Choreography and Blocking in Performance | Stage Composition, Mise-en-scène and Blocking

Over twelve weeks of distance learning you work on your own play and turn your reading of it into staging the audience can read and the actors can repeat: groundplans, compositions, group scenes, blocking notation and a final movement score. Your tutor reads every assignment and replies with individual written feedback.

NIPAI’s Choreography and Blocking in Performance is a 3-month distance learning programme designed for theatre directors, choreographers, movement directors, assistant directors, stage managers, and performing arts educators who want to develop a more structured approach to staging dramatic action. It is particularly relevant for practitioners looking to explore how movement, spatial relationships, and stage composition can communicate meaning, support performers, and guide the audience’s attention.

The curriculum explores the principles of mise-en-scène, stage composition, blocking, physical action, gesture, group dynamics, and visual storytelling. Students work with a play of their choice throughout the programme, examining how characters, objects, furniture, and the arrangement of space influence dramatic action. Practical assignments involve developing groundplans, experimenting with stage configurations, creating compositions for individual and group scenes, and documenting movement and transitions. Each week, participants receive individual written feedback from a tutor, helping them evaluate their staging decisions and refine their work.

By the end of the programme, participants develop a detailed staging package for a selected scene, including an annotated groundplan, blocking notation, a movement score, and supporting composition studies. These materials are intended to help communicate staging decisions to actors and collaborators and can serve as a practical reference during rehearsals or future productions. Participants who successfully complete all programme requirements receive a NIPAI Certificate of Completion.

The programme is delivered entirely through distance learning in English, combining written study materials, weekly practical assignments, and individual tutor feedback. Students can complete much of the work using sketches, diagrams, written descriptions, or digital tools, without requiring access to a theatre or a full cast. The expected workload is approximately four to eight hours per week over twelve weeks.

There will also be further programme intakes after 1 December 2026. Interested artists are welcome to contact us, and we will gladly share information about upcoming dates, application deadlines and scholarship opportunities.

Admission requirements

Applicants must hold at least a high school diploma and have prior experience in the performing arts. The programme is suitable for practitioners with different levels of directing experience who are interested in working with stage composition and movement. Candidates should be comfortable studying in English and prepared to develop practical assignments based on a chosen play or performance project. Applications are reviewed individually, considering the applicant’s artistic background and submitted materials, including a CV and examples of previous work.

About NIPAI

NIPAI (New International Performing Arts Institute) is a Berlin-based institute for contemporary performing arts, established in 2000. Its educational approach is based on the principle that knowledge becomes meaningful when applied in practice. NIPAI works with theatre directors, choreographers, performers, and arts educators from different countries, providing an international learning environment focused on practical training, artistic development, and the exchange of professional experience.

More details: https://www.nipai.org/programmes/choreography-and-blocking-course

Programme details & applications: https://www.nipai.org/programmes/choreography-and-blocking-course

Application close date: 16th November 2026