THE ACTOR'S DIRECTOR WORKSHOP
(Workshops for Film Schools, MFA & BFA Programs)
 

The Actor’s Director is an experiential directing workshop designed to give emerging filmmakers something that can be difficult to teach in a traditional directing curriculum: a practical understanding of the actor’s process.

Led by Emmy-nominated actor, filmmaker, and educator Graham Sibley, the workshop puts directors inside the work actors do to build character, access voice and physicality, and remain present and responsive in performance.
 

Rather than approaching actors solely from behind the camera, students experience elements of the actor’s process themselves—then translate that experience into practical tools for directing performance.

The goal is simple: help directors communicate with actors in language that is playable, specific, collaborative, and alive.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Through guided exercises, discussion, and practical application, students learn to:

• Understand how actors approach character and performance

• Give specific, playable direction rather than result-oriented notes

• Recognize how voice and physicality shape character

• Communicate adjustments without disrupting an actor’s process

• Build trust and a shared creative vocabulary with performers

• Create an environment in which actors can take risks and do their best work

Students participate actively in the exercises, giving them firsthand experience of the vulnerability, discovery, and collaboration they will later ask of actors.
 

WORKSHOP FORMAT

The Actor’s Director can be brought into an existing BFA, MFA, or undergraduate film curriculum as a guest workshop, directing intensive, or visiting-artist program.
 

The curriculum can be adapted to the needs and schedule of each program, from a focused masterclass to a multi-day intensive.

FULL DAY MASTERCLASS

An introduction to the core principles of directing actors.

Through practical examples, demonstrations, and discussion, students explore how actors receive direction, what makes a note playable, and how directors can establish trust and productive communication from rehearsal through production.
 

Ideal for directing courses, production classes, visiting-artist series, and larger student groups.
 

THREE-DAY INTENSIVE

An immersive exploration of the actor-director relationship in which students experience key aspects of the actor’s process and learn how to translate that understanding into their work as directors.
 

DAY ONE: PRESENT MOMENT & BUILDING CHARACTER

Students explore presence, behavior, character development, and the relationship between circumstance and performance. Exercises examine how actors build a character and how directors can help shape a performance without prescribing a result.

DAY TWO: VOICE & PLAYABLE VOCAL DIRECTION

Students explore the relationship between voice, character, intention, and behavior. By experiencing their own vocal habits and possibilities, directors develop a more useful vocabulary for giving specific, playable vocal notes.

DAY THREE: PHYSICALITY & PLAYABLE PHYSICAL DIRECTION

Students explore physical life through destination, business, gesture, and behavior. The work gives directors practical tools for shaping physical performance while preserving spontaneity and the actor’s ownership of the character.

WHO IT’S FOR

The Actor’s Director is designed primarily for:

MFA and BFA directing students • Film production students • Writer-directors • Emerging filmmakers • Screenwriters working with actors

The workshop can also be adapted for interdisciplinary groups bringing together directors, writers, and actors.
 

BRING THE ACTOR’S DIRECTOR TO YOUR PROGRAM

The Actor’s Director is available for guest workshops, masterclasses, directing intensives, and visiting-artist engagements for university film programs.
 

Programs can host the workshop as a standalone experience or integrate it into an existing directing or production course.
 

For curriculum options, scheduling, and institutional rates, please get in touch.

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