MASTER OF FINE ARTS
& ADVANCED ENSEMBLE PROGRAM
PLEASE NOTE: We are not accepting applications to the MFA program at this time. We are still taking applications to the one-year Professional Training Program for the Fall of 2021.
Dell’Arte International does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, religion, gender identity, national origin, physical disability, sexual preference or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship programs and other school administered programs.
The MFA in Ensemble Based Physical Theatre is a three-year program for advanced students who wish to undertake a performance path of actor-created, physically dynamic ensemble theater making. Dell'Arte and all of our school programs are accredited by NAST.
FIRST YEAR
OCTOBER - JUNE
Year One includes training in physical awareness and responsiveness, voice, movement, improvisation and ensemble play, yoga and FM Alexander Technique, along with intensive studies of mask, clown, melodrama and commedia dell'arte. Investigations of theatre dynamics, the actor and the space, character and relationship take place through assignments developed in ensemble and presented weekly in Performance Lab. In May, students undertake a week-long Rural Residency arts engagement in the community. The first year of the MFA runs concurrently with the Professional Training Program; therefore, students who have completed the PTP are eligible to apply for matriculation into the second year of the MFA program.
SECOND YEAR
OCTOBER - JUNE
Year Two continues acting, movement and voice training alongside intensive devising projects in character, adaptation, and tragedy, each project culminating in a weekend of public performances. Students partner with local organizations in developing a Community Based Arts Project; research and writing assignments cultivate each student's ability to develop and articulate a point of view.
THIRD YEAR
OCTOBER - JUNE
Year Three features an internship with the Dell'Arte Company, during which students create an original ensemble performance which tours throughout the region. The second term includes a month-long study in Bali, a Storytelling project, and a Thesis Project. Classes in Artist-Entrepreneurship involve grant writing, budgeting, presentations and the business of ensemble theatre.
ADVANCED ENSEMBLE PROGRAM
The Advanced Ensemble Program (AEP) is a two-year, non-degree program of advanced study for students who do not yet possess an undergraduate degree but have completed our Professional Training Program and are otherwise qualified for training at the level of our MFA students.
