The 2. 5 Best Drama Schools for a Masters in Fine Arts. This story first appeared in the June 5 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. This year, THR is lifting its annual ranking of the best drama schools to a higher level. The magazine is concentrating on the best places to get a postgraduate education (with one- to three- year programs) and for the first time is expanding the polling process to include not just casting directors but members of the SAG Foundation and the schools themselves (asking them to rank their competition) as well as other experts. The results are appropriately dramatic, with surprising additions to the list — including one top school located in a former Buick dealership and another on a buffalo ranch. Yale School of Drama. New Haven, Conn. Two words: Meryl and Streep. And if they weren't enough: Angela Bassett, Sigourney Weaver, Frances Mc. Dormand, Patricia Clarkson, Paul Giamatti . No other school offers as many production opportunities. Yale Rep has premiered more than 1. Pulitzer Prize winners and four finalists, and sent 1. Broadway that earned more than 4. Tony noms (and eight wins). More recent grads (with good jobs) include: Empire's Trai Byers, Agents of SHIELD's Brett Dalton, How to Get Away With Murder's Aja Naomi King and new film star Marissa Neitling, who appears opposite Dwayne Johnson (who didn't go to Yale) in San Andreas. Juilliard. New York City. Its acting program works hand in glove with its writing program, which churns out plenty of heavyweights of its own (including Pulitzer winner David Auburn). Last year, the ink was barely dry on Alex Sharp's diploma when he landed the lead in the Broadway production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night- Time. Other famous grads — or in Kevin Spacey and Kelsey Grammer'scases, near- grads (they left after two years) — include Viola Davis, Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain. Tisch School of the Arts, NYUNew York City. This program . Grads include Michael C. Hall, Peter Krause and Marcia Gay Harden. Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. London. It was born before feature films even were invented. But this 1. 11- year- old British institution has trained some of the most famous actors in cinematic history: Vivien Leigh, Peter O'Toole, Albert Finney, Anthony Hopkins, Glenda Jackson, John Hurt, Alan Rickman, Jonathan Pryce . Study vocal performance with a specialization in music theatre, fully integrating training in voice, acting, and dance. In this master of music program, intensive. But its graduate program is. But its graduate program is gaining traction. UC San Diego. San Diego. A partnership with the Tony- winning La Jolla Playhouse means that everybody who gets in ends up with a job: MFA students are assured at least one professional residency at the theater. Old Globe, University of San Diego. San Diego. Only 2 percent of applicants are accepted into this demanding two- year program — that's just seven new students per year. The Big Bang Theory's Jim Parsons got his MFA there in 2. Emmys, a Golden Globe and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. London. Here's where Carrie Fisher learned how to speak like Princess Leia (with a . Other grads who went on to make something of themselves include Laurence Olivier, Julie Christie, Kathleen Turner, Vanessa Redgrave and — more recently — Game of Thrones' Kit Harington, The Amazing. Academic programs; Admissions; Health. We want our directors to leave Yale School of Drama able to make theatre that reveals. All directing and assistant. Spider- Man's Andrew Garfield and The Hobbit's Martin Freeman. Undergrad alums who've made their way to Hollywood include The Office's John Krasinski and Modern Family's Julie Bowen. But the graduate program has produced such theater luminaries as Pulitzer Prize- winning playwright Quiara Alegria Hudes. Ed Harris, who graduated from Cal. Arts in 1. 97. 5. Rutgers. New Brunswick, N. J. Partnerships with a renowned regional theater (the George Street Playhouse) and a much- farther- flung venue (Shakespeare's Globe in London) make this program a unique experience. MFA recipient Moritz von Stuelpnagel — class of 2. Tony frontrunner for best direction of a play for the hit Hand to God. Calista Flockhart at Rutgers in pre- 'Ally Mc. Beal' days. 1. 1. UCLALos Angeles. The school's film, theater and television programs are all under one roof — and often collaborate — which makes this campus, smack in the middle of the entertainment capital of the world, a smart choice for learning about showbiz. Grads: Richard Lewis, Eric Roth, Corbin Bernsen and Francis Ford Coppola. UC Irvine. Irvine, Calif. Located on a former buffalo ranch, this small, long- established program accepts only eight actors a year — four men, four women. Empire's Grace Gealey was among the lucky few; she got her MFA in acting here in 2. Empire’s' Grace Gealey, who got her MFA from UC Irvine in 2. USC School of Dramatic Arts. Los Angeles. USC is better known for its film school (see THR's 2. Top 2. 5 Film Schools list, coming in July) than its drama program. But plenty of success stories have had their start here, including Jay Roach, Shonda Rhimes and Stephen Sommers. And a new partnership with the Shanghai Theatre Academy in China has opened doors, as the Summer Institute for International Actors organizes student exchanges across the Pacific. A. R. T. Then it ships a bunch of them to Russia for several months of training at the Moscow Art Theatre School. Steve Zahn (right) in the American Repertory Theater production of The Miser in 1. Cal. Arts. Valencia, Calif. The 8- to- 1 student- teacher ratio at this campus outside Los Angeles — founded in 1. Walt Disney — makes it easy to find a mentor. Graduates include Ed Harris, Don Cheadle and Alison Brie. Don Cheadle, class of ’8. Cal. Arts. 1. 6. Bristol Old Vic. Bristol, U. K. The Old Vic is aptly named: The 2. U. K.'s most ancient continuously working theater. But it's still pretty spry, sending a risky hit like Jane Eyre to the National Theatre last year. The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School — founded by Laurence Olivier in 1. MA students a year. Daniel Day- Lewis, Jeremy Irons, Miranda Richardson, Patrick Stewart, Mark Strong, Olivia Williams and Lydia Leonard (who just got a Tony nomination for Wolf Hall Parts One & Two) got their starts here. National Institute of Dramatic Art. Kensington, Australia. Springboarding off the success of its long- admired undergraduate program — which trained Mel Gibson, Baz Luhrmann, Cate Blanchett, Judy Davis and virtually every other Australian actor or director you've ever heard of — NIDA launched MFA programs for writing and directing in 2. Its first group of graduate students recently finished the 1. May. 1. 8. De. Paul. Chicago. The 6- to- 1 student- teacher ratio makes this small program one of the more intimate acting- school experiences.
But it attracts plenty of jumbo- sized speakers. Master classes have been taught by F. Murray Abraham and Faye Dunaway, and there have been lectures by David Mamet, Julie Harris, Jonathan Pryce, John Malkovich and Gary Sinise. Recent alums include Stana Katic (Castle) and W. Earl Brown (Deadwood). Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University. New York City. Method acting was invented here; it's where Brando, Pacino and De Niro all learned to mumble. Students of the only MFA program sanctioned by the Actors Studio carry on the Stanislavski tradition, which makes this school, in the words of alum Bradley Cooper, . And with guest lecturers like Cate Blanchett, Edward Albee, Alec Baldwin and Stephen Sondheim, he's not entirely wrong. Boston University. Boston. BU's College of Fine Arts is housed in a Beaux Arts building festooned with gargoyles shaped like mechanics — it used to be a Buick dealership. Inside is the MFA program in playwriting founded by Nobel laureate Derek Walcott that accepts only four or five candidates every year. The directing MFA accepts only one or two. But there are no acting MFAs; instead, BU's undergrad acting students get a postgraduate internship in L. A. Circle in the Square. New York City. If there's a school style, look for it in alums Felicity Huffman, Kevin Bacon, Idina Menzel, Benicio Del Toro and Lady Gaga. University of Delaware. Newark, Del. Many schools ruthlessly prune their students, culling the ranks from semester to semester. It's Survivor, with every performer fending for himself. At Delaware, though, the class is taught to be a troupe, a unit. That philosophy — developed by artistic director Sanford Robbins — seems to get results. Over the past 1. 6 years, 9. The William Esper Studio. New York City. Esper worked for 1. Sanford Meisner — the guy who trained James Caan and Robert Duvall — and taught the repetition- based technique to Jeff Goldblum, Amy Schumer and Sam Rockwell. Grad Timothy Olyphant calls the school . It took alum Kyle Mac. Lachlan much less time, though. His phone started ringing the minute he picked up his diploma. One of the callers was Dino De Laurentiis, offering Mac. Lachlan a star- making role in Dune. Mac. Lachlan initially thought it was a crank call. NOTE: Community College transcripts are not necessary, as the coursework will be reflected on the undergraduate transcript. Please have transcripts sent to the address below or include them in sealed envelopes with the supplemental application packet. Request that all TEST SCORES be sent directly to UCLA. Only test scores taken by the end of December, 2. The UCLA Code is 4. Theater Code is 2. NOTE: THE GRE IS NOT REQUIRED FOR MFA APPLICANTS. MAILING ADDRESS: Please SEND all applicable materials to: Graduate Theater Admissions. UCLA Department of Theater. East Melnitz Hall, Box 9. Los Angeles, CA 9. APPLICATION POSTMARK DEADLINE: DECEMBER 1, 2. INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTSEnglish Proficiency: Any international applicant whose first language is not English must certify proficiency in English when applying to UCLA, and, if admitted, upon arrival. Such applicants must submit scores received on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) as part of their application. The UCLA Code is 4. Theater Code is 2. Only test scores taken by the end of December, 2. For more information about this requirement, visit https: //grad. Academic Records: Although the UCLA Graduate Division Application enables applicants to upload an unofficial copy of their academic records, all applicants are required to submit official records from each academic institution attended. For more information about this requirement, visit https: //grad. This must be proved before a Certificate of Eligibility (I- 2. DS2. 01. 9) for a visa can be issued. For more information about this requirement, visit https: //grad. For U. S. Citizens and Permanent Residents interested in receiving financial aid, note that the Fellowship Application and Financial Aid Application (FAFSA) deadline for UCLA is March 2, 2. Applicants must complete the FAFSA by this date if they want to be eligible for all awards, work- study, and fellowships that UCLA offers. Please do not contact the department to check on your application, as we cannot update you on your application status or materials.
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