The Directing Concentration

The MFA Directing program is based on the idea that one’s vision as a director is developed through practice, encouragement, critical feedback, collaboration…and more practice. In addition to exposure to the theories and practices of the great theatre directors of the past, students are encouraged to experiment with both the formal structures and physical ideas of directing, and apply theories from intersecting art forms such as music, painting, and dance to their work on the stage.

Directors are asked to move constantly between practical considerations of staging and collaboration to the deeper issues behind the existence and nature of theatre. The training is project-based and has directors working daily with actors, playwrights, dramaturgs, and managers. There are opportunities to direct the great classical texts, to collaborate with playwrights on new work, and to make original performance events from fresh collaborations with artists of many disciplines.

Notable Alumni

Diane Paulus '97, Jagged Little Pill, Waitress
Rachel Chavkin '08, Hadestown, Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812 
Saheem Ali '08, Romeo y Julieta, Merry Wives
Carl Cofield '14, Antigone, Henry IV Part 2 
Tyne Rafaeli '14, Usual Girls, Power Strip 
Jay Scheib '02, Bat out of Hell in the West End, Parsifal at Bayreuth
Nana Dakin '18, White Pearl at the Royal Court Theater