加州州立大学长滩分校

The Graduate Program in Acting is a two-year track for candidates with extensive experience and professional credits who wish to pursue a teaching career at the university level.

The mission of the MFA in Theatre Arts (Option in Acting) is to mentor seasoned professional actors, directors, and choreographers who after successful careers in the business wish to focus on teaching performance-related subjects (Acting, Voice & Speech, Movement, Directing) at a university.

This intensive two-year degree provides the candidate with a set of core classes centered around a variety of acting techniques and theories, within a flexible pedagogical laboratory that allows for exploration in other areas of interest.

The student is afforded ample opportunity to hone both their performance and teaching skills, as they attain the terminal Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in order to win employment in their chosen specialization.

The curriculum is structured around a first year of core classes in Acting, Voice & Speech, Movement and pedagogy theory. Additional classes include Dramaturgy, Theory and Practice of Contemporary Theatre, and Aesthetic Theory and Conceptualization. The second year focuses on the individual’s desired area of teaching specialization through a more flexible and idiosyncratic curriculum.

Actor training covers a variety of approaches to teaching and performance theory, and includes, but is not limited to: the Psycho-Physical work of Michael Chekhov, the fundamentals of Stanislavski’s system, Psychological Realism, Non-Linear Theatre, Ensemble Playing in Repertory, Improvisation, and other technique courses. Voice training is grounded in the work of Catherine Fitzmaurice while the Speech component is centered around the Knight/Thompson approach. Training covers enrichment and expansion of individual vocal skills, use of dialects and accents, and exploration of microphone techniques for radio, film, and voice-over work.

The flexible curriculum allows students to study with many different teachers and directors and to experience differing approaches and techniques in order to enrich their teaching and performance skills. In addition, each graduate student has the opportunity to teach on the undergraduate level. A MFA Thesis is required and focuses on the candidate’s areas of interest and expertise.

A committee will review the student's work no later than the end of his/her first year in residence to judge whether the student should continue in the program. In order to obtain full classified status, a committee from the Theatre Arts graduate faculty will evaluate academic progress, individual skill development, and review performance at the end of the student's first full year in residence.

The MFA degree in Theatre Arts is a terminal degree offering the professional training deemed necessary by major theatre arts schools in the United States for university and college teaching positions as well as professional employment as an actor.

The MFA curriculum emphasizes full-time professionally oriented study. It requires two years of full-time graduate study and the completion of sixty semester credit hours. In addition to academic and professional studies, internships under professional conditions with California Repertory Company are an integral part of the program.