Theatre M.F.A.
Degree: Master of Fine Arts
https://www.towson.edu/cofac/departments/theatre/gradtheatre/
Program Director: Steven Satta
Phone: 410-704-5993
Email: ssatta@towson.edu
The Towson University's Master of Fine Arts in Theatre is a two-year, cohort program.
The MFA cultivates the self-generative artist through an interdisciplinary, process-oriented, collaborative experience. The program is dedicated to educating and invigorating world citizens of theatre who engage deeply in our local and global communities, and who wish to combine the life of an artist with the skills and sensibilities of entrepreneurs, educators and activists. It is for artists who cannot be content working in a single discipline or occupying a single "role" in the creative process.
The program emphasizes practice and community. Over the 24-month program students are constantly creating work which grows out of class exploration. Sometimes these are ensemble projects, but even on individual or solo projects, students work together to support each other. Learning and cultural exchange happens between students as fully as it does between students and faculty or guest artists.
Every student will engage with a diverse range of practical approaches and theoretical perspectives in order to help develop an individual aesthetic that is expressed through the creation of new work. In support of this, students also pursue serious scholarship and develop a firm grounding in the history of experimental performance in the United States and internationally.
Students are encouraged to explore interests and techniques which reach beyond the curriculum, through self-directed research, independent study with faculty, or through off-campus experiences such as workshops or apprenticeships. Past student explorations have included: Bunraku puppetry; translation of contemporary European drama; object theatre; integration of video with live performance; experiments in autobiographical performance; and community art projects.
Members of the full-time faculty at Towson University teach the majority of classes. However, this curriculum is augmented by seminars and workshops with distinguished visiting artists. Guest artists may facilitate a master class, lecture or demonstration as part of a required class, or work in a residency with the students of the program. Recent guests include Lee Breuer, Holly Hughes, Dan Hurlin, Kari Margolis, Sandglass Theatre, Rinde Eckert, Tim Miller, Joan Lipkin, Richard Armstrong and Double Edge Theatre.
The program culminates in a final project created and presented by each student. The final project can take many forms - performance, written work such as books and articles, pedagogical inquiries, etc. - and serves as a demonstration of the student’s personal aesthetic and vision that reflects the explorations and discoveries made during their time in the program. The emphasis is on process — not product.
Admission Requirements
Application deadlines and a full listing of materials required for admission can be found on the website.
Degree Requirements
The Master of Fine Arts in Theatre requires 60 units. Students will complete this requirement over the course of 24 months.
Curriculum
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | ||
| THEA 605 | PERFORMANCE: ENSEMBLE | 3 |
| THEA 670 | PERFORMANCE AND SOCIETY | 3 |
| THEA 760 | INTERNATIONAL THEORIES AND AESTHETICS | 3 |
| Design/Tech | ||
| THEA 608 | THEATRE DESIGN TECHNIQUES | 3 |
| THEA 610 | THEATRE SYSTEMS | 1 |
| Theory | ||
| THEA 601 | THEORIES OF THE AVANT-GARDE | 3 |
| THEA 602 | HISTORY OF EXPERIMENTAL PERFORMANCE | 3 |
| Writing | ||
| THEA 609 | TEXT CONSTRUCTION | 3 |
| Artist As Entrepreneur | ||
| THEA 607 | SELF-EMPOWERMENT IN THEATRE | 3 |
| Independent Study | ||
| THEA 680 | SPECIAL TOPICS | 3 |
| Synthesis | ||
| THEA 675 | SYNTHESIS I: FORMAL ELEMENTS | 3 |
| THEA 720 | SYNTHESIS II: DIRECTING | 3 |
| THEA 770 | SYNTHESIS III: WORKING WITH DESIGN IN PERFORMANCE | 3 |
| Thesis/Project | ||
| THEA 695 | INDEPENDENT PROJECT IN THEATRE (First year presentations) | 3 |
| THEA 780 | PROJECTS IN PROCESS | 3 |
| THEA 740 | GRADUATE PROJECT LABORATORY | 4 |
| THEA 750 | GRADUATE PROJECT AND PERFORMANCE | 4 |
| THEA 880 | MFA FINAL PROJECT | 9 |
| Total Units | 60 | |
A project proposal and portfolio review is required before registering for the final project.
Towson University reserves the right to change degree requirements for the M.F.A. Information on changes will be available on the Towson University M.F.A. in Theatre website or from the graduate program director.
In this program, students will:
- Develop and/or refine their own personal aesthetic as makers of theatre
- Expand their capacity to engage with and use the elements of theatre - design (costume, lighting, sound, etc.), text, performance, technology, etc. - in new and exciting ways
- Explore the intersection of theatre and other art forms/areas of academic study to create interdisciplinary work.
- Acquire techniques to create new work effectively in an ensemble, as a collaborator with other artists, or as an independent artist.
- Discover ways their art can speak to and/or grow out of work with specific communities.
- Demonstrate a firm grounding in the history of experimental performance and theories of the historical avant-garde, and articulate the relationship between these histories and theories, and their unique individual aesthetics.