Directing MFA for 2018 - Let's connect

[Theater Maker]

Hi! I am really thankful for this thread, and the ones from past years.   I am applying to 

Yale

Northwestern

CMU

UT Austin

UCSD

V Tech

Nothwestern requires a directing portfolio, but there is very little explanation about what that should be.  I'm finding myself translating my website to PDF form, mostly pull quotes from reviews and production photos.  Do you all have any advice about what to include?

Hope everyone's applications are going well!

[MadamDirector]

Got a call from Yale for an interview today--this is earlier than I was expecting to possibly hear from anyone, so it came as a doubly big surprise. Has anyone else gotten a call? (If so, congrats!) 

p.s. It did definitely sound like they would still be making calls for a couple days, too. 

Edited December 19, 2017 by MadamDirector

[Directorial]

6 hours ago, MadamDirector said:

Got a call from Yale for an interview today--this is earlier than I was expecting to possibly hear from anyone, so it came as a doubly big surprise. Has anyone else gotten a call? (If so, congrats!) 

p.s. It did definitely sound like they would still be making calls for a couple days, too. 

Congrats!

[Eccyclema]

Hey Y'all,

 

I've been a bit of a lurker, but I just got the call this morning from Yale for an interview. I'm a human shaped ball of nerves, shock and excitement right now.  About to dive deep into interview research and practice.

Any tips/advice?

[Squidpunk]

Got my call from Yale today as well!

[Theater Maker]

Got my call from Yale yesterday!

Edited December 20, 2017 by Theater Maker

[Directorial]

Yale calls already eh? Looks like a no-go for me. Life goes on.

URTA interviews started coming in today. Two lined up so far. Anybody else get some e-mails? 

[Squidpunk]

Got an email today from Columbia for the 2-day audition in NY this Feb. I hadn't realized they didn't do first round interviews. Anyone else going to be at that session? I'm pretty nervous!

[MadamDirector]

14 hours ago, Squidpunk said:

Got an email today from Columbia for the 2-day audition in NY this Feb

Congratulations! 

[MadamDirector]

Trying to kick of the new year by getting my last two applications (BU and UMass) finished and submitted. Hope everyone is having a happy New Year, and that 2018 brings all of us the good news we're hoping for!

[UnhappyMFA]

On 11/27/2017 at 9:21 PM, ctbck said:

What questions do you wish you had asked when you were interviewing? 

Questions I wish I had asked: What is this program truly about? What are students being trained in? What is the day-to-day schedule (traditional university or conservatory style)? Are there creative lab courses or just seminar/theory courses? What kind of collaborations between departments can be set up? What kind of directors are best suited for your program? 

 

Edited January 2, 2018 by UnhappyMFA

[per4mance]

HI GUYS! Been reading this thread for a while now. This year and last year's has been extremely helpful. Wish I had found this sooner. After a couple years of interviewing at Yale (but no acceptance) I have decided to apply to different places that fit my needs and style better. 

Applied to: CMU, CalArts and possibly Brown. 

CalArts' lack of funding does scare me in this industry.  

On the fence about Brown. Can't really get a feel for what their program is about from their website. Their deadline extended to January 8th, so I have 4 days to decide.

 

Already got an interview for CalArts! Evidently CMU interviews everyone for first round. WELP - interview season is quickly approaching...!

Wishing you all luck! 

Edited January 4, 2018 by per4mance

[Directorial]

2 hours ago, per4mance said:

HI GUYS! Been reading this thread for a while now. This year and last year's has been extremely helpful. Wish I had found this sooner. After a couple years of interviewing at Yale (but no acceptance) I have decided to apply to different places that fit my needs and style better. 

Applied to: CMU, CalArts and possibly Brown. 

CalArts' lack of funding does scare me in this industry.  

On the fence about Brown. Can't really get a feel for what their program is about from their website. Their deadline extended to January 8th, so I have 4 days to decide.

 

Already got an interview for CalArts! Evidently CMU interviews everyone for first round. WELP - interview season is quickly approaching...!

Wishing you all luck! 

I hear you about Brown's website. I know the program is great, but Brown's own description is very dry. You can get more colorful insights from the Trinity Rep page though. 

Edited January 4, 2018 by Directorial

[Eccyclema]

@per4mance Would you feel comfortable articulating a little bit about your needs/style/interest? If you aren't comfortable that is totally fine, I was just curious if there are any insights you received from your interview with Yale that gave you a fuller perspective on the program.

People who have interviews with Yale, have you received confirmation emails about that yet? I got my phone call Dec 20th, and they said that they probably wouldn't get emails out with more info until after break. Just wanted to check in to see if anyone else has gotten a follow up email. I am probably just being paranoid, but I'm starting to worry that I haven't seen it yet.

Edited January 5, 2018 by Eccyclema

[MadamDirector]

On 1/5/2018 at 12:38 PM, Eccyclema said:

People who have interviews with Yale, have you received confirmation emails about that yet?

I finally got my email Friday afternoon... I was starting to get nervous too, even though I felt like I was being paranoid as well. I'll be in New Haven on Jan 15--where and when are you interviewing, if you don't mind sharing? 

[Eccyclema]

1 hour ago, MadamDirector said:

I finally got my email Friday afternoon... I was starting to get nervous too, even though I felt like I was being paranoid as well. I'll be in New Haven on Jan 15--where and when are you interviewing, if you don't mind sharing? 

Oh good, I'll practice some patience with it then. My Interview is in Chicago on Jan 20th

Break a leg on yours!

[Jaholt]

On 12/22/2017 at 4:50 PM, Directorial said:

Yale calls already eh? Looks like a no-go for me. Life goes on.

URTA interviews started coming in today. Two lined up so far. Anybody else get some e-mails? 

I'm going to the Chicago URTAs for interviews. Super excited and slightly terrified.

[per4mance]

On 1/5/2018 at 11:38 AM, Eccyclema said:

@per4mance Would you feel comfortable articulating a little bit about your needs/style/interest? If you aren't comfortable that is totally fine, I was just curious if there are any insights you received from your interview with Yale that gave you a fuller perspective on the program.

Yale is great because they never look for a certain type of director  - I have realized that I am more interested in non-traditional theatre training where the director is generator of ideas as well as ensemble/physical training. Plus, spending a year doing shakespeare sounds AWFUL to me...

I will say that it was clear in my interview they really care about getting to know who you are as an artist and take the time to have a true conversation about what excites you. 

[MadamDirector]

@per4mance thanks for your insight! Currently looking for anything to maks me feel a wee bit calmer about this upcoming interview, and that helped. 

Break a leg at your CalArts and CMU interviews! 

[Hamidoo]

Hello everyone!

I'll have the UCLA interview Friday or Sunday. What questions should I expect? I have no idea. 

[MadamDirector]

16 hours ago, Hamidoo said:

Hello everyone!

I'll have the UCLA interview Friday or Sunday. What questions should I expect? I have no idea. 

I'm going through this whole process for the first time myself, but I found a lot of great info by searching these forums from years past-- I was looking for different schools, but was able to find a lot of folks who'd shared actual questions they were asked. (Even if you don't find a lot of UCLA-specific posts, I'm betting some questions are probably common across the board.)

Break a leg! 

[Eccyclema]

@per4mance Thank you for your insight, much appreciated! Best of luck!

 

@hamidoo I second what @madamDirector said! The past forums are a goldmine of information.

[per4mance]

20 hours ago, Hamidoo said:

Hello everyone!

I'll have the UCLA interview Friday or Sunday. What questions should I expect? I have no idea. 

I interviewed with UCLA once and found Jose to be very cold, but that also could have been his pokerface. He asked very general questions "What excites you as an artist" "Why UCLA? Especially when we have no funding" "What directors do you admire?" etc. In the end he didn't even ask to see my portfolio, I am the one who had to ask. It was weird. The person before me had them laughing and ran over time... Could be completely different for you though.

 

UPDATE: Applied to CalArts, CMU, Brown and PigIron. Have interviews with all 4 (though everyone gets a first round interview with Brown and CMU) A lot more programs than I expected to submit to, but I got carried away. 

Pig Iron's MFA seems very like an exciting non-traditional training for artists of the future which I am all about. 

Edited January 11, 2018 by per4mance

[Curio]

HI Everyone! I've enjoyed reading everyone's posts so I decided to jump in.

So far i've applied to Yale, Columbia, Northwestern, UT Austin, and UCSD. My final application is Brooklyn College which is due soon. 

One thing I just realized is that I never got a confirmation email from Yale that they received my application. This seems strange because all of the other schools sent one immediately after submitting. I checked my Yale account and it says "paid" and "submitted." Also, in the Yale account it doesn't show my personal statement and resume check marked on the list of completed items. However, when I look at my application proof, they show up.

Did everyone else get an email from Yale confirming receipt of the application? Just curious?

thanks!

[E. Karenina]

Hey all! I'm new to the forum and new to the application process. Hope everyone is having a low stress January. 

I applied to: Yale (of course), UCSD, UMass Amherst, and Northwestern. Nothing yet, so I'm assuming Yale is a no. UCSD just closed and UMass closes the 15th, so here I wait. 

Congrats to everyone who procured a Yale interview already! Get it!!!

Edited January 11, 2018 by E. Karenina