Master of Fine Arts in Directing

Fall 2005 production of Cripple of Inishmaan.  Directed by Robin Witt.
photo: Tom Giglio

Purpose
The Master of Fine Arts in Directing Program seeks to train qualified students for professional careers in the theatre. We believe that in order to assume a responsible place in the profession, the director must have:

• a strong foundation in dramatic literature, theatre history and the cultural function of performance.
• the language of our collaborators: the designer, the actor, the playwright.
• a visual vocabulary that includes the theatrical impact of images.
• effective text analysis.
• constructive artistic leadership.

The Department of Theatre at Northwestern seeks to train stage directors who:

• can develop and articulate a strong point-of-view on a text, fully cognizant of the political, social, cultural and historical implications of that text as well as their production.
• have a working knowledge of the language of design and a commitment to the collaborative process.
• can gather and direct the talents of a wide variety of artists around a shared vision of a theatrical experience.

To this end, we provide students with a focused and rich curriculum that includes several production opportunities and exposure to both the emerging and established theatre community in Chicago. Students will be exposed to a wide range of artists and scholars, critical points of view, and engage in close tutorial relationships with a core faculty.