lavendercloud

Hey guys! This thread has been a fantastic place for me from early in my grad school dreams through my first year. I love being a mentor & cheerleader for y'all, and I want great things for all of you! That said, I've shifted my focus to leading the MFA Draft '17 Script Workshop over on Facebook. For those of you who are members of the ubiquitous [but nefarious] social networking giant, please join me at https://www.facebook.com/groups/211838119171559. As much as I love to give advice about specific schools - which I'll absolutely do over there too! - I can be a lot more helpful by coordinating script critiques among prospective grads. And it's a lot more fun to see applicants' actual work than just hear about application stats! If any MFA students or alums would like to join and help out, you're welcome to do so too. Right now we've got about 20 members, and it's open to playwrights and screenwriters.

Barista, I just visited CMU because I have a friend in his second year there. He showed me around the facilities, which are lovely, and I met several other playwrights, all of whom are great. It's a 2-year program, but they describe it as if 3 years are compressed into two - it's intense. There are 12 playwrights at a time, 6 per year. The funding is a half-tuition waiver, so they're paying something like $35k/yr apiece JUST for tuition. Given the facilities and resources, you could argue that they're getting their money's worth, but I still advise against taking out such significant loans for grad school. At any rate, let me know if you'd like to get in touch with my friend there and I'll pass along his info.

Oh hey guys! To clarify, I did not mean that a LOR from a Yale grad is an actual literal REQUIREMENT to get in, more that it's so helpful that it's joked about as a requirement. DO NOT TAKE ME THAT SERIOUSLY. LOL. Looking back I see that the way I wrote it came across as much more serious than I intended. YES, your LORs should be from the people who know you best. That said, network your ass off and get to know established playwrights who can speak to your work. And Yale can afford to be so incredibly selective because EVERYONE applies there. Many other top programs get fewer than 100 applications per year, Yale must be several times that. Do the math. Boxedwine, yes, I've heard that Yale is in transition and something's going on with Vogel and she is (or may be?) leaving. If I hear anything else I'll certainly post it. newengland1, Erik is very quick about responding to questions. I'm a first-year at Ohio now. I believe I submitted 3 LORs, a full-length, a one-act and a shorter play. They're flexible. Funding is as follows: everyone gets a tuition waiver, everyone gets TAships, and funding varies. I got about $8k for a first-year stipend, and that doesn't include health insurance but many of my classmates have gotten food stamps and Ohio Medicaid so that helps a lot. I'm a TA for Theater History this year and I'm learning a ton. The teaching load is very manageable, especially in your first year. It looks like Indiana is open to apps this year! Go forth and apply! https://www.facebook.com/gilsheridan/posts/10153718882714847

Helpful piece of info I recently heard from a prof who did an MFA and PhD at Yale: You must have a LOR from a Yale grad (or someone else closely affiliated with the program) to get in. That LOR will not *get* you in, but you can't get in without it, supposedly. And it could very well be true: my friend at Yale got a LOR from a recent grad. She had worked with him so it wasn't completely out of the blue, but probably not as in-depth as he might have been able to get from someone else. I kind of blew off networking and making connections for the sake of applications, but it's worth taking seriously. Haven't gotten started on that internship site but school is going well and I'm meeting lots of fascinating people! Today, for instance, we had class with the dramaturg/literary manager of Shakespeare Theatre Company. Kad790, that writing plan sounds amazing - I wish I wrote as much as you do! Applying to 3 programs isn't bad if you want to dip your toes in and figure out the process, but it's definitely limiting. Any particular reason you're considering NYU along with Brown and Yale? I consider them to be in very different leagues. Might be easier to get in, but the likely scenario is that if you get into any of those 3, it'll be NYU possibly with very limited funding. So if you're worried about money, that doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Spending $1000 in application fees actually makes a lot of sense if it means you won't be taking out any loans for grad school, vs. spending $200 in fees and $20k+ on school. Also, Ohio so far has a very Northeastern feel, and Athens is close to the midway point between New York and Chicago, so both are reasonably accessible.

jnp809, what did you end up doing? If you interviewed with Yale I think you are all but guaranteed to land a better program than Columbia next year - but if you do go to the latter you should certainly keep us updated with what you think. Idca, I strongly recommend applying to postgrad internships! New York is likely to be too expensive unless you already have housing there, but there are many in DC, Philadelphia and other mid-to-large-sized cities that do provide housing in addition to a stipend. I'm planning to put together extensive resources for internship applicants on my website, so I'll definitely be posting that when I get it together, hopefully sometime this fall. You're in an excellent position to plan for internship applications - they'll be due in early spring, soon after many MFA applications. I'll second SeaLou - interning for one year out of college is a great move. I don't know anyone who got into a top playwriting MFA program immediately after grad school. I'm sure it happens, but it's got to be rare. UCSD does not take anyone immediately out of school (that's what they told me when I interviewed). My friend at Yale is young, but he did have a full year of interning after he graduated (he interned at the Alliance for two years, actually, because he was interning part-time as a college senior). Given the cost of MFA applications and the likelihood that you'll get into a better school at least a year out, I'd delay those and focus fully on internship applications, which are also quite competitive. You could also add in some fellowships like P73, Soho Rep, and Princess Grace if you're intent on going to New York, but again, it will still be very expensive to live there. Because I knew I wanted to go to grad school, I wasn't too focused on self-producing my work. I've submitted to many contests but gotten mostly rejections back. Playwrights' groups who read work aloud or gathering groups of actors for informal readings are excellent free options, and there are a number of great development opportunities you can seek out. It will depend on where you are and what connections you have.

jnp809: Congrats! That's wonderful that you interviewed at Yale. I'm sorry you didn't get it. I interviewed at UCSD my first year of applications and was crushed that I didn't get in. Now I'm headed for a program (Ohio) that's a great fit for me and I'm very excited about, even though it was tough to let go of the dream of a really big-name program (including Yale, where I have a friend in his second year). It's too bad that they send generic letters, but in my case the effusive emails I got from the program heads at UCSD made me think I'd definitely have a solid shot this year - but I didn't even make the shortlist. In any case, many people apply more than once or even twice and this is a tough, competitive process that seems like it's uniquely designed to pulverize your soul. But hey: in the five-year history of this thread only a handful of people have gotten Yale interviews and I don't think anyone's gotten into the program, so you're already ahead of the curve. I hope you're ready to hit the ground writing this summer and maybe apply to more programs next time around! What was your list? SeaLou: Yeah, and Ithaca vs. Portland, ME is a tough call, too...both smallish places in the bitter cold most of the year! I'm sure either one would be great. Definitely let Kitchen Dog know that you're on a timeline and you have to get back to another theater soon (no need to specify which) and hopefully they'll give you time to make an informed decision. I'm trying to get my friend's contact information (the one who interned at Portland Stage) from another friend so hopefully I can put y'all in touch.

iamnonightbird: I've heard nothing whatsoever from Sundance and had no idea any rejections had gone out - whaat? That's potentially good news for both of us, then! Oddly enough, my boyfriend's parents are trying to convince us to spend the summer in Salt Lake City so when he mentioned my Sundance application his mom was like "Oh I have connections there, let me talk to some people for you." I don't think she gets that's not really how this process works, but I figured if she does ask it might at least help me to know something sooner. As for BAPF, it'll still be another week or two before they make their announcement. Nervous as hell! SeaLou, OMG CONGRATS! I'm so excited for you! How long do you have to decide? I wanna hear all about it! That's so great Smooshie, it's absolutely true that an MFA is one way to learn about screenwriting, and that you'd come out much more prepared to get into the field wherever you go. However, there are also tons of free and low-cost ways to learn about screenwriting, and if you educate yourself first - read books, join a writing group, read the screenplays of your favorite films, and most of all, write a lot and produce as much as you can - you'll be poised to get into a much better program with funding. The Michener program at UT-Austin, for instance, is one I'd recommend to any serious screenwriters. I wouldn't worry too much about whether you're in a big city for the sake of connections during an MFA program, but I don't recommend debt (or even spending significant savings on an MFA). It's not the only way to learn and it's generally worth it mainly because it provides time to write and access to getting work produced - but if you're completely new to screenwriting you simply wouldn't be able to take advantage of those benefits as fully.

Smooshie, any particular reason you were going after those schools? It seems like very few of them are going to provide much funding for international students. I don't know much about screenwriting programs, and I guess they tend to have worse funding overall than playwriting, but I can't imagine moving to an expensive city like New York or LA for a minimally-funded program. That's a ton of debt to take on and, while screenwriting careers can be lucrative, it's a volatile business. Plus, many cable channels are now hiring playwriting MFA grads in higher numbers than screenwriting grads, so it doesn't necessarily give you a huge leg up in the business. And, like many people, I'm just never gonna recommend anyone go into significant debt for an MFA. J-school also isn't a path to a lucrative career, so unless you want to do it instead of screenwriting, I don't recommend going that way just to prep for a "day job." There are lots of ways to get into that field without school, too, like Buzzfeed's new four-month fellowship for writers. Again, this probably isn't a degree you want to go into debt for. Have you had any films produced yet? I'd focus on writing short films, getting together with friends to produce them, and entering small, local festivals. You can move up from there, but I doubt you'll have much luck getting into a funded screenwriting program as an international student without some demonstrated experience with small productions. A Youtube reel can absolutely help you in this process. SeaLou, where are you at with internships? Still in the interview process?

Tate: YAY! You should definitely join the MFA Draft group on Facebook if you haven't yet: https://www.facebook.com/groups/247570218754868. Many of your fellow Michener students (incoming and already in the program) are on there. You've probably met a few, but it can't hurt to get in touch! Anyone else get the email that the Royal Court IPF ended up getting canceled this year due to lack of funding? Sad times. I feel like I led y'all who applied on a wild goose chase. Edit: Oh, and I finally got my official rejections from Iowa and UCLA! I've already known where I'm going for a full month but I'm stoked that the application season is one hundred percent OVER for me!

annabanana: That's quite a choice! Which one are you leaning toward? I just found out that my play is a semifinalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival. Pretty damn exciting! Anyone else heard anything from summer programs? I'm also still waiting on Sundance and the Royal Court IPF.

Edit/update: I was wrong about the current status of the Ohio class - all three of us have accepted our spots. Thanks @genericincognito for the info!

For those still holding out on Ohio: it sounds like there are two other would-be offers out there but neither person has accepted (one is international and trying to figure out paperwork, the other is still considering other programs). So while an offer may still go out to someone else who's visited, if you haven't heard anything the chances seem very slim. But reapply next year, for sure! Did any Iowa rejections go out? I never heard anything, nor from UCLA. Got my official UCSD rejection, sadface. I'm super-excited about Ohio, though, and just got an email from Charles that I'll be getting a little more money than I expected. Tate, good luck! I hope Michener comes through for you! genericincognito: can't wait to meet you in August! EEK!

Tate: wow, what a rollercoaster this process has been for you! I'm so sorry about UCSD. It's a gem and to keep it intimate they take tiny classes of people. I'm sure your connection with Naomi will still be beneficial in the future, though! As for Michener, I'm assuming the reason you moved up is that someone accepted to UCSD already accepted that and said no to Michener? Or do you think they might have gone somewhere else and there's still a chance someone else will ditch Michener for UCSD? Hard to know at this point but I'd definitely be curious if I were you! It's not an offer that many people walk away from but when they do, they have very good reasons. Crossing fingers for all of you waiting on Brooklyn! Genericincognito, how does that timeline look for you? Would you take Brooklyn over Ohio? And how long do you have to decide on Ohio?

Tate, I'm crossing my fingers SO HARD for you for UCSD. I definitely should've spilled more details when I visited last year... though I don't think most of those numbers were mentioned to me, except the $10,000 you get when you graduate. To clarify summer money: I was told you go to the O'Neill conference your first summer as an observer (not sure how much money you get but your costs are at least covered) and the second summer you get about $2,000 to travel. Honestly, I'm still pretty bummed about getting passed over for UCSD this year. It's such a fantastic program and I let my hopes get way too high for it. I'm definitely still excited about Ohio (accepted my offer!) but since I can't afford a visit and I wasn't even considering it until the last couple months, it's definitely a process of adjusting my expectations. Heard back from Seven Devils - it was my first time applying and I got a no. Anyone else apply there this year?

Iamnonightbird: CONGRATS! That's amazing! A former student of mine was just accepted there for fiction and I'd love to go visit her at some point if I get the chance. Are you going to visit? How long do you have to decide?

Congrats, genericincognito! Did you visit Ohio already? How did it go? I'm planning to officially accept my offer today - haven't gotten all of my questions answered yet, but there's time enough. My official offer includes a stipend for the fall, but not the spring. I didn't hear anything from Iowa, so good to know that that's already gone out. Also, Rutgers is still looking for applicants, apparently - Kathleen Tolan got in touch with me again to see if I wanted to apply this year. I can pass on her email address if anyone's interested. She'll be making decisions in the coming week. Zissou and Singsalot: what a bummer! I was really rooting for y'all. What are your plans from here? Zissou, are you applying to any NY fellowships or writing groups? The Public is accepting this year, right?

Tate, that's awesome! Hope UCSD loves you too!! Zissou, any news yet?

mcw98, I also read the release and it was RIDICULOUS! Plus, how can HBO not afford accommodations and travel costs for these writers? And maybe some compensation?? The idea of supposedly increasing access but limiting it to people who are economically privileged is really distasteful. Anyway, four zillion different people shared that with me on facebook, and I decided not to apply. If I were going to be in LA I'd have considered it, but no, I'm not gonna travel there once a month while I'm in school to take part in an uncompensated program. There are other ways to get into the industry and maybe in future years HBO will roll out an actual fellowship (FELLOWSHIPS INVOLVE MONEY. OTHERWISE, YOU DON'T GET TO USE THAT WORD, HBO). Tate, this is my first year applying to Ohio but second year applying to grad school. Last year I applied to five programs; this year, seven.

Tate, that's awesome! Good luck! If you get one of the Austin spots will you still visit UCSD? How much time would you have to decide? Just had a lovely conversation with a first-year student at Ohio. Apparently there are only two because someone else dropped out earlier this year. I think even if the ink is quite settled by then, I'd like to visit in April for their spring festival - meet people, start figuring out housing, etc.; haven't looked at flights yet but I will ASAP. I'm not gonna hold off on a visit to decide, just would like to see the place before I move there as I have a bad habit of moving to places I've never visited (three times by choice, once because my parents dragged me across the country when I was a teenager). Edit: COUNTRY, not counter. Makes it sound like a very different thing...

Wait, one application fee for both at Austin? I swear I paid for them individually last year... >_< Bane of my existence: "You have reached your quota of positive votes for the day." (Thank goodness Facebook doesn't limit "likes." Oh, and Barista, agreed about the Facebook group! There also doesn't seem to be much support for MFAs in that group...I think a lot of older/amateur writers are just really bitter? But I do see some great advice on there, especially about self-producing, contracts, etc.) So Tate, where are you at these days? Still waiting on Austin and San Diego or have you heard anything?

Seems to be decided...we haven't committed to the programs yet but it looks like I'll be in Athens, Ohio and he'll be in Baltimore. They're actually not TOO far apart (5.5 hours driving), so it's feasible that we may be able to see each other often-ish. I have hope!

Omigod, genericincognito, CONGRATULATIONS! I hope you're as excited as I am! I'm gonna talk to a current student on the phone tomorrow and hopefully she can answer my questions, but I kind of want to attach a GoPro to your head and have a makeshift virtual campus visit... I'll PM you my contact info if you want to get in touch!

genericincognito: GOOOD LUUUCK! Eek!

Congrats, Princess! I applied to several summer programs. Rejected from PlayPenn and waiting on BAPF, Sundance, Seven Devils, and Royal Court IPG. Was traveling the week of Lark and O'Neill deadlines so I totally missed them - oops. Still thinking of applying to Sewanee, but I'm not eligible for full funding and you have to pay for travel anyway. Zissou, best of luck at your Yale interview. We're all pulling for you! Tate, it sounds like you have a great shot this year. You got multiple interviews and that means you're likely to get at least one offer. And it's only your first round of applications! You're in a very strong position and I bet you'll have even more interviews and offers if you do end up applying next year. genericincognito, I'm so excited that you're interviewing with Ohio too!! Potential classmates - how cool would that be? Alright, the details you've all been waiting for: My phone interview with Charles was this morning. Before you jump ahead to the conclusion that they often make offers over the phone, please know that it sounds like that's NOT typical. As the conversation drew to a close, Charles told me that they like to have writers come out and visit, but they don't fund it. He said they usually strongly encourage visits but that with me it wouldn't be a dealbreaker, given the strength of my writing and recommendations (he knows two out of three of my recommenders very well; one was actually his mentor back in the day). And because of my schedule, I wouldn't be able to visit until after they would like to put out offers. So he said that he was ready to make me an offer and explained what that meant in terms of timeline; once he puts the paperwork through, I'll have 7-10 days to officially decide. I told him I'm in, so he's going to start that process. If I did end up with another offer, of course it would be nice to see if that could help me get more funding, but I think they're excited to have me and willing to work with me so at this point I'm not too worried. Tuition is covered so it's just a question of the size of the stipend. So, let's back up. I think I mentioned the conversation I had with the Ohio graduate on Friday. He explained to me how Madness works, what Charles is like, funding, and so on. I'm just going to go ahead and quote from my notes (I wish I'd written more as he had lots of great things to say): "Charles and Erik's mission is to take compelling voices and give them the dramaturgical and structural tools to turn that voice into something powerful. It’s a rigorous, structurally-minded experience; Charles is a structural genius. It's liberating. They’re excited about people who want to take full advantage of what they offer." He said that Ohio completely turned his writing around; he never would have been able to write what he produced during and since that program without Charles' guidance and the hands-on aspect of the program. Add that to what my recommender, who knows Charles, had to say: "I love Charles. He is very no-nonsense. Writes a lot of strong story arc plays about African-American history but my take is that his heart is more in his program than his own writing at the moment.* He is really good at structure and making one say what one is saying without hiding behind snappy dialogue or structural finesse, although he supports both. Really good at character and dramatic action. Really good at getting women writers to find power in their own feminism. The program encourages collaboration and knowing how to be a produced playwright in very smart ways. Downside is not a lot of New York connections - some to Chicago. But you come away with great teaching and process skills." (*Today, when I called her, she elaborated on that point. She said that other than Paula Vogel, Charles is the only teacher she knows who doesn't put their own work ahead of their students - he's really putting his students first, bar none. So this isn't about him not being serious about his own work, but the fact that he doesn't let it get in the way of his teaching. She also said that Charles will push me a lot. I'd rather be in a program where I'm constantly being challenged and growing than able to become complacent.) So I was totally impressed going into the conversation, with a great sense of the day-to-day functioning of the program, especially its core class, Madness. This is a program in which everyone gets 5-minute plays produced every single week. You have a week to write a play (around a certain theme, determined by you or one of your classmates), rehearse it with actors, and put it up. Apparently these events are sold out - university students line up at 9 pm to get tickets to an 11 pm show. So, of course, my first question to Charles was: why do you do it? How did you come up with it? He started Madness at Ohio as soon as he was able to. When he first came, he was under someone else and they thought the idea of producing work before it's "ready" was ludicrous. As soon as that person left, he implemented Madness, and now it's picked up so much momentum that "he couldn't stop it if he tried." You interpret the prompt in a way that's true to you and your process. Charles said, "To have a writing program where writers are not in the theater on a weekly basis--where they’re not in the theater with actors--is like trying to teach swimming without a pool." He also said that the actors come to the MFA program knowing they'll be working on new plays, so when you're working with them, that's their main thing. They don't have to rush off to their "real" rehearsal; they're there to work with you. I can't stress how amazing that is. I then asked Charles about his background, which was a really interesting conversation. (I'm so glad I went into this already having a solid sense of what the program has to offer, so I wasn't as focused on "what is every class about?" and could ask more fun questions and get to know him a bit.) He didn't go to high school, was in the army for a while, was interested in writing and ended up at the Iowa Playwrights Workshop. There were resources but no one to tell him how to use them, so he was fairly lost until he was thrown into teaching playwriting and picked up the syllabus that had been left behind by Oscar Brownstein, which talked about basic structure. So he basically learned through teaching, and then ended up as a founding member of the Victory Gardens playwright's ensemble. He also taught at Northwestern for a while (though he initially tried to turn them down by saying "I don't think you want me to teach your students...I'm going to tell them that everything you've taught them is bullshit). At Ohio, he developed the program that he wished he'd had when he went to Iowa. His first priority is to find out what each writer does that no one else can do, which also helps foster a sense of community and support since no one's in competition with each other. Each person in the program does something that Charles cannot do. He helps them to realize their artistry and understand what they do well. So then, he asked me a question, and this was actually a toughie: what were the similarities between the two plays I submitted? (Er, two most recent - I submitted a 15-page bud of a new play, in a document with a couple of older finished one-acts, plus my main script that I submitted everywhere.) They're basically not alike at all so I just sort of explained where each one came from and the difficulties/benefits of each process. I also talked about the oldest play of the bunch since that was the first "personal" play I wrote. We also had a conversation about learning through teaching, because he'd brought that up and I've found it to be true as well. He said that everyone teaches in the BFA playwriting program, which forces you to examine your own process and become a fully aware artist. I asked him about the playwright/director relationship and how that plays out in the program, and his answer was fascinating. He said that directors and actors are interpretive artists, and the playwright is the only creative artist in the room. (Not that the others can't be creative, but they're there to interpret more than anything else.) So you actually come a lot closer in this program to directing your own work than you probably would anywhere else. In Madness, obviously, but you're always the strongest presence in the rehearsal room, even if the director's the one mostly speaking directly with the actors. This is awesome, because I love to direct and have always been told I can't direct my own work. I get what people mean by that, but I also get where Charles is coming from. In the development process, it's preposterous for the director to imagine they know more than you about your play, or for them to impose their own big ideas on your script. So there's a high level of sanctity and respect for the writer here. The MFA directors take the narrative structure class along with you their first year, so they understand a lot more about your process. Then he checked in about how interested I am in the program, filled me in on the money situation (as I said, tuition waiver - in exchange for which you work 6 hours per week - and a stipend of $4500 per semester that you're teaching, which is an additional 10 hours of work per week. By the final year you'll be teaching both semesters but leading up to that it may be less. There's other potential departmental/school scholarship money. The graduate I talked to said he was getting a $15,000/yr. stipend there, so either he was teaching more or things have changed somewhat, but it's still pretty solid. And Athens is cheap.), and we got to the conversation I talked about at the top of the post. So...that's where I'm at. Absolutely thrilled. Wishing I could visit, but glad I don't *have* to because of how crazy this month is. Feeling like Ohio might be an even better fit than UCSD, so I'm not feeling let down at all.

You guys: I'M IN AT OHIO. I'M IN AT OHIO. I'M IN AT OHIO!!!!! I'll follow up with more details because I have a bunch of people to share the good news with today, but I could not be more excited! It sounds absolutely perfect for me and I can't wait! I basically already said yes (not officially, they're processing paperwork) and even if Iowa came through I wouldn't be interested because Charles went to Iowa and he said he turned Ohio into the program he wished that had been. I AM FREAKING OUT YOU GUYS THIS PROCESS HAS BEEN SO LONG AND I FINALLY KNOW WHERE I'M GONNA BE FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS AAAAHHHHHH