The Drama League (Executive Artistic Director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks) has announced the expansion of their annual event, DirectorFest, into a multi-week, city-wide festival focusing on the art of contemporary stage directing. For its 34th year, the festival will include five fully-staged productions, a showcase evening of new musicals, staged readings, discussion panels, books signings, workshops and conversations with America’s most notable directors.  Taking place over two weeks in venues across Manhattan, highlights of the festival include rarely-seen plays by David Henry Hwang, Enda Walsh, new works by Gabrielle Reisman, Alejandro Ricaño and more, all directed by the 2017 Drama League Directors Project Fellows: Laura Brandel, Bonnie Gabel, Matt Dickson, Flordelino Lagundino, and Rebecca Martinez. Chosen last spring from over 330 applicants nationwide, these five visionary emerging directors recently completed their year of mentorship, assistantships, training and career development as part of The Drama League Directors Project. The festival will also include Alex Rubin’s new play Group, featuring Jenn Colella, in a staged reading directed by Directors Project alumna Ilana Ransom Toeplitz, and UpClose, a series of conversations with America’s foremost contemporary directors, including Anne Bogart, Anne Kauffman, Damon Kiely, Robert O’Hara, Kimberly Senior and George C. Wolfe. DirectorFest will take place at various locations around NYC: The Sheen Center for Thought and Culture (18 Bleecker Street), The Drama League Theater Center (32 Avenue of the Americas), and The Drama Book Shop (250 West 40th St) from Jan 13-22, 2018.  For a schedule of events, tickets and additional information, please visit www.directorfest.org, or call (212) 244-9494. The creative team for  includes Reid Thompson (sets), Lauren Gaston (costumes), Lois Catanzaro (lights), Justin Propper and Mike Tracey (sound), Ling Tang (choreography), Sean Bradley (Fight Director), Brandon Pape (Production Manager), with Travis LeMont Ballenger (Associate Producer), Gabriel Stelian-Shanks (Executive Artistic Director), and Sherri Eden Barber (Program Director).  Casting for the festival by Harriet Bass, Michael Cassara, Stephen DeAngelis and Stephanie Klapper. Press contact: Richard Hillman PR (917/523-8849)...