Kathleen Amschoff

The Advanced Directing MFA Studio offers a comprehensive, year-long weekly training environment for directors at various stages of their craft. The class is focused on assembling a personal toolbox of directorial techniques suitable for theater across different styles and scales. Throughout the year, using classic plays, participants will engage in hands-on learning through readings, exercises, and in-class projects that cover text analysis, stage composition, production conception, and collaboration. The course emphasizes practical experience, including individualizing actor adjustments, managing rehearsal environments, and helping actors activate text. All participants are expected to perform in each other’s projects since understanding the actor’s challenges is essential to sensitive and effective directing. By the end of the Studio, directors will be well-equipped with the skills necessary to bring their directorial visions to life. Prerequisites: Graduate students or senior undergraduates with the approval of the professor.