Tony Award winners Michael Grandage, Artistic Director of London's Donmar Warehouse, and Director/Choreographer Rob Ashford (Promises, Promises) will discuss Artistic Leadership on Saturday, December 18, at 10:15am at Theatre Row's Beckett Theatre (410 W 42nd Street). The
discussion is part of Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation's (SDCF) ONE-ON-ONE CONVERSATION series, six moderated conversations with contemporary leading theatre artists exploring the topic of Artistic Leadership. SDC Executive Director Laura Penn will moderate.

This year's ONE-ON-ONE CONVERSATIONs examine aspects of Artistic Leadership, delving into subjects such as balancing an artistic career while leading an organization, influencing leadership within the field outside of the institutional setting, developing supportive relationships among artists to further the industry, and finding opportunity for practicing artists to shape the arts landscape and maintain the artists' presence.

Rob Ashford's Broadway credits include Promises, Promises (Tony nomination), Cry-Baby (Tony nomination), Curtains (Tony nomination), The Wedding Singer (Tony nomination), Thoroughly Modern Millie (2002 Tony Award, Best Choreography), and The Boys From Syracuse
(Roundabout). In London, A Streetcar Named Desire starring Rachel Weisz at the Donmar Warehouse, Parade at the Donmar Warehouse (Olivier nominations for Direction and Choreography), Evita (Olivier nomination), Guys and Dolls (Olivier nomination), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Olivier nomination), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Once in a Lifetime (National Theatre). Other credits include Parade (Mark Taper Forum), Candide (La Scala, Milan, Chatelet, Paris), Tenderloin, Bloomer Girl, A Connecticut Yankee... and Pardon My
English (Encores!). He provided choreography for the film Beyond the Sea directed by and starring Kevin Spacey. Mr. Ashford just won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography for his work on the 81st Annual Academy Awards.

Michael Grandage is an award-winning British theatre director and producer. He is currently the Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse in London where his work has included Red, The Chalk Garden, Othello, Frost/Nixon, The Wild Duck, Grand Hotel, Caligula, Merrily We Roll Along, and Passion Play. In 2008, he opened a season of work at the Wyndham's Theatre as part of the Donmar in the West End presenting four classic plays at affordable prices: Ivanov (with Kenneth
Branagh), Twelfth Night (with Derek Jacobi), Madame de Sade (with Judi Dench), and Hamlet (with Jude Law). He has transferred three of his own Donmar productions to Broadway, Frost/Nixon (Tony Nomination for Best Director), Hamlet, and Red (Tony Award for Best Director). In May of 2010, Michael made his operatic directing debut with Billy Budd at the 2010 Glyndebourne Festival. Michael was also the Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres from 1999 - 2005. His work there included Don Carlos (also Gielgud Theatre, London), Suddenly Last Summer (also national tour and Albery Theatre, London), A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest (also The Old Vic), Richard III, Don Juan, Edward II, The Country Wife, and As You Like It (also Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith).

SDCF Programming, including the One-on-One Conversation Series, is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

Each ONE-ON-ONE CONVERSATION is audiotaped for future podcast in "SDCF's Masters of the Stage," a collaboration with AmericanTheatreWing.org. Future conversations will feature Tony
Taccone, Artistic Director of Berkeley Repertory Theatre, among others.