1
3
Working sketchbook
Month
5-7
Hours per week
∞
Prior drawing ability required
You direct
on instinct.
Build the method.
Most beginner directors know what they want a scene to feel like. But translating that feeling into decisions - where bodies stand, how a composition shifts, what the light suggests - is a different skill. One that has to be practised.
The sketchbook is one of the most practical tools a director has. Not because you need to draw well. Because drawing forces you to see. And a director who can't see a scene before staging it is always one step behind.
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You have ideas but struggle to communicate them to collaborators
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You stage on the day, without preparation, without a document
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You want a method - not more inspiration
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You've never used a sketchbook, and you're not sure how to start
What you make
You leave with a working sketchbook
Not a certificate with your name on it. A document that records your directorial thinking for one complete scene - something you can open in a rehearsal room, show to a collaborator, or include in a funding application.
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Quick pose sketches - captures of energy and intention
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Compositional studies - how figures relate in space
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Atmosphere notes - light, mood, tone through simple marks
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A 4-6 panel storyboard for the scene's development
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A written reflection on your process and its directing application
The programme
Three weeks
Each week you receive a written lecture and complete practical assignments in your own sketchbook. You submit your work as photos or scans, accompanied by short written comments. Your mentor responds in writing after each submission.
01
Week one
Recording Pose and Energy
How to capture a figure without stopping to draw it.
Lecture
The role of quick sketches in a director's working process. How to capture pose, direction, and energy of movement - not as illustration, but as directorial notation.
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A series of quick pose sketches from chosen references
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Several sketches of the empty stage space
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Annotation of each sketch with brief directing notes
Submit: photos or scans of sketchbook pages + short written comments on your process.
02
Week two
Scene
Composition
Where you place a body is a decision.
Lecture
The basic principles of organising mise-en-scène: how figures relate to each other in space, how weight and focus shift, how composition carries meaning.
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Compositional studies with 2-4 figures exploring spatial relationships
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Variations on a single mise-en-scène - same figures, different compositions
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One complete compositional sketch with a written statement of intention
Submit: scans of studies + description of the intention behind each composition.
03
Week three
Atmosphere
and Storyboard
Time as a director sees it - image to image.
Lecture
How to convey mood, light, and atmosphere using simple graphic means. The storyboard as a way to record the development of a scene in time - not illustration, but directorial score.
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Develop your Week 1-2 studies with atmospheric and tonal work
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A storyboard of 4-6 panels for one chosen scene
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Compile all work into a single complete sketchbook
Final submission: complete sketchbook + written reflection (1–1.5 pages) on your work and its potential application in your directing practice.
How it works
Asynchronous - on your schedule, from anywhere in the world.
01
Receive the lecture
A written lecture with explanations, examples, and context - each week.
03
Submit
Send photos or scans of your pages, with brief written comments.
02
Make the work
Complete the assignments in your own sketchbook, in your own time.
04
Get feedback
Individual written feedback from your mentor on every submission.
This course is for
People already in the room who want more than instinct.
01
Actors moving into directing
You've spent years reading scenes from the inside. Now you want to see them from above - and you need tools for that shift.
"I see the whole stage now. I just don't know how to record what I see."
02
Emerging directors without formal training
You've directed - small shows, fringe work, student productions - largely on instinct. You want a repeatable process and something to show for it.
"I've never had a directing method. I just make decisions and hope they work."
03
Choreographers and movement artists
You understand bodies in space. This workshop gives you the notation tools to document and develop that understanding as directorial language.
"I think spatially. I need to write it down before I'm in the room."
No prior drawing ability required. This is not an art course. The criterion for all work is not visual quality - it is the quality of directorial thinking the material records.
What you need
A notebook and a pencil
Nothing else. You don't need a drawing tablet, special software, or any prior experience with sketchbooks. Any notebook and any pencil will do.
01
Sketchbook
A4 or A5, any kind - including a stapled notebook.
03
Pen or fineliner
0.3–0.5 mm
02
Soft pencil
2B or 6B recommended
04
A scene to work with
5–10 minutes long. You choose it.
Enroll
Three weeks. One complete sketchbook.
You work at your own pace, on your own schedule. Individual written feedback from a practicing director after every submission. No time zones. No relocation.
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3 written lectures with directing context and examples
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3 sets of practical assignments
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Individual written feedback after each submission
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Final feedback on your complete compiled sketchbook
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Access to the NIPAI student community (Whatsapp)
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A path to the 12-month Theatre Directing Certificate Programme
What comes next
This is where the training begins
The Director's Sketchbook is a 3-week introduction to the work NIPAI does at a deeper level. Participants who want to continue can move directly into the 12-month Theatre Directing Certificate - the same sketchbook practice is at the centre of that programme too.
The Director's Sketchbook
3 weeks · Asynchronous · Beginner
You Are Here
Theatre Directing Certificate for Beginners
12 months · ~500 hours · Director's Book
Advanced Professional Diploma in Theatre Directing
18 months · Distance or Blended · Graduation performance
FAQs
Do I need to be able to draw? No. The criterion for all work is not visual quality - it is the quality of directorial thinking the material records. Many of the most useful sketches a director makes are barely legible to anyone else. The sketchbook is a tool for thinking, not a portfolio.
How does the asynchronous format work? Each week you receive a written lecture and a set of assignments. You complete the work in your own time - no live sessions, no fixed hours. You submit your work as photos or scans with written comments, and your mentor responds in writing.
Who provides the feedback? Your feedback is provided by a practicing director trained in the NIPAI method. Feedback is individual and written - not a group forum comment, but a response addressed specifically to your work.
What scene should I work with? You choose a scene you want to direct - ideally something you're genuinely interested in. It should be roughly 5–10 minutes of stage time. You'll work with the same scene across all three weeks, which is what allows the sketchbook to build into something coherent.
Need more details? View full FAQ ↗