We are not accepting applications for the MFA degree in Acting for 2012-2013.
Our MFA Acting Program is undergoing a major reimagining and redesign! For this reason, we will not be accepting applications during this period. Please stay in contact with this website for information on how to apply for our new MFA Acting Program – the application process will begin in Fall 2012 for classes beginning in Fall 2013.
There will be four key elements to the new MFA Acting Program:
- An emphasis on time-honored Theater conservatory courses in acting, voice, speech, movement and performance.
- The study of acting for Film and Television and Digital Media.
- Lectures on Film and Theater History drawn from the extraordinary resources of the UCLA Film and Television Archive and the Theater Special Collections.
- The idea of the “actor-producer”
– Actors in the new MFA Program at UCLA will be encouraged to create their own theater and film ensembles where they can share ideas and participate in collaborative production. Actors will learn to “capture” their collaborations not only on the stage, but also on film and with other contemporary technologies. For this reason, the new MFA Acting Program will offer ancillary courses in writing, directing and in basic computer technologies (such as video and sound editing). Actors will also be able to take courses in producing in order to learn how to develop their own projects.
In the meantime, here are some of the highlights for our academic year 2010-2011. We are already engaged in projects that reflect our goals for the new MFA Acting Program.
Fall Quarter 2010:
First-year MFA actors and first-year MFA film directors participate in a two-week workshop with film director and writer Kasi Lemons.
Second-year and Third-year MFA actors perform Hamlet and the musical Life After High School at the Los Angeles Theater Center.
Winter Quarter 2011:
First-year MFA actors study classical acting in a ten-week course with theater and film actor Alfred Molina.
Second-year and Third-year MFA actors perform The Cherry Orchard directed by Mel Shapiro and the contemporary Ugandan play Forgotten World directed by Shirley Jo Finney at UCLA.
Spring Quarter 2011:
Second-year MFA actors and MFA screenwriters collaborate on six short films supervised by Academy Award winning screenwriter Robert Moresco.
Third-year MFA actors perform their Actors Showcase (incorporating both theater and film sequences) for agents and industry professionals at the Geffen Playhouse.
