And a good post-undergrad education, perhaps at someplace like Yale Drama. My late friend, Roy Brocksmith, ran a theatre out of his home in California. He had a BFA in theatre, and had worked for many years in NYC and later in California (he's the critic in the dinner scene in the movie "War of the Rose" and he also appeared on TV in "Picket Fences"). To direct well you need to be able to act well.