BY DOUG LONG
All directors want directing gigs. Most also want to be well trained in how to interpret a script and inspire a team of actors, designers and technicians to create a theatrical production that artistically conveys that interpretation. For many, one way to gain these skills is through a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program in directing.
The MFA has been the primary degree for professional directors and teachers for the past 30 years. During the late 1960s, programs sprouted up around the country. "This was during the decentralization of theatre" from New York to the rest of the country, said Joel Fink, theatre chair at Roosevelt University. The MFA became a sort of conservatory within the university setting, where artists focused on a specific craft.
Many, perhaps most, Chicago directors have undergraduate theatre training in college. Often these programs offer at least one directing course and an occasional chance to direct, within or outside of the university’s funded season. With the MFA, they get more intensive training, while giving three years.
Most programs researched for this article fit a variety of classes within those three years. Directing courses include "book" courses in theory and history and "practical" classes in periods and styles. Most require a significant amount of acting courses, often nearly duplicating the school’s MFA acting requirements. Design, movement, voice and stage management classes are often also required.
Most programs offer several directing slots, usually with a mainstage production as a third-year thesis project. Some programs use alternative spaces. The Theatre School at DePaul University, for example, sponsors "New Directors Series," in which MFA directors create productions presented at the Athenaeum Theatre. At Roosevelt University, student directors and playwrights are required to collaborate on original productions.
Researching Programs
The best way to research programs used to be to send away for information packets. Nowadays, of course, it’s much easier to search online. Most of the schools offering programs have decent explanation of their programs and include an e-mail link for further questions. One of the most comprehensive sites, for the University of California at Irvine, discusses the program’s philosophy: "In general…the Program is 'logocentric,’ viewing the director as the interpreter of the script–a creative, collaborative artist in the sense that s/he creates in collaboration with designers and actors the event that realizes the script. This does not diminish the director’s responsibility for the event. All directors share with the auteur the duty to own the event, to stand by everything that goes on the stage."
Some programs, especially those located in major metropolitan areas, offer internships with professional theatres. In Chicago, of course, the opportunities for directing students (even in undergraduate programs) are plentiful.
When To Apply, If Ever
Many students in MFA programs are freshly out of an undergraduate program, or not too far removed. For many directors, however, the time for MFA training comes after time spent in the professional theatre world.
Chicago freelance director Michael LaTour, for example, started Roosevelt University’s program at age 43, after more than 20 years of doing theatre, film, television, and musical tours around the world. Before moving to Chicago, LaTour had directed his first play, which won L.A.’s Drama-Logue Award. LaTour said that the experience taught him how much he had to learn. His road to Roosevelt was indirect.
"When I moved here, I visited a friend of mine who was doing her thesis show at Roosevelt," says LaTour. "She introduced me to Yolanda Miller, then head of the theatre department there. Yolanda told me that they encouraged having 'older’ students who had been working professionals to be mixed in with the younger students, as an example of dedication and discipline to the craft."
LaTour, who graduated in 1998, said the best part of the program for him was the hands-on directing. "I had the chance to direct shows in both the studio and O’Malley theatres," says LaTour. "I was handed a very good budget, a rehearsal space, access to designers, PR support, a cast, all the support of the department’s resources, and the green light to do the show of my choice, all without the accountability of a fiscal bottom line. That was truly a gift."
Contacts made at Roosevelt have helped LaTour work in Chicago theatre. Most helpful to LaTour was director Peter Amster. "Peter has created such opportunity for me," LaTour said. "I have done shows at Pegasus, Apple Tree and the Lyric Opera, all due to working with Peter."
The only weakness, LaTour said, was that the department and directing program were in a process of transition at the time. "There wasn’t even a true curriculum developed for the directing program, which was pretty new at the time," says LaTour. "I had come to school because I felt like my whole life I had been teaching myself through trial and error, and that is such a slow, often painful and costly process. I was hoping that school would be a faster, more organized distillation of learning, but it really wasn’t. I am not sorry I went."
Fink said Roosevelt’s program, as it stands today, includes not only director training, but also dramaturgy and stage management. These areas are not only beneficial for director training, he adds, but are more openings for these areas than for directors in Chicago theatre.
One Chicago director who has worked a great deal in the past few years is Lynn Ann Bernatowitz, a member of the Circle Theatre ensemble. She’s currently checking out graduate directing programs. Why now? "I have now lived and worked enough outside of an academic setting to know my voice and specific artistic needs and I am confident enough to make sure those needs get met by the faculty," Bernatowitz said.
She stated her goals for participating in an MFA program: "Making my voice stronger through guidance from experienced professionals and the freedom to experiment without fear of financial risks. Also, having an extended period of time when I do little else but focus on further developing my artistic needs. I’m interested in directing internationally and two of the schools I am considering are in London which–in addition to the education and culture experience–would give me a foothold in Europe. I also would like to teach later on in my career, and it is difficult to get hired without a Masters. When you go from play to play, you do learn things, but not at the rate when all you are focusing on is studying and developing your process, and where product is less of a factor."
School of Hard Knocks
Most working directors would agree that much is learned from simply working on a succession of plays. Shade Murray, who recently left his post as Roadworks artistic director to become associate producer at Writers Theatre (see Behind the Curtain, p. 18), says that’s enough for him, and that he would advise other directors likewise.
"Ask yourself, why do you need to go? Ask yourself honestly," Murray said. "I think that for the money and time, you need to find a sense of clarity and purpose. I think you can find that in the real world. I was conscious that I didn’t want to avoid the real world. Any questions I’ve had I’ve found in the real world." As an example, he cited his recent move to Writers Theatre, which often produces classic plays: "I consider this my graduate training. It’s just as legitimate, if not more."
Bernatowitz agreed that much can be gained from learning from professionals in production. "When I moved to Chicago, I assisted Roger Smart at Shattered Globe Theatre," she said, "and it was a wonderful way to learn both from Roger and work with a talented ensemble."
Will it get me a job?
Artistic directors don’t ask for "MFAs only" when seeking directors. Many won’t even ask.
"No one has ever made an issue of it in an interview," Bernatowitz said. "I do not know, of course, if it was a factor in those instances that I didn’t get the interview."
Having director training is only one of many factors a producer might consider. And of course, the question is moot if you don’t get an interview. Many companies were formed so the founding members could direct there. If they look outside their company, it’s usually not far.
For example, Roadworks produces three to five shows a year, and there are three directors in the ensemble. When they look outside, it’s usually with someone who has "some sort of history with the company," said Murray. During the past season, Roadworks used three non-ensemble directors. One, David Cromer, had acted and volunteered with the company.
Murray adds that the company has had less success when they have hired a director "cold," without a connection to the theatre. "The people I respect, it’s not because of their degree–it’s because of their practical application."
The Three-Year Investment
So if getting a directing gig has so much to do with knowing and working with producers in a given market, why take three years out to train?
Most programs accept very few (1-4) per year, so the potential for individualized attention and mentorship is strong. Most programs offer full tuition and a stipend, often in exchange for teaching basic acting classes. In fact, teaching is one reason why some people seek an MFA in directing. Most universities hiring theatre faculty expect a terminal degree (MFA or Ph.D.) as well as professional experience.
"The wonderful thing about an MFA is if you want to be a teacher," Murray said. "It’s hard to make a career out of freelance directing." Not every director has the desire or skill to work in theatre management to pay the bills, he said. "It will take awhile before a university will look at me because I don’t have an MFA."
In addition, while assistant directing or interning can be vital and valuable experience, the student’s progress is not the focus, as it would be in an MFA program.
"The problem with the way professional theatre has developed, how expensive it is to produce, the opportunities to intern in the old way are diminished," Fink said. "[In a directing program] you get the background and basis of directing. Grad schools provide a training ground that used to be found in the 'real world.’ Where else can you go to nurture your own career?"
Advice
No one program would be the perfect fit for every potential student. Some will want access to a major theatre scene while others want to find a place where they can "cocoon" and just work on developing skills. Some will want a school with an equally strong MFA acting program, while others want to make sure that the school has a strong playwriting program so they can get experience collaborating on new works.
Murray suggested that someone considering a graduate program should consider the professional contacts that will result not only from faculty, but also from fellow students. At best, such a program could provide the chance "to build your own entourage of writers and designers. Colleagues will get you as much work as faculty."
To find out which program is the best fit, write, surf Web sites, make phone calls, talk to alumni working in the Chicago area. The training you get won’t assure you of a job, but it can give you a forum for becoming a better director.
"Training usually shows discipline and dedication and an understanding of the process," said Bernatowitz. "It is one consideration [in hiring directors] that is weighed in with all the other things one looks for in a good director."
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