark-Anderson is a graduate of Wayne State University and was employed as a social worker for the State of Michigan for over 30 years. Her retirement in 2010 gave her the opportunity to pursue theater full-time. Clark-Anderson wrote and directed Legacy for this year’s festival.

For the 2017 festival, BoxFest Detroit launched an additional opportunity: a new Mentorship Program. In this inaugural year, there were two mentorship opportunities available: Assistant Directing for Frannie Shepherd-Bates, and the Tipping Point Theatre Sandbox Directorship. These positions grant two BFD 2017 directors the opportunity to shadow, learn, and collaborate with established, experienced, female-identifying directors. The program also gives emerging directors exposure to networking opportunities in the Metro-Detroit theatrical community. The 2017 Mentorship Recipients were Bridgette Jordan and Sarah Hawkins Moan. Bridgette Jordan currently attends Wayne State University and is pursuing her Master’s in English. She was awarded an Assistant Directorship to work with Frannie Shepherd-Bates on Tipping Point Theatre’s production of The Impossibility of Now. Sarah Hawkins Moan has been working as an actress, director, and educator across the country for the last ten years. She received the Tipping Point Theatre Sandbox Play Festival Directorship.

The goals of the Mentorship Program are to connect BoxFest directors with the greater Metro Detroit professional theatrical community and other female-identifying directors working within it, support the education of female-identifying directors, remove challenges for BoxFest directors associated with the cost of education and travel, and remove challenges for professional theaters associated with artist salaries. The BoxFest Detroit 2017-18 Mentorship Associate is Frannie Shepherd-Bates and BoxFest Detroit’s 2017-18 Partner Theatre is Tipping Point Theatre.

BoxFest Detroit had an additional big announcement at their awards ceremony this year: Amanda Grace Ewing will replace Molly McMahon as artistic director. McMahon will continue to remain involved as a member of the producing team and also assist with the transition to ensure Ewing’s success in her new role. “Since pursuing graduate studies at University of Michigan’s School of Social Work, my capacity for outside work has changed dramatically,” said McMahon. “Serving as artistic director for BoxFest Detroit for eight festivals has been one of the great honors of my life. I look forward to staying on the BoxFest Detroit team as a producer and to continue working with Amanda Grace Ewing and Kelly Rossi on future festivals.”

“I am thrilled to be taking a larger leadership role with BoxFest Detroit,” Ewing said. “As an alumna of the festival, Molly gave me my first opportunity to direct—so I know hers are big shoes to fill. I’m looking forward to continuing the work she started and expanding our new programs to give our directors even greater visibility.” For 14 years and counting, BoxFest Detroit has produced annual summer theater festivals, which creates the space and support for women directors of all experience levels to share their work with audiences. Learn more about BoxFest Detroit and its programs at www.boxfestdetroit.com.

Photo: BFD winners from left to right—Bridgette Jordan won the opportunity to Assistant Direct with Frannie Shepherd-Bates, Sarah Hawkins Moan won the Tipping Point Theatre Sandbox Play Festival Directorship, and Charity Clark-Anderson won the Planet Ant One Act slot.