ctbck
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Posts posted by ctbck
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1 hour ago, Rbjrbj said:
Happy New Year! Curious if anyone who didn't go the URTA route has started to hear about interviews? Stalking the 2020 board, it looks like around this time last year people started to get interviews scheduled, but who knows if that timeline is still true with all that has changed.
I only applied to one school so can only say I have yet to hear from them. They said we should expect info mid-January, so I feel like this week and next are the weeks I'm on pins and needles.
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How's everyone doing? I saw that DePaul says mid-January is when we should expect info on interviews — I've yet to hear anything.
Are people prepping for URTAs? Where are people interviewing? What sorts of questions are you preparing yourself to answer? What sorts of questions do you plan on asking programs?
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5 hours ago, cf99 said:
Interviewing with UT Austin, UCLA, UC Irvine, Boston University, CalArts, and South Carolina. OU, Indiana, FSU, and TSU did not elect to interview me.
Yeah, that's my sense too with Carolina. Hoping to learn more about the program in the interview!
That's great! Definitely a good spread. Best of luck! I'm excited to hear how they go and what your takeaways are.
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3 hours ago, cf99 said:
URTA schedules came out today! 4 of the 8 schools I sent LOIs to scheduled an interview with me, and 2 schools I did not submit to scheduled with me anyways. The 4 that are not interviewing me are more traditional programs, so I knew that I already wasn't a perfect fit. Overall pretty happy! How'd everyone else fair?
Anyone know much about University of South Carolina's program? Based on their website, it's non-existent. But they requested an interview with me, so I'm assuming it's a new program. Directing head looks like a big Shakespeare guy, which is not at all my area of expertise.
Congratulations! South Carolina has got to be brand-spanking new... The website says "The University of South Carolina is the only school in the state that offers an MFA in acting, design or directing so you can achieve the highest degree possible in theatre design or performance." but then there's nothing else on the site about it that I could easily find. It is neat to see that they pivoted to digital stuff pretty smoothly, which I think is important considering that there will certainly be some digital remnants of the theatrical experience moving forward post-COVID.
Which schools are you scheduled to interview with? Break legs! -
14 minutes ago, dariofofanatic said:
Happy new year! My resolution: finish this application!!
You've got this! Which school are you working on?
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Happy New Year, all! Things are going to start heating up!
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57 minutes ago, dariofofanatic said:
Here's kind of a silly question - did you start yours like a cover letter (i.e. "I am writing to apply to your program..." etc.) or just jump right in (i.e. "I am a director focused on exploring XYZ")? I think at this point I have most of what I want to say, just need to edit it down.
I jumped in. LOL! I did use a sentence at the end of my first paragraph that was something like "thus, I'm applying to SCHOOL to X, Y, and Z"
I feel like as a writer I typically overwrite and provide too much detail the way I would if I was talking out loud so I had to have my wife help me get more concise. I also used it to call attention to a few plays on my resume I'd be most excited to talk about in case they get brought up if I got an interview.
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1 minute ago, dariofofanatic said:
Thanks, this is helpful! Best of luck to you!!
Of course! If you want an extra set of eyes on your statement, I'm happy to take a look via PM.
I found that what I struggled with most was not solely focusing on my areas of improvement. I feel that as a student I'm very invested in being honest about my weaknesses out of a desire to grow and that was a tricky needle to thread when in another paragraph I'm explaining why I'm a good candidate. Ultimately, I ran out of a bit of space at the end for "what purpose" because in an ideal world I would straddle teaching and directing the same way that the professors their (and elsewhere in the city) do, but wouldn't rule out helping to co-lead a theatre either. -
On 12/27/2020 at 1:06 PM, dariofofanatic said:
Hey all! I'm working on wrapping up my application to a school now and had a question for everyone. Have the programs you've applied to asked for a personal statement? Any advice on this (length of statement, what to cover) would be helpful. Just want to make sure I'm not sending them a novel if they just want a one-pager. For my first draft, I tried to focus on questions I asked myself: What do I bring to the table as a director? What areas do I wish to improve in? If anybody has a suggestion for what else might be worth talking about, I'd love to hear it.
Good luck all!
I only applied to DePaul this year but I think that their requirements were helpful for framing my personal statement:
- 1 page
- based on personal experiences to date
- what are your strong points
- where you feel you need development
- what you hope to get from this program and for what purpose(s)
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10 hours ago, jimminy_cricket said:
The 15th was a big deadline for a lot of schools
How are we feeling folks
The waiting has officially begun for me!
Does anyone know how many MFA Directors Columbia University takes? -
19 hours ago, cf99 said:
Not sure if it's annoying, but I keep posting every update I have just because I got so much out of reading threads from previous years. It's shockingly hard to find info about this stuff outside of admissions websites.
I don't think it's annoying! I appreciate it 'cuz I feel like it's been me posting most of the time LOL! I wish I had more to share but since my gameplan was to apply to NU and DePaul and only DePaul was accepting applications, I feel like I'm not going to be a particularly helpful barometer this year.
Considering the virus, how much do you think going to school will change how you're currently living your life? I feel like things are looking up for second semester not even being too affected, but it's weird to think about leaving my job to go to school when I won't have worked there in-person or seen anyone in-person for over a year at that point. -
2 hours ago, cf99 said:
If you already were applying to other schools, it doesn't take much to ask your references to send the letter to one more school.
Numbers being down might work out well for those of us who apply (especially if covid is under control by fall 2021). But I wonder if numbers are way down, could more programs decide to not take a class like NU, Yale, and Brown?
I'm still cranking through these URTA LOIs. Thought it would be easier than my other materials, but somehow they're taking me forever.
Oh duh that's totally true about people with existing letters of rec.
I actually talked to someone with more info at DePaul and that said that apps are actually up for DePaul.
I wonder if that's because more people from undergrad are applying straight out because of COVID uncertainties or if people are applying more to DePaul than last year because places like Yale and Northwestern aren't accepting but they've made up their mind to apply anyway. Or if they've just done a good job getting the word out about their program!
Either way I'm getting antsy. Ready for it to be mid January already lol.
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36 minutes ago, Rbjrbj said:
Im wondering this too! Chatter seems way down, so my thoughts are a lot less people are applying. Crazy!
DePaul has also really ramped up its Instagram posts about their program with the deadline in like 8 days. I have no idea how I'd get an app in in such a short time. It took so long for my letters of rec!!
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4 hours ago, cf99 said:
Oh shit, do you think they're going to do director interviews over zoom like that? I hadn't considered that possibility. Not looking forward to that.
That's my impression based on how their website currently reads, but I haven't asked. Enough is happening with vaccines that maybe they would consider in-person with distancing and masks, but since they're still remote learning next quarter I'm not sure how that would work. I guess we'll see, but at least the scene from FAR AWAY to direct isn't super movement based.
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On 12/1/2020 at 9:05 PM, Rbjrbj said:
Hey all!! Slowly but surely submitting my applications. What a weird year it’s been!! How are we feeling about apps so far?
I feel good about my one app. My final letter of rec was sent in last night, so I of course had lots of dreams about interviewing and the process. Glad that it's done with, but definitely trying to gather at much info as possible about the potential interview and directing a scene portion of DePaul's application process since directing actors I don't know on Zoom seems... Challenging!
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Just reread last year's thread. I feel like by this time last year there was much more chatter, but maybe the big spikes are more during and after December?
With several programs like Yale and Northwestern off the table this year, how much do you all think that's going to affect who applies / how competitive the programs that are accepting students are?
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I've got an app in to DePaul this year and that's looking like it just because of life stuff and needing to stay local. Just waiting on my 3rd letter of rec and that will be officially submitted and just waiting to hear about finalists in January. Wish Northwestern was accepting apps too, but I've been impressed with DePaul's program. Love the opportunity to direct 5 productions.
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Beyond being cheaper I'm glad that it's looking like if I get in I'll not be missing out on much as theaters rebuild and play catch-up.
CMU's program has a new head this year right?
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On 11/16/2020 at 7:25 PM, cf99 said:
Submitted my URTA app today. Decided to cast a slightly wider net and apply to some of the state schools with better funding packages and see what happens. Anyone else doing URTAs?
I'm not doing URTAs since I need to stay local, but best of luck! How are they working this year? I'm assuming everything is going to be via Zoom where I applied...
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Officially applied to DePaul!
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I'm wondering this as well. Looking into MFA programs in Canada.
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Thinking about programs in Canada... Does anyone have any thoughts/advice about international applications, visas, etc?
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14 hours ago, PlaysplaysplaysPlaysplays said:
Wanted to throw into the fodder that many MFA programs have changed over this year. Perhaps some will go back to what they were before but others may not. Ask to talk with the first years in each program to get a sense of how priorities within each department have changed. I have heard from friends that these have not been transparent, especially during initial interviews. BU for example use to have a model in which directors could pitch the shows they would direct. Now they are pitching to their design team who will also pitch plays to them. The ensemble of designers and director select the play.
That's great info. I know DePaul still has the directors pitch shows model but while things are digital, things are a bit more fluid in terms of whether the actor you want will really work on the project with you or not. That being said, the head of their program seems cautiously optimistic about in-person work for Spring 2022, which is when their first years' first projects are. Fall is more theory and analysis by design.
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How are we feeling? Antsy about the election? Tired of quarantining?
I feel like I've revised my SOP for what I hope to be the last time... 28 versions later.
MFA Directing 2021
in Performing
Posted
It's at the top of this page on how to apply: "Finalists are typically selected in mid-January and the finalist interview day takes place at The Theatre School in February."
It looks like last from previous threads people started hearing about interviews around January 14.