Practical experience
The Acting Program provides comprehensive training for sophisticated actors and theater artists who make strong connections between the physical and the mental. Students in this program learn how to analyze texts, understand acting methodologies, and develop their bodies, voices, emotions and minds as instruments for performance. They also come to appreciate the value of hard work, self-discipline and accountability. In addition to coursework, acting students hone their skills by performing in studio projects, student-directed scenes and plays, and full productions directed by faculty, student directors and guest artists.
Course description
The three-year MFA Acting Program is designed for advanced student actors who are adventuresome, imaginative, and highly motivated. The admissions process is very competitive. The program’s curriculum focuses on all facets of each actor’s art and technique. It also strives to question commonly held assumptions about theater while exploring new possibilities. During the first year of the MFA program, students take courses in speech, voice and movement, and clarify and refine acting techniques and personal aesthetics. In the second year, the emphasis is on classical texts, Shakespeare and other style work, while the third and final year is devoted to performance. Additional coursework can include seminars in play analysis, history of the avant-garde, contemporary drama and other topics.
During the final year in residence in MFA program, students enroll in Acting Studio for the Camera, an intensive class, and also sharpen their auditioning skills. The final semester culminates with a showcase production in which graduating students perform for professionals in the theater and film industries.
