voldy24601 Posted October 17, 2015 Posted October 17, 2015 Hey all. After reading through the post from last year's MFA Directing applicants I wanted to start one for this year in order to open lines of communication, have a place to talk and break the radio silence, and create solidarity! So...I've applied to URTAs this year. My top picks are Indiana and Illinois State University. I'm also submitting to Yale, because, why not? I'm looking for programs that offer a lot of financial support because I'm still in dept from my undergrad five years ago. Anyway, I'm waiting for a response from URTA still. I emailed them asking about the hold-up and they said they are still waiting to get the final list from schools and to prepare my Core Packet. Which I'be almost finished doing...so...here I am. Anyone else in a similar boat?
bluebane Posted October 28, 2015 Posted October 28, 2015 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?
vitality Posted November 4, 2015 Posted November 4, 2015 Hello new and returning friends, Glad to see a thread has been started for this year. The forum was a lifeline for me during the process last season and it will be nice to have a community to talk to again. I'm keeping it low key for this time around and only applying to two, maybe three schools. DePaul, Brown, and either Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) or Boston. I was also thinking about University of Texas Austin (UTA) but they always seem to be one of the first schools crossed off my list for some reason. Good luck to all and I'm looking forward to reading the updates.
voldy24601 Posted November 13, 2015 Author Posted November 13, 2015 Hey! Good to hear from others. I am attending URTA's in Chicago. I'm actually meeting with a friend today to talk about his MFA experience and get some feedback from him. After that I'm sending the core packet off. Right now it feels like it's hanging over my head and I just keep tinkering with it. I'll feel relief when that's gone I think. @bluebane if I remember correctly you interviewed with Indiana last year and were wait-listed, right? Since you are applying there again my guess is that you really enjoyed your conversation with them. I'm really hoping I at least get to interview with them, as I really like their past seasons, and their faculty seems really cool. Because of your article I'm focusing on keeping my list as trim as possible. Already cost is adding up. I also just fell into a situation like you mentioned in your article (which I wish I read earlier) where someone offered me a directing opportunity for next year, but I told them I'm applying to Grad school, so now they are talking to their board about the situation to try and see what they want to do. Fingers crossed it all works out. Looking forward to updates.
bluebane Posted November 18, 2015 Posted November 18, 2015 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?
mr.taco Posted December 1, 2015 Posted December 1, 2015 Hi, y'all! Did you notice the color options available to us now? This is going to make our experience so much better. Excited to read these postings, and after applying last year, I'm warm all over for this opportunity to connect. As for me: last year I was finishing up my undergraduate degree (I'm not a spring chicken, however...approaching 28[!]) and I applied to only Yale and Columbia in order to focus on my thesis. Yale didn't bat an eye, Columbia put me second on their waitlist. Like many of you, I'm finished up the Yale and Columbia apps. (do tomorrow) presently. I'm also applying to the usual culprits (DePaul, Northwestern, WashU, Brown, CalArts, Carnegie). I signed up for the URTAs in Chicago before I realized how limited the turnout was going to be. I'd love to hear more about some of the schools at URTA that excite you (and why the excite you). I'm looking forward to learning more about you all and hearing about your experiences, frustrations, and victories over the next few months. All the best, April
bluebane Posted December 1, 2015 Posted December 1, 2015 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.
voldy24601 Posted December 7, 2015 Author Posted December 7, 2015 A "gradcafe" meet-up sounds fun. I'd love to grab some coffee...or a beer. So I've sent off the applications. Yale was sent a couple of weeks ago, just sent Indiana by snail mail, and Illinois State by E-mail. Now comes the fun part. Waiting. And resisting the urge to read through my cover letter one more time. Does anybody have an idea how many director apply through URTA in Chicago? Like an estimation from last year or something. Just curious. Hope things are going well for you all!
bluebane Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 Hey Voldy, it seemed like 15-20 directors were there last year, but that's just my rough estimate.
nomoredeskjobplease Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 Did anyone else get an email from Yale today? Seems like they will be contacting candidates who are invited to interview starting on January 4 thru January 7...
voldy24601 Posted December 10, 2015 Author Posted December 10, 2015 @nomoredeskjobplease Yup. Just came here to post the same thing. Got my obligatory "we got your stuff and will contact people for interviews between January 4-7."
bluebane Posted December 10, 2015 Posted December 10, 2015 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.
voldy24601 Posted December 16, 2015 Author Posted December 16, 2015 Question. Should I expect conformation from Indiana that they got my Core Packet sent via snail-mail? I sent an E-mail asking if they received it, but haven't heard anything back yet. Having had stuff lost in the mail before, this makes me a little nervous.
bluebane Posted December 16, 2015 Posted December 16, 2015 @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.
bluebane Posted December 16, 2015 Posted December 16, 2015 Sent off my URTA apps to Indiana and Illinois State today -- feels so good to get these things out into the wild!
voldy24601 Posted December 16, 2015 Author Posted December 16, 2015 @bluebane good luck and godspeed to your applications! I did E-mail Dale last week. I haven't heard anything back from him though. Maybe they are still on Christmas break. I'll refrain from worrying until it gets a little later.
bluebane Posted December 22, 2015 Posted December 22, 2015 Northwestern app is in! Anybody else apply to them? How is everybody faring so far? Starting to feel the nerves?
voldy24601 Posted December 23, 2015 Author Posted December 23, 2015 I decided last minute to apply to Northwestern as well. Just sent mine in. The nerves are starting to kick in a little. For those who have gone through the process before, if I'm moved to the next round, when do they usually do the in person interviews at the campus and such? My March availability just got tighter and that makes me a little nervous.
mr.taco Posted January 1, 2016 Posted January 1, 2016 Hey guys, Groupon is offering $48 rooms at the Inn of Chicago, .6 miles from the Westin during the time we'll be auditioning with URTA. With tax, the room comes to about $62. Can't beat the convenience of the location if you don't have a friend who lives close to the Westin.
mr.taco Posted January 2, 2016 Posted January 2, 2016 BROWN QUESTION! Is the Brown interview required for all applicants or, like the other schools, do we wait to hear? I was a little confused by the language on the website.
voldy24601 Posted January 5, 2016 Author Posted January 5, 2016 @aprilcleveland thanks for the groupon info. Now I wish I had waited, but already got the hotel booked. And I'm not applying to Brown, so unfortunately I don't have any insight in the application process there. In theory Yale is sending out their interviews this week. I keep checking my E-mail to see if they've responded yet. Radio silence so far. Any luck from anyone else?
mr.taco Posted January 5, 2016 Posted January 5, 2016 Hey @voldy24601, Yale called me for an interview today. They said they're making calls today and tomorrow. Best of luck!!!!
bluebane Posted January 5, 2016 Posted January 5, 2016 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.
bluebane Posted January 5, 2016 Posted January 5, 2016 -- just got the call from Yale! Eek! Crossing my fingers for everyone else.
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