Directing Theatre (16+)

Throughout this summer school you will work with an experienced director to explore the art of directing, discover your own strengths and develop your individual directing style. Focusing on the key elements of directing for theatre, you will gain an insight into practical as well as creative activities that can support your work with actors.

Individual and group activities will guide you through established directing styles and methodologies, looking at how different approaches can be used to create engaging theatre. Throughout the five-day course, you will use extracts from selected classic and contemporary plays to explore text analysis, character development and staging.

Students will also be introduced to the director’s role and responsibilities with regard to the design and production process.

This is an open access course with no specific entry requirements. Please be aware that students should be prepared to perform as actors within the closed environment of the workshop process.

You will be asked to provide a short scene for two actors, their casting will be sent closer to the start of the course – this can be any text that you feel you would enjoy working on, for a short time, with two professionals, it does not need to be published. We recommend something you have not worked on previously.

Please be ready to discuss the characters, relationships and events within each play.

Further guidance will be given closer to the course start date.

Students should bring bottled water and a writing pad and pen to take notes during the course.

This course runs 10am – 5pm, Monday to Friday, 16 – 20 August 2027. The course fees are £655.

Summer Accommodation

We are pleased to welcome students from across the world to our Summer Schools. Our course fees do not include accommodation or food, and these should be organised by the student. Our campus is located in Glasgow city centre, and you can find the addresses below.

We recommend Base Glasgow, a purpose-built accommodation for full-time Conservatoire students, with Rehearsal Rooms, Practice Spaces and Dance Studios. Base Glasgow is perfectly suited to offer short-term accommodation to our summer school students; both safe and secure, with 24/7 staff presence and only 3 mins walk from our main Renfrew Street building, keeping travel costs to a minimum.

Please note that accommodation at Base Glasgow is highly sought after and limited. Short Courses cannot guarantee that there will be room availability at the time of your course, and we strongly advise that bookings me made as soon as possible.

Classic Studio rooms come with a 3/4 bed, kitchen area with a microwave oven and induction hob, en-suite bathroom, ample storage, mirror, study desk and chair. These are self contained rooms with no shared spaces, and can be booked for either single or dual occupancy.

Please note that Short Courses staff are not affiliated with BASE or on site outwith the summer school teaching hours, and therefore cannot take responsibility for students outside of these hours.

For more information about booking accommodation at BASE Glasgow you can contact them directly via their website or email baseglasgow@herestudents.com

Alternatively, there are plenty of hotels, hostels, and B&B options available. We are located close to transport links should you wish to stay outside the city centre. If you are travelling to Glasgow for a course, we strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance that covers course fees, travel, accommodation, and cancellations due to COVID-19, as RCS will not refund in this circumstance. You can view the Cancellations and Refund policy for full information.

For students under 18 years old, we strongly advise travelling with a responsible adult should any emergency situations arise during class. Students are only monitored by staff during class times.

Where We’re Located

Renfrew Street Campus: 100 Renfrew Street, Glasgow, G2 3DB

Wallace Studios Campus: 210 Garscube Road, Glasgow, G4 9RR