Yale School of Drama

infobox University
name = Yale School of Drama


established = Department of Drama, 1924
School of Drama, 1955
dean = James Bundy
faculty = 100
students = 200
city = New Haven
state = Connecticut
country = USA
website = [http://www.drama.yale.edu www.drama.yale.edu]

The Yale School of Drama is a graduate professional school of Yale University providing training in every discipline of the theatre: acting, design (set design, costume design, lighting design), directing, dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, playwriting, stage management, sound design, technical design and production, and theatre management.

History

The school traces its roots to the Yale Dramatic Association, the second oldest college theatre association in the country, founded in 1900. The "Dramat" produced the American premieres of Albert Camus's "Caligula" and Shakespeare's "Troilus and Cressida", as well as original works by Cole Porter, Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Vincent Benet, and Thornton Wilder written when they were students. This lively dramatic tradition led to the funding, in 1924, by Yale benefactor Edward S. Harkness, to establish the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, and for the construction of the University Theatre, designed by James Gamble Rogers. George Pierce Baker, a teacher of playwriting, was the first chairman of the department. The first Master of Fine Arts in Drama was granted in 1931.

In 1955, the department was organized as a separate professional school, the first such in the Ivy League. In 1966, under Dean Robert Brustein, the Yale Repertory Theatre was formed to establish further ties between the professional and academic communities. Lloyd Richards, dean and artistic director from 1979 to 1991, increased the theatre's emphasis on new plays, premiering works by Athol Fugard, Lee Blessing, and August Wilson [http://drama.yale.edu/about_us/history.html] .

Today, Yale Drama students work on School of Drama productions, at the Yale Repertory Theatre, and at the Yale Cabaret.

tudent Life

School of Drama students spend the morning in class, with the exact number of hours varying between their year in school and their department. After 2:00pm, all classes are over, and rehearsals for Yale Repertory Theatre and School of Drama productions begin. Rehearsals can last up to eight hours. After rehearsal hours are over at 11:00pm, many students choose to continue rehearsing for productions at the Yale Cabaret, often working outside their discipline, on projects they have chosen and lead without any input from faculty. Many weeks throughout the school year, students attend two or even three productions a week produced by their colleagues, and some take the 1:40 hour train to New York City to see performances there. Students also participate in athletic clubs, like soccer and volleyball, and mingle at events with their compatriots in the Yale School of Art and Yale School of Architecture.

Degrees

The School of Drama offers a Master of Fine Arts in acting, design (with emphasis in sets, costume, and lighting), directing, dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, playwriting, stage management, sound design, technical design and production, and theatre management (with a joint M.F.A./Master of Business Administration available to management students in conjunction with the Yale School of Management). Students must hold an undergraduate degree and complete their program of study with distinction, which requires three years in residence. A Certificate in Drama is available to those students who do not hold an undergraduate degree from an accredited college, but who are admitted and complete the same training as M.F.A. students. The school also offers a Doctor of Fine Arts to students who hold an M.F.A. degree in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism and have written a dissertation approved by the D.F.A. committee, and a Technical Internship Certificate to students who complete a one-year internship program of the Technical Design and Production department. [http://drama.yale.edu/about_us/degree_programs.html]

2008-09 Season

The mainstage season consists of six fully-supported productions, three directed by third-year directors as a culmination of their work at the school, and three written by third-year playwrights presented under the auspices of the Carlotta Festival of New Plays. In addition, there are many smaller scale productions that occur throughout the year, including verse plays, acting projects, and works by first and second-year playwrights.

"Man Equals Man" by Bertolt Brecht,Directed by Erik Pearson
October 27 - November 1, 2008

"The Robbers"by Friedrich Schiller,Adapted by Becca Wolff and Jacob Gallagher-Ross
and Directed by Becca Wolff
December 13-18, 2008

TBA,Directed by Patricia McGregor
February 13-18, 2009

Carlotta Festival of New Plays
May 8-17, 2009
Plays to be announced. [ [http://drama.yale.edu/onstage/index.html http://drama.yale.edu/onstage/index.html] ]

Yale Cabaret

Founded in 1968, the Yale Cabaret provides an extracurricular outlet for Yale School of Drama students, who produce passion projects and operate the theatre entirely on their own. Students regularly work outside their disciplines (designers act, dramaturgs sing, actors direct) in the twenty productions presented for a paying public audience. According to the Yale Cabaret website, "during their time at the Yale School of Drama, Patricia Clarkson, Tony Shalhoub, Kate Burton, David Alan Grier, Christopher Durang, Wendy Wasserstein, among countless others, all performed at the Cabaret. [http://www.yalecabaret.org/ourhistory.html] "

Notable Faculty

*David Chambers (Director)
*Liz Diamond (Director)
*Elinor Fuchs (Critic and Dramaturg)
*Jess Goldstein (Designer)
*John Guare (Playwright)
*Peter Francis James (Actor)
*Michael Korie (Playwright, Librettist, Lyricist)
*Lisa Kron (Playwright)
*Tina Landau (Playwright)
*Ming Cho Lee (Designer)
*Richard Nelson (Playwright)
*Lynn Nottage (Playwright)
*Peter Parnell (Playwright)
*Adam Rapp (Playwright)
*Gordon Rogoff (Critic)
*Bronislaw (Ben) Sammler (Technical Design)
*Tom Sellar (Critic; Editor of "Theater" magazine)
*Rachel Sheinkin
*Rick Sordelet (Fight Director)
*Jennifer Tipton (Designer)
*Ron Van Lieu (Actor)
*Paula Vogel (Playwright)
*Derek Walcott (Playwright)
*Robert Woodruff (Director)
*Michael Yeargan (Designer)

Notable Alumni

*Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
*Amy Aquino
*Mark Linn-Baker (1979)
*Angela Bassett (1983)
*Lewis Black (1977)
*James Burrows
*Kate Burton (actress)
*Vincent J. Cardinal
*Caitlin Clarke
*Patricia Clarkson
*Robert Cohen (acting theorist) (1965)
*Enrico Colantoni
*Jean "Jeff" Donnell
*Polly Draper
*Christopher Durang
*Charles S. Dutton (1983)
*Erik Ehn
*Jill Eikenberry
*Christine Estabrook
*Charles Evered
*Richard Foreman
*Malcolm Gets
*Paul Giamatti (1989)
*David Alan Grier
*Joe Grifasi
*John Guare (1963)
*A.R. Gurney
*Kathryn Hahn
*Julie Harris (1947)
*David Henry Hwang
*David Ives
*Rolin Jones
*Robert Kalfin
*Elia Kazan
*James Keach
*Stacey Keach
* Gertrude Prokosch Kurath
*Sanaa Lathan
*Sabrina LeBeauf
*C. S. Lee
*Romulus Linney
*Santo Loquasto
*Wendy MacLeod
*William Marchant
*Tarell Alvin McCraney
*David J. McDonald, Jr.
*Frances McDormand (1982)
*Richard Masur
*Lynne Meadow
*William Mesnik
*Paul Newman
*Lynn Nottage
*Chris Noth
*Maulik Pancholy
*Scott Pask
*Laila Robins
*Liev Schreiber
*Tony Shalhoub
*Anna Shapiro
*Roger Guenveur Smith
*Milan Stitt
*Meryl Streep (1976)
*Ted Tally (1977)
*John Turturro (1983)
*Joan Van Ark
*Courtney B. Vance
*Wendy Wasserstein (1976)
*Sigourney Weaver
*Mac Wellman
*Henry Winkler
*D.B. Woodside
*Christian Clemenson

References

External links

* [http://www.drama.yale.edu/ Official website]
* [http://www.dramat.org/shows/arc_hx.html History of the Yale Dramatic Association]