Yale School of Drama 2012-2013 Admissions Brochure

apply for fall 2013

drama.yale.edu

YALE SCHOOL OF DRAMA James Bundy, Dean Victoria Nolan, Deputy Dean Joan Channick, Associate Dean

Lupita Nyong’o (’12) in Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights by Gertrude Stein, Yale School of Drama, 2011.

Artistry. Professionalism. Collaboration.

Discovery. Diversity. Community.

Yale School of Drama and Yale Repertory Theatre train and advance leaders to raise the standards of global professional practice in every theatrical discipline, creating bold art that astonishes the mind, challenges the heart, and delights the senses.

The application of theory to professional practice is a central tenet of training at the School of Drama, enhanced in scope by the integration of the School with Yale Repertory Theatre in a relationship analogous to that of a medical school and a teaching hospital. More than forty productions are staged at Yale School of Drama, Yale Repertory Theatre, and Yale Cabaret each season.

Yale School of Drama has an unparalleled track record of training outstanding and diverse students from every conceivable background.

Together, our students, faculty, staff, and guest artists form a richly collaborative community reflecting the extraordinary breadth of contemporary society, aesthetics, and theatre experience.

Affordability.

Yale School of Drama leads the nation in investing the resources necessary to remove the financial barriers to outstanding graduate theatre training. Tuition fees at Yale School of Drama are the lowest of any leading theatre training program in the country, and our need-based financial aid policy minimizes students’ educational debt: • all students are admitted without regard to their ability to pay; • 94% of students currently receive financial aid; • an average student with financial need receives 84% of the total cost of attendance over three years in aid provided by the School of Drama, including the equivalent of 100% of tuition over three years, plus living stipends, and paid work-study; • the typical financial aid package is designed to make it possible to graduate with as little as $6,000 in educational loans.

james bundy, dean

learn more: drama.yale.edu

ACTING FACULTY: Christopher Bayes, James Bundy, Gwen Ellison, Erica Fae, Jane Guyer Fujita, Peter Francis James, Lori Leshner, Joan MacIntosh, Beth McGuire, Jane Nichols, Ellen Novack, Annie Piper, Michael Rossmy, Billy Serow, Vicki Shaghoian, Fay Simpson, Rick Sordelet, Tim Vasen, Walton Wilson, Jessica Wolf, Robert Woodruff, Evan Yionoulis, Grace Zandarski The Acting department admits talented and committed individuals who possess an active intelligence, a strong imagination, and a physical and vocal instrument capable of development and transformation, and prepares them for work as professional actors. The program of study combines in-depth classroom training with extensive production work. Not only is each class of actors a working ensemble as it trains, but also each actor works as part of a larger company consisting of all three classes of actors. That company works within a still larger ensemble consisting of all departments of the School.

Ron Van Lieu

Ron Van Lieu, Chair

Miriam A. Hyman (’12) and Trai Byers (’11) in A Streetcar Named Desire

by Tennessee Williams, Yale School of Drama, 2010.

Brenda Meaney (’13) and Tim Brown (’13) in Angels in America, Part TWO: Perestroika by Tony Kushner, Yale School of Drama, 2011.

drama.yale.edu

Sheria Irving (’13), Tim Brown (’13), and Adina Verson (’12) in The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare, Yale Repertory Theatre, 2012.

Liz Diamond

DIRECTING FACULTY: May Adrales, Christopher Alden, David Chambers, Robert Clare, Karin Coonrod, David Diamond, Tim Vasen, Robert Woodruff The Directing department admits talented and disciplined individuals with demonstrated potential to become professional directors. In course and production work, emphasis is placed on developing the director’s craft, artistic imagination, and mastery of collaborative leadership. Directing students bring to the School of Drama a wide range of sensibilities but share some crucial qualities. They are generators of ideas and projects. They are not afraid to take risks, and they take responsibility for the philosophical and political implications of their work. Above all, they have lively imaginations, an appetite for hard questions, and a robust curiosity about the world beyond their own cultural borders.

Liz Diamond, Chair

Will Cobbs (’12) and Seamus Mulcahy (’12) in The Seagull

by Anton Chekhov, Yale School of Drama, 2011.

Brian Wiles (’12), Hallie Cooper-Novack (’12), and Laura Gragtmans (’12) in Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare, Yale School of Drama, 2012.

DESIGN FACULTY: David Biedny, Andrew Boyce, Matthew Frey, Jess Goldstein, Jane Greenwood, Wendall K. Harrington, Ming Cho Lee, Ann McCoy, Lee Savage, Ilona Somogyi, Jennifer Tipton, Ru-Jun Wang, Robert Wierzel, Richard Winberg

Ming Cho Lee and Michael Yeargan

The Design department wants to develop exciting, thoughtful designers of scenery, costume, lighting, projection, and sound for the theatre. What makes the Yale program unique is the integration of all areas of design. This provides students with the common ground of core knowledge of the field; and it emphasizes that in telling the human story for theatre, all elements of design are an integral part of the whole and cannot be conceived independently. Through classes and production, the department encourages the discovery of process in formulating the design idea, development of a discriminating standard for students’ own work, and preparation for a creative and meaningful professional life in the theatre.

Stephen Strawbridge, MICHAEL YEARGAN, Co-Chairs Stephen Strawbridge

Jillian Taylor (’12) and Fisher Neal (’12) in Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights by Gertrude Stein, Yale School of Drama, 2011.

Wendall K. Harrington

drama.yale.edu

Allen Gilmore, Julie Briskman, Jacob Ming Trent, CHIVAS MICHAEL, Renata Friedman, Liam Craig, Steven Epp, and Justine Williams in A Doctor in Spite of Himself by Molière, adapted by Christopher Bayes and Steven Epp, Yale Repertory Theatre, 2011.

SOUND DESIGN FACULTY: Charles Coes, Nick Lloyd, Joshua Loar, Matthew Suttor The Sound Design program works to develop and exercise the conceptual, compositional, and technical and communications skills of sound designers, engineers, and composers through substantial academic offerings and a set of practical design opportunities that together provide a comprehensive professional training experience. Sound designers should be innately musical, even if they do not play a musical instrument. They should have a love of the spoken word, an appreciation of all music and sound, and be on their way to developing good critical listening skills. A sound designer must have a natural sensitivity to the entire aural environment. A familiarity with contemporary design tools is extremely valuable.

William DeMeritt (’12), Marissa Neitling (’13), Paul Pryce (’13), Robert Grant (’13), Fisher Neal (’12), Jack Moran (’13), Michael Place (’12), and Monique Barbee (’13) in Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Yale School of Drama, 2012.

William DeMeritt (’12), Bermudez (’13), Fisher The cast of Joshua The Servant of Two Masters Neal (’12), Paul Yale Pryce (’13), and Brian Wiles (’12)

by Carlo Goldoni, Repertory Theatre, 2010. in Cymbeline by William Shakespeare, Yale School of Drama, 2011.

David Budries, Chair

Matthew Suttor

David Budries

Parker Posey and Glenn Fitzgerald in The Realistic Joneses by Will Eno, Yale Repertory Theatre, 2012.

paul pryce (’13) and Mariko Nakasone (’14) in Fox Play by Jake Jeppson (’12), Carlotta Festival of New Plays, 2012.

DRAMATURGY and DRAMATIC CRITICISM FACULTY: Maeve Adams, Elinor Fuchs, Gundula Kreuzer, James Leverett, Jill Rachel Morris, Marc Robinson, Gordon Rogoff, Rebecca Rugg, Thomas Sellar, Andrew Szegedy-Maszak, Paul Walsh Students in this department receive intensive training to prepare for careers in three areas: to work in theatres as dramaturgs, artistic producers, literary managers, and in related positions; to work in theatre publishing as critics and editors as well as in other capacities; to teach theatre as practitioners, critics, and scholars. At the core of the training are seminars in dramatic literature, critical writing, theory, and history to impart a comprehensive knowledge of theatre and literature. Students are trained in topics in institutional dramaturgy, including both as institutional dramaturgs, collaborating on the formulation of artistic policy and its communication and implementation, and as production dramaturgs, operating within the rehearsal process.

Upon completion of the MFA program, students are eligible to register to remain in residence for one year in which they may formulate a dissertation proposal and apply to the Doctor of Fine Arts program. Upon acceptance, the student is expected to complete the dissertation within two years.

Catherine Sheehy, Chair

Jack Moran (’13) and Mitchell Winter (’14) in The Bachelors by Caroline V. McGraw (’12), Carlotta Festival of New Plays, 2012.

Catherine Sheehy

Gilbert Owuor (’07) and Pascale Armand in Belleville by Amy Herzog (’07), Yale Repertory Theatre, 2011.

PLAYWRITING FACULTY: Michael Korie, Lynn Nottage, Kenneth Prestininzi, Frank Pugliese, Sarah Ruhl, Rachel Sheinkin, Deborah Stein, Paula Vogel Yale School of Drama’s Playwriting department is designed for playwrights who are ready to step forward as leaders of our culture and artists of our time. We work with playwrights who possess an irreducible voice, and who can demonstrate their command of language, ideas, and form. We are interested in playwrights who are ready to test their own potential, and who want to do so while forming life-long bonds with their community of fellow artists. We like playwrights to keep one eye on the horizon; to hold a global view of the world, but write the particularities of their own stories. We expect playwrights to learn the rules and then shatter them; and we love writers who want to engage with their cultural responsibilities as disclosers of truth.

JEANIE O’HARE, Chair

Gabe Levey (’14) and Prema Cruz (’14) in Petty Harbour by Martyna Majok (’12), Carlotta Festival of New Plays, 2012.

Jeanie O’Hare, center

Molly Bernard (’13), Sheria Irving (’13), and Hannah Leigh Sorenson (’13) in Outlaw Jean

by Martha Jane Kaufman (’13), Yale School of Drama, 2011.

Max Roll (’13) in A Duck on a Bike by Amelia Roper (’13), Yale School of Drama, 2011.

drama.yale.edu

Mary Hunter

STAGE MANAGEMENT FACULTY: James Badrak, Laura Brown-MacKinnon, Diane DiVita, Kent McKay, James Mountcastle, Richard Rauscher, Lori Rosecrans Wekselblatt, Rick Sordelet, Matthew Suttor The goal of the Stage Management department is to assist the student in recognizing and fulfilling his or her role as a passionate artistic collaborator and as an effective organizational manager throughout the entire production process. The role of the production stage manager requires a deep commitment to the artistic process and a fundamental desire to support the work through the creation of an environment in which artistic risks can be taken to support the work.

The program is structured to prepare the student for work in the commercial and regional theatre, as well as opportunities in touring, dance, opera, event management, and industrials.

Ed Martenson

Mary Hunter, Chair

Jack Moran (’13), William DeMeritt (’12), Michael Place (’12), Molly Bernard (’13), Monique Barbee (’13), and Paul Pryce (’13) in Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Yale School of Drama, 2012.

THEATER MANAGEMENT FACULTY: Deborah Berman, David Binder, Jeffrey Bledsoe, Ben Cameron, Joan Channick, Marion Koltun Dienstag, Patricia Egan, Jaan Elias, Laura Freebairn-Smith, Barry Grove, Andrew Hamingson, Barbara Hauptman, Mara Hazzard-Wallingford, Greg Kandel, Todd London, Susan Medak, Victoria Nolan, Robert Orchard, William J. Reynolds, Randall Rode, Rosalie Stemer, Anne Trites, Harry H. Weintraub, George C. White, Steven Wolff The Theater Management department prepares aspiring leaders and managers to create organizational environments increasingly favorable to the creation of theatre art and its presentation to appreciative audiences. The department provides students with the knowledge, skills, and values to enter the field at high levels of responsibility, to move quickly to leadership positions, and ultimately to advance the state of management practice and the art form itself. While focused primarily on theatre organizations, discussions incorporate other performing arts organizations, other nonprofits, and for-profit organizations to help identify the factors that make theatre organizations succeed. It is training in the practice, informed by up-to-date theoretical knowledge.

The department offers a joint-degree program with Yale School of Management, in which a student may earn both the MFA and MBA degrees in four years (rather than the five years that normally are required).

drama.yale.edu

Edward A. Martenson, Chair

Kyle Beltran, Clifton Duncan, Angela Lewis, and Oberon K.A. Adjepong in Good Goods by Christina Anderson (’11), Yale Repertory Theatre, 2012.

Joan Channick and Victoria Nolan

TECHNICAL DESIGN and PRODUCTION FACULTY: Chuck Adomanis, Alex Bagnall, Erich Bolton, John Boyd, Colin Buckhurst, Elisa Cardone, Brian Cookson, Alan Hendrickson, Robin Hirsch, Troy Jensen, David Johnson, Eugene Leitermann, Joshua Loar, Tom McAlister, Jennifer McClure, Neil Mulligan, Jonathan Reed, William J. Reynolds, David P. Schrader, Matthew T. Welander Contemporary theatre design and production practices are profoundly influenced by the technology and economics of our age. The diverse aesthetics and the increasingly complex electronic and mechanical components now being employed in the performing arts require professionals who can understand and apply these technologies to the achievement of artistic goals. The department’s sequence of required courses focuses on key principles of the physical and social sciences and their application to performing arts technology. Concurrently, each student pursues elective courses that lead to a concentration in Technical Direction, Production Management, Stage Machinery Design and Automation, or Theatre Planning and Consulting.

Bronislaw Sammler, Chair

Ben Sammler, center

DEGREES and CERTIFICATES Master of Fine Arts Acting, Design, Sound Design, Directing, Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism, Playwriting, Stage Management, Technical Design and Production, Theater Management The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree is conferred on students holding a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college who complete with distinction any of the programs of study outlined and who exhibit excellence in their professional practice. Three years in residence are required.

Doctor of Fine Arts The Doctor of Fine Arts (DFA) degree is conferred on students who hold the MFA degree in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism and who have completed the MFA qualifying comprehensive examinations and have written a dissertation of distinction whose subject has been approved by the DFA committee.

Certificate in Drama Acting, Design, Sound Design, Directing, Playwriting, Stage Management, Technical Design and Production The Certificate in Drama is conferred on students who do not hold an undergraduate degree from an accredited college, but who complete with distinction the three-year program.

Technical Internship Certificate The Technical Internship Certificate is awarded to students seeking to become professional shop carpenters, sound engineers, projection engineers, properties masters, costumers, scenic artists, or master electricians who complete with distinction the one-year internship program.

NON-DEGREE PROGRAMS Special Research Fellow A limited number of scholars are admitted to Yale School of Drama as one-year special research fellows. These fellows are usually professionals in the field of theatre from abroad who wish to pursue research and audit one or two courses a term within the School of Drama. There is no fellow status affiliated with the Acting department.

Special Student Some students are admitted to Yale School of Drama as one-year special students in the areas of Design, Sound Design, Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism, Technical Design and Production, or Theater Management. These students must be in residence on a full-time basis and are not eligible for a degree or certificate.

Jillian Taylor (’12), Chris Henry (’12), and Carmen Zilles (’13) in The Seagull by Anton Chekhov, Yale School of Drama, 2012.

drama.yale.edu

FINANCIAL AID POLICY Yale’s financial aid policy has been designed to ensure that, within the School’s resources, all qualified students with financial need will have the opportunity to attend Yale. For that reason, financial aid at the School of Drama is awarded on the basis of financial need. A small portion of our students have the ability to pay the full costs of their education.

Students with financial need receive financial aid awards consisting of a combination of work-study employment, educational loans, and Yale scholarship.

The vast majority of School of Drama students on financial aid receive full tuition scholarships, living stipends, work-study employment, and in their first year only are expected to take up to $6,000 in educational loans. All students on financial aid are expected to contribute a minimum of $2,000 towards their educational and living expenses each year.

A typical student’s three-year program is financed as follows:

educational loans student contribution

5% 11%

work-study

7% 62%

living stipends

tuition scholarship

15%

Applicants offered admission are typically notified of their Financial Aid award at the time of their acceptance.

TUITION and GENERAL EXPENSES 2012-2013 Tuition and fees * Books and supplies (estimated) Living expenses (estimated) Estimated Total Costs

$26,250 $500 - $2,600 $15,500 $42,250 - $44,350

* Tuition for Technical Interns and Special Research Fellows is $13,125.

Tuition for DFA candidates in residence is $1,000. DFA candidates in residence receive financial aid covering tuition and health care.

$15,250

Apply online drama.yale.edu CONTACT US

Visitor Days

Maria Leveton Registrar/Admissions Administrator Phone (203) 432-1507 Fax (203) 432-9668 ysd.admissions@yale.edu

November 2, 2012 & December 7, 2012

Susan Rochette Financial Aid Officer Phone (203) 432-1540 Fax (203) 436-8195 ysd.finaid@yale.edu U.S. POSTAL SERVICE P.O. Box 208325 New Haven, CT 06520-8325 EXPRESS/COURIER SERVICES 149 York Street New Haven, CT 06511

Optional Visitor Days offer prospective students the opportunity to meet the Dean, talk with faculty and students, see a production, and tour the campus. Capacity is limited. Register online at drama.yale.edu.

APPLICATION DEADLINES January 3, 2013 Acting, Directing, Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism, Playwriting February 1, 2013 Design, Sound Design, Stage Management, Technical Design and Production, Theater Management, Technical Internship Certificate and Special Research Fellow Complete application requirements, including letters of recommendation, transcripts, and other materials; Design department portfolio requirements and review procedures; Acting department audition dates; and interview policies for other departments are available online at drama.yale.edu.

Admission to Yale School of Drama is only for full-time graduate study beginning in the fall term. There is no rolling admission. There is no summer session. Transfer or part-time students are not accepted.

The School of Drama Admissions Committee carefully evaluates all applications, and admission decisions are typically determined on or before April 1.

FINANCIAL AID DEADLINES U.S. CITIZENS/PERMANENT RESIDENTS February 15, 2013 File a 2013-2014 Free Application for Federal Student Aid at fafsa.ed.gov; school code: 001426.

File a 2013-2014 Need Access Application at needaccess.org.

April 1, 2013 A signed copy of the applicant’s federal tax return, including copies of all W-2’s and schedules, must be mailed to the School of Drama’s Financial Aid Office.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS February 15, 2013 File a 2013-2014 Need Access Application at needaccess.org.

Mail the International Student Certification of Finances, which can be printed from the School of Drama’s online financial page, at drama.yale.edu.

Both forms are essential for establishing eligibility for student employment, loan, and Yale scholarship.

April 1, 2013 Signed copies of the applicant’s tax documents and income statements (U.S. and home country) must be submitted to the Financial Aid Office.

Collaboration We treasure the ethical and animating exchange of ideas and spirit with each other, as well as with the audience, the field, and the world.

Community

We champion the unique voice of each artist and strive for a collective vision of our goals; working in balance, we prize the contributions and accomplishments of the individual and of the team.

Artistry We nurture imagination and court inspiration through mastery of skills and techniques, to create fluent, authentic, original storytelling that illuminates the complexity of the human spirit and questions accepted wisdom.

Professionalism High aspirations and profound dedication fuel our conservatory training and practice: we pursue excellence.

Diversity

We wrestle with the most compelling issues of our time, to derive new understanding for the advancement of the human condition. Therefore, we foster curiosity, invention, bravery, and humor; we also risk and learn from failure in order to promote practical innovation and personal revelation as lifelong habits.

We j oy fully embrace the differences that enrich our society and enhance our ar tistry, as a means to approach and comprehend our humanity.

Discovery

front cover: adina verson (‘12) in cymbeline by william shakespeare, yale school of drama, 2011. photos by Tory Grace Burnside Clapp, marguerite elliott, T. Charles Erickson, Ethan Heard, Joan Marcus, carol rosegg, and Yi Zhao.