Playwriting MFAs

[PrincessIsInAnotherCastle]

Damn those Presidents and Their Day!!!!  

lavendercloud:  UCLA has updated their application login website to allow you to check decision status -- BUT -- it doesn't actually work yet....  When you log in, you get an error message.  They are undoubtedly just updating things...  See below....

 

https://grad.ucla.edu/gasaa/admissions/applicat.htm
 

Application Decision

Decisions for the fall term are generally not available until February at the earliest, and may not be made until April or even later.

Questions about whether hard copy of supplemental application materials have been received should be directed to the major program.

• Decision Status Login

Edited February 14, 2015 by PrincessIsInAnotherCastle

[PrincessIsInAnotherCastle]

Oh -- has anyone heard anything from YALE, yet?

[Guest]

No news from Yale, or anywhere at this point. I have a friend who had an interview with UCLA a couple of weeks ago. I didn't apply there, though.

[lavendercloud]

Oh, good to know! I'll assume UCLA's not interested, then, if they've already started interviews. I don't know much about the program so it was low on my list, but I'm still glad I applied because it meant my first application out of the gate wasn't one of the more important ones, if that makes sense.

Barista, good luck with Michener! I decided against applying to the UT-T&D program because it just didn't excite me enough to pull me to Texas, and I decided to stop being so paranoid and cut down on my applications. May not be loving that decision in a month or two, but it feels good for now.

Edited February 14, 2015 by lavendercloud

[tate12]

Oh interesting! The Screenwriting program is very good at UT. And Michener and UT playwriting are taught by the same teachers. 

 

Also UT is not off on President's day. I don't think most universities participate in that holiday. So maybe some decisions will be made.  

 

Yale should be out near the 22nd- that was when notifications for interviews were sent ls last year

[Guest]

Just checked Austin and looks like they don't have President's Day off. I think it's more of east coast schools that do. I know I did when I was in undergrad. 

 

Keeping my fingers crossed! How is the theatre scene in Austin, out of curiosity? Lots of devised work? Always interested in hearing about other theatre communities besides NY and Chicago.

[tate12]

Oh good to know! I guess we won't being hearing for Yale or Brown on Monday. 

 

Austin's theatre scene casts a pretty wide net. There is lots of experimental, weird, theatre at the smaller theatres in town. Lots of 24 hour play festivals, Frontera Festival and Fusebox- which are fringe festivals, And lots of devised work, some done by the Rude Mechanicals- the head of playwriting at UT, Kirk Lynn is one of the founders. Zach Scott theatre does a lot of musicals, newer plays, and old schools stuff for the rich people in town. They are the biggest theatre in town and surprisingly they don't have a literary department for new works despite the profits faculties and resources they have- unless they're by Steven Dietz. 

 

Austin theatre scene is small-ish (or not as big as NYC), but there are a lot of different avenues you can take. A lot of companies, playwrights and directors fundraise and crowdsource to produce theatre. Which makes for a lot of different, inspiring and interesting work being made. 

 

There's also a lot of film work, professional, amateur, and MFA, being done all around the city.

 

QUESTION: How does everyone do on submissions? I'e been submitting my work for over a year. And I've only got one or two hits so far. I know it's a lot about if your work fits the theatre's missions, audiences, etc. How does everyone fair in that department? 

Edited February 14, 2015 by tate12

[lavendercloud]

Heard from Naomi last night, and I'm not on the short list for UCSD this year. Kind of crushing but I absolutely understand. She also said she can't give a more definitive answer because the admissions process is unpredictable...so I'm not not under consideration? But I'm very glad that I've got the Ohio application underway and looking forward to hearing back from more schools so I have a better idea of where I stand this year. Also wishing I'd done more from last year to this, but hindsight is 20/20, and I'm competing against some stellar applicants (y'all ROCK, basically).

 

Onward and upward!

[tate12]

Sorry Lavender! Keep your head up! That comment sounds like you're still in the running. You never know what could happen!

 

I also heard from Naomi last night. I moved on to the shortlist and will be flying down for an interview!

Edited February 15, 2015 by tate12

[lavendercloud]

Tate, CONGRATS! I'm so excited for you! When are you heading out there? And have you had interviews at Austin yet?

[Singsalot]

@tate -- Congrats!

 

@lavendercloud. Sorry to hear this news -- you never know, though. They may feel that since they flew you down and met you last year, they don't need to see you again for an in-person interview. It's always so hard to say. The frustrating thing is to be so close one year and not the next -- the arts, and people's taste, is so bizarre.

 

Even though none of the schools I applied to have sent notification yet, I'm sort of feeling down about this year. Perhaps it's just that I am working on a new play that is getting a lot of great feedback and wishing I had applied with that. Who knows.

 

Happy Sunday, y'all!

[lavendercloud]

Singsalot: I totally get that. I'm starting to think about applying to some other opportunities, even those in New York that I've never fully considered because I figured I'd go for them after grad school (like P73, Soho Rep writers/directors lab, and the Princess Grace award) and doing some heavy rewriting of one play and expansion of another in the next couple months to prepare for those deadlines. I'm also looking at internship again, but I'm SO tired of bouncing from one to the next and I'm not sure that I want another low-paid, full-time position that will probably get in the way of my writing.

 

Realized I didn't answer the question about submissions. I've been submitting to things for a while, particularly this past year - residencies, awards, and so on - and haven't gotten anything yet. What I'm trying to focus on now is just writing more and looking for opportunities that are a really great fit for me, instead of applying for anything for which I might be eligible. And after shelling out all those application fees this year, I don't think I'll apply to anything with a fee attached for a good while.

[Starsandsound]

Hey all for what it's worth I am very happy with the program here at Smith and would be happy to talk to anyone who's interested. They give some funding, and it's very much a self starting program, but if you like to do a lot of different things in theater as well as write, and if you have a lot of ideas you would like to place in motion, Smith is so wonderful. I can't recommend it enough, though it is definitely for a certain kind of person. The faculty is also really knowledgable, approachable, and encouraging.

[Starsandsound]

Also, they offer some crazy fantastic classes, the location is gorgeous, and the underclassmen are very enthusiastic about individual projects.

[Guest]

For general submissions, I tend to send out a huge batch 3-4 times a year, like a few dozen at a time depending on their mission statements and if one of my plays is a good fit and has had enough development. I usually have a couple of other plays meant for solely development opportunities, but since those are so competitive in themselves I tend to send my more developed plays to them as well. It's such a conundrum, because it's like you need to develop your play for developmental opportunities. It's really strange. 

 

Congrats tate12! I didn't apply to UCSD, but that is an interesting thing they said to you lavendercloud regarding your status. Part of me feels like it can be a positive thing, especially because they interviewed you last year. It still sounds like you're in the running still and they feel like they have a sense of who you are.

 

Good news is, no rejections so far, but we'll see. How do waitlist/alternate lists work at these schools? Anyone know? Had any luck with them, or known someone who has? Even being an alternate would be amazing.

 

Definitely checking out Soho Rep and P73. Every year I'm like, "I'm gonna apply to P73" and then I don't. This year I will. 

[tate12]

@lavender @sings Thanks! I'm very excited! I''m working out a date with Naomi now. My UT interview is on the 27th.

 

@lavender Yeah, I've been applying to theatre, awards, fellowships. A lot of those big ones (Princess Grace, PONY) seem to be beneficial to those WITH an MFA. So I feel like I don't really have a chance Maybe not. Some of the opportunities are very valuable. But they seem out of reach for some reason. Also I've applied to many submissions with fees, even though I've been told by many playwrights not to pay for submissions. And it does ads up and with all those MFA application fees... I'm going to try and do a residency at an artist colony this summer, if I can get one. 

 

I have two more schools to hear from. And it's driving me CRAZY.

[lavendercloud]

Starsandsound: Smith sounds great! I'd love to go back to the Pioneer Valley, where I did my undergrad...I just wish they had more funding. And is it a two-year program, or three?

 

Barista: yeah, needing developed plays for development opportunities feels a lot to me like needing a highly-polished play to get into an MFA program. I mean...what? Isn't the idea to learn? But it's just so competitive that the people who might benefit the most are less likely to get the chance. That's definitely what I found with season-long internship applications out of college. There was one I didn't get when I applied for the fall after I graduated. A couple years later, I reapplied for it. An intern mis-typed my email when they sent the interview offer, so I never got it, and I got in touch about a month later to find out if I was still being considered. They were profusely apologetic about the fact that they'd just offered the position to someone else, and told me that the internships tend to go to recent graduates anyway...so yeah, long story short, each year that whole process has been like WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO GET A JOB THAT I PROBABLY CAN'T EVEN LIVE ON?! (But yeah, my blood still boils over that misspelled email and the fact that they didn't bother calling me and just assumed I wasn't interested.)

 

I think waitlists & alternative lists vary a lot with these programs. With UCSD, there probably aren't many people turning it down, so there isn't much of a chance that they'll move down the list. I think there's some sense of these programs being mildly in touch with each other and checking in with students to feel out how likely they are to take an offer before making one, but that's not always the case, either.

 

Tate: Exactly - I've been holding off on those programs until after grad school, and most of the deadlines will be after I hear back from schools, so I've got time to decide. I'm also lusting over the Lark Jerome New York Fellowship...it looks amazing! Unfortunately it's only for MN or NY residents. I might check in about my eligibility; I went to high school in MN and my folks still live there. But I haven't actually been a resident since 2011.

 

Are Yale and Brown your remaining schools? I'm going kinda crazy too. Doesn't help that my boyfriend is in the exact same boat - he applied to Political Science PhD programs and our only school in common is Yale and we'd both really like to know if there's any chance we'll end up in the same vicinity.... 

[Starsandsound]

Smith is a 2 year program! The valley is awesome when there isn't so much snow... everything right now is a little chilly.

[tate12]

@Barista- Yes! Having the same issues with these development/reading workshops. I always try and read all the theatre and workshops/productions before I submit. But no catch yet. But I definitely will keep trying. 

 

Also with waitlist and stuff, I would assume most people don't turn down all the fully funded schools. But likely if you're a candidate at one, you might come up on the radar at another. LIke with Lavendercloud's friend. My sense is that it happens, but not too often. 

 

@Lavender- Yes, Yale and Brown are my last schools. I'm over joyed with my lot now. I'm just eager to get a yes or no. Also scheduling interviews are tough with the my current schedule!

Edited February 16, 2015 by tate12

[siroisplaywright]

So glad to see the forum is alive and kicking right now. I applied to Yale, Brown, NYU and Juilliard this year. Haven't heard from any... but a good friend of mine has received a finalist interview at both Yale and UCSD Acting Programs. So should be any day now for the writing programs. Break a leg everybody.

 

My submission this year is night and day to the one I sent in last year so who knows what that'll do for my chances. You know, since these programs get what? 3 billion plays a year right? gah!

 

Did anyone apply to FringeNYC or Sam French's Off Off this year?

[PrincessIsInAnotherCastle]

Wowzers!  I go away for two days and the board explodes!  LOVE IT!

REGARDING SUBMISSIONS:  

 

--  The development programs, it is a very odd thing to be asked, "How will this program help you?"  DUDE and/or DUDETTE!  I have never BEEN to your program.  All I know about it is what you say and its reputation, so...  How the hell should I know?  lol...  (Again, I never SAY that.  Just the unexpressed, inner bitchy/scared monologue...)  

My first time out, I was a semifinalist at The Oneill.  Then I was rejected out of hand, for everything.  Then I became a finalist at The O'Neill.  Then more rejections. But -- I learned last week that my play was selected for a semi-known reading series here in NYC and...

I learned today that it was selected for LOVELY theater conference taking place... I cannot actually say what it is, yet (not the Alaska one)...  But...  after not hearing from UCSD OR UCLA and realizing that Yale and Juilliard are, you know, crazy hard places to get into...  It was nice to read the sentence. "chosen out of 578 scripts as one of the 5..."  I WAS JUST, LIKE -- I mean... I am STILL HIGH on the news!  And, you know... I know it doesn't change who I am, and all of the work we get or do is almost always self-generated, regardless.  But...wow.  We really do need that wave of outside approval from time to time.  There is a little Sally Field in all of us.  "You like me!  You like me!"  lol...

Anyway, everyone -- Keep on Keeping on!

Edited February 17, 2015 by PrincessIsInAnotherCastle

[PrincessIsInAnotherCastle]

Question:  Where does everyone learn about applying for fellowships, etc.  There is a GREAT reddit board, I know...  Where else, though...?

I feel like LAVENDERCLOUD is a source of amazing info, and I want to thank her for sharing so much...  Keep holding on, lady!

[iamnonightbird]

Where do people stand on 2 year programs versus 3 year? Smith, Carnegie Mellon are both two years...my gut feeling is that more time is better than less, but what do other people think?

[lavendercloud]

Princess: Congrats on the conference! I use pwcenter.org (paid membership required) and comb through a lot of other sites for development opportunities. Always helpful to be on newsletter lists for any development organizations that interest you.

 

Nightbird: I think the third year is usually a full-scale production at most schools. Few of the two-year programs afford such opportunities. For me, a big part of going to grad school is getting all that production experience, so a two-year program might not be as useful. I also think that since I'm likely to only get one MFA, I'd like to maximize the amount of time I have getting paid to write so that I can graduate with as many finished plays as possible. I said last year that if I didn't get in I'd consider two-year programs on my second round, and I didn't; but if I end up with a third round of applications, I'll certainly add a few to my list (though I think I'd take at least a year off applying in the meantime). Brooklyn, with Mac Wellman, keeps being recommended to me as well as Hunter College and I'd be a fool to leave them off my list the next time around. I also have a friend at Carnegie Mellon right now so I'll check in with him and find out how it's going.

[tate12]

Congrats @princess! Excited to hear what it is!

 

Also, does anyone know if Brown does interviews?