MA Directing (Taught)

This degree will give you contemporary, practical training, to become an integral part of the next generation of theatre directors.

Through skills classes and project-based learning, you will be given the time, resources and rehearsal room access you need to develop your craft.

Teaching will be delivered by industry practitioners and masterclass guests, with mentorship and placement opportunities. Each is designed to support you in clearly defining your artistic voice, aligning your passions, skills, and ambitions ready for a portfolio career.

You’ll develop the skills required to lead a company and creative team, coach actors, shape theatrical performance and ensure aesthetic integrity in the staging of work. Working with visiting professional teams in a range of rehearsal settings, you’ll further your theatrical literacy, vocabulary and find your own voice as a director. As a graduate, you’ll be able to lead a company of actors and creatives, in realising a singular vision for a theatrical production as a theatre director.

Collaboration is at the very heart of what we do at Leeds Conservatoire. You’ll share core modules with students from the other Theatre MAs, generating new work in a collaborative environment. You’ll work on developing work for the Leeds Theatre Festival and have access to rehearsal rooms where undergraduate students create their annual season of live performances. Through these projects and creative relationships, you’ll establish performances and a creative network, ready to transfer into your professional life.

The MA Directing leverages the conservatoire’s strong relationships with regional theatres and companies. Our students have worked with productions at partner venues such as Leeds Playhouse, Slung Low, and Leeds Heritage Theatres. These connections not only ensure program relevance but also broaden your professional network. During your placement, you’ll contribute to both external and internal productions. The School of Drama's season of live performances offers extensive access across two actor-musician productions, four plays, and three musicals.

Introduction to Collaborative Practice in trimester 1:
This module is designed to introduce students to the principles and techniques behind successful, collaborative arts practice. The module will develop the students’ knowledge and understanding of collaborative performance settings, expanding their knowledge of how work is made.

Skills for the Musical Theatre Creative module in trimesters 1 and 2
This module aims to develop the core skills each creative within their chosen field of study; theatre direction, composition, book writing, lyric writing, choreography, or other areas of multi-disciplinary theatre-making (puppetry, physical theatre, spoken word etc).

Placement Module in trimesters 2 and 3:
This module aims to provide students with opportunities to apply their work to a range of professional and/or educational contexts, either within the conservatoire or with external providers.
Students will be given placements which are working with PG or UG students at Leeds Conservatoire . In addition, placement opportunities will be sought through external providers and contributors Partnership placement opportunity varies annually in response to the students specialism and institutional partnership relationships.

Major Project in trimester 3:
The major project aims to give students the opportunity to develop autonomous theatre-making projects based on learning they have undertaken as part of the degree. Here students will be given full creative control for the project and can choose their assessment output based on their proposed activity. Students may work in groups or individually.

Trimester 1:
• Introduction to Collaborative Practice – assessed by portfolio
• Skills for the Musical Theatre Creative 1 – assessed by presentation and portfolio

Trimester 2:
• Skills for the Musical Theatre Creative 2 – assessed by presentation and portfolio
• Placement 1 – assessed by presentation and written reflection

Trimester 3:
• Placement 2 assessed by presentation and written reflection
• Major Project – assessed by practical assessment 50% of the mark: Vive Voce oral assessment 50% of the mark