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INTRODUCTION TO DIRECTING - SHORT COURSE

Starts:
Finishes:
Venue: TBC

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Course timetable and cost:

The course will span over five Saturdays: 4 October, 11 October, 25 October, 1st November and 8 November, from 09:30 - 17:00 each Saturday, on-campus. Information on the in-person location for each session will be provided in due course. The full course cost is £550. 

We offer a 20% discount to those who are members of Birkbeck's alumni community. Please contact us if you are a member and wish to activate this discount.

Course Content:

The Introduction to Directing short course is a scoping exercise for emerging directors to acquire the skills and knowledge they may wish to develop further in order to practice as a professional director in today’s industry: what do I need to know in order to know what I need to know? 

Mirroring the MFA, this introduction covers the essential skills and knowledge to enable students to better understand the work of a professional director by looking at the director’s relationship with key collaborators: the director and the actor; the director and the writer; the director and the designer; and the director and the industry. Many of the sessions will be led by leading practitioners such as (indicatively) directors Lyndsey Turner and Blanche McIntyre; designer Michael Vale; ex head of acting at Drama Centre Annie Tyson, artistic director Alex Thorpe.

Course Syllabus: 

  • The first two Saturdays will focus on the director’s relationship with the actor. We will offer a combination of taught sessions on the basic tenets of Stanislavski and other leading acting methodologies with practical sessions with an acting teacher, movement director and a casting director. There will be a practical directing exercise at the end of the second Saturday. 
  • The third Saturday will focus on the director’s relationship with the writer and the text. This offers a combination of taught sessions on dramaturgical tools, particularly in relation to developing new plays and how a director prepares for and conceives a production by a classic author; with practical sessions with directors and writers on how they approach their work. There will be a production pitching exercise at the end of the day. 
  • The fourth Saturday will focus on the director’s relationship with the designer, with a practical session looking at the properties of different stage configurations and stage aesthetics; and sessions with two leading designers on how to effectively collaborate and develop a design with a professional designer. 
  • The fifth Saturday will focus on the director’s relationship with the industry. This involves taught sessions on the fundamental financial and organisational structures of the theatre industry in the UK; then focusing on the thinking of an artistic director and making applications to ACE and other funding sources; followed by a panel session with an artistic director and three early career freelance directors to discuss the potential career paths for emerging directors. 

Learning Objectives:

  • At the end of the course, participants will have acquired a greater understanding of the key skills and knowledge necessary to practice as an independent theatre artist and practising professional theatre director in today’s industry, particularly in relation to: the director’s work with actors; with writers and texts; with designers; and within the theatre industry. 
  • Students will also have a better understanding of how they might develop their own practice in the industry.
  • Students will leave with greater confidence, knowledge and skill sets which they will be able to apply, should they choose to further their studies and apply for MFA Theatre Directing. 

  

Contact name:

Speakers
  • Prof Rob Swain