Mar 29, 2024  
Ohio University Graduate Catalog 2013-2015 
    
Ohio University Graduate Catalog 2013-2015 [Archived Catalog]

Acting


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Program Overview: The Professional Actor Training Program at Ohio University prepares advanced students for careers as professional actors. Led by a faculty of working theater practitioners, the School of Theater recruits a class once every three years into a rigorous, three-year M.F.A. conservatory program. Emphasis is placed on close mentoring and a commitment to collaborative training and individual student growth. The training is dedicated to producing well-rounded, skillful, and self-motivated creative actor/artists. To meet the demands of the 21st century, actors must have a broad working knowledge of many styles and be adept at working in any medium. To accomplish this they must have a clear approach to the craft of acting. We offer a detailed progression in acting, voice and movement, the essential components of the three-year program. Additional coursework may include text analysis, dramatic literature, theater history, special areas of voice and movement, singing, audition technique, and film and television technique.   The first year of training is the sequential delivery of a strong foundational acting technique. The emphasis is on the authentic use of self, the reality of doing, the awakening of the emotional life, and the collaborative process. The second year of training focuses on creating complex characters through the application of the foundation work to scenes, exercises and performance. The third year more fully integrates the classical repertoire, encompassing a wide range of period style work, from Shakespeare and the Greeks through Chekhov and Coward. Third year students will also be exposed to industry professionals and hone their audition technique and business acumen in classroom and professional settings. The first semester is dedicated to assessing the student’s individual needs. In succeeding semesters, performance opportunities abound. Every actor performs a minimum of one role per semester, either in the School of Theater’s main stage offerings or in its studio or laboratory productions. Actors also work in the development and production of new plays, both in workshop and in the yearly Playwright’s Festival, in collaboration with the students in the MFA Playwriting Program. Special emphasis is placed on the student’s ability to synthesize the work of the studio with the practical realities of his or her casting. Most actors will be offered the opportunity to be involved in a full summer of performance activities at the Monomoy Theatre on Cape Cod. Operated in conjunction with the Ohio University School of Theater, Monomoy has been one of the most enduring and popular attractions on the Cape for more than 50 years, providing a memorable experience for students and public alike. There is continual communication among the performance faculty members aimed at monitoring and advancing the training of each student. Semester evaluations inform students of their progress and outline specific strengths and weaknesses. Students demonstrating consistent growth are invited by the faculty to continue in the succeeding year of training.

Admissions Policy: Admission to the program is by interview and audition, primarily in New York and Chicago at the annual U/RTA unified audition sites. On campus auditions can be arranged in a recruiting year. The PATP is open to a limited number of talented, mature, and motivated students. The GRE is not required for this program.

Change Policy: Admission to the program is by interview and audition, primarily in New York and Chicago at the annual U/RTA unified audition sites. On campus auditions can be arranged in a recruiting year. The PATP is open to a limited number of talented, mature, and motivated students. 

Transfer Policy: Admission to the program is by interview and audition, primarily in New York and Chicago at the annual U/RTA unified audition sites. On campus auditions can be arranged in a recruiting year. The PATP is open to a limited number of talented, mature, and motivated students. 

Opportunities: Graduating actors have the skill set necessary to craft vivid and specific performances in any medium. They are prepared with the business acumen and audition skills that will ready them to complete for professional acting work. Students will have had ample exposure to industry professionals that will aid them in bridging their graduate acting training to a career as an actor. Actors interested in pursuing a higher education teaching career in the field of actor training will have had ample experience in the classroom. 

Total 90 semester credit hours required with 72 credit hours required in Major Area Studies, 9 credit hours in Supportive Theater and Performance Studies, 9 credits of electives.

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