CHICAGO: Victory Gardens Theater has announced the assistant directors who will participate in the Directors Inclusion Initiative for the 2016-17 season. Each will work on a different show in the upcoming season. This year’s participants are Kaiser Ahmed (Hand To God), Arianna Soloway (Roz and Ray), Ameenah Kaplan (A Wonder In My Soul), Charlotte Drover (Queen), and Alyssa Vera Ramos (Native Gardens).

“We are pleased to welcome five emerging directors into our Victory Gardens Theater family,” said artistic director Chay Yew in a statement. “As a theatre that is committed to new plays, diversity, and inclusion, we are excited to invest in and nurture these artists. Over the course of this season, these directors will not only assistant direct a main stage production, but also be mentored by the artistic staff and receive institutional support and resources. I look forward to working with each of them throughout the season.”

The initiative began in the 2015-16 season to encourage and develop emerging stage directors in Chicago who identify as disabled, female, a person of color, transgender, or gender non-conforming.