DIRECTING

Celebrating Collaboration & Individual Ambition

Directors are artists. They interpret plays and initiate new work. Directing is a process of distillation, part science and part instinct. As the cultural landscape of this country unfolds, directors have a unique opportunity to guide, stimulate, provoke and question.

The Master of Theatre Arts in Directing (MTA) is jointly taught by the Theatre Programme of Victoria University of Wellington and Toi Whakaari.

It provides a combination of practical and theoretical studies. These aim to develop the skills and experience necessary to direct plays and initiate projects in professional theatre, including:

• The ability to direct every aspect of theatre production
• Development of the visual imagination
• Understanding of a variety of approaches to acting
• An understanding of text analysis and dramaturgical process
• The ability to manage a career in the theatre, including knowledge of marketing and publicity practices
• An understanding of design and technical production
• Research ability and knowledge of historical and theoretical approaches to theatre directing
• A bicultural perspective on arts and cultural policy in Aotearoa/New Zealand

Download a copy of our 2012 MTA brochure here.

Directing students benefit from working alongside students of performance design, acting, entertainment technology, performing arts management and costume construction as well as academics. Through sharing premises with NZ School of Dance, student directors may also be able to collaborate with contemporary dance students.

Check out what the MTA students are directing here.

Successful Graduates

For five years Toi Whakaari has graduated some of New Zealand’s most successful and innovative young directors from award winning animated film makers to award winning devised theatre directors, from dramaturges to main stream theatre directors. Check out some of Toi Whakaari’s successful MTA graduates here.