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The Langham Directors’ Workshop offers our country’s most promising
directors an unmatched opportunity to develop skills that will enable them to
create vibrant productions that reveal their own unique voice within a variety
of genres.
– Antoni Cimolino, Artistic Director, Stratford Festival
The Festival acknowledges its history of colonizing culture and is working diligently to understand its complicity in unjust systems that have excluded many from participating fully in the work on our stages. We are committed to continuously evolving our understanding of equity, inclusion and anti-racism
and we acknowledge that the work of reconciliation is an ongoing journey. The Workshop actively seeks to partner with artists from equity-seeking groups and theatre makers whose talent, energy, commitment and creativity will shape the future of theatre, both at the Festival and across the country.
About the Program
The Langham Directors’ Workshop wants to nurture exciting directorial talent and provide you with the resources to explore, play and hone your craft. We want to help you create inspired and boundary-pushing work — not only for our stages, but for your career and beyond. We offer emerging and mid-career professional
directors the opportunity to explore innovative Shakespeare and classical works, support large-scale productions on some of the most unique stages in the country, and birth new plays with Canada’s finest playwrights. Throughout these explorations, we hope to provide mentorship opportunities, help grow your
networks, and provide a space for authentic creative exploration. We aim to give you practical knowledge of the workings of this Festival and hope to see your work on our stages in the near future.
- Participants will work as Assistant Directors on Festival productions. (Responsibilities may include attending design and production meetings before the official residency in Stratford and leading/assisting on understudy rehearsals.)
- Participants will attend regular group meetings during
the season with guest artists and talk with fellow Langham participants and program alumni.
- Participants will take
part in two intensives — the first during the season, and the second near the end of October — consisting of panel discussions and other creative workshops to help prepare them for working at theatres like the Stratford Festival.
- Participants will create a 20-minute final presentation where they will choose and direct a scene/project that best represents their aesthetic. The Directors’ Workshop Presentations are usually held in the Studio Theatre in November (three weeks).
What We Offer
- Langham participants are paid a fee, housing subsidy and travel expenses.
- Depending on the length of the rehearsal process and other factors, fees for the assistant directorship usually range from $8,000 to $9,000.
- The Directors’ Workshop Presentation is a paid full-time contract of approximately $2,800.
- Participants will be able to engage in a collaborative mentorship with established Festival directors, and have the opportunity to learn from guest artists and their Langham peers.
- Participants can also take advantage of everything the Stratford Festival offers: tours, special events, tickets to productions, the Festival’s Archives and libraries, company classes taught by the Festival’s coaching staff, and both formal and informal
opportunities to speak with senior staff and visiting artists.
Who We're Seeking
- This program is designed for artists who have acquired foundational training (either from a training program OR through experience) and have worked as a theatre artist for at least 4 years. We are looking for artists with a proven commitment to the craft and career of
directing theatre. The program is geared towards directors who are confident in their directorial process and feel ready to lead a room of Stratford actors. The Stratford Festival is a large and complex institution. Participants are best served by this program if they
have experience working in a professional theatre setting.
- Preference is given to those who have been working outside of an MA/MFA program for at least 1 year
- We strongly encourage applicants who identify as First Nations, Inuit, Métis, Black, People of Colour, Mad, D/deaf, Disabled, and the 2SLGBTQ+ community. If you have any questions or concerns about your experience in this program, please email Natasha Sinclair, Assistant Producer, at langham@stratfordfestival.ca or call at 1.800.561.1233 x2505.
- Participants will need to be available on site full-time (usually 11 to 16 consecutive weeks starting as early as February and ending as late as August) from the first day of rehearsals until the opening or the understudy run of the show, whichever comes later.
- Participants will return to the Festival in the late fall for three weeks to participate in a weekend intensive, and to then direct a 20-minute piece (chosen in consultation with the Director of the Langham Directors’ Workshop) as part
of the Directors’ Workshop Presentations for an invited audience.
- The Langham Directors’ Workshop is only open to those who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada.
Please Note: Special care will be taken in pairing possible Langham participants with directors of productions. In addition to interviewing with Director of the Langham Directors’ Workshop Esther Jun, you will also be interviewing with directors of the productions. The participant’s specific interests and the
director’s requirements will be taken into account and both the participant and the director must consent to working together.
How to Apply
First and foremost, PLEASE REVIEW THE PROGRAM DETAILS CAREFULLY.
We understand that many communities find traditional application processes to be stressful and inaccessible. We are committed to addressing any access barriers throughout the application process as best as we can. If you require support with the application or have any access needs
(ASL-interpretation, deadline extension, etc.), please reach out to us so we can assist. You can email Natasha Sinclair, Assistant Producer, at langham@stratfordfestival.ca or call at 1.800.561.1233 x2505.
We want to know about you and your art! Please provide the following information in either written, audio or video format:
- An Artistic Introduction: Who are you as an artist? What inspires you? Why do you direct for theatre? What do you want to bring to the Stratford Festival and what can the Festival do for you? (2 pages or 5 mins to watch/listen max. please.)
- Please answer the following question: What do you see as one significant strength in the current Canadian theatre ecology? What is a weakness? (1 page or 2 mins to watch/listen max.)
- A resumé or CV (3 pages max.)
- 2 references who know and have seen your work. (Just the name/email/phone number/relationship to you. We will inform you if we plan to contact them.)
Please submit your application
here.
Applications for 2026 are now closed. Please check back here in summer 2026 for application instructions for 2027.
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