Event Description:
This February 2-27, 2026, a new kind of directing intensive launches in Berlin. When Arthaus Berlin reshaped its curriculum earlier this year, a landmark devised-theatre program could have been lost. Instead, its former faculty came together independently to carry the work forward-artist-centered, forward-looking, and fiercely independent.

The February 2026 Directing Intensive is a four-week laboratory for directors who want to create, question, and push their craft further. Grounded in established techniques yet aimed at discovery, it offers practical tools for exploring presence, space, and time in a performance context. Participants will develop their own approaches to generating work, collaborate with peers, and gain dramaturgical strategies for moving from concept to creation. Within a supportive, international cohort, each artist will cultivate the confidence and freedom needed to share an authentic artistic voice.

Our philosophy:
Know the foundations.
Push them forward.
Surpass your teachers.

Faculty
Paul Budraitis - Director, actor, and movement specialist known for his work in experimental and devised performance across the US and Europe.
Elif S zer - Berlin-based theatre artist, teacher, and dramaturg specializing in physical and devised performance, with a background spanning Istanbul, Vienna, and Berlin.
Jelle De Wit - Belgian director, performer, and coach whose work explores presence, embodiment, and composition as the structuring of meaning beyond words.

Program details
February 2-27 2026 | 5 days per week | 3 hours class + 1 hour independent studio daily
Studios at EDEN (Pankow) & DOCK 11 (Prenzlauer Berg)
Ideal 10-12 participants | Intermediate & emerging directors
1,350 Early Bird (apply & pay by Dec 7, 2025) | 1,500 Standard (apply by Dec 7; payment due Jan 16, 2026)
Two partial scholarships available ( 900 tuition each)

Applications are open now and close December 7, 2025.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc7kdLOeiMKSZPjnqRVXjbek1FierCGxc-lUWjQPelDsvnb-A/viewform?usp=header - Apply here