Master of Fine Arts in Theatre - Directing

The program features a broad-based curriculum, offers extensive production experience, and affords opportunities for internships with professional companies, including the Illinois Shakespeare Festival. The School of Theatre and Dance trains directors to be creative artists and collaborative leaders. To that end, in coursework and in production work, the director's focus is two-fold: Developing, exploring, and challenging the artistic impulse through the study of drama theory, history, and criticism; Dealing with the practical aspects of production through thorough text analysis, research, and effective rehearsal techniques. M.F.A. Directing students take on a variety of production responsibilities each year. First-year students in the fall semester direct a one-act play in an intimate space with the emphasis placed on the actor-director collaboration. In the second semester, the students direct a realistically-based full-length play with an emphasis on story-telling as well as the actor-director collaboration. All first-year productions receive only minimal technical support. In the fall semester of the second year, students direct two exploratory productions utilizing two distinct found spaces and the emphasis expands to include aesthetic concerns. The second semester production is produced in the Westhoff Experimental Theatre, which is configured in a thrust format, and receives design and technical support. Either this or the third-year production must be a Shakespeare or language play. In the third year, students direct a full-length production in either the Center for Performing Arts or the Westhoff Experimental Theatre. This production receives full design and technical support.