Directing

The Directing Program, realized in collaboration with the Mise en scèneProgram, trains students to refine, clarify, and reinforce their own evolving theatrical approach and foster an exchange of ideas, aesthetics, and visions. 

Pedagogy is driven by each individual student’s personal artistic research interests alongside ensemble-based learning in workshops, classes, internships and public exercises.  

Students in Directing and MES train to become leaders in the theatrical milieu.   

2 years of training | 4 students per year | Intake every 2 years

Thomas Morgan Jones
Executive Artistic Director of the English Section and Director of the Directing Program
tjones@ent-nts.ca

Curriculum & Teaching Artists

The Directing Program offers: 

  • A very high teacher-to-student ratio allowing for personalized response to research interests, needs, strengths, and challenges 
  • Instruction from working professional artists, from across Canada and internationally, who understand the realities of contemporary directing practice.  
  • Deep collaboration with the Mise en scène Program, creating fertile ground for artistic, cultural, and geographic exchange. 
  • Workshops, seminars, observation, internships, courses, and public exercises under the guidance of professional directors and theatre artists 

⇀ CURRICULUM
⇀ TEACHING ARTISTS

They hired our Directing Alumni:

  • Artistic Fraud
  • Bard on the Beach
  • Centaur Theatre
  • Crow’s Theatre
  • Festival Trans-Amériques
  • FOLDA
  • Globe Theatre
  • High Performance Rodeo
  • Imago Theatre
  • National Arts Centre
  • OFFTA
  • PuSh
  • Segal Centre
  • Shakespeare in the Ruins
  • Shaw Festival
  • Soulpepper
  • Stratford Festival
  • SummerWorks
  • Tarragon Theatre
  • The Theatre Centre
  • Why Not Theatre
  • 2b Theatre
  • Two Planks and a Passion Theatre
  • Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre
  • Manitoba Theatre for Young People

Program Description

  • The Directing Program allows participants to develop and strengthen their theatrical intuition and craft. Its purpose is the training of artists who will be leaders in the milieu.
  • While the program seeks to develop students’ creativity and enable them to express themselves through current aesthetic paradigms (rooted in Quebec, Canadian, and international contexts), it also invites artists to imagine a theatre of their own, a theatre that does not yet exist.
  • The shape of the program is driven by each individual director’s personal artistic research interests. The program aims to refine, clarify, and reinforce an evolving theatrical approach
  • The program is structured around a personal research question that roots the participants in the program. Directing offers both practical and theoretical approaches to the work while also strengthening ties with(in) the professional community. Instructors will include leaders in the milieu both nationally and internationally.
  • The two main components of the program are:
  • Ensemble/cohort-based learning in workshop, class and meeting settings
  • Over the course of two years, the program evolves through workshops, seminars, observation, internships, courses, and public exercises.
  • The program is a partnership between the English and French Sections of the School, with cohorts from both Sections training together frequently and bilingually. Each Section will welcome four students, for a total of eight students, every two years.
  • Training as directors and leaders within a cohort is an invitation to foster a meeting place and exchange of ideas, aesthetics, and visions.
  • Each year of study will culminate in the sharing of the artists’ artistic research in the form of presentations, workshops, or writing projects.

APPLICATION

The Directing Program admits four students every two years.  The next intake will take place between October 1, 2027 and January 31, 2028 for admission to the 2028/2029 school year.  

To stay up-to-date on the Directing Program application process, sign up for the Student Outreach-Admissions Newsletter by clicking on Pre-admissions. 

Contact admission@ent-nts.ca if you would like to speak with someone about the program, or to visit NTS in person. 

Documents to be submitted

Every initial application must include your c.v. and the following:

1. Letter of Intent (maximum 500 words)

Your letter should address the following questions:

  • Why do you want to study Directing at the National Theatre School of Canada?

  • What experience or training do you have in theatre and in the craft of directing?

INTERVIEW*

Several candidates are invited to an interview before the final selection is made.

Applicants are notified of the result of the selection process in May.

 

*Subject to change.

NEED ANY HELP?

Read the Frequently Asked Questions

CONTACT OUR ADMISSIONS OFFICE

admission@ent-nts.ca

514-842-7954, ext. 163

FINANCIAL MATTERS

Learn more about tuition fees, student bursaries, and loans.

Applications are open for Fall 2026!

Apply by January 31, 2026 for the next Directing cohort at NTS!