Theater Arts Master of Fine Arts Acting

The Program

           

The M.F.A. Acting program offers an integrated and challenging course of study for serious students who aspire to careers as professional actors.   The program is dedicated to the proposition that acting is a creative art, and true excellence in its practice may be obtained only through mastry of technical craft.  A three-year, full-time residency is required.

Personal attention is assured, as classes are limited in size; each student’s progress is tracked by a faculty of outstanding master teachers and professional artists with extensive professional reputations.  Acting, voice, speech and movement constitute the program’s integrated core, and these disciplines are interwoven each semester to form the foundation of the course of study.

The program is dedicated to developing the total actor who will be equipped to cope with the demands of the contemporary stage and have the requisite skills to work with the classical repertory, and also with the rigorous demands of television and film.

After the first semester, M.F.A. actors perform extensively in 15 to 18 Jameson Project and fully-produced Rutgers Theater Company productions.

A strong emphasis is placed upon career preparation.  Students who have made sufficient progress, and who have been recommended by faculty, can be presented in the acting showcases.  All showcases are held at the end of the third year – in both New York City and Los Angeles – for agents, managers and casting directors.  Classes in auditioning receive continuous feedback from New York-based casting professionals.  Every year upon graduating, a majority of each class is signed by major agencies and managers.

Audition Requirements

  • If you are planning to audition at the Rutgers New Brunswick campus, we suggest you submit your application to Rutgers University prior to scheduling an audition.  After you do so, you will receive a letter from the Theater Arts Department with information on how to schedule your audition at the Rutgers campus or on our National Audition Tour.
  • There is a $75.00 non-refundable talent assessment fee for all acting applicants.  (This fee is in addition to the university’s standard application fee.)
  • Audition:  Actors should present two monologues, one classical and one contemporary.  They should be memorized.  The combined total of both monologues may not exceed 4 minutes.
  • Resume and a headshot
  • For all who audition: please note that in order for a decision to be rendered, you must have completed an application to the Graduate Acting program. You can do so online at http://gradstudy.rutgers.edu.

University Application Deadline

          

Apply online at http://gradstudy.rutgers.edu by March 1, 2008*

Audition Dates

There is a $75.00 non-refundable talent assessment fee made payable by check, cash or money order.  Payments should be made to Rutgers University.   (This fee is in addition to the university’s standard application fee and is due no later than the time of the appointment.)

Rutgers M.F.A. Acting National Audition Tour for Fall 2008 Admissions**


          

           New York City: January 29 & 30, 2008

           Location to be determined

           Chicago: February 4, 5, 6, and 7, 2008 (7th - morning only)
           Palmer House

           San Francisco: February 8, 9, and 10, 2008
           A.C.T. (American Conservatory Theater)

**walk-ins welcome

         

Auditions at Rutgers University New Brunswick Campus+      

         March 1, 2008 

+by appointment only                  

                                                         

*In order to make an audition appointment at the Rutgers campus, applications must be in no later than January 15, 2008