Director training: a mine field or brave new world?

Abstract

The relative paucity of research on directing reflects the way in which the practice of directing occurs – behind closed-doors (Trousdell 1992). Despite the power afforded to directors, the literature is often comparatively silent on how a director leads a production. Whilst delineating the role of the director can be problematic, the training of directors is a minefield. Unlike actor training where a myriad of theories and methods guide us, the dearth of pedagogical frameworks for teaching directors has resulted in an ad hoc approach at best. Two case studies, conducted by the authors, within the context of conservatoire actor training, formed the basis for research exploring how leadership and creative collaboration could influence directorial practice. This article argues that a significant, and often overlooked aspect of director training is leadership and explores ways in which it can inform director training curriculum. Global #movements over the past five years have forced universities and conservatoires to consider the voices of marginalised and excluded students. By embedding leadership pedagogy into director training there is the potential to create a ‘brave new world’ where actor efficacy and creative collaboration are the vanguard that take directors into a post pandemic world.