Jun 3, 2026 · 47 min · 12 segments
What makes a good director? Bringing a play to life from the page to the stage is the spiritual work of a lifetime. Follow Yale directors as they unearth life in a text, inspire and guide actors’…
Courtney B. VanceHost
Liz DiamondGuest
Jasmine BrooksGuest
Tess CruzGuest
Evan YionoulisGuest
Liliana Blain-CruzGuest
Ethan HeardGuest
Camila TassiGuest
AK HowardGuest
Dwight BellissimoGuestThe director draws life from the words on a playwright's page, and stages it for an audience.
That's what Tamilla Woodard did with Zora Neale Hurston's text for Yale Repertory Theater's production of Spunk, heard here
The director pulls together all the elements of design, and helps actors embody their characters.
You know, I read all the courses that were offered, and what those classes would be, but it's still like, how will they teach this?
I don't think that directing can be taught, but directing can be learned through the opportunity to work, through trial and error, and through, at the right time, somebody making the right comment.
There's something about kind of living in the unknown, like the experience of awe.
I love when there's just so much life happening, whether it's in the play or in the process.
In this 10-part series, we'll explore 100 years at the David Geffen School of Drama, where it's been, where it's heading, and how each of the school's programs, individually and collectively, trains the next generation of artists.
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The director draws life from the words on a playwright's page, and stages it for an audience.
That's what Tamilla Woodard did with Zora Neale Hurston's text for Yale Repertory Theater's production of Spunk, heard here
The director pulls together all the elements of design, and helps actors embody their characters.
You know, I read all the courses that were offered, and what those classes would be, but it's still like, how will they teach this?
I don't think that directing can be taught, but directing can be learned through the opportunity to work, through trial and error, and through, at the right time, somebody making the right comment.
There's something about kind of living in the unknown, like the experience of awe.
I love when there's just so much life happening, whether it's in the play or in the process.
In this 10-part series, we'll explore 100 years at the David Geffen School of Drama, where it's been, where it's heading, and how each of the school's programs, individually and collectively, trains the next generation of artists.
