Directing

The M.F.A. Directing Program admits two students once every three years. Applicants should demonstrate a passionate commitment to the art of directing and an ability to take risks. They must have the potential to be artists and leaders who want to take their place as professionals on a national and international level. Students admitted into the program will complete a concentrated course of study designed to identify and develop their own directorial vision. Throughout their courses and production work, directing students will be encouraged to ask hard questions of themselves and their collaborators and to take responsibility for the philosophical, spiritual, social, and political reverberations of their work. Although a collaborative approach is emphasized within an interdisciplinary context, each student is immersed in a wide variety of genres and styles with the goal of developing a distinct voice.

Both practical and theoretical, the program investigates all aspects of the art from the student’s first creative impulse to the polishing of a finished theatrical work. The students will engage in a myriad of techniques including imagination-building, text analysis, staging, leadership skills, developing criteria for their choices as they direct a series of projects in different venues, culminating in a Thesis Production presented as part of the University’s main stage season. To emphasize the importance of theory and criticism in regards to developing a sophisticated directorial approach to different works, the students will study the foremost practitioners of the art, develop critical skills as well as investigate the source of the art itself. Through this two-fold approach the directors will begin to forge their own methodology and shape their own aesthetic.

Over the course of their studies, the M.F.A. directors will be challenged to evolve their dramatic imaginations. They will explore the role of the director as interpreter and auteur. They will learn about style, develop the ability to work with classical texts, engage in new play development and adaptation, explore movement-based work, and investigate the impact of design on theatrical production. They will develop leadership and management skills and hone their ability to articulate their unique vision. Throughout, they will take classes side by side with actors, playwrights, and dramaturgs, forming relationships that will last throughout their professional lives.

In their first year, the M.F.A. directors focus on naturalism and realism, concentrating on the development of the art form through the work of its seminal directors and theorists from Stanislavsky to Kantor. They will direct a series of realistic scenes that culminate with the presentation of a one-act play in the realistic tradition.

In their second year, the M.F.A. directors focus on the art of directing classical and heightened text, working with playwrights on developing and adapting new work, and incorporating elements of design into their vision. The Fall Semester will culminate in an adaptation project with one of the M.F.A. playwrights, and in the spring they will present a full work of classical text with limited design support.

In the third year, as the students begin to transition into professional theater, they study contemporary theater practice, as well as devised and post-modern work. They are expected to successfully complete an internship with an active performing arts organization, assisting master artists on production. They will also present a fully mounted Thesis Production of a play that they select with the input of the faculty and presented as part of the main stage season.

The directing program places its students in internships on the local, national, and international level during their course of study in order to aid their transition into the profession upon their graduation. The program includes Master classes and seminars with nationally prominent theater directors. The M.F.A. directors also have the opportunity to visit rehearsals in the Washington, D.C., area and observe the work of professional theater artists. Both in the classroom and without, these M.F.A directors will engage in vigorous dialog, preparing them to take their places as professional working artists within the American theater.

Entrance Requirements

The graduate directors must fulfill all university qualifications and submit an audition tape that demonstrates their directing experience. They must also undergo an interview to evaluate their flexibility and openness to learning new approaches to theatre. Students whose first language is not English must submit TOEFL, results of 80 or higher (iBT test), (for paper-based test: 550 or higher; for computer-based test: 213 or higher), or the Duolingo examination, results of 105 or higher, to be considered for admission. For the iBT test, at least 20 out of 30 in each of the subcategories is required.

Program of Study	Semester Hours
First Year, Fall Term	12
DR 601 Introduction to Theatre Research	3
DR 604 Dramatic Structures I (ONLINE)	3
DR 638 Performance Studio I (Dramatic Collaborations)	3
DR 651 Elements of Directing I*	3
First Year, Spring Term	12
DR 545 Theatre Production & Design	3
DR 639 Performance Studio II (New Play Development)	3
DR 652 Elements of Directing II*	3
DR 983 Seminar: Dramaturgy	3
Second Year, Fall Term	12
DR 606 Theatre Theory	3
DR 650 Elements of Directing III*	3
DR 762 Adaptation	3
DR 984 Seminar: Shakespeare in the Theatre	3
Second Year, Spring Term	12
DR 610 Twentieth Century Theatres (ONLINE)	3
DR 750 Elements of Directing IV*	3
DR 831 Masterclass (or MATE Elective)	3
DR 839 Performance Studio IV (Directing Shakespeare)**	3
Third Year, Fall Term	6
MATE Course: College Teaching & Course Design	3
DR 950 Seminar: Directing*	3
Third Year, Spring Term	6
DR 695C Directing Internship	3
DR 850 Director’s Forum	3
Capstone Requirements	0
Crew Credits (two for 0 credits) (DR 699A & DR 699B) (see description below)	0
Master’s Comprehensive Examination (DR 698A w/classes; DR 698B wo/classes)	0
Total	60

Graduation Requirements

Pre-requisites: Graduate reading list: All students are expected to be familiar with the plays on the graduate reading list before entering the program and able to use this knowledge throughout their course work. They will need to be able to refer to these plays in class discussions and cite them in their written work.
GPA: Directing students must complete 20 courses in 6 consecutive semesters with grades of B- or better. The program may dismiss a student who earns grades below B- in 3 courses. In the event a student receives a grade lower than a B- in a course, they are put on probation and advised that their continuation will be reevaluated at the end of the following semester. If a student receives a failing grade in a course, they are permitted to retake the course once. If they do not successfully complete the class, they are unable to continue in the program, as all courses are required to complete the degree.
Student evaluations: During end-of-semester meetings, the full-time faculty, in consultation with lecturers, evaluates the progress of each student. These evaluations cover class work, production work, and any specific concerns that could affect the student’s degree progress. Also reviewed in these evaluations are their grades, the individual critical evaluations by professors, general faculty evaluations of their production and performance work, their overall ability to accept and adjust to the new skills and ideas presented in class, and mastery of work and craft habits necessary for successful professional practice. The faculty advisor reports to the student any action determined through these discussions and raises any faculty concerns with the student on an individual basis. The faculty may dismiss a student on the basis of a faculty evaluation of his/her progress toward professional practice.
Case books and production books: Directors create a case book for each project, classroom and public performance. The scale is more complex for the thesis shows, however, the framework is consistent throughout. The key elements of an MFA Directing case book are as follows: text analysis, reflective essays on text analysis including construction of approach to play and point of view on material, journal of process, design drawings, production photos, essays reflecting on process and dramaturgical research.
First-year stage management and directing responsibilities: Directing students must stage manage a production in the Drama Department and direct two one-act plays during their first year in the program. The Stage management work fulfills two crew credits, and the directing projects are the culmination of coursework in specific classes.
Second-year internal and external directing responsibilities: Directing students must serve as an assistant director for one main stage production, direct a Shakespeare production and a comedy or farce in the department; they also assistant direct two productions at a professional theatre (with approval from the head of the program). The off-campus positions are with theatres that have been evaluated by the head of the directing program as appropriate for the student’s growth, and evaluated by him/her in conjunction with the professional director. The in-house directing projects are the culmination of work in classes, and the assistant directing assignment fulfills one of their practicum crew credits.
Professional internship: In their third year, directing students must participate in a professional internship. Directing faculty determines which opportunity will best serve the specific student and assists him/her to find an appropriate situation. These internships are monitored by the head of the directing program, in consultation with the production’s director.
In their Directing Seminar in their third year, directing students are asked to plan, prepare, and teach graduate level classes, with the understanding that the M.F.A. is a terminal degree and that they will be considered for teaching positions in the future. The grade for this project is a substantial percentage of the class.
Practicum crew credits: The directors fulfill their crew credits by stage management of a department production. Stage management usually involves six weeks of at least 25 hours a week, monitored by the producer and the head of the directing project. The directing is also monitored by the head of the directing program.
Written comprehensive examination: Directing students must take a written comprehensive exam, answering two essay questions related to the case books submitted. These questions thereby tie the comprehensive exam to the students’ particular production experiences during their degree progress. The exam also assesses the student’s historical, theoretical, and practical knowledge of his/her field and the ability to put some of that knowledge to practical use. The intent is that the exam be the logical culmination of the dialogue between the critical studies and the performance-production work in which each student participates throughout their program. To be eligible, students must have completed, or be in the process of completing, all course requirements and practicum requirements. Typically, students take the exam in the final semester of the degree program around mid-March. Students in the Directing program answer two essay questions integral to the casebook process.
M.F.A. thesis: During their second year the students develop a short list of full-length plays they are interested in directing. Three proposals are submitted to the full faculty for evaluation in terms of the needs of the director for artistic development, the viability of the choice within the practical constraints of the department, and the suitability within the season. If none of the proposals meet with faculty approval, the students will be asked for additional proposals. Once the production is selected, the directing student must present a fully mounted production using professional production support. They submit their case book to the head of the directing program for final evaluation by a committee of three faculty members. Directors may request to meet with the members of their committee afterward to discuss their case books and thesis production. This optional meeting takes place after the committee has evaluated the student’s written exam and has no impact on the outcome of the exam.