Playwriting MFAs

[EccentricDreamer]

Still nothing from NYU for me...and I am stuck staring at a computer screen until 5 PM.  This is torture!!!

Yeah, me too, failsafe. I'm kind of resigned, however, and turning my attention elsewhere. Not feeling very positive today. 

[failsafe]

Yeah, me too, failsafe. I'm kind of resigned, however, and turning my attention elsewhere. Not feeling very positive today. 

 

Yeah, I've been anticipating rejection across the board for a few weeks now and would really just like to get it over with...not at all sure I'll apply again next year.  I hate to say it but I really do think these programs are ageist--I simply didn't have the luxury of majoring in dramatic writing as an undergrad or pursuing playwriting seriously until after 30.  (I know that Columbia at least has accepted one 38 year old, and USC also has at least ONE person also 38--but ALL nine Yale finalists were early to mid 20s?  Come on!)  But on the bright side, I am very excited that from my very first inquiry, a fantastic NYC theater wants to read my play (yay!) so I have been spending the day doing a final polish before submitting it. =)

Edited March 27, 2013 by failsafe

[EccentricDreamer]

Yeah, I've been anticipating rejection across the board for a few weeks now and would really just like to get it over with...not at all sure I'll apply again next year.  I hate to say it but I really do think these programs are ageist--I simply didn't have the luxury of majoring in dramatic writing as an undergrad or pursuing playwriting seriously until after 30.  (I know that Columbia at least has accepted one 38 year old, and USC also has at least ONE person also 38--but ALL nine Yale finalists were early to mid 20s?  Come on!)  But on the bright side, I am very excited that from my very first inquiry, a fantastic NYC theater wants to read my play (yay!) so I have been spending the day doing a final polish before submitting it. =)

I totally agree with you, failsafe, on the age thing. I'm debating whether to apply again as well. I'm already a playwright; I don't need a degree to tell me that. Grad school wasn't even in my consciousness in my 20s because I was too busy working as an actor and then a playwright. I realized that I needed to be in a different setting to take things to the next level which is why I applied in the first place.

 

And congratulations on getting a reading at an awesome theater! That's always gratifying!!!  

[EccentricDreamer]

Oh yeah, was rejected from Brooklyn College today for those wondering about notifications.

[failsafe]

Oh yeah, was rejected from Brooklyn College today for those wondering about notifications.

 

Ha, I didn't get that yet, either.  And didn't get Yale's until last Friday.  I feel like they're all awkwardly avoiding me.

 

*update, I just checked the website--no letter, even.  they ARE all awkwardly avoiding me!

Edited March 27, 2013 by failsafe

[teethwax]

I got an email from NYU today requesting more info about my undergrad years (I had to take a leave of absence due to illness and kind of cobbled together a BA over several years), so that's a good sign, but how many people do those guys even take? 

 

EccentricDreamer and failsafe, sorry you guys are having a tough time.  It's a huge accomplishment in itself, though, to be working and to have theaters interested in your stuff -- and I do want to say that I only met six out of the nine finalists at Yale, so the three New Yorkers could definitely have been older, and at least three of the current playwrights I met were in their thirties when they started. 

[Misssharai]

Southern Illinois-Carbondale is sending out emails, if anyone else applied.

[k-hotspur]

I believe NYU takes 24? 12 who focus on playwriting and 12 who focus on screenwriting. But I don't know if that's always true. (I've never applied, so I've never looked into it, that's just what I hear.). 

 

There's something very interesting about the ageism debate. I've realized recently that a lot of playwrights are older than you think they are. That they've stuck around and paid their dues and maybe they had a bit of success when they were younger, but have really been hoofing it since. Very few people just emerge fully formed the way the media/theater companies lead us to believe. My favorite example is Caryl Churchill. She didn't start writing plays and getting them produced until she was in her 40s and had had kids. There are so many ways of making a career in the theatre work. The key is to write plays that you're proud of and do what you can to get it in front of an audience. It's hard not to constantly want more than what you have, but it's important to be proud of what you've done and are doing. 

[failsafe]

@teethwax - that does sound like good news!  i'm pretty sure they take 8 playwriting/8 television writing/8 screenwriting students per year.

 

re: yale - i know 30-somethings got into yale under paula vogel's chairmanship, but after hearing your account i am curious whether jeanie o'hare is actually open to older writers--everything i've read about her suggests that she is very focused on commercial success, and branding younger writers as opposed to older ones would be considered by some as "hot".  that said, maybe they just didn't like my play and i'm just whining.

 

i do know that juilliard accepts writers in their 30s regularly (they also are the only program that reads blindly--or at least did the year i applied.  do they still?), but that is more like a fancy emerging writer's group than a graduate program.

 

@k-hotspur - thank you for your post!  it is definitely a nice reminder how many successful writers both did not start until later and did not go through MFA programs (and according to my teacher who has her MFA from yale, the majority of those who go through these programs do not actually become writers).  maria irene fornes also didn't start until her 30s, and i'm sure the list is long (in my early 20s, i got to meet the novelist russell banks who said "no one writes anything worth a damn until they're 30!"--to which i admit i was a bit like, "cool, see you in 10 years.").  i think what i've been realizing is that i have had this kind of "MFA or bust" mentality, but that it might be the culmination of a very specific track into the theater world that i just have never been on.  it was definitely a nice reminder that i could just e-mail a nyc theater and have them respond, "yes, send it to us!"

 

i often think about an interview i once saw with bill murray, where he said that when he started out he wasn't all that great, he just kept going, and a lot of his actor peers who were better than him stopped doing it along the way and he just persevered and kept learning and getting better as he went.  i've also heard it said that there is talent, perseverance, and luck, and all you need is two out of three to make it...that said, a little luck at some point would be nice!

[puttputt]

re: age.

 

that yale thing about mid-20s surprised me. it'd be shortsighted for schools to not welcome older playwrights. lots of writers have spent years in the theater doing other things, i.e. acting, before switching over. that brings a lot of valuable experience. Ohio has a track record of accepting all ages. They only accept three a year however. This stuff is competitive. If it makes you feel any better, I'm in my late 30s, didn't get my B.A. until mid 30s, and got into Ohio. I did a lot of theater and improv for 13 years before that though.

 

It probably depends on the program, your writing and experience, and how you present yourself and your work to the program(s.) Everything in theater/entertainment is super-competitive. There's no one way. Perseverance is the key.

[EccentricDreamer]

You all are so amazing!!! The support and encouragement and wisdom shared here has been great!

 

@hotspur - You're so right. The playwrights who are really rocking it and writing engaging, emotionally-demanding work tend to be in their 40s and older. For many of us, grad school is a luxury, especially after the mortgage, kids, etc. There are certainly other people and situations to consider. My husband is my partner in business and in life, so any decision I make has to work for him, too. When I was in my 20s who did I really have to think about other than myself?

 

According to this NYU playwrights blog, the DW department takes about 20 writers a year which is a large program compared to many others. I still haven't heard from NYU yet. However, an unexpected and amazing opportunity just landed in my lap...

 

I was having such a crappy day yesterday that I shot off an email to a close friend of mine who is a TV producer. She's been trying to get me to come down to LA for years to work with her on various reality shows (like Big Brother and Extreme Makeover). I always put it off because I wanted to hone my craft in the THEEE-atre. Looking back, I can see how incredibly high-brow I must have sounded. Interestingly, that attitude allowed me to create a good body of work. Anyway, my friend is currently in negotiations to executive produce a new reality show on the Discovery Channel and wants me to be her assistant!! Is the timing amazing, or what??? She figured I wasn't available before because I was "going to grad school." So, when she saw my email she nearly dropped the phone. So, I could be moving to LA in like less than a month. Holy crap! And what's cool about all of this is that the show is considered "scripted TV" which means I get writing credits and everything. This means that I'll have to eventually join the WGA (Writers Guild of America) which means a crap load of other opportunities.

 

So, even when things don't work out on one end, they work out somewhere else. 

[nortonj]

Woo. Woo. I finally got in. I've been trying to become a member for a while now. But somehow it would never read when I tried to prove that I was a "real person." But I'm here now. YAY!!!!!

 

Anyway - I just got my rejection from NYU. And a while back I got my rejection letter from Yale. Only one left is Juilliard.

 

But I am so cool with everything, and I DO NOT intend to reapply next year. I'm 37 years old. So for me, this was my first and last dance. I figured I would give it a shot - if I got in - GREAT - if not - OH WELL. I too wondered if my age meant my applicaton would be taken less seriously.  I do believe ageism exists in this business. Yes there are successful playwrights in their forties and older. But they got started long before the MFA craze.

 

I guess I'm not fretting so much because I'm doing pretty well for myself. I have two readings this spring, and two prodcutions lined up this coming fall, I've won a snazzy local new works award, two local commssions, and I've had plays workshopped at two amazing conferences. My reason for applying to grad school wasn't about securing a strong professional career. There's no guarantee of that. For every Amy Herzog, or Tarell Alvin McCraney - there's many more MFA playwrights who struggle along with the rest of us. I applied to grad school to be a part of a community of playwrights and to further develop my work and voice. But I can do that on my own.

 

Wow... I didn't expect to be so cool with these outcomes. But I am. Wow! Clarity.

 

For those you getting good news - CONGRATS. For those getting not so good news, don't sweat it. It's their loss-not yours, You have to believe that.

[remains]

This has been a wonderful place to "drop in" from time to time. The support among this group has been really lovely. I wish every one of you nothing but greatness… 

 

Paula Vogel has stated age shouldn't matter -- so that's good enough for me. (Granted, I'm 26… But I believe age should not be a factor when considering playwrights.) 

 

I've signed my Letter of Acceptance to Carnegie Mellon's MFA Program and I'm mailing it in tomorrow morning!! This has been a long, long journey and I'm very proud of my acceptances into CalArts and Carnegie Mellon. I've learned a lot from this application process -- but it feels fantastic to close this door and open another one to what lies ahead!! 

 

Break a leg, everyone! 

[themirandatragedy]

Congrats, remains! Good luck at CMU! 

[k-hotspur]

Got a rejection from Brooklyn College and a letter from the O'Neill saying my play had not moved on the finalist round yesterday. In many ways it's nice to have some of these decisions made for me, even if you feel the slight twinge of rejection. 

 

@EccentricDreamer that's awesome news and such an exciting adventure. Mazel Tov!

Edited March 29, 2013 by k-hotspur

[Trilogyfan]

@EccentricDreamer: cannot tell you how happy I am to hear your good news. Hooray! Hope you get to make lots of good things happen in LA. 

For those of us who are waitlisted at Tisch, I thought this forum might be interesting. It's a subforum under "Waiting it Out" called "Waitlist at Tisch." It's stale but seems like a good time to resurrect it? I am thrilled to be on the list but scared about funding and timing issues, and I expect I am not the only one.

[tjack]

This past week has been exhausting in terms of big-decision-making. I was so close to just accepting CMU's offer, but gave Iowa a call to see where they were with the wait list first -- and I'm IN!

 

So, really excited to say I'll be at Iowa in the fall. This board has been so vital to not losing my mind throughout this process -- you all are wonderful. I really want to know where everyone ends up -- please keep us posted.

[twlk417]

Congratulations on Iowa, tjack! If you need any advice or info on the Theatre department or Iowa City, feel free to PM me.

[themirandatragedy]

Wow tjack, congratulations! Iowa has always been a dream school for me. You're gonna do great there!

[Misssharai]

Congrats to everyone who's gotten in, or waitlisted and will be getting in! I'm on the edge of my seat with everyone still waiting to hear from their schools. I hope you all get your first choice.

[k-hotspur]

I've decided to stay in NYC and go to Columbia. It was fun to think about California (and to visit), but I think this is best for me. And I'm super excited to take classes with Chuck Mee. 

[Delete]

hello k-hotspur, congragulations! does columbia offer any funding? and regarding Brown? does anyone know anything abt their program? best, and congratulations for everyone!!! ))) 

[Buckminster]

hello k-hotspur, congragulations! does columbia offer any funding? and regarding Brown? does anyone know anything abt their program? best, and congratulations for everyone!!! ))) 

Erik Ehn's runs Brown's program now. He's a mad genius/guru/saint and a brilliant teacher. Marcus Gardley also teaches there and he's also a wonderful person and a great teacher (and a fabulous writer to boot).

[themirandatragedy]

Hey guys,

I got wait listed both at Arizona State (#1 alternate on the list) and Ohio (in the running with 4 other four writers). I got offered a spot at Indiana, which I'm totally stoked about! I'm strongly leaning to giving Indiana a HELL YEAH! soon, especially since I'm not the 'waiting' type of person and they were my first choice too. So it shouldn't be too hard of a decision.

This forum has been so helpful through this application process and I'm hoping everybody gets in somewhere and keeps working in their writing. 

This has been three years in the making so I'm really excited I finally get to start working towards that MFA I've always wanted.

Thanks a lot guys,

 

 

Miranda

[twlk417]

I'm dying over here. I'm one of "a small number" of people on the USC wait list. They were due to give final decisions on April 1st. I know that 2 of the 3 initial acceptees have already accepted (including the lucky person here!), and there is one holdout. The committee has to figure out if an international grant will cover that student's extra expenses or something. The wait is destroying my soul. I wish they'd just reject me so I can get it over with. I want to attend so badly, but the "They like me! They really, really like me!" feeling wore off about two weeks ago. I know it's my first time applying, but GAWD.

Edited April 7, 2013 by twlk417