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Directing, BA

Location
  • New York City
Associated College
Sands College of Performing Arts

Direct, Collaborate, Create

As one of the few undergraduate directing programs in the United States, the BA in Directing connects you with the industry like no other. Based in New York, with a semester abroad, directing students train with some of the best professionals in the creation of new work.

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Theory and Practice

  • As part of the International Performance Ensemble (I.P.E.), the training process is project-oriented and gives you the possibility of collaborating closely with fellow students, actors, designers, playwrights, dramaturges, and technicians.
  • You will develop a distinctive voice and perspective through hands-on experience for work in both commercial and not-for-profit theater as well as creating and touring with projects around the world.
  • Students spend their fifth semester at the Institute of the Arts Barcelona in Sitges, Spain. You will complete Pace University academic requirements while training in European-based methods.
Students being directed by a student in the Directing-International Performance Ensemble, BA program.

Take Courses Like…

Students take classes in directing, acting, theater history, script analysis, stage and crew management, voice, movement, and much more.

Add Opportunities and Experiences

From new works festivals to assistant directing alongside professional directors, students gain real-life exposure to the industry.

The BA in Directing at Pace School of Performing Arts is a selective and one-of-kind program that develops a student’s skills in directing existing texts and creating devised work while being grounded in an interdisciplinary liberal arts foundation. As part of the International Performance Ensemble (I.P.E.), training is project-oriented and provides you multiple opportunities to collaborate closely with actors, designers, stage managers, and technicians. Students in the BA Directing major are mentored in fundamental principles of the director's role in the life of a production from analysis and concept through rehearsal techniques and realization. You will take classes in directing, acting, movement, theater history, script analysis, stage management, and much more. Directors are encouraged to experiment with directing as an interdisciplinary form through a multiplicity of styles, genres, spaces, and technologies. In your fifth semester, you will study abroad at the Institute of the Arts Barcelona (IAB) in Sitges, Spain. While at IAB, students complete their academic requirements while training in conservatory classes in European theater methods and directorial approaches. Over the four years, BA Directing students develop a distinctive voice and vision through hands-on exploration of craft and process. The senior year concentrates on each student’s artistic goals in order to create a successful and fulfilling career. The culminating Directing Spotlight is an opportunity to present work to a select panel of industry professionals who give individualized artistic feedback and guidance.

Students being directed by a student in the Directing-International Performance Ensemble, BA program.

Choose Your Career

Career Options

Students have created theater companies, directed regionally and internationally, and gone onto graduate school.

“We give our students the tools to make their own work—to break new ground, push their limits, take risks, and collaborate with others. We cultivate and nurture the artist-creator. We ask our students, what do you have to say?” —Adrienne Kapstein, Head of the BA in Acting and BA in Directing programs

What You Need to Know

Audition guidelines can be found on the PPA site.