Playwriting MFAs

[tjack]

So to ease my anxiety/give me something to do, I went through previous years on this message board and the PW one to see around when people hear anything from the schools I applied to. Dates I've got:

Brown - earliest 2/23; latest 3/11

Iowa - earliest 3/23; latest 4/15

Brooklyn - earliest 3/12; latest 3/24

Indiana at Bloomington - earliest 3/2; latest 4/6

Ohio - 4/6 ish?

 

Hope that's helpful. I felt better for about 10 minutes after I made the list and then I went right back to fretting. Seeing more posts here is helpful to take the edge off! How is everyone coping with the waiting game? (In case you haven't noticed patience is not my strong suit.)

[Delete]

anyone heard anything from Brown?

[failsafe]

deep breaths, @tjack!  i was having total anxiety late last week but now am actually feeling pretty good.  a few possible recommendations to stave off panic attacks:

 

-remember that you are planning on getting interviews and being accepted.  this takes way longer than getting rejected, so it's not even worth your panic at this point!

-remind yourself that february is already, basically, half over.  the timeline to getting your answers is shortening by the day.

-remind yourself that the worst case scenario is not that bad (plenty of great, successful writers did not go through MFA programs, and likely several who didn't were rejected from them at some point)

-pilates (LIFE SAVER!  or exercise of your choice, really can't be beat for curbing anxiety)

-booze

-sex

 

some other strategies that might work:

 

-take up a new hobby (like knitting, for instance)

-read a classic novel (perhaps "The Master and Margarita" by Bulgakov)

-write a comedy about a main character whose chronic anxiety keeps getting him into hilarious situations

 

and Good Luck! =)

[themirandatragedy]

I sometimes feel like freaking out, but then I remember all the work is done. The applications are turned in, so there's nothing more I can do. It's completely out of my hands, and the selection process is to a point subjective.

I'm guessing we'll be hearing from Brown soon (this is my third year applying there), rejections go out mid-february, and interview requests a little later.

Indiana has interview requests early March, and acceptance offers early April.

Iowa sends rejection letters early March.

[Captain]

Miranda: So you're saying Brown sends out rejections and THEN they send out the interview requests to non-rejected candidates? Is this standard? Thanks in advance.

[Trilogyfan]

deep breaths, @tjack!  i was having total anxiety late last week but now am actually feeling pretty good.  a few possible recommendations to stave off panic attacks:

 

-remember that you are planning on getting interviews and being accepted.  this takes way longer than getting rejected, so it's not even worth your panic at this point!

-remind yourself that february is already, basically, half over.  the timeline to getting your answers is shortening by the day.

-remind yourself that the worst case scenario is not that bad (plenty of great, successful writers did not go through MFA programs, and likely several who didn't were rejected from them at some point)

-pilates (LIFE SAVER!  or exercise of your choice, really can't be beat for curbing anxiety)

-booze

-sex

 

some other strategies that might work:

 

-take up a new hobby (like knitting, for instance)

-read a classic novel (perhaps "The Master and Margarita" by Bulgakov)

-write a comedy about a main character whose chronic anxiety keeps getting him into hilarious situations

 

and Good Luck! =)

So glad to see the activity ramping up on the board! And also glad and grateful for posts like this one that are more about info and self-care, and less about stressing out (not that there's anything wrong with that

[themirandatragedy]

Captain, 

This is what I can put together from my timeline of past Brown rejections. I have gotten them mid-february, but then a friend who also applied with me two years ago didn't get his interview e-mail until the last week of the month. So I don't know. I don't know if it's standard, but if there's one school who would have a large enough pool of applicants that they can send a few rejections first and then interviews later, it would be Brown.

[Delete]

eh ! that would be within a couple of days then, thanks for the info miranda! good luck for everyone

[Trilogyfan]

Nothing from Brown yet.

NYU/Tisch's website says "notifications" happen in "Mid-March."

[teethwax]

Here are my terrible self-care strategies:

 

- write something stupid (I make a couple of extra bucks every month writing Kindle erotica under a fake name)

- make stovetop popcorn (I like it with honey and salt and peper)

- play fetch with the cat (you can't have her, she's mine, but you can come over and hang out)

- obsessively check email I mean take a long hot shower

[EccentricDreamer]

From what I understand by trolling and googling, is that rejections tend to be made before acceptances. Now this all depends on the school, of course, but it makes sense.

 

Does anyone know if Yale, NYU or Brooklyn College does interviews? I've heard acceptances can happen with or without an interview.

 

Also, here's a provocative question...would you still pursue an MFA degree if there was no funding?

[longwalktonever]

In re. EccentricDreamer: I probably won't pursue an MFA if there's no funding offered. At least for this year. Mostly because I'm right out of undergrad, so I know the odds are against me to begin with. I'm expecting no response this year, and hopefully a positive response in the future. But if I have no form of funding, it may not be possible for me to pursue an MFA at this point in my life. But I'm holding out for acceptance/funding! Yay hope!

[janesays]

Thanks for all self-care posts...super helpful for all of us struggling with the anxiety of the notifications in the next month or two. Like me! My self-care techniques involve lots of Netflix and reading Cheryl Strayed. 

 

This is my third year applying and I can say, every year I feel like I've gotten closer. I've made connections with professors and schools and above all, my writing has improved. Last year I made it to the wait list at two programs and got into one, but decided to wait another year. This year, I have two interviews set up.  For all of you applying for the first year, if it doesn't work out, keep applying! 

[Trilogyfan]

Programs without funding are not an option for me, and adding significantly more student loan debt is equally impossible for me. The good news is that I have teaching experience and would not mind carrying some teaching load while working on my MFA, so hopefully that will help. All of the programs I am applying to have *some* funding. 

[failsafe]

@janesays--do you mind me asking where your interviews this year are?

 

@eccentric dreamer--here's what i can tell you about my experiences applying before and what i've heard from others:

 

Juilliard does rolling interviews at the semi-finalist stage.  They read 50 plays, interview 3 people or so, read 50 more, interview 3 more, etc. until they're done.  They interview the top 15-18 people, and then they cut it down to the top 10 (this is the brutal cut that applied to me 2 years ago).  Marsha & Chris read only the top 10 (see?  BRUTAL!) and pick 4.

 

Yale interviews the top 9 in an elaborate 2-day process where they are flown to campus and stay in the Yale hotel (although apparently they don't really meet any of the other finalists during this time).  Last year they were called in early March and interviewed in late March.  In the interim, I got my rejection letter (w/ an encouraging handwritten note, which was nice!).  But last year they sent an e-mail out explaining what would happen and when...this year there is a new department chair and an outgoing associate chair, so who knows?  I don't think they have a waitlist, other than people they interviewed who come in 4th or 5th in the final tally (they select 3).

 

I got my Tisch rejection twice last year, first on Feb 29 and second a week later--I think this was unusual, they were trying to get me to go to the (now-defunct) Tisch-Singapore.  I think most people got their rejections later, like mid to late March.  I heard from a woman who attended several years ago, they called her for an interview when she was in Bangladesh and she asked how she was supposed to interview--they checked and told her don't worry about it, she was accepted.  I know that they waitlist people there without interviewing them, but generally interview the finalists.  They have 8 spots a year, at least one of them fully funded.

 

Brooklyn College has a waitlist.  I actually don't know if they interview or not, but I imagine they do.  I got a form rejection via e-mail from them in late March last year.  I don't even know how many people they select per class (does anyone out there know?)

 

@longwalktonever - I was in touch with a woman last year who was just out of school (about to turn 23) and she was a finalist EVERYWHERE (Yale, Juilliard, New School, and a few other places)--she wound up getting a full scholarship to Iowa.  I don't think you should count yourself out at all!  But said woman was into mid-April and still didn't know what was going on, whereas I had my neat little pile of rejections all accounted for for several weeks by then.  So that's why I say, you don't WANT to hear from them yet!  

 

As if this isn't enough to stress out about, has anybody applied/heard anything from the Bay Area Playwrights Festival or the Lark?

Edited February 14, 2013 by failsafe

[vonnegrunt]

failsafe: I haven't heard from the Lark yet. I was a finalist for BAPF last year and received my initial email from them on March 4. Found out I didn't make the final cut on April 21.

 

Did anyone apply to UCLA? I understand that they typically interview finalists around this time (from the sparse information I've been able to squeeze out of the internet).

[EccentricDreamer]

Hi failsale ~ Thanks for all the amazing inside info. This puts a lot of things into perspective. I do hope your dreams come true this year. What's your theatre experience? Have you written many plays? Are you an actor or part of an ensemble? One's writing can only get better with time.

 

I didn't submit to the Lark, BAPF, or anywhere too much this year; I was too focused on submitting grad apps! Yet, I'm glad the submission period is over. I have time to write a bit more.

 

vonnegrunt ~ I considered UCLA (as I'm originally from Cali), but when it came down to it, I really wanted to be on the East Coast. But their program does sound exciting.

 

To all ~ I admire many of you for your perseverance. This is my first time applying to schools. I've been writing plays (and acting) for over 8 years now (wow! It's amazing to see that in print) and now am ready to take things to the next level. What's your story?

[janesays]

@failsafe Since I'm interested in both screenwriting and playwriting, I applied to both types of programs. The two interviews I got so far are at Northwestern and UCLA. I'm really, really, hoping I get in this year! 

 

I had my Northwestern interview yesterday, and I think it went well - but it was via Skype, which always makes things awkward. It was also quite short. 

[failsafe]

thanks for the info, vonnegrunt!  and GOOD LUCK janesays!  @eccentric dreamer: i've been playwriting for 8 years as well (and playwriting well for at least the last 3 of those), was never an actor (except very badly in a few middle school choruses).  i always knew i was a writer, at least by 4th grade or so, but it's taken quite a while to build a life that can sustain me to actually be able to DO it.  i started writing in college with poetry, then short stories, then attempted novels/screenplays/teleplays until i finally returned to what really was my earliest love, but the financial prospects had just scared me too much to really go for it.

 

something i'm always interested in finding out: what are everyone's favorite plays?  i love reading new plays and there are so many wonderful ones out there i would never know to look at.  please, forum, tell me what i should be reading!  mine is perhaps a bit obvious, but i recently read "August: Osage County" by Tracy Letts and I seriously wanted to put it down and start clapping meaningfully and saying "Bravo" at the end.

[themirandatragedy]

My all time favorite would have to Albee's 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' I recently read 'Marat/Sade' by Weiss and it was eye opening.

[EccentricDreamer]

Favorite plays, gosh there are so many but I'll keep it short. I love the ones that rip your heart out and leave you wondering where it is. My list:

 

Most plays by Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Eugene O'Neill and August Wilson

'night Mother by Marsha Norman

Blues for an Alabama Sky and Flyin' West by Pearl Cleage

I Never Sang for My Father and You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running by Robert Anderson

Blue Door by Tanya Barfield

Bulrusher by Eisa Davis

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

Doubt by John Patrick Shanley

The Adding Machine by Elmer Rice

The Subject Was Roses by Frank Gilroy

 

I know a lot of people like him, but I'm not a big Albee fan.

 

@failsafe ~ Read and see everything you can. I'm blessed that the Seattle Public Library has this huge play section. It's awesome.

Edited February 17, 2013 by EccentricDreamer

[longwalktonever]

Love all the plays you named, EccentricDreamer!

 

My favorite are probably (in no particular order):

 

The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh

Good People by David Lindsay-Abaire

Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl

B. F. E. by Julia Cho

Orpheus Descending by Tennessee Williams

Balm in Gilead by Lanford Wilson

Boy Gets Girl by Rebecca Gilman

Krapp's Last Tape by Samuel Beckett

The Sound of a Voice by David Henry Hwang

 

Yeah! Also, can I say how much I love the flood of activity in this thread? Y'all are the best, and it makes me feel so much less alone in this MFA application process. Fingers crossed for all of you!

[tjack]

You all are giving me so many new plays to read! My favorites jump around a lot -- it has so much to do with what I've seen or read recently. But some would definitely be:

Jerusalem by Jez Butterworth

Amadeus by Peter Shaffer (this is without a doubt my favorite play of all time)

The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh

Copenhagen and Noises Off by Michael Frayn

The Dining Room by AR Gurney

Any and all Brecht but especially Man Equals Man

I just read The Whale by Sam Hunter and it blew my mind, as did Milk Like Sugar by Kirsten Greenidge and Belleville by Amy Herzog.

 

And I agree, @longwalk -- keeping this board going helps a lot.

[themirandatragedy]

Okay since we're all naming more than one. I feel compelled to add the ones that are up there for me

 

Red by John Logan

reasons to be pretty by Neil LaBute

M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang

Three Tall Women by Albee

Time Stands Still by Margulies

Long Day's Journey into Night by O'Neill

The Clean Room by Sarah Ruhl

anything Ibsen or Strindberg

 

I don't know why but didn't enjoy August:Osage County as much as I thought I would.

[EccentricDreamer]

Hey everyone, 

 

Bookmark the American Theatre Wing on your phone or desktop - http://americantheatrewing.org - if you haven't already. They have some of the most fascinating playwright interviews and everything to do with theatre. ATW is also the organization that gives out the infamous Tony Awards! 

 

Do you guys ever dream of winning a major prize like the Obie, Pulitzer, Tony, etc? Or is simple making great theatre that turns you on? I'd have to say both!