How To Become A Theatre Director: What It Is and Career Path

What is a theatre director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Ann Emo

The average theatre director salary is $53,634. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an theatre major. It usually takes 2-4 years of experience to become a theatre director. Theatre directors with a Music Therapist - Board Certified (MT-BC) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 8% and produce 12,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a theatre director?

Ann Emo

Dean of Experiential Learning and Career Engagement Professional Costume Designer, Website

This is not really a skill but being reliable and flexible. Communication- professional, timely, complete verbal and written. Networking- being able to make your own work.

ScoreTheatre DirectorUS Average

Salary

4.2

Avg. Salary $53,634

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.3

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 6.55%

Black or African American 8.27%

Hispanic or Latino 13.49%

Unknown 5.52%

White 66.00%

Gender

female 61.37%

male 38.63%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

8.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.9

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.8

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a theatre director

Explore theatre director education requirements

Most common theatre director degrees

Bachelor's

73.1 %

Master's

19.7 %

Associate

4.3 %

Start to develop specific theatre director skills

Skills	Percentages
Fine Arts	21.12%
Theatre Program	10.90%
Technical Theatre	10.61%
Musical Theatre	8.54%
Theatre Production	6.57%

Complete relevant theatre director training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New theatre directors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a theatre director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real theatre director resumes.

Research theatre director duties and responsibilities

Assist in instructing children in middle school drama club, assist in program filing, costume managing, and prop managing
Create rehearsal schedule for cast and crew; run rehearsals.
Direct mainstage productions, design sets and oversee construction by students.
Create all literature, flyers, programs and advertisements for each production.

Prepare your theatre director resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your theatre director resume.

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