The Juilliard School to Offer Master of Fine Arts in Drama Beginning Fall 2012

The Juilliard School will offer its first Master of Fine Arts in Drama with classes beginning in the Fall of 2012, a watershed moment in the Drama Division's forty-four year history. Applications are now being accepted for fall admission. The application deadline is December 1 for auditions in January and February 2012. For detailed information, please visit Juilliard's website at www.juilliard.edu/dramaMFAinfo.

Apply online at www.juilliard.edu/apply.

According to Juilliard President Joseph W. Polisi, "Our recent authorization to grant an M.F.A. degree in Drama at Juilliard allows the School to address a new level of artistic and educational endeavors in preparing the next generation of actors to take their place in the profession. Juilliard has always prided itself on providing the highest level in instruction for the young artists who elect to study at the School. Through the new M.F.A. program we can now include a graduate degree for the most talented student artists who will intensively explore the many directions that need to be mastered in the world of 21st Century Theater."

Each year, 8-10 graduate students will be accepted into this highly competitive four-year program. The M.F.A. in Drama will provide the tools necessary to meet the demands of an ever-evolving performing arts career and prepare young artists to become versatile and dynamic leaders in their field.

Drama Division alumna Laura Linney said, "I am so proud that Juilliard is now offering an M.F.A. for their drama students. The M.F.A. option will be deeply appreciated by the students who will qualify for the degree, and has been a missing piece to the drama program that now feels whole. The Drama Division at Juilliard has always been one of the leading drama conservatory programs in the world, and it is only appropriate that its post-graduate students can now leave the program holding a richly deserved M.F.A."

The final year of training is dedicated to performance and a host of transitional opportunities that create a bridge to the profession. Called the Professional Studio, the final year gives students an outstanding opportunity to link their training directly to the profession via unparalleled access to New York City's vibrant theater community. Students will interact with seasoned members of the New York theater participating in professional classes and workshops that explore a variety of practical aspects of the business - casting, auditioning, on-camera work and more.
The Richard Rodgers Director of the Juilliard Drama Division, James Houghton, adds, "The creation of the Master of Fine Arts in Drama is an exciting and substantial threshold moment for the Drama Division and our commitment to providing the finest education for young artists. We are absolutely thrilled and believe it will, without question, ignite new possibilities and only add to an already bright future for the Drama Division."

The new Juilliard Drama Division Master of Fine Arts in Drama was approved by the New York State Department of Education in June 2011.

The Juilliard Drama Division was co-founded in 1968 by John Houseman and Michel St. Denis, and is an intensive four-year conservatory program. In its 44-year history, the Drama Division has developed the talents of some of our most distinguished artists of stage and screen working across the country and internationally, acting, directing, writing, and teaching. Under the current leadership of the Richard Rodgers Director of the Drama Division, James Houghton, the Juilliard Drama Division continues to uphold the best traditions of classical training and repertory while making the creation of new work one of the cornerstones of the program.
The Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program, created in 1993, has been led by Marsha Norman and Christopher Durang since 1994. Other esteemed playwrights who have led Juilliard's up-and-coming writers include John Guare and Terrence McNally, who co-created the program with Drama Division director Michael Kahn, as well as Jon Robin Baitz and Romulus Linney. The program is now in its 18th season and offers one-year, tuition-free, graduate-level fellowships to four new writers each year. Alumni of the program include: David Lindsay-Abaire, who received the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Rabbit Hole in 2007 and David Auburn, who received the Pulitzer Prize for Proof in 2001. Other notable alumni recognition includes Guggenheim Fellow, Steinberg Playwright and Whiting Writers' Award winner Bathsheba Doran; Olivier Award and Susan Smith Blackburn Award recipient Katori Hall; Obie Award winner Sam Hunter; Helen Merrill and Lilly Awards winner Deborah Zoe Laufer; and Pulitzer Prize finalist and recipient of the Benjamin H. Danks Award in Drama from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Adam Rapp.