MS Theatre Directing

Illinois State's Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Directing program cultivates the next generation of creative leaders in the American theatre.

The Directing program accepts a select group of advanced students who have demonstrated the potential to succeed in long-term careers as professional directors. We nurture the emergence of a unique and personal aesthetic for each director, while at the same time fostering an appreciation for the skills and technique required to achieve sustainable success in the profession. Accepted candidates will demonstrate curiosity about their world and the capacity to lead with empathy.

The goals of the program challenge students to:

• Develop an individualized aesthetic that speaks to today's world
• Communicate effectively with performers
• Collaborate openly and creatively with a design team
• Analyze plays from multiple genres
• Embrace poetic language and rhetorical device in classical plays
• Master staging techniques for multiple space configurations
• Work with professional rigor

Production Experience

Learn more about the production experience available during each of the Directing program's three years.

Illinois Shakespeare Festival

Directors will work for the Illinois Shakespeare Festival for 10 hours per week as part of their graduate assistantship. Duties may include casting, education, marketing, or company management depending on the student's interest and the needs of the Festival. All MFA students will also teach one undergraduate theatre class per semester.