MFA ACTING

The Master of Fine Arts in Acting at the University of Connecticut is an intensive, conservatory-style program designed to prepare students already possessing significant actor training for direct entry into performance careers in all areas of the professional theatre, including television and film. Master of Fine Arts level. Combining a three-year sequence of acting classes with extensive voice and movement training and a well-rounded course of studies in the art of theatre, the MFA Acting Program also offers outstanding performance opportunities through the Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT), the performance wing of the Department of Dramatic Arts. At the CRT, graduate students constitute a major part of the acting company and work with professional actors and directors on the way to earning membership points in Actor's Equity Association (AEA), the American union for professional stage actors and stage managers in the United States. The vast majority of our MFA candidates are "Equity eligible" by the time they complete the program.

Course of Study

MFA Acting students take formal acting-studio courses in each of their six semesters in the program. Beginning with careful examination of the tools available to the actor in rehearsal and performance, we lead students through a variety of acting styles. Suzuki training techniques are offered each semester during the course of study and provide a base of physical and vocal training. In a disciplined conservatory setting, acting students work on a wide range of plays, from contemporary and modern theatre before progressing to more advanced work with Shakespeare and other poetic dramatists. In the final year, the performance study focuses on styles of comic acting as well as techniques for approaching the great experimental plays of the twentieth century. Acting for the Media is also a recommended course for MFA Acting students. These core-acting courses are supplemented and enhanced by required courses in Movement for the Actor, Voice and Diction, Stage Dialects, Jazz Dance and Historical Dance Styles. Finally, courses in Musical Theatre Dance and Stage Combat are available and highly recommended as are Singing courses through the UConn Music Department. MFA Acting students also are required to take some coursework in Theatre History and Dramatic Literature. A wide range of courses to fulfill this requirement is available within the department, and additional non-required courses in Dramatic Literature are available from the Department of English.

Class Directory

ACTING
DRAM 345 Acting Studio: Rediscovering the Actor
DRAM 346 Acting Studio: Voices of Naturalism and Realism
DRAM 352A Studies in Acting: Poetic Voices
DRAM 352B Studies in Acting: Shakespeare
DRAM 352C Studies in Acting: Comedy
DRAM 352D Studies in Acting: Iconoclastic Voices

MOVEMENT
DRAM 337 Advanced Movement for Actors I
DRAM 391A Dance I
DRAM 391B Dance II
*Movement skills are reinforced and taught within most classes and in Suzuki training sessions.

VOICE & SPEECH
DRAM 320 A Advanced Voice & Diction I
DRAM 320 B Advanced Voice & Diction II
DRAM 320 C Dialects & Accents for Acting
*Voice & Speech skills are reinforced and taught within most classes and in Suzuki training sessions.

HISTORY & LITERATURE
DRAM 393 Graduate Studies in Theatre History
DRAM xxx Three additional credits in Theatre History, Literature, Criticism or Aesthetics (which may be waived on the basis of the student's undergraduate transcript.

Additional requirements and/or electives in Dramatic Arts or other departments as required to total a minimum of 60 graduate credits.