THEATRE DIRECTOR

Step into the rehearsal room and take your first seat at the director’s table. Meet your instructor and fellow collaborators, explore how the course will unfold, and gain a clear understanding of the assignments and final directing project ahead.

• Meet your instructor
• Course structure
• Assignments & final project overview
• Q&A
• Fun exercise/ice breaker

Explore the director’s place within the theatrical ecosystem — the storyteller who orchestrates the many voices of a production into one coherent vision. You’ll unpack the responsibilities of the role, the collaborators you’ll work alongside, and the practical realities of selecting a play and steering it toward opening night.

• The director within theatre
• The teams
• Choosing a play
• The production time-table
• The legalities: Contracts & unions
• Breakout Room #1: Discussing most positive theatre experiences

A director’s first task is not staging — it’s seeing. Learn how to transform a script from words on a page into a bold artistic proposition. Through research, analysis, and creative exploration, you’ll develop a clear directorial concept and practise articulating it to collaborators with conviction and clarity.

• Research & context
• Developing a director’s concept
• Identifying directorial opportunities
• The soul of theatre: Articulating a vision
• Breakout Room #2: Creating vision from a scene 

Assignment #1: Your Vision Pitch
Prepare a 1-page or short video pitch presenting your artistic vision for the play.

Before blocking begins, the director must first become the play’s most attentive reader. Let’s focus on script analysis — breaking down structure, themes, character journeys, and the world of the play itself. By examining context, rhythm, and subtext, you’ll learn how to uncover the dramatic engine beneath the dialogue and prepare a script for the rehearsal room.

• Historical, cultural, and geographical context
• Theatrical form and performance history
• Character arcs and relationships
• Themes, subtext, and dramatic stakes
• World-building, rhythm, imagery, and symbolism
• Breakout Room #3: Prep and discuss a provided short scene from Woyzeck by Buchner

Assignment #2: Play Synopsis
Write a half-page synopsis of the play you are directing using the analytical tools discussed in class.

Explore how spatial composition, focus, and movement create visual storytelling on stage. From thrust stages to theatre-in-the-round, you’ll learn how to shape dynamic stage images that guide the audience’s eye and elevate the drama beyond the text.

• Demands of different stages
• Principles of stage picture
• Levels & planes for creating dynamic visuals
• Entrances and exits
• Breakout Room #4: In groups, stage Of Mice and Men for multiple stage formats
• Case Study #1: Anne Boleyn the Musical

Explore the creative dialogue between director and designer — the collaborative process that transforms a script into a visual world. From scenery to costume, you’ll learn how colour, texture, and spatial design can deepen storytelling while maintaining a unified artistic vision.

• Designers: How to work with them
• The basics of scenic design
• Costume design & character
• Sharing visions & creative collaboration
• Guest Speaker: Designer/Director relationship

Light, sound, and movement are often the unseen performers shaping a production’s emotional pulse. Explore how directors collaborate with lighting, sound, and movement specialists to craft atmosphere, tension, and rhythm. You’ll also practise translating dramatic intention into practical design briefs for your creative team.

• Collaborating with movement, fight, and intimacy directors
• Working with lighting and sound designers
• Underscore music & emotional impact
• Storytelling with lighting design & transitions
• Breakout Room #5: Working from scenes from Iron by Rona Munro, design briefs for lighting, sound & movement directors
• Case Study #2: 1000 Splendid Suns adapted by Ursula Rani Sarma from the novel by Khaled Hosseini

Assignment #3: Design Brief/Moodboard
Create a visual design brief or moodboard for your chosen play.

Casting is more than filling roles — it’s assembling a company whose chemistry will power the entire production. Examine the audition process, the director–casting director partnership, and strategies for identifying actors who embody both character and ensemble spirit.

• The audition process and pipeline
• Working with casting directors & creating a cohesive cast
• Defining character needs
• Running & evaluating auditions
• Managing callbacks
• Breakout Room #6: Fantasy-cast a scene from Strawberries in January by Evelyne de la Chenlie

Assignment #4: Character & Casting Plan
Write short character descriptions and create a fantasy cast for your play.

The rehearsal room is where a director’s ideas meet the unpredictable magic of live performance. Learn how to structure rehearsals, balance table work with physical exploration, and guide a production from early exploration to polished run-throughs — all while maintaining clarity, pace, and ensemble trust.

• Structuring the rehearsal process & roadmap
• Table work & script exploration
• Run-throughs & notes sessions: Giving notes
• Integrating music, lights, movement
• Case Study #3: Anita and Me adapted by Tanika Gupta from Meera Syal’s novel

A director’s leadership style shapes the creative energy of the entire rehearsal room. This session focuses on fostering a collaborative environment where actors feel empowered to experiment and take risks. Through discussion and role-play exercises, you’ll explore how to offer constructive feedback and navigate challenging rehearsal dynamics.

• Fostering collaborative environments
• Encouraging autonomy & creativity
• How to approach feedback
• Problem-solving & troubleshooting
• Workshop: Role play a difficult situation & improvise giving feedback
• Breakout Room #7: Improvise a debate between the actor and director

Directors must help actors translate language into playable action. Explore practical text-analysis techniques used in rehearsal rooms to uncover objectives, tactics, and dramatic momentum. By working through contemporary text together, you’ll learn how to guide actors toward deeper, more precise performances.

• Techniques
• Collecting facts
• Uniting & actioning
• Objectives/counter objectives
• Workshop: Techniques applied to The Crucible by Arthur Miller (Trailer)
• Breakout Room #8: Apply techniques discussed in class

Assignment #5: Script Analysis Video
Apply the techniques to your script and present your analysis in a short video.

Classical plays can feel intimidating — but beneath the poetry lies a powerful dramatic engine. Demystify Shakespeare and other classical texts by exploring rhythm, structure, and vocal musicality. Through practical exercises, you’ll discover how to unlock the language and make it resonate with modern performers and audiences.

• What is being said?
• Paraphrasing & iambic pentameter
• Musicality exercises
• Applying techniques to classics
• Workshop: Speaking Shakespeare’s verse
• Breakout Room #9: Direct each other using a scene from Happy Days by Samuel Beckett

Directing a new play introduces an entirely different creative dynamic — the playwright is in the room, and the script is still evolving. This session explores the collaborative relationship between director and living writer, from commissioning a play to shaping it through workshops and rehearsals.

• Commissioning plays
• The process of writing a play
• Director/writer relationship
• Workshopping a new play
• Writer’s role in the rehearsal room
• Play examples

Technical rehearsals are where every artistic choice meets the realities of production. Explore how directors guide a show through the complex technical phase — coordinating cues, managing schedules, and refining pacing until the production is ready for its first audience.

• Technical rehearsals: Integrating cues & communication
• Creating a technical schedule & working with the team
• Dress rehearsals & previews
• Opening night, reviews, the rest of the run
• Case Study #4: King Lear — from rehearsal room to first night
• Breakout Room #10: Practising a speech

The final act of this course focuses on your life beyond it. Shape your professional identity as a director — learning how to present your work, build a creative network, and sustain a career in the theatre industry. You’ll also present your own directing vision in a short pitch.

• How to launch a career
• Portfolio development & marketing yourself
• Sustaining a directing career
• Demo: Pitching your idea
• Final discussion
• Breakout Room #11: Mock-pitch your own text

Assignment #6: Director’s Pitch Portfolio
Record a 2-minute video pitch presenting your directing concept and vision for your play.