Playwriting MFAs

[Mel Rose]

16 hours ago, Starpants said:

Maybe this isn't the right time to ask this since we're in the interview / rejection part of the season, but I'm curious why y'all applied to the programs you did? What are y'all interested in at NYU or Brown or Carnegie Mellon, etc.? 

I cast a wide net this year, but ultimately tried to hone in more on the programs where I was waitlisted/finalist-ed last year (Iowa, NYU, CMU, Hunter, Northwestern) in my apps. I based my list on the faculty, and the kind of writers that graduate from the program. I only applied at places where I love the work of the teachers and alumni, and my favored programs are those that emphasize character driven work & story (more so than experimental theatre...not my thing).  I also factored in funding or funding options (I wanted a fully funded program or program where there is at least a possibility of significant partial funding or major grants/commissions).

I've been seeking a career-minded program that prepares you for both playwriting and film/tv writing, so that was also important. I hear a lot that my plays should be films, so I almost applied to screenwriting programs this year, but couldn't imagine abandoning playwriting for all of grad school, so focused on places that have both to some extent. A lot to consider, but yeah I ended up with a pretty varied list of schools.

[thefates]

In at Brooklyn woot woot! Got the email this morning. Excited and relieved...

Has anybody heard from Hunter?? 

[machinations]

Hi y'all! (hoping I'm posting on here correctly...) I just wanted to pop in and say thank you for sharing your experiences on this forum. I received my rejection from Brown earlier today, which, you knows, sucks, but reading through your posts and the tenacity y'all have has been very comforting and inspiring. I'm expecting rejections from Columbia and Tufts (for a PhD) since interviews have been sent out or completed by those programs, and I'm waiting to hear from BU and Edinburgh. This was my first year applying, and I was feeling very demoralized the past couple of weeks hearing from acquaintances receiving interviews and finalist decisions, but knowing that this isn't the end-all, be-all makes me feel a whole lot better.

[Mel Rose]

2 hours ago, thefates said:

In at Brooklyn woot woot! Got the email this morning. Excited and relieved...

Has anybody heard from Hunter?? 

Congrats @thefates! That’s awesome!
I haven’t heard from Hunter either, which I’m pretty bummed about. I saw on Draft that someone got an interview request early last week, so I wonder if it is over :( disappointed for sure…We’ll see. Did anyone here interview at Hunter yet?

[thefates]

Thanks @Mel Rose!!  The program's a great fit for me.

Suspect you're right about Hunter, that ship has maybe sailed unless they're staggering the interviews, which could be the case. Yep, we'll see.

Good thoughts to all who are in the waiting and/or decision-making phases. Stress is real!!

[broccolini]

Hey y'all! Remember me from last year! It's Broccolini! I'm here to tell a tale about why you should never give up.

Sooo, last year I had interviews with NYU and Northwestern and was then placed on the waitlist for both schools. Eventually, I was released from the waitlist. I was a semifinalist at Hunter and was rejected from both Brooklyn and Brown. I was totally devastated after not getting in anywhere. I had gotten it in my head that my life couldn't start until I got into grad school (which is just some capitalistic bullshit). Plus, how the hell was I going to go through this grueling application process again? How was I going to write another whole ass play? HOW? But I kept pushing through. I see many others have as well. HELL YES. I got a job at a grocery store and wrote a play about that very grocery store and applied again. This year, I switched things up a little. Like some of you, I decided to focus on the schools that had shown some interest in me. I narrowed my list to NYU, Northwestern, and Hunter. I added one new school: The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I had visited some friends in the city over the summer and found out about SAIC's MFA in Writing program. I realized I could pursue both playwriting and my other passion, which is comics. I thought why not give it a go!

After all the rejection and heartbreak my first round, I can now finally see the silver lining. I'm in at SAIC! It's the perfect program for me and I never would have discovered that if I had gotten in last year. And boy oh boy am I glad I decided to throw SAIC into the mix because...CRICKETS FROM EVERY OTHER SCHOOL. I now know more than ever how much of a crap shoot this whole process really is. I felt my interviews went so well last year. Though I was proud of my first application, it was nothing compared to the work I put into this round. My new play is leaps and bounds better than the one I submitted last year. I slayed that personal statement! I was sure I'd get interviews to NYU and Northwestern again. I thought maybe I'd move up in the ranks with Hunter. But NOPE. No interviews. Nothing.

Why do I tell you all this? To show that there are many avenues to pursue playwriting. I was convinced it was MFA IN PLAYWRITING OR THE HIGHWAY. I wanted in at the tip top school. I wanted to be that NYU bad bitch. I thought it was the only possible way to be a playwright. But then I actually found a program that better suited my interests and will allow me to pursue both of my passions. 

I feel your discouragement. IT SUCKS SO FUCKING BAD TO FEEL SO REJECTED. But please know, just because you didn't get an interview or didn't get in somewhere doesn't mean you aren't talented as hell. It just might mean you haven't found the place for you yet. Keep searching and keep dreaming. Life has a funny way of working itself out. 

[seasickmermaid]

@broccolini That was beautiful, thank you ❤️

[FefuFornes]

On 3/8/2022 at 4:39 PM, Starpants said:

Maybe this isn't the right time to ask this since we're in the interview / rejection part of the season, but I'm curious why y'all applied to the programs you did? What are y'all interested in at NYU or Brown or Carnegie Mellon, etc.? 

My number one choice is Juilliard because of the location, the funding, and the chance to work with the Drama department. There's a lot of freedom in the program and it seems to be more akin to a high profile writers group which was appealing to me -- my undergrad degree was in theatre so I've already done the academic side (taking classes on theatre history, theory, etc). I'm a little disappointed that I missed the Chris Durang and Marsha Norman era but I've only heard good things about Tanya Barfield and David Lindsay Abaire. 

Unfortunately Juilliard takes their sweet time regarding decisions so I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that I make it to the interview stage. 

[seasickmermaid]

Waitlisted at NYU! They say it's not very long so I've got my fingers crossed!

On another note, I got into The New School, but they don't seem to be giving me any aid, only loans. I have basically no money so I was surprised at this and am now terrified about having to pay over 200K overall to go there. Has anyone else experienced this struggle or does anyone have any advice on financing grad school or convincing schools to give you financial aid? I am still waiting to hear from BU, which would be amazing because they cover tuition but obviously because of that they are going to be more competitive and idk I'm just freaking out about money guys! Anyways, fuck capitalism and thanks for listening ?

[eleanorv]

Hi all! Longtime lurker here -- I had an interview scheduled with Columbia yesterday but there was some sort of technical difficulty that pushed my timeslot up by almost 20 minutes. So I was super frazzled by the time we actually got to talk, so much so that I don't even remember the name of one of my interviewers! I spoke to Morgan Jenness (who was awesome!) and another gentleman. Anyone else interview with them yesterday who could ID him?

[ruthg18]

1 hour ago, eleanorv said:

Hi all! Longtime lurker here -- I had an interview scheduled with Columbia yesterday but there was some sort of technical difficulty that pushed my timeslot up by almost 20 minutes. So I was super frazzled by the time we actually got to talk, so much so that I don't even remember the name of one of my interviewers! I spoke to Morgan Jenness (who was awesome!) and another gentleman. Anyone else interview with them yesterday who could ID him?

That was Rogelio Martinez who teaches first year playwriting, if it was the same man I spoke with. 

[ruthg18]

1 hour ago, seasickmermaid said:

Waitlisted at NYU! They say it's not very long so I've got my fingers crossed!

On another note, I got into The New School, but they don't seem to be giving me any aid, only loans. I have basically no money so I was surprised at this and am now terrified about having to pay over 200K overall to go there. Has anyone else experienced this struggle or does anyone have any advice on financing grad school or convincing schools to give you financial aid? I am still waiting to hear from BU, which would be amazing because they cover tuition but obviously because of that they are going to be more competitive and idk I'm just freaking out about money guys! Anyways, fuck capitalism and thanks for listening ?

They only gave me $15k in merit aid, the rest of the "aid" was loans, which is a non-starter, so I'm also curious if anyone has advice on negotiating for more $$

[Mel Rose]

Also waitlisted at NYU...didn't get an email, strangely, but checked the portal because I had feeling we'd get answers today. Kinda bummed as I really felt my application was exponentially stronger this year. The play I submitted has opened a lot of doors for me this year, just strangely not as many MFA programs ?‍♀️

Still keeping my name on the list at NYU just in case, but (barring any major plot twists) I'm leaning toward accepting my offer at CMU. I've been pleased with the program so far... ZOOMing with some current students/alumni and members of my cohort this weekend, and may take a road trip to scope out Pittsburgh next weekend just to be sure (if I can scrounge together the insane gas money right now lol). Still waiting on the final word from a few schools, but whatever happens, I trust I'll end up where I'm meant to. 

[Strelka]

I was also waitlisted at NYU! Glad to be in good company with all y'all. :) 

Edited March 11, 2022 by Strelka

[Starpants]

Yo, just my 2 cents here, but I do not think taking out loans to go to graduate school for playwriting is worth it. Like, financially? You're never going to make enough money from playwriting to pay that shit off. I used to work at a talent agency representing playwrights, and the best year that anyone ever had was making maybe 50k, and that was after having the most produced play in America. No other year ever came close to that for them. Or anyone else.

[eleanorv]

8 hours ago, ruthg18 said:

That was Rogelio Martinez who teaches first year playwriting, if it was the same man I spoke with. 

Yep that was him! Thank you! Hope your interview with them went well. I was so nervous and having to wait around for 20 minutes did not help at all :(

[Nancy Drew]

11 hours ago, Starpants said:

Yo, just my 2 cents here, but I do not think taking out loans to go to graduate school for playwriting is worth it. Like, financially? You're never going to make enough money from playwriting to pay that shit off. I used to work at a talent agency representing playwrights, and the best year that anyone ever had was making maybe 50k, and that was after having the most produced play in America. No other year ever came close to that for them. Or anyone else.

@Starpants Thank you so much for saying this - any more insight you could share about working for that agency?? I feel like it's good for us to know what we're getting into in pursuing this - I once heard that the most you can make from getting a play on Broadway is $10,000.... I know that's why a lot of us are looking in to tv/screenwriting as well, but would love to hear whatever you are willing to dish! 

[Starpants]

Yeah I can definitely give some insight into the agenting world! And I didn't mean to denigrate anyone choosing to go to one of these amazing MFA programs by taking out loans. Being one of like 3 people to get into these places is extremely difficult and each institution has a whole list of alumni working in the field, so if you choose to take money out to go there because you want to be a working playwright, I totally get it. 

But at the agency I would see playwrights have what I would say is a dream season where they would have one play produced at Lincoln Center and another produced in Chicago at the Goodman. That's like, the dream to me. But financially they only made 3-4k on each of those productions? And spent 1-2 months in rehearsals for those shows. So at the end of the year after your best year as a playwright you only make like 8k tops. 

Now of course there are some people who will have a play come out that explodes and gets produced all over America and will get a publication advance for 100k. But That's a once in a lifetime thing that you can never count on. And I've only seen that once. You might as play the lotto. 

The playwrights I've seen that make the most consistent money are people who have been in the game for a loooong time. Who have built up connections and working relationships with many theaters across the country so that once they have a new play they send it out to all their friends and then boom, there's 7 productions next year. 

That's why you're right, TV is the only real sustainable way to make money in this field. Which, I've seen first hand how TV and Film people obsess over playwrights. They see playwrights as wild unicorns who can create magical stories that TV writers simply can't. I've seen playwrights jump the hierarchy in TV world and become show creators / show runners without ever having staffed. So there's definitely a leg up in TV if you're coming at it from the playwriting world. 

My original point though was just to be aware what you're getting in to if you take loans out. Because it's not like a production at Playwrights Horizons is going to make any dent in them. 

[handsacrossthesky]

Hi all, just in case it's helpful to anyone, I just got an offer from UCSD! 

[ruthg18]

Hi everyone, just getting out some nervous energy: has anyone heard anything from BU?

Edited March 14, 2022 by ruthg18

[machinations]

Haven't heard anything yet.

 

EDIT: This is in response to the above post! Sorry, still trying to figure out how to post on here.

Edited March 14, 2022 by machinations
Didn't know how to quote someone.

[ruthg18]

On 3/14/2022 at 4:48 PM, ruthg18 said:

Hi everyone, just getting out some nervous energy: has anyone heard anything from BU?

I see a new BU response on the results page. Has anyone here heard anything/willing to say what method they heard by?

[Strelka]

Hey! I found out this morning via email that I was rejected from BU if that helps!

[ruthg18]

57 minutes ago, Strelka said:

Hey! I found out this morning via email that I was rejected from BU if that helps!

bracing for the same since I saw a post in Draft saying something similar. Thank you for providing an update

[seasickmermaid]

Has anyone here gotten interviews at BU or Hunter?