The Department of Directing is one of the four original academic departments established upon the founding of the Central Academy of Drama. It boasts the only State-level Venue for Specialty Major in the field of Directing and has been honored as an Outstanding Education Team in Beijing. For over 70 years, the department has consistently emphasized the study and integration of aesthetics and artistic heritage from traditional Chinese arts, while actively researching and drawing upon valuable achievements in contemporary art. Here, a comprehensive and distinctively Chinese educational system for theatrical directing has been established, through generations of dedicated teaching, mutual growth between educators and students, and continuous refinement of the curriculum. The faculty of the department boasts profound expertise, diverse academic backgrounds, extensive practical experience, and notable achievements in research and industry influence. The department is characterized by its notable strengths and distinct characteristics, with rich teaching resources and a commitment to students' holistic development.
The Department is supported by a distinguished faculty with extensive experience in both teaching and practice. It currently offers a program in Directing (for Theatre), with a five-year undergraduate track, as well as Master’s and Ph.D. levels. The training here focuses on nurturing morally grounded and artistically accomplished interdisciplinary professionals. The curriculum is guided by principles of national identity and international relevance, aiming to deepen students’ artistic creativity, practical innovation, culturally critical thinking, and social engagement. developed by the department have received numerous national and provincial-level education awards.
The department actively invites local and international experts for educational purposes and for promoting academic exchanges to stay abreast of cutting-edge developments in the field. This helps in enriching teaching content and refining pedagogical methods. Additionally, the department places strong emphasis on practical artistic creation. Productions directed by faculty members, performed both within the academy and to the public, have garnered widespread attention and won numerous awards at home and abroad.
After more than 70 years of development, the Department has cultivated many talented directors and actors, such as LI Baotian, BAO Guo’an, CAO Qijing, CHEN Xinyi, ZHANG Ziyang, WANG Xiaoying, ZHA Mingzhe, WU Xiaojiang, LOU Naiming, GONG Xiaodong, GU Rong, XU Songzi, REN Ming, YAN Jiangang, LI Liuyi, ZHANG Yang, TANG Ye, MENG Jinghui, TIAN Qinxin, ZHANG Yongxin, CHENG Taishen, XU Jizhou, XU Ang, WANG Bingran, ZHANG Jingchu, LIU Meng, Edward ZHANG, TANG Wei, HUANG Ying, LI Bonan, ZHOU Shen, LIU Lu, ZHAO Miao, QI Xi, REN Suxi, SONG Tianshuo, etc. Now they have become part of the mainstay of China theatre circle. Among them, there are winners of prestigious awards such as the Wenhua Award, Golden Lion Award, National Stage Art Excellence Project, and Cao Yu Drama Literature Award in theater; the Golden Rooster Award and Hundred Flowers Award in film; and the Golden Eagle Award, Flying Goddess Award, Huading Award, and Magnolia Award in television.
