The Director and Design.
Stage Design & Storyboarding
Many directors can imagine the world of a performance with great precision - its atmosphere, rhythm, colour, and spatial logic. The difficult part is making that vision visible to others before rehearsals and production pressure begin.
A 3-month distance programme for directors, choreographers, and performance makers who need to turn visual ideas into clear working documents for design conversations, rehearsal preparation, production planning, and funding contexts. The programme focuses on the director's practical relationship with stage design: preparing the visual and spatial materials that support collaboration with designers, technical teams, and producers.
3
Months
Distance
Learning Format
No CAD
Skills required
"The director's work begins long before the rehearsal room - in the spatial imagination that turns a written score into a world that can be inhabited."
- NIPAI · On directorial preparation
Strong vision, limited documentation
Directors often have a clear image of the performance - its atmosphere, colour, space, and rhythm. The challenge is making that image communicable before production pressure begins.
Design conversations become vague
Without shared visual documents, meetings with set designers, lighting designers, and technical directors rely on description alone. Concepts shift or simplify in the translation.
Production materials need visual depth
Funding applications, festival pitches, and co-production proposals are stronger when supported by spatial plans, mood references, and storyboards - not text alone.
What you will build
Six assessed production documents
At NIPAI, knowledge is understood through practice. For this reason, each week of the programme produces a concrete document - one that functions in the rehearsal room, the design meeting, and a funding or project application. Not information to observe, but tools to use.
01
Production colour palette
A structured production colour palette with written rationale connecting each colour to the production's atmospheric and emotional logic.
Week 1 · Digital document
02
Mood board series
Two production mood boards demonstrating Gestalt principles, integrated colour theory, and lighting references - built for a specific production, not as general exercises.
Weeks 2–3 · Visual research
03
Director's stage plan
An A3 scaled ground plan with industry-standard symbols, key, measurements, and sightline analysis - the primary communication document between director, designer, stage manager, and technical departments.
Week 5 · Technical document
04
Sketched storyboard
A hand-drawn multi-panel sequence covering at least one complete scene or movement section. The focus is spatial composition and visual rhythm, not drawing skill.
Week 7 · Drawn sequence
05
Scale model + photographic storyboard
A physical 1:25 or 1:50 set model and a complete photographic storyboard made from it - scene by scene, with simulated theatrical lighting using desk lamps and a smartphone.
Weeks 8–10 · Physical + photo
06
Director's design portfolio
A PDF document integrating all five deliverables into a coherent director's design portfolio - suitable for a design meeting, a grant application, or a co-production pitch.
Week 12 · Complete portfolio
Who this programme is for
Practitioners who work with space and vision
The programme is designed for theatre directors, movement directors, choreographers, and devising artists who regularly need to communicate spatial and visual ideas to collaborators - but have not had structured training in design documentation.
Profile 01
Theatre director
Working in independent, fringe, or regional contexts. Directing productions where communication with a design team, producer, or funding body requires visual materials alongside script analysis.
Profile 03
Immersive & site-specific maker
Working in non-traditional spaces with moving audiences, multiple simultaneous environments, or unconventional configurations. The spatial documentation tools in this programme apply with equal force outside the proscenium.
Profile 02
Choreographer & movement director
Transitioning from movement-based work to full-scale productions. Needs spatial planning tools - ground plans, sightline analysis, scale models — that apply to physical, non-verbal performance as directly as to text-based theatre.
Profile 04
Devising artist & company leader
Leading a small company without a full design department. Often responsible for communicating both directorial and design concepts in development meetings, residency applications, and early production phases.
What this programme is not: It is not a set design or scenography degree, and it does not replace professional design training. It does not teach CAD software or advanced technical drafting. It is not a passive online course based on video content.
The focus is not on becoming a set designer, but on developing the visual and spatial documents a director needs in order to collaborate with greater precision - and to represent their production ideas clearly in professional and funding contexts.
Applying for the programme
Places are limited. Before enrolment, applicants submit a short application so the admissions team can confirm that the programme is well suited to their current practice and professional context.
Application process
Submit a short application
A brief description of your current practice, the production or project you plan to work on during the programme, and your professional context.
01
Admissions conversation
A short conversation with the NIPAI admissions team to discuss the programme, answer questions, and confirm it is well matched to your practice and goals.
02
Confirmation and payment
On acceptance, NIPAI sends a formal enrolment confirmation with programme documentation and payment options. The materials list is included so you can prepare in advance.
03
Programme begins
Week 1 materials are released on the programme start date. All participants begin on the same programme start date and work through the same 12-week structure.
04
What to prepare
A production or project to work on
All six deliverables are built around one project of your choice - a production you are preparing, a project in development, or a piece of repertoire you want to work with.
Basic physical materials
Cardboard or foam board, craft knife, ruler, PVA glue, basic paint, a desk lamp.
A smartphone or basic camera
For the photographic storyboard in Weeks 9-11. No specialist photography equipment is needed.
4-6 hours per week
For the weekly PDF study materials and the practical assignment. The programme is designed to run alongside an active professional practice.
Ready to Apply?
NIPAI can provide formal fee documentation for participants who wish to request support from an employer, a theatre institution, or a cultural funding body. Eligibility for any specific grant or professional development fund always depends on the rules of the individual funder. Please contact NIPAI admissions to discuss documentation requirements.
FAQs
I have no background in drawing, architecture, or design. Can I still participate? The programme uses no CAD software, no AutoCAD, and no Vectorworks. All visual work is done using Canva or equivalent free digital tools, physical cardboard model-making, and smartphone photography. The focus throughout is on spatial storytelling and directorial communication - not technical drafting. No prior drawing or fine arts experience is required.
I work in contemporary dance or non-verbal performance. Is this programme relevant? The programme treats any performance score - a dramatic text, a choreographic outline, or a devised structure - as a spatial document with the same structural logic. The sightline analysis module, scale model work, and the full storyboarding sequence apply with equal force to non-verbal, movement-based, and physically driven practices. The programme is suited to choreographic projects as directly as to text-based theatre.
I work in site-specific or immersive performance. Is the curriculum suited to non-traditional spaces? The tools in this programme - sightline analysis, spatial planning, scale modelling, and storyboarding - apply directly to found spaces, multi-room configurations, and moving-audience formats. In some respects the spatial documentation work is more critical in non-traditional spaces, where the relationship between audience position and performer movement is more complex and harder to communicate through description alone.
Do I need to apply before paying? What is the admissions process? Yes, payment is made after the admissions process - not before. The process involves a short application describing your practice and the project you would work on, followed by a brief conversation with the NIPAI admissions team. On confirmation of a place, NIPAI sends formal enrolment documentation and discusses payment options with you.
Can I work on my own production project throughout the programme? Yes - and this is central to the programme's design. All six deliverables are built around one project of your choice: a production you are preparing, a piece of repertoire you are developing, or a work you want to use as a working framework. The portfolio you complete at the end is a design package for a real production, not a series of abstract exercises.
Is there a certificate on completion? Participants who complete all programme requirements - including the six assessed deliverables and the final portfolio - receive a NIPAI certificate of completion. The programme can also be documented as a structured continuing professional development activity for applications that require this.
Can the fee be supported by an arts council, institution, or employer? NIPAI provides formal fee documentation for participants seeking support from an employer, theatre organisation, or cultural funding body. Whether a specific funding application is eligible depends on the rules of that funder - NIPAI does not advise on eligibility for individual grants. Please contact the admissions team to discuss what documentation is available and how it can be structured for your situation.
Need more details? View full FAQ ↗