Virtual Retreat: Directing for Stage

13 January 2021 - 10 February 2021

What Is It?

This is a weekly Zoom course for those aged 18+ of all abilities and experience who wish to learn about directing for stage, running for 5 weeks.

Course Content

Week 1: In this session, we will discuss, explore and discover the role of a director. It will start all the way from what a director should do before the first day of rehearsal to entering a rehearsal a room. This will culminate in a practical directing exercise at the end of the session.

Week 2: This session will cover what happens in the rehearsal room when working on a published script. We will look at the directing process focusing on themes, characters and an introduction to uniting a script. Participants will be given a selection of scripts to work on by playwrights from various genres such as Kae Tempest, Debbie Tucker Green, Tanika Gupta, Arinze Kene, Arthur Miller, and Shakespeare with a view to directing sections of the scripts.

Week 3: This session will cover what happens in the rehearsal room when working on a piece of new writing (an unpublished script). We will look at the directing process whilst working on new writing, what the rehearsal and development process is, as well as working with writers in the room. A selection of exciting award-winning new writing will be looked at and deconstructed.

Week 4: Table work and uniting continued. This session will ask the question ‘why do we unit a script?’. Using examples from directors at the Royal Court, National Theatre and Theatre Royal Stratford East, this session will look closely at uniting and dissecting a script and why this is important before the script reaches the floor of a rehearsal room.

Week 5: This week will focus on the floor, tech week, previews and opening a show. In this final week we will look at the crucial process of page-to-stage, taking the team into a tech week (or days), opening previews to an audience and supporting a show once it has opened.

Waiting List

If the class you wish to attend is appearing as sold out, please email Community Engagement Manager Nina Graveney-Edwards [email protected] to add yourself to the waiting list for future classes.

Scholarships

Scholarships are available for this course, please email Community Engagement Manager Nina Graveney-Edwards [email protected] for more information.