Program Recognition
•Highly selective program admitting two candidates per year
•Three-year terminal MFA degree
•Faculty include Annie Baker, Alexandra Bassett, Kirk Lynn, KJ Sanchez and Patrick Shaw
Training
•Year One: generation and revision of new work through classroom workshops, public readings and developmental workshops
•Year Two: intensive workshops with acclaimed guest directors, dramaturgs and playwrights
•Year Three: production opportunities tailored to each script — among the most student-work productions of any program in the nation
•Recent guest residencies include Clubbed Thumb (New York), Contemporary Theatre Festival (West Virginia), New Harmony (Indiana), Orchard Project (New York), PlayPenn (Pennsylvania), Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Tofte Lake Center (Minnesota)
Performance & Productions
•UTNT (UT New Theatre) — annual showcase of new plays written and directed by Playwriting/Directing students
•Biennial Cohen New Works Festival features over 30 original student works
•Collaboration with Michener Center for Writers
Notable Guest Dramaturgs
•Jesse Alick (The Public Theater)
•Jeremy Cohen (The Playwrights' Center)
•Adam Greenfield (Playwrights Horizons)
•Joy Meads (Center Theatre Group)
•Tanya Palmer (The Goodman)
Degree Flexibility
•Coursework selectable from directing, dramaturgy, design, critical theory, history, performance ethnography and movement
•Electives outside the department recommended, including Michener Center for Writers, film, television and literature
•Pedagogy training for teaching undergraduate and graduate courses
