Derek

Theatre Director

Baxter

Director of structurally-driven, physically-led theatre where the form is visible—and eventually breaks.

Currently training at East 15 Acting School (MFA Theatre Directing), developing work focused on structure, gesture, and theatrical collapse.

Approach

I am a theatre director interested in performance as a constructed event. My work is driven by structure—how a piece is built, revealed, and ultimately destabilized in front of an audience.

I create theatrical worlds where the mechanics of performance remain visible. Meaning emerges through rhythm, repetition, and physical action rather than psychological realism.

I am drawn to moments where systems begin to fracture—when narrative, character, or form can no longer sustain themselves, and the audience becomes aware of both the story and the act of its construction.

Process

My rehearsal process begins with structure rather than psychology. I build the world physically—through rhythm, repetition, and spatial relationships—before layering emotional detail.

I work with performers to develop a shared physical vocabulary, using gesture and composition to generate meaning. Text is treated as action, shaped through timing, pattern, and interruption.

Rather than concealing the act of performance, I aim to expose it. The rehearsal room becomes a space of construction, where the mechanics of theatre are visible and actively shaped.