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Theatre Directing Certificate Program • For Beginners

Find Your Voice.
Direct Your Story.

In 12 months, gain the confidence and practical tools to stage your first production.

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📅12 Months         🌐Distance or Blended        👤No Experience Required

Program snapshot

Overview

The Certificate in Theatre Directing is a 12-month, practice-based program designed as a structured first step into directing. You work with distance-learning modules, optionally join in-class labs in Germany or Austria, and build a clear directing concept for your own production.

Key facts

  • Duration: 12 months (part-time)

  • Format: Distance or blended

  • Language: English

  • Final project: Explanation Book

International tutors

​You learn from working theatre directors and educators, receiving individual feedback on assignments and guidance as you take your first steps into directing.

This Program Is

For You If:

  • You dream of directing but have no professional experience

  • You need foundational tools and confidence to take the first step

  • You believe in learning by doing, not just reading

  • You're ready to step outside your comfort zone and grow

At NIPAI, we see growth as a journey beyond the known. Our practical exercises are crafted to challenge, stretch, and reveal new dimensions of your potential.

What you gain

By the end of the program, you'll be able to:

  • Analyze a play and turn your analysis into concrete staging choices.

  • Plan and communicate a clear directing concept for a production.

  • Build and lead an ensemble from first rehearsal to premiere.

  • Work with space, composition, and movement on stage.

  • Document your work in an Explanation Book for collaborators and institutions.

Our graduates use their Explanation Books in job interviews and funding applications

Learning Format

Choose Your Style

Distance Learning

Study from anywhere in the world. Weekly assignments with instructor feedback, flexible scheduling, and full access to all program materials.

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  • Weekly practical assignments

  • Direct instructor feedback

  • Flexible scheduling

  • Full 12-month curriculum

Blended Learning

Everything in Distance, plus 2 intensive in-class sessions with students from around the world at our venues in Germany and Austria.

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  • All Distance Learning benefits

  • 2 in-person intensive sessions

  • Germany & Austria venues

  • International peer network

Recommended

Both formats include: Weekly assignments • Instructor feedback • Hands-on practice • Final Explanation Book project

Inside the Studio

Learning by doing: photos from our in-class sessions

Your final project

Explanation Book

  • Analyze a play and turn your analysis into concrete staging choices.

  • Plan and communicate a clear directing concept for a production.

  • Build and lead an ensemble from first rehearsal to premiere.

  • Work with space, composition, and movement on stage.

  • Document your work in an Explanation Book for collaborators and institutions.

Stories from our students

Career Outcomes 

Mike_edited.jpg

Mike Savuica

Director & Choreographer

"All the diploma program modules helped me build this performance. I always had support and a team of people to guide me. The diploma program was the necessary foundation I needed to make my first steps towards a directing career. NIPAI taught me to paint with bodies and actors to create tableaus on stage."

Cody Ganger

Cody Ganger

Director & College Theatre Professor

"I credit NIPAI for teaching me how to be truly prepared before starting rehearsals, with strong script analyses, paper blocking, and storyboarding. With this new confidence and skill set, I've only become more ambitious in my choices of shows and my approaches to the shows I do."

Next step

Ready to Direct Your Story?

Take the first step toward your future in theatre directing.

Funding

Scholarships & student finance

The Theatre Directing Certificate Program is a significant investment in your professional growth. To support committed practitioners, NIPAI offers several forms of financial assistance.

  • Partial scholarships of up to €2,000 are available for qualified candidates.

  • Support combines need-based tuition assistance and talent-based awards and is granted on a competitive basis.

  • Several payment plans are available once you are admitted (for example, one, two, or three instalments).

Full tuition details are shared individually with accepted candidates, so that your financial plan can be discussed in a realistic and transparent way.

Next step

If you are seriously considering the program and want to understand what it would mean financially in your specific situation, we encourage you to request a personalised overview.

Questions

FAQ: starting your first steps in directing

Here are answers to some of the questions we receive most often from prospective Theatre Directing Certificate candidates.

No. This certificate is designed specifically for beginners. We start from the fundamentals and build your skills progressively. All you need is passion and commitment.

Need more details? View full Certificate FAQ ↗

From Our Blog

Resources for Aspiring Directors

Discover articles on rehearsal process, physical theatre, and composition that complement the Theatre Directing Certificate Program.

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