The Drama League is now accepting applications for its 1997 Directors Project, the only national development program for emerging directors that guarantees a production in New York City.

Winners meet with professionals in the theatre community for one-on-one seminars and also get to assist leading NY and regional directors on projects. The Project culminates in a one-act festival.

To receive an application, due Feb. 21, call (212) 302-2100 or write to the Drama League Directors Project, 165 West 46th St., New York, NY 10036.

The year 1996 marked the 13th for the Drama League's Directors Project; the directors chosen were Preston Lane, John Lawler and Leland Patton and Stepan Simek.

Lane, a 1996 graduate of the Yale School of drama, directed G.B. Shaw's Overruled.. Lawler, co-founder of Seattle's Annex Theatre, staged Dorothy Parker's Here We Are. Patton, a 1996 graduate of the American Repertory Theatre Institute for Advanced Theatre Training, directed Wendy Hammond's Mom And The Razor Blades. Prague native Simek, who received a directing MFA from the University Of Washington, helmed Michel de Ghelderode's Escurial. Previous Directors Project Fellows include Christopher Ashley (Jeffrey), Mark Brokaw (This Is Our Youth) and Michael Mayer (Angels In America's national tour). Julia Hansen is the president of the Drama League of New York; Roger T. Danford is artistic director of the League's Directors Project.

-- By David Lefkowitz