Sharifa Yasmin sharifayasmin.com
Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation has named Sharifa Yasmin the inaugural recipient of the Barbara Whitman Award.
Established by producer Whitman, the award recognizes a female, trans, or non-binary early-career director who has demonstrated a unique vision in their work with a $10,000 cash prize.
Finalists were directors Ty Defoe, Miranda Haymon, Tara Moses, Aya Ogawa, Tatiana Pandiani, and Mei Ann Teo.
Yasmin said, Being a part of trans and Arab American communities, we are so often told that we donât matterâthat our voices are insignificant. I became a director to change what stories are being told, to uplift voices that are so often silenced, to tell myself and my communities that we are here and we deserve to be heard. This award is life-changing for me in that endeavor, both in the recognition of my labor and in the support that enables me to continue this work. I am profoundly grate