bluebane

Congrats on all the interviews so far, everyone! It's starting to get really exciting. We can expect the URTA email tomorrow at the latest - last year she emailed exactly 10 days before, which is when the website promises the schedule. Remember when you get your schedules that they're subject to change -- you'll get your final schedule the day of the interviews. Last year FSU wasn't on my first schedule, but I emailed them to double check and it turned out to be a mistake.

Liz contexualized Yuri a bit more for me -- he's a Russian director who is a recent addition to the directing faculty and teaches the Year 1 Directing Seminar. Here's his page for anybody curious: http://drama.yale.edu/facstaff/yuri-kordonsky @aprilcleveland or @voldy24601, have you heard anything from Northwestern yet?

@QuirkyDirector Be sure to stop by the Yale bookstore and pick up a copy of Michael Bloom's "Thinking Like a Director" and a play or two! Just had my Yale interview with Liz this morning -- her flights to San Francisco got cancelled, so we did an interview over Skype instead, which was a bummer, but I still had a blast talking to her and feel awesome about it. Next up: URTAs and Boston University application...

Finally got the Yale confirmation email -- I am indeed interviewing with Liz in San Francisco... Sounds like Yura will be doing first interviews in New Haven and Liz will be doing first interviews on the road? @voldy24601 and @aprilcleveland and anyone else from here who will be at the URTAs in Chicago: Let's absolutely meet for a drink! Shall we shoot for a happy hour on Feb. 6th so we can celebrate being done with interviews?

I'm staying in some dingy hostel in Lincoln Park, so you'll be more comfortable than me Did you guys get the URTA "You have at least one interview" email today?

To be fair, they interviewed 45 people last year and may be interviewing even more this year, so sharing the responsibility seems logical. (I'm interviewing in SF on 1/25, but I haven't gotten email details yet)

That's weird.... I'm not sure what to make of that. Who is Yura? Where are you guys interviewing? Chicago, SF, or New Haven?

Hey April, That's pretty fucked up. You should have been able to email your common packet to Annette Lee (annette@tft.ucla.edu) at UCLA without sending and physical documents or applying to UCLA directly. I interviewed with UCLA last year at the URTAs and did not have to apply to the school. I would check in with Annette, tell her what's going on and if they have what you need to consider you for the URTAs.

@mwatt, I'm also applying to BU. I'm assuming letter of intent is 3 pages max, two essays probably 1-2 pages max each. Whenever they don't specify, I think you're free to use your discretion.

Welcome to the thread, @QuirkyDirector and @Directorial! @aprilcleveland, congrats on being a DePaul finalists! It's a very intense interview/audition process -- the feedback I got on my directing sample last year was insanely critical -- in a good way, if you've got the stomach for it My biggest hold-out with DePaul is that the funding is poor: they offer a scholarship equal to half the tuition (about 17k a year), and you don't teach any classes so there is no honorarium/stipend past the partial tuition reimbursement. So you're looking at 17k a year in tuition + full living expenses every year, so that's probably a $80-100k degree when all is said and done. My final impression of them was being a fancy, impressive school for rich students to go to. Still, the interview process with them gave me a lot to unpack and steeled me for my future interview experiences! @voldy24601: My 10 most frequently asked questions from last year, after "Tell me a bit about yourself.": Why do you need grad school? // Why is grad school right for you right now? What about this program speaks to you? Where do you personally need development in your work? What would your career after grad school look like? Where do you see yourself in 5/10/20 years? What plays would you be interested in directing at this program? Tell me about a production you've directed. // Is there a project that you're most proud of? Tell me about a directing challenge you've faced and how you dealt with it. So you've done (project from your resume) -- what did you learn from that? // How was working on (project from your resume)? (Casually/Conversationally, usually at the end of the interview) Are you applying for other programs? // Where else are you applying?

Hell yeah -- we cleaned up this year! Good job, everyone!

Welcome to the forum @SpiderFromMars! Congrats on the Yale interview, @mwatt! I interviewed with Yale last year, and Liz is just about the warmest, most welcoming person you could possibly be in a room with. The interview lasts about one hour, and it's a one-on-one with Liz. With me, she seemed to be gathering information, but it also seemed to be a personality test -- seeing if we got along. A couple points in the interview she offered points of advice on various directing issues (for example, explaining to me what the function of an assistant director should be), which seemed to be a test of how receptive I was to instruction. The questions in this first interview are not too tricky -- the standard fare of "Why Yale, why a Directing MFA, where do you think you need development", etc. She is an intense listener, which is a little disarming -- it seems like every word you say is being stored away somewhere. It's important to know the numbers we're up against: out of probably 600+ applications, they interview 45-50 applicants, invite 9-12 to a final callback, and take three students every year. Yale definitely likes taking foreign students and people of color, so that's a factor as well. So, even if you nail the interview, it may not be enough to get you to the final callback, but you should feel proud for making the first cut!

Hey @mwatt, thanks for joining us! Sorry you didn't get the Yale call -- hopefully this thread helps at least ease the anxiety -- I know it sure does for me! I interviewed over Skype with CMU last year -- it was a one on one with Caden Manson. It was by far the most pretentious interview that I had... questions such as "What are the problems currently facing American Theatre and how do you fight against those problems in your work?" They have a huge sense of self-importance, so be prepared to play that game with them. I hated the experience, but it could be the right fit for someone else.

-- just got the call from Yale! Eek! Crossing my fingers for everyone else.

Congrats, April! Waiting by the phone anxiously for my own Yale call. To answer your Brown question: Brown interviews every applicant who completes an application -- there should be some sort of interview request form that you send to them. Don't wait for them to contact you, they'll contact you to confirm the appointment you request. At least this is how it worked when I applied to them last year.

Northwestern app is in! Anybody else apply to them? How is everybody faring so far? Starting to feel the nerves?

Sent off my URTA apps to Indiana and Illinois State today -- feels so good to get these things out into the wild!

@voldy24601, they probably won't confirm receipt, but you did the right thing by emailing to check (you emailed Dale, right?). If you're worried about it, you could email a digital version of your common packet to him, but he should respond to your email if he doesn't have what he needs. Last year I emailed him in early January and he hadn't received the hard copy, so I emailed it all over.

Same email. They seem to be on a different schedule this year than last year -- Liz Diamond was directing at Yale Rep and had to choose her class in January, so the interview calls came in mid-December. This year, it seems like they're taking the holiday break to review applications, and calling to interview in early January, which probably means a mid to late February callback.

Hey Voldy, it seemed like 15-20 directors were there last year, but that's just my rough estimate.

Can we have a "gradcafe meetup" in Chicago after the URTAs this year? I think a number of us will be there. I'll buy you all a drink! April, here's my take from the URTA schools: - CalArts: I didn't apply to them this year or last year, because they require a separate application and I find that ethically weird. So, I don't know much about them. - UCLA: I interviewed last year, and then was invited (at the very last minute) to come have a campus visit and direct a scene for the faculty. I declined. There's very little funding, so it's an expensive choice, and the program didn't grab me enough to be more interested. If I wanted to pay an insane amount of money for a theatre degree I'd go to DePaul. One thing that is cool about UCLA (if you're into it) is that you can dabble with film stuff while you're there. Jose Valenzuela is a fairly established LA theatre director, so he'd be a good mentor, presumably. I didn't get the best impression of him from our interview, but who knows? - East 15: I don't know much about them, but I don't think they're quite what we're looking for. - Illinois State: They weren't recruiting last year, so I was excited to see them do the URTAs this year. This is one of the two schools I'm applying for. Seems pretty cool -- I like the progression of training as outlined on their website, it's a funded program that involves teaching, and it's in Illinois, so a good choice for a Chicago prospect. Still, not too many details. Hopefully I can interview with them and get some more info. - Indiana: I wrote above about my interest, they're my top choice. - Ohio: I got to know them pretty well last year: interviewed at the URTAs (it's a wild interview, Dennis decorated his whole hotel room with production photos.). I also went out and spent a couple days on campus, saw a mainstage show, attended a couple classes, had drinks with their students, and watched an MFA director rehearse his thesis project. There's a lot of good stuff to be said about them: the acting training seems solid, and you take a lot of acting courses while you're there; they have decent production budgets and high quality designers; there's a lot of personalization to the degree, and Dennis and Shelley (the married couple who is the core faculty) are really lovely. I received an offer from them last year and declined. In the end, the fit didn't seem great for me, but I can see it being a really strong school for the right person. Financial support isn't quite as much as they make it sound: about a $10k stipend and tuition reimbursement every year. - Purdue: No longer recruiting. No big loss. - Florida State and UC: Irvine recruited last year but aren't recruiting this year. I have opinions about both, but I'll save them.

Yes, I had three interviews with Indiana last year -- the first was at the URTAs in Chicago, there was a follow-up via Skype, and finally I flew to the campus and had a tour / interview with the faculty, and met with their current 2nd-year directing student. Indiana only takes one directing student per year, and they offered it to someone else, although I believe I was the runner-up. Out of the twelve schools I applied for last year, they were my #1 pick. So yeah, totally recommended -- hopefully you can meet Dale at the URTAs and get a sense of the faculty. The campus and theatre facilities are really amazing, too. Anybody know anything about Purdue? They're going to be at the URTAs, but I'm not especially taken with the information on the website. Illinois State, on the other hand, seems pretty legit, so I'll definitely shoot them a common packet. Yale deadline is coming up! Vitality, did you scratch them off your list this time around?

Hey Voldy, Thanks for making this thread! I'm back in the mix this year as well. Indiana is my top pick as well -- got to visit the campus last year and meet with a lot of the faculty, and it seems like a great school. I'm excited to hear from 'joinedtoolate' (the guy who got the spot last year) to see how his first couple months have been going. This year I'm also going to apply to Yale, Northwestern, Boston, and Washington, and I'm curious about Illinois State as well -- hopefully I can talk to them at the URTAs. I'm doing a more specific, targeted application season this year (for the reasons I outlined in that article, thanks for reading it btw!) Keep in touch about how things are going! Where are you attending the URTAs?

Oh, nice! Small world. Congrats, man. Indiana is still at the top of my list. If they invite me out again next Spring, you'll have to let me take you out for lunch in Bloomington.

Thanks for chiming in, JTL! Awesome to hear your journey, and glad I could steer you to this rad site. Did it work out for you this time, or are you going through the ringer again next year?