The Department of Drama offers an M.F.A. in Drama, with emphases in Acting, Directing, Design, Music Direction, or Stage Management.

Acting

The Acting faculty is devoted to the development of working professional actors who possess the skills, insight, intelligence, creativity, and vision to create dramatic performance of today and of the future. UCI has proven itself notably successful in training working professionals with alumni who perform on stages around the country, on and off Broadway, in regional theatres, or in feature films and television series. Many graduates of the program hold faculty positions in university theatre.

Directing

Note: This program is not currently admitting students. Contact the Department for more information.

The Directing program is dedicated to the idea that theatre should challenge and expand the mind, move the soul, and delight the spirit. The Directing program is a three-year course of study. The program’s first year focuses on directing realistic “character driven” work, along with script analysis and collaboration skills. In the second year, the student director focuses on “language driven” plays, the components of production, and communication in collaboration. The third year centers on original and devised work as well as self-produced projects. Each student is expected to direct every quarter – in the classroom, with student directed projects, and/or in production. In addition, each student will be engaged in full-length plays in the second year. During their course of study, each student will receive, at a minimum, one fully produced show in the main season. One of these will be the student’s thesis production in their third year.

Design

The Design program provides a challenging and creative environment for the curious and resourceful design student. Students in this program will be exceptionally well-suited to a career in the theatre and related entertainment arts. Incoming students specialize in a specific discipline: sound design, lighting design, costume design, or scenic/projection design. Study of that specific discipline is at the heart of the student's education. Students will also develop a solid working knowledge of the basic principles and procedures of the other disciplines in order to foster more productive collaboration. In addition, the design curriculum includes the study of theatre history, art history, and dramatic literature. Instruction is focused on the growth of each student's individual design abilities. Students will work in a shared studio space, creating an atmosphere of constructive critique and support. Beyond the regular course load, additional learning opportunities can occur during weekly round tables, design tutorials, masterclasses, and post-performance critiques. The Design program provides professional training that respects our theatrical heritage and the traditional skills of a designer. In addition, a strong emphasis is placed on new technologies and how they enhance contemporary design practices. Training on high-end computers and equipment using the latest software is required in all design disciplines, preparing students for a seamless transition into the professional world.

Music Direction

The Music Direction program prepares artists for a professional life in the theatre as musical directors. Students work with faculty members and other professionals in the Musical Theatre field, receiving instruction and mentoring in conducting, vocal pedagogy, music preparation, script and score analysis, orchestration and arranging keyboard proficiency, and production design. Students also gain valuable first-hand experience from regional production opportunities and through collaboration with the New York Satellite Program in New York City. Students work on musical productions each quarter while being closely mentored by the department’s Music Theatre and associated faculty.

Stage Management

Normally three years of residence is required. Each candidate must enroll for three courses each quarter for nine quarters, exclusive of summer sessions.

The normative time to degree for students in the M.F.A. program is three years. Residence is required. The maximum time to degree can be extended to four years only through petition to the Head of the Program for extenuating circumstances. Students who do not complete the degree in four years will be recommended for academic disqualification.

During the first year of residence each candidate will prepare, for credit, two graduate projects, in acting, directing, design, music direction, stage management, theatrical research, or a combination of two of these. Satisfactory completion of these projects, as determined by the faculty, is prerequisite to entering the second year of the program.

The required thesis normally consists of directing, designing, musically directing, stage managing, or playing a principal role in a major production, and collecting in essay form the evidences of research, analysis, and judgments which formed a part of the production experience.

Each graduate student is expected to participate in productions throughout residence at UCI.

Specific course requirements must be satisfied in one of the following five areas:

Acting Requirements

Design Requirements

Directing Requirements

Note: This program is not currently admitting students. Contact the Department for more information.

Music Direction Requirements

Stage Management Requirements

Graduates of our MFA programs have gone on to successful careers in theatre/film/entertainment, in education, and in other business ventures. The majority of our MFA alumni work full-time in the area in which they were trained, or in an adjacent/expanded field.

The working market for actors continues to expand and includes traditional and non-traditional areas of employment. Alumni of the MFA Graduate Acting program have collectively received awards and nominations from the Tonys, Emmys, Grammys, Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, Helen Hayes, and more. They have a strong track record working in regional theater all over the country, reimagining classic roles and originating roles in new productions. Graduates of the program work on major TV series, and appear in a wide array of Hollywood films from Independents to Blockbusters. Several acting MFA alumni have also moved into permanent/tenure track teaching positions at a range of educational institutions.

MFA Design alumni have won Emmy Awards, Thea Awards, and regional theatre awards across the country. They are in high demand at major American theatres, such as the Center Theater Group, South Coast Repertory, Houston Ballet, Oregon Shakespeare, Utah Shakespeare, the Alley Theater, Berkeley Repertory, the Los Angeles Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Geffen Playhouse, and on- and off-Broadway. They have also found success in themed entertainment, such as Disney Resorts and Universal Studios, rock and roll events such as Coachella, and in streaming, film and television projects in Los Angeles and New York. Some have gone on to found companies such as Ears Up Sound Design and Wireless Mic Belts, while others are in tenured teaching positions in Theater Departments across the country.

Alumni of the Directing MFA have taken professional leadership positions across the country in such roles as Producing Director at Art House Productions, Artistic Directors of Stockton Civic Theater, Passage Theater Company and Open Wings, as well as Associate Artistic Directors at the New Swan, Silco Theater, Macha Public Works, Santa Clarita Shakespeare and Dallas Theater Center. They have been hired in teaching positions at College of Marin, Hartwell College, and Gavilan College.  They have also worked freelance in theaters nationwide and have won Ovation Awards, Drama League Awards, and the Encore Producer’s Award for their work. Directing alumni hire UCI graduates as actors, stage managers and designers on a regular basis. 

Music Direction alumni are working at major US theatres including South Coast Rep, Roundabout Theatre Co., Lincoln Center, Berkeley Playhouse, on Broadway and National Tours, and have positions as tenure-stream and adjunct professors at US universities.

Stage Management alumni have built successful careers at leading organizations, including Center Theatre Group, Blue Man Group, Cirque du Soleil, Disney, the LA Philharmonic, Dallas Theater Center, Alliance Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Roundabout Theatre Company, Lincoln Center, and on Broadway and National Tours. Many also serve as tenure-track or adjunct faculty at universities across the U.S., while others apply their leadership and organizational skills in business management and operations roles.