MFA Acting
The MFA Acting program is designed to be completed in two years. The coursework and production requirements span 45 classes (120 credit hours) over six quarters (fall, winter and spring). There is no December Term/Graduate Intersession for The Theatre School.
First Year
Fall Quarter 2024
PRF 511 - GRADUATE ACTING I: Truth in Action
PRF 531 - GRADUATE VOICE I: Breath, Impulse, & Channel
PRF 524 - GRADUATE MOVEMENT I: Patterns & Contact
PRF 520 - GRADUATE SPEECH I: Vowels & Consonants
PRF 521 - GRADUATE MOVEMENT I: Yoga for Actors
PRF 551 - MFA 1 IMPROVISATION 1
PRF 571 - MFA 1 WORKSHOP
THE 601 - GRADUATE SEMINAR I: Theatre – Now/Then
Winter Quarter 2025
PRF 512 - GRADUATE ACTING I: Scene Study
PRF 532 - GRADUATE VOICE I: Resonance & Play
PRF 530 - GRADUATE SPEECH I: Phonetics & Idiolect
PRF 525 - GRADUATE MOVEMENT I: Awareness, Radiance
PRF 552 - MFA 1 IMPROVISATION 2
PRF 572 - MFA 1 WORKSHOP: Makeup and Monologues
PRF 562 - REHEARSAL & PERFORMANCE I : Casting Pool
Spring Quarter 2025
PRF 513 - GRADUATE ACTING I: Ensemble
PRF 533 - GRADUATE VOICE I: High Stakes Full Expression
PRF 540 - GRADUATE SPEECH I: Dialects
PRF 523 - GRADUATE MOVEMENT I: Laban and MPA
PRF 620 - GRADUATE MOVEMENT I: Neutral & Corporeal
PRF 588 - GRADUATE ON-CAMERA I: Film (with FILM488)
PRF 563 - REHEARSAL & PERFORMANCE I: Casting Pool
Second Year
Fall Quarter 2024
PRF 611 - GRADUATE ACTING II: Shakespeare
PRF 621 - GRADUATE MOVEMENT II: World of the Play
PRF 580 - GRADUATE MOVEMENT II: Unarmed Combat for Stage and Screen
PRF 630 - GRADUATE SPEECH II: Voicing Shakespeare
PRF 631 - GRADUATE VOICE II: Advanced Dialects
PRF 671 - GRADUATE ACTING II: Auditioning for the Camera
PRF 714 – GRADUATE ACTING II: Auditioning for Theater
PRF 661 - REHEARSAL & PERFORMANCE II: Casting Pool
Winter Quarter 2025
PRF 716 - GRADUATE ACTING II: Graduate Showcase
PRF 622 - GRADUATE MOVEMENT II: Mask/Whole Body
PRF 624 - GRADUATE MOVEMENT II: Weapons & Mo-Cap
PRF 633 - GRADUATE SPEECH II: Voice-over
PRF 720 - GRADUATE ON-CAMERA II: Audition for Camera
PRF 672 - MFA WORKSHOP II: Business and Company Creation
PRF 662 - REHEARSAL & PERFORMANCE II: Casting Pool
Spring Quarter 2025
PRF 612 - GRADUATE ACTING II: Activism & Community
PRF 688 - GRADUATE ON-CAMERA: Acting for Camera II
PRF 623 - GRADUATE MOVEMENT II: Red Nose/Flying
PRF 632 - GRADUATE VOICE II: Extended Voice
PRF 663 - REHEARSAL & PERFORMANCE: Wrights of Spring
Elective Courses:
PRF 59F/PRF 597 - Advanced Combat
PRF 595 - Solo Performance
PRF 423- African Dance
PRF 431/432/433 - Singing for the Actor
THE 426 - Movement to Music
PRF 599 - Graduate Independent Study
PRF 715 - Independent Graduate Project
Study Abroad (option and additional cost): The Greece Summer Acting Intensive, held on the island of Hydra, provides comprehensive training in performance, dramaturgy, storytelling, movement arts, and voice. Students immerse themselves in both ancient and contemporary Greek culture while contending with the island's natural environment. The program includes classes, workshops, and rehearsals, with a field trip to Mycenae and a performance at Epidaurus. Students present their ensemble-created play to local audiences and end the program with tours of Athens, including the Acropolis and Delphi, connecting deeply with the origins of Western theatre. Watch a video about this program here!