Degree Program Offered: Master of Fine Arts

Chairperson, Department of Theater Arts:    Professor Israel Hicks

Director, Graduate Program in Acting:

  Professor William Esper

Director, Graduate Program in Design,

  Stage Management, and Costume Technology:

  Professor R. Michael Miller

Director, Graduate Program in Directing:

  Professor Amy Saltz

Director, Graduate Program in Playwriting:

  Professor Lee Blessing

The Department of Theater Arts at Mason Gross School of the Arts is dedicated to one purpose: developing professional artists.

Students entering MGSA's graduate program in theater arts concentrate on one of five major disciplines: acting, design, directing, playwriting, or stage management. The last area is fairly broad, as it includes costume technology.

Because theater is a collaborative art, all programs are coordinated carefully. Thus, students not only develop the skills needed to master their chosen disciplines, but also gain rich experience in working with the other disciplines.

Students with outstanding talent who are dedicated totally to their artistic development will find that each program gives them the training they need to make a genuine contribution to the professional theater.

The department's faculty members believe that significant contributions can be made only by artists who possess mastery of their craft and who have an inspiring artistic vision. Standards in each program are high. Each student is subject to faculty review at the end of every term and each must retain total faculty support to continue in the program.