atreus85

While your cohort is very important (the first year playwrights/ screenwriters all have an active group chat), there is no cohort model. Hypothetically, you could create a schedule for yourself where you mostly interact with the poets/ fiction/ cnr folks for a quarter if that's useful (and people have done it). Playwriting workshop is open to everyone in the Creative Writing MFA, which means no two workshops have the same demographic. I can DM about professors.

I'll start out by saying I love the program. There are professors that have a rep for being difficult, but I've avoided them, so my experience has been pretty chill. Megan Tabaque, the head of the playwriting track, is very supportive. Last quarter I went into her office hours multiple times to discuss a play I was working on outside of her workshop, and she always did her best to accommodate this. She's also helped me with fellowship and commission applications on her own time. Basically, if you show up for her with questions, she'll work with you. She's also good at teaching craft and setting guidelines for critiquing the work of your peers. One of the features of the program is cross-disciplinary work. Last quarter, I took Fiction workshop, and this quarter I'm in Poetry. Most professors understand that out-of-genre students are still picking up the craft, and they will support you where you are as a writer (workshop is also not about getting a grade but doing the work, so there's no pressure to be "good" per se, just the best that you can do at your level). If there's something you're curious about that isn't accommodated for in the schedule of courses, you can propose an independent study with a professor you've built a relationship with. I came in wanting to learn more about Dramaturgy, so I'm taking an independent study about it this quarter, and next quarter I'm going to dramaturg one of the MFA thesis plays. You have to take one out-of-department class. I'm taking Gender, Feminism, and Archaeology. It's a great class, but it's kind of kicking my butt, so I would recommend doing your out-of-department in a quarter where you're not TA'ing. My housing situation is a little unique since it's through my husband's work, but most of the writers live with each other in off-campus houses. Riverside is more affordable than other areas of Southern California, but it's still California housing. Your best bet is to find roommates to split housing with or live on campus (but on-campus housing can be impacted, so I'd get on the list as soon as you accept if that's what you end up doing). The biggest con with the program is admin. I've talked to multiple folks who've had to file wage theft claims over TA paychecks. Admin is a very small department, so you have to be persistent in emailing and communicating with them, and they are often not as transparent as they could be. Lastly, if your goal with the MFA is to get your work produced, UCR does not do that. They offer a ten-minute play festival for the first years and a developmental workshop and staged reading for the thesis for second years. But it's not like a UCSD or an Iowa where it's fully realized on stage. You will write a lot though. You will generate a full-length play a quarter on top of whatever writing you're doing in your other workshop/ classes (you also don't have to take playwriting every quarter, screenwriting also counts toward your genre requirement). And if your thesis is a different play, in two years you could walk away with as many as seven new full-length plays.

I have been summoned. I'm a first year playwright at UCR right now. What questions do you have?

That is awful I'm so sorry. Where did you end up?

I just declined the interview.

Lol who else just got the USC semi-finalist email??

I've officially accepted UCR. Good luck to everyone!

I was thinking I'd probably accept UCR today if I didn't hear back from USC. Are you gonna wait until the 15th to decide on UCLA?

Did y'all get the USC update?

I have emailed USC about a status update. Will report back if I hear anything.

AHHHHH I HAD BEEN COUNTING UCR AS A SOFT REJECTION BUT I JUST GOT ACCEPTED!!!!

Today is the day that USC said it would get back at the latest which means I'm in a state of extra vigilance.

Out of curiosity, what made you apply to BU for screenwriting when you applied to playwriting for all the other programs?

Ngl was way too overjoyed to be receiving any update from any of the schools I applied to lol. Though I agree, the middle of the night is wild.

None unfortunately. The only reason why I'm not going insane right along with you is because at least I know we're getting correspondence by Tuesday at the latest. Doesn't make the wait or the wondering about it any easier though. I do think they got back from Spring break this week. So maybe this one is for shoring up final thoughts.