Yale School of Drama 2014-2015 Admissions Brochure

apply for fall 2014

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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 needbased financial aid policy minimizes students’ educational debt: • all students are admitted without regard to their ability to pay; • 95% 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, amounting to the equivalent of 130% of tuition over three years, including 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

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

Merlin Huff (’14) and Elia Monte-Brown (’14) in Vieux Carré by Tennessee Williams, Yale School of Drama, 2012.

ACTING FACULTY: Christopher Bayes, James Bundy, Gwen Ellison, Erica Fae, Jane Guyer Fujita, Peter Francis James, Lori Leshner, Joan MacIntosh, Beth McGuire, Ellen Novack, Annie Piper, Michael Rossmy, Billy Serow, Vicki Shaghoian, Rick Sordelet, Tim Vasen, Justine Williams, 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.

Joshua Bermudez (’13) in The Two Gentlemen of Verona

by William Shakespeare, Yale School of Drama, 2013.

Ron Van Lieu

Ron Van Lieu, Chair

Mariko Nakasone (’14) and Jabari Brisport (’14) in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Yale School of Drama, 2013.

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Winston Duke (’13) in All Which Way and That, created by Christopher Bayes (faculty) and the Company, Yale School of Drama, 2013.

Mickey Theis (’14), Robert David Grant (’13), Paul Giamatti (’94), and Austin Durant (’10) in Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Yale Repertory Theatre, 2013.

Liz Diamond

DIRECTING FACULTY: May Adrales, Christopher Alden, David Chambers, 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

rick sordelet, center

Brian Wiles (’12) and Marin Ireland in Marie Antoinette by David Adjmi, Yale Repertory Theatre, 2012.

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

Wendall K. Harrington

The Design department seeks 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 Jane Greenwood

PREMA CRUZ (‘14), Mitchell Winter (’14), Carmen zilles (‘13, center in portrait), and Eric Sirakian (YC ’15), in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Yale School of Drama, 2013.

stephen strawbridge, michael yeargan

Marissa Neitling (’13), Ashton Heyl (’14), and Carly Zien (’14) in Iphigenia Among the Stars, adapted from Euripides by Benjamin Fainstein (’13), Yale School of Drama, 2012.

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Fred Arsenault and Euan Morton in Stones in His Pockets

by Marie Jones, Yale Repertory Theatre, 2013.

SOUND DESIGN FACULTY: Nick Lloyd, Sten Severson, 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.

Catherine Chiocchi, Monique Bernadette Barbee (’13), and Marissa Neitling (’13) in Sunday in the Park with George, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by James Lapine, Yale School of Drama, 2012.

David Budries, Chair

The cast of The Servant of Two Masters

by Carlo Goldoni, Yale Repertory Theatre, 2010.

Matthew Suttor

David Budries

Celeste Arias (’15) and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (’15) in Sagittarius Ponderosa by MJ Kaufman (’13), Carlotta Festival of New Plays, 2013.

Mary Beth Fisher and Jefferson Mays in Dear Elizabeth

by Sarah Ruhl (FACULTY), Yale Repertory Theatre, 2012.

DRAMATURGY and DRAMATIC CRITICISM FACULTY: Elinor Fuchs, 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

Catherine Sheehy

Gabe Levey (’14), Prema Cruz (’14), andElia Monte-Brown (’14) in Mexico Play (A Farmer’s Almanac) by Kate Tarker (’14), Yale School of Drama, 2012.

Aaron Luis Profumo (’15) and Chasten Harmon (’15) in Lottie in the Late Afternoon by Amelia Roper (’13), Carlotta Festival of New Plays, 2013.

PLAYWRITING FACULTY: Anne Erbe, Jennifer Kiger, Michael Korie, Lynn Nottage, Suzan-Lori Parks, 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

Bill Camp and Babs Olusanmokun in In a Year with 13 Moons, film and screenplay by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, adapted for the stage by Bill Camp and Robert Woodruff (FACULTY), Yale Repertory Theatre, 2013.

Jeanie O’Hare

ATO Blankson-Wood (‘15) and Tom Pecinka (‘15) in House Beast By Justin Taylor (‘13), Carlotta Festival of New Plays, 2013.

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.

Mary Hunter, Chair Ed Martenson

Ceci Fernandez (’14) in Iphigenia Among the Stars, adapted from Euripides by Benjamin Fainstein (’13), 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

The company of Sunday in the Park with George, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by James Lapine, Yale School of Drama, 2012.

Joan Channick and Victoria Nolan

TECHNICAL DESIGN and PRODUCTION FACULTY: Chuck Adomanis, Michael Backhaus, Alex Bagnall, Todd Berling, Erich Bolton, John Boyd, Elisa Cardone, Brian Cookson, Damian Doria, Alan Hendrickson, Robin Hirsch, David Johnson, Eugene Leitermann, 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 Production Management, Technical Direction, 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 scenic carpenters, sound engineers, projection engineers, properties masters, scenic artists, costumers, or master electricians who complete with distinction the one-year internship program of the Technical Design and Production department.

Brenda Meaney (’13) and Timothy Hassler (’13) in Cloud Nine

by Caryl Churchill, Yale School of Drama, 2013.

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.

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 and living expenses, and others who have demonstrated need can bear substantial costs. All students on financial aid are expected to contribute a minimum of $2,000 towards their educational and living expenses each year. Student contributions vary based on income, assets, and marital status.

Students with need demonstrated through documentation 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 and, in addition, living stipends. The School expects first year students only to take up to $6,000 in educational loans.

For a sample unmarried student with few assets and little income, the threeyear program is financed as follows: educational loans student contribution

5% 11%

work-study

7% 62% living stipends

tuition scholarship

15%

Financial aid figures are for 2013-2014 and may change in future years.

Applicants offered admission are typically notified of their Financial Aid award at the time of their acceptance; students who meet the Financial Aid application deadline of February 15 (for all programs) will receive this important information soonest. If you have questions about your specific circumstances, please call Susan Rochette at (203) 432-1540.

TUITION and GENERAL EXPENSES 2013-2014 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 1, 2013 & December 13, 2013

Susan Rochette Financial Aid Officer Phone (203) 432-1540 Fax (203) 436-8195 ysd.finaid@yale.edu

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 2, 2014 Acting, Directing, Playwriting January 15, 2014 Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism February 1, 2014

U.S. POSTAL SERVICE P.O. Box 208325 New Haven, CT 06520-8325 EXPRESS/COURIER SERVICES 149 York Street New Haven, CT 06511

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, 2014 File a 2014-2015 Free Application for Federal Student Aid at fafsa.ed.gov; school code: 001426.

File a 2014-2015 Need Access Application at needaccess.org.

April 1, 2014 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, 2014 File a 2014-2015 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, 2014 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.

front cover: Molly Bernard (’13, center) with Aaron Bartz (‘15) and Carly Zien (‘14) in King Richard 2 by William Shakespeare, Yale School of Drama, 2013.

Photos by Christopher Ash, T. Charles Erickson, Joan Marcus, Richard Termine, Masha Tsimring, and Solomon Weisbard.

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