LittleViking131

U of Sc is not new. Due to COVID, they took it down. They’ve had a program for a while. If you do some investigation, you can see their current student and one of their lecturers just graduated from the program. The progam is, I believe, not fully funded, so they took it down due to uncertainty.

Hello! I am going to be applying again this year. I applied to a bunch of schools and did URTAs last year. Lots of interviews. Lots of on campus interviews. But alas, no luck. Excited to get back into it!

BU's offers & rejections went out as well!

What school?

So interesting! What an experience for you and your actors!

A scene? Like you prepared or you directed through Zoom?

Just got an invite to visit U Mass Amherst for their Directing program. I am extending my stay in Boston and doing a little self-drive to western Mass' to visit with them. No word on Indiana yet...

Alan Patrick Kenny, who teaches at OU, went to UCLA. I'm sure if you Google him, you will find a website. He might be able to provide "insider" thoughts, if that helps.

Interesting! Thank you.

@PitbullLady Just me clarify...was your follow up call after URTAs or a Skype/Zoom interview? Sorry to ask just curious.

Double checking about Iowa... When you said that Iowa had a follow up call, can I ask what it was about? And BU is having on campus candidate interviews on campus this weekend and next. I am going which is why I know.

Iowa State does not have a program -- University of Iowa does. When people say ISU they do not mean Iowa State University, they mean Illinois State University. So, just to clarify, has University of Iowa released offers or Illinois State University has sent offers?

Good to note about Indiana! I have not heard anything from him. As well as ISU, but that seems to be a no go given how I didn't even get a response to my Thank You email

I applied but have not heard anything! For directing that is...

Second interview being the first at URTAs and then a follow up?

Hey! Twin Cities based here (hey @CatMeow!) I applied to the Chicago URTas this year and will be leaving on Thursday. I got interviews with all the schools I sent letters two besides two (UCLA & FSU). I have interviews with BU, Iowa, Indiana, ISU, UNCG, and UT Austin. I also got interviews from Northwestern, Texas State, and the 15 Acting school. I did not get interviews at UCLA and FSU, where I did send letters to. I also applied to Yale, UCSD, U Mass Amherst, and UW Seattle. I have not heard back from any of those schools. so probably did not get a Yale interview or one from UCSD. Here's to hoping!

Hey! Sorry to hear that you're school isn't what you thought it would be. Now as someone who has not been to an MFA program (yet!) but who has been a working freelancer for some time now, I am not sure how much weight my 2 cents have... To me, the pros (free school, good school, and new playwrights -- major bonus there!) out weight the current woes. I believe that graduate school is meant to do two things: stretch your artistry and at the same time focus your voice. So it seems good that the classes - so far - are built around a different school of thought than your current one. And with that, who is to say that those foundation courses in a year 1 aren't going to help you when you produce the type of work you want to create. And if you want to teach at university, having a wide range of experiences will make you more marketable and will allow you to help your students achieve what they want, be it the more "traditional theater" you are learning now or the more experimental style you prefer (and everything in between!) I would say don't think of it as "creatively frustrated" but "creatively widened" - we all have to learn things we don't want to but who knows if those other ideas sneak into one's process at some point. When it comes the classes outside of director's lab, do you just take electives in a sense from the other disciplines? Maybe find classes taught by faculty members who follow your dogma, or at least support you in your efforts. Sometimes you have to go beyond the class syllabus to get the most out of a class. Have you talked to any alumni who are more aligned to your artistic ideas? How are they? Do they have insight? And with that, are there a lot of working alumni from your program? That reputation can of course help you after graduation as you start to direct your own work. And to circle back to previous paragraph, knowing different styles make you more marketable as a freelancer, which means your bills are paid. I've directed fluffy American classics because I have to pay rent, and from those gigs, I end getting the opportunities to do the work I personally prefer. You may not want that career path, but it is a bonus of having a wide range of skills/coming from a reputable school (especially how to develop new work!) Have you looked at the alumni from schools/programs that focus on more experimental work? How are their alumni? What are they doing right now? Do they carry the same weight? That said, are there maybe summer programs/intensives that you could do to help supplement the education you feel is lacking thus far? SITI or Pig Iron's summer intensive are great examples (and yes, there are many more.) A lot of universities even offer grants and funding for students to do just that. It seems like they aren't telling what kind of director you should be if you can do your thesis in the way you want, which to me means you're in a pretty great program. And maybe meet up with with your other MFA students (if there are MFA actors in the program or even talk to the playwright students) and start creating on your own art for summer Fringe festivals or even for after graduation. My vote is so stick with the program, learn as much as you can, and then enter the working world with as many tools in your tool belt. No program is perfect, but yours seems to be pretty awesome by my standards. Cheers! And with everything aside, hope you're school year is going well!

Congrats on the MFA idea! And to piggy back off the previous post, there are many MFA programs that are more academic-minded. University of South Dakota Catholic University of America (they have an MA as well in Theatre Ed during the summer months, I believe) Virginia Commonwealth’s MFA specializes in Performance Pedagogy Minnesota State University: Mankato Purdue University (I believe someone just graduated from there who worked mostly in high school theatre…) Baylor University Western Illinois University Yale/Brown/Columbia/BU/DePaul/UCSD/etc.. usually require a strong background in theatre and mindset to work in the future as a professional. Hope this helps!