The Theatrical System’s Reform as the Aim of the Theatre Director’s Education in Romania

Abstract

This article emphasizes the profound interdependence between the theatre directing educational system and the cultural system, taking into account the specifics of the situation in Romania. Identifying the theatre director as a pillar who defines the status quo in the cultural system and that oversees the implementation of a given global vision in theatres, the article argues that the director’s educational process naturally results in defining tomorrow’s theatre practices. In this context, the article identifies the key skills that the young director should have when entering the cultural system and argues in favour of their importance starting from practical situations in the institutional theatre system in Romania. These basic skills are: a deep understanding of all the compartments of a theatre and how each compartment functions, being able to further educate actors about the basic concepts of theatrical art, the ability to conduct a profound text analysis and, lastly, a commitment to use a directing notebook as starting point for their shows. The article concludes that the main reasons why the education system currently fails to develop these skills are the lack of time allocated to theatrical practice, but also the prevalence of the desire to train a small number of exceptional directors to the detriment of training al student directors to become capable of operating in the cultural market.