About

Open Stage Project is a New York City nonprofit closing the gender gap in behind-the-scenes careers in film, TV, and theater. We offer free afterschool programs and paid fellowships to young women and non-binary students passionate about working behind-the-scenes.

STAFF

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ELSA WARD

Executive Director

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JEAN EGDORF

Director of Programming

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CHLOE KALEAH STEWART

Event and Media Associate

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RUTH KENDALL

Administrative Intern

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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YAQI HAN

Corporate Attorney
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP

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SUSAN HILFERTY

Set and Costume Designer

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JENNY KANE

Electrician, Local 52

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MARGARET LEIGH

Founder of Turnkey Theatrical

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PATRICIA MEADOW

Former Financial Services Executive

KENDRA MOORE

Company Manager of Broadway’s THE LION KING

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ARABELLA POWELL

Broadway Stage Manager

CATHY TEIXEIRA

Grants Director, Maryland State Arts Council

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STEPHANIE VARDAVAS

Attorney

GABRIELA VECIANA

Junior Producer, Stone Productions

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ELSA WARD

Founder

HONORARY COUNCIL

JAYNE BARON SHERMAN

FOUNDER’S NOTE

I started Open Stage Project because, through years of working behind the scenes, I kept asking myself the same question: Where are the women? Where are the gender-expansive creatives?

That wasn’t just a pattern — it was a problem. And when the New York Times confirmed in their article “Theater Jobs Skew White and Male.” what I’d been seeing for years, I realized change wasn’t going to happen organically. It had to be deliberate.

With the mentorship of the Actors Fund Creative Entrepreneur Program, I founded Open Stage Project to do exactly that — to build real pathways into the behind-the-scenes crafts through mentorship, community, and industry access.

We don’t just host career fairs. We don’t just hand out free tickets to shows. We open doors, we teach skills, and we connect emerging talent directly to the people who build the creative world of theater and film.

Women and gender-expansive creatives deserve to be in the rooms where the stories are built — designing, building, and shaping what audiences see on stage and on screen.

Open Stage Project exists to make sure they get there.

~ Elsa Ward, IATSE designer

PARTNER SCHOOLS