Playwriting MFAs

[themirandatragedy]

Got into San Francisco State's MFA program. Gotta say no, but it's nice to know I got in.

Edited April 10, 2013 by themirandatragedy

[teethwax]

Congrats on your acceptances, mirandatragedy! That's awesome.

 

I wanted to check in and say that, despite being rejected from Yale, they passed my info on to another program looking to raise its profile and attract strong writers, and I will probably be going there.  (Don't want to jinx it until I get the official letter, but the program director says I'm in.)  I emailed one of my recommenders to let him know, and he said that some of his closest friends now are people he wasn't able to hire or accept for his program, so I wanted to let you guys know that a rejection doesn't mean those opportunities are over.  I figured those guys were too busy to expend energy on people who aren't their students, but apparently that's not true at all -- someone who really wanted you for their program, but didn't get you, may be someone who fights for you in other arenas.

[k-hotspur]

Congratulations Teethwax. I think you win for most interesting application process of the year! 

[teethwax]

Congratulations Teethwax. I think you win for most interesting application process of the year! 

Thank you! It's certainly been crazy and weird, but I'm hoping it'll all be worth it.

[twlk417]

The wait list at USC didn't convert.

 

Oh well. I'm only 22, right?

[Ica]

Hi everyone,

I am new in this forum. Your helpful posts brought me here.

I am wondering if it ever happened to any non-American to be accepted into Juilliard’s playwrights program?

Thanks,

Greetings from Europe!!

Ica

[Buckminster]

Hi everyone,

I am new in this forum. Your helpful posts brought me here.

I am wondering if it ever happened to any non-American to be accepted into Juilliard’s playwrights program?

Thanks,

Greetings from Europe!!

Ica

I think there's currently a Canadian in the program.

Anyone else here anything from them recently?

Edited April 25, 2013 by Buckminster

[Ica]

Thank you, Buckminster! 

Last update from Juilliard I've received in late March.

[teethwax]

I got an email from Juilliard a little while ago asking me to submit three letters of recommendation, which is awesome, but I need to tell them I've accepted a place elsewhere.  If I remember right, the email said they were still reading through plays and hadn't contacted everyone yet.

[goodbreakfast]

Hi All,

I'm new to the forum, not sure if anyone is still lurking around as it's after application season, but I have a few questions I would really appreciate some help with.

 

1. Assuming that the admission committee at any given school likes the play, how much do previous productions/ work in the theater matter? I took a playwriting course in college, but was otherwise never a theater kid. Will that hurt my chances? I have only had a single one act produced as part of a 24hr festival, though I've written a few other plays. Does this make me too inexperienced for a playwriting MFA?

 

2. What programs have the best funding? Brown seems to be fully funded, but that's the only one I can tell is definitively. What about Yale, UCSD, Iowa, Brooklyn? 

 

I really appreciate whatever info anyone can give me. Thanks!

 

[theotherlily]

1.  You don't need productions to get into grad school for playwriting anymore than you need publications to get into grad school for fiction.  The writing sample is the most important thing.  However....

 

Playwriting grad programs are looking for writers who are theatrical, and have a strong sense of the stage.  If you don't have an understanding of how live theatre works as opposed to prose or movies or television, that's going to show up in your writing sample as well as on your resume.  Doesn't mean that you won't get in- they can always fall in love with the play you wrote- but if you think you might like playwriting enough to try and get an extremely competitive degree in it, you should invest some time participating in theatre in the wild.  Do you already watch a lot of theatre?  If not, start.  That's the minimum.  If you're already doing that, I'd consider trying to find a volunteer position as a stagehand or stage manager.

 

Can you tell me more about the experience you do have?  How many plays have you written?  How many full lengths vs. shorts?  Did you write them in college or afterwards?  How did you get involved in a 24-hour festival?  Can you continue to work with the people who put on said festival in any capacity?

 

Go ahead and apply, but remember that these programs are insanely hard to get into, and they are not the only way for an inexperienced theatre person to get experience.  In fact,  I think a grad program is probably the worst place for a non-theatre person to learn what theatre is, but you should remember I'm not a huge fan of academic theatre.  (A trait I share with nearly everyone I go to school with.)

 

The great thing about theatre is that you can do it yourself.  You don't need lots of money or a stamp of approval from a prestigious institution- you just need some people and a space.  Money and stamps are great, but don't wait for 'em, or you'll never get 'em.

 

 

2.  UT Michener has the *best* funding, but there are tons of programs that fully fund all or most of their students, including UT T&D.  Programs will often be a little cagy about discussing their funding on their websites, and it sometimes changes from year to year.  If you are in any way unclear, just email them and ask.  They won't hesitate to reply.  Yale, as far as I know, has funded fully since they stole Paula Vogel from Brown.  UCSD, when I checked a few years ago, funds partially- half tuition the first year- full the second... or something like that.   I believe Iowa funds fully but is tiered- you have to apply and see what they offer you.  Brooklyn doesn't fund but is cheap, and is really your only affordable option for getting an in-city MFA.  Less well-known fully funded programs, including Ohio (which I know to be a very strong program) and Indiana, are discussed on this thread.

[goodbreakfast]

Thank you for taking the time to respond, theotherlily! Much appreciated. 

 

I see about a dozen plays a year, which is all I'm able to where I live. Soon, I'll be moving to a city with much more theater, so I'll certainly see much more. Outside of my professional reasons for moving, on a personal level it's largely motivated by a desire to be around a more lively theater scene in which I can be involved. I definitely hear you about understanding theatricality vs. storytelling in TV, movies, et al. Though the amount of theater I'm able to see currently is rather limited, I make it a point to read AT LEAST 2 plays a week (great local library system!). I know that isn't totally making up for not seeing much theater, but I'm definitely learning tons from reading. 

 

As far as what I've written, in college I wrote a full-length, and since then I've written another full-length and 2 long one-acts. A Playwright friend has looked at them, and I've gotten good feedback, assured that I'm ready to be produced.  I have been reticent to send my plays out, but am planning to do so soon.  Self-production is something I've thought about and hopefully will be able to pursue when in a more theater friendly place. 

 

I don't plan on applying to MFAs this fall, as I know I've got a ways to go before I feel ready. My interest in the programs listed is based on aesthetic interest with the professors and my limited understanding of costs. Anyway, thanks for all the info you gave, you gave me tons to think about!

1.  You don't need productions to get into grad school for playwriting anymore than you need publications to get into grad school for fiction.  The writing sample is the most important thing.  However....

 

Playwriting grad programs are looking for writers who are theatrical, and have a strong sense of the stage.  If you don't have an understanding of how live theatre works as opposed to prose or movies or television, that's going to show up in your writing sample as well as on your resume.  Doesn't mean that you won't get in- they can always fall in love with the play you wrote- but if you think you might like playwriting enough to try and get an extremely competitive degree in it, you should invest some time participating in theatre in the wild.  Do you already watch a lot of theatre?  If not, start.  That's the minimum.  If you're already doing that, I'd consider trying to find a volunteer position as a stagehand or stage manager.

 

Can you tell me more about the experience you do have?  How many plays have you written?  How many full lengths vs. shorts?  Did you write them in college or afterwards?  How did you get involved in a 24-hour festival?  Can you continue to work with the people who put on said festival in any capacity?

 

Go ahead and apply, but remember that these programs are insanely hard to get into, and they are not the only way for an inexperienced theatre person to get experience.  In fact,  I think a grad program is probably the worst place for a non-theatre person to learn what theatre is, but you should remember I'm not a huge fan of academic theatre.  (A trait I share with nearly everyone I go to school with.)

 

The great thing about theatre is that you can do it yourself.  You don't need lots of money or a stamp of approval from a prestigious institution- you just need some people and a space.  Money and stamps are great, but don't wait for 'em, or you'll never get 'em.

 

 

2.  UT Michener has the *best* funding, but there are tons of programs that fully fund all or most of their students, including UT T&D.  Programs will often be a little cagy about discussing their funding on their websites, and it sometimes changes from year to year.  If you are in any way unclear, just email them and ask.  They won't hesitate to reply.  Yale, as far as I know, has funded fully since they stole Paula Vogel from Brown.  UCSD, when I checked a few years ago, funds partially- half tuition the first year- full the second... or something like that.   I believe Iowa funds fully but is tiered- you have to apply and see what they offer you.  Brooklyn doesn't fund but is cheap, and is really your only affordable option for getting an in-city MFA.  Less well-known fully funded programs, including Ohio (which I know to be a very strong program) and Indiana, are discussed on this thread.

[teethwax]

Hi goodbreakfast.  Iowa, Yale, and Brown are fully funded; Yale also gives its writers a solid stipend that actually increases during the summer.  (The other programs may have something similar, but I got the most detail from Yale.)  Julliard's program is free, but doesn't provide a stipend and technically isn't an MFA, so I don't know if you'd be interested in it.

 

I didn't major in theatre, but took some playwriting classes and spent a semester at the National Theater Institute.  In 2008, I had a play in two fringe festivals, where it was well-received, but I actually have never had a full-fledged production as part of a season.  My writing sample and SOP got me pretty far by themselves, but maybe the difference between waitlist and acceptance could have been another few productions.  (I got waitlisted at NYU, Columbia, Iowa, was a finalist at Yale, was admitted to Northwestern and Rutgers, and got a request from Julliard for recs.)  In an ideal world, I would have had a fuller resume, but it wasn't in the cards.  Some of the other finalists with me at Yale were brand-new playwrights, though -- as has been said on this forum before, they're looking at your writing above all else.

 

Your plans to move and get more involved in theatre sound like the right thing to do, but definitely also make some actor friends and get your work read out loud.  Reading plays is important, but hearing your words in actors' mouths will teach you just as much.  Good luck with your move and your applications!

[themirandatragedy]

teethwax, 

Where did you decide to go?

[teethwax]

Rutgers.  I had a great conversation with Kathleen Tolan, who's heading the program now, and am pretty excited.  They don't have a ton of funding, but they have solid New York connections and some great career-building help, and since they're a state school, tuition is a lot lower than it is elsewhere.  I don't think they took on any new students last year (Kathleen had just taken over and spent that time working with the current students), so this fall there will be five writers total.  

 

Hopefully I can come back in a few months able to report that the program is great and everyone should apply! 

[MintJulep]

Hi all,

A friend just told me about this forum.  After reading all the posts I feel like I'm among family.  I applied to Juilliard and got a request for 3 letters of rec. a couple of weeks ago.  The deadline was May 5th and two of the three are already in.  I'm excited and hopeful... anyone else in the same boat?   

[Buckminster]

Hi all,

A friend just told me about this forum. After reading all the posts I feel like I'm among family. I applied to Juilliard and got a request for 3 letters of rec. a couple of weeks ago. The deadline was May 5th and two of the three are already in. I'm excited and hopeful... anyone else in the same boat?

Yep - I had a letter request and phone interview back in march. Apparently they work in batches of reading 100 plays at a time, and picking a few to request letters from, so your play was likely in the last batch.

The timeline is a little confusing. The email from the admissions people said they would pick the semi-finalists by may 15, but on the phone it sounded like they would have the finalists by may 15, and then give Chris and Marsha a month to read/pick them.

Or it could be that everyone who gets a letter request is a semi-finalist. In the past it sounds like they've generally had 20-25 semi finalists, and then of those, 10-12 are finalists. There are 4 spots. Though all those numbers vary from year to year.

[MintJulep]

Yep - I had a letter request and phone interview back in march. Apparently they work in batches of reading 100 plays at a time, and picking a few to request letters from, so your play was likely in the last batch.

The timeline is a little confusing. The email from the admissions people said they would pick the semi-finalists by may 15, but on the phone it sounded like they would have the finalists by may 15, and then give Chris and Marsha a month to read/pick them.

Or it could be that everyone who gets a letter request is a semi-finalist. In the past it sounds like they've generally had 20-25 semi finalists, and then of those, 10-12 are finalists. There are 4 spots. Though all those numbers vary from year to year.

Thank you Buckminster.  That's helpful.  Best of luck.  I hope to get an interview too. 

[MintJulep]

All my letters of rec are in for Juilliard.  Now may the gods of theatre work their magic... ready for a miracle. 

[Buckminster]

Even if you don't get an interview - don't despair, apparently they don't always interview people they end up accepting. The process is a bit random, or at least appears so from the outside.

[goodbreakfast]

Thanks for your thoughts and well wishes teethwax. Good luck in your program next year!

[Buckminster]

If anyone ends up going to the juilliard playwrights evening thing, I'd love to hear what it's like. I can't make it...

[MintJulep]

Hey Buckminster, 

Not sure what Juilliard evening thing you are talking about... let me know, if it hasn't already happened, I'll try to go. 

Thanks-

[longwalktonever]

Hey all! I know this forum has died down a little with everyone making their final decisions and all-- just wanted to thank everyone for such an amazing supportive environment-- this place definitely kept me sane throughout the application process!

 

I'm officially attending USC's MFA Dramatic Writing program in the fall, and even though choosing between USC and NYU was one of the more difficult things I've ever had to do, I'm confident I made the right decision and so excited to go there in the fall!

 

Where did everyone else officially end up?

[themirandatragedy]

Indiana University Bloomington. I had to choose between them and Ohio, and yes, it was a very hard thing to do. But I'm happy with my decision. Glad to see you chose USC, longwalk! I've heard really good things about that program.