Contemporary Theatre and Performance (MFA)

The theatre and performance landscape of the future demands artists who transcend disciplinary boundaries. Performers, creators, producers, writers, directors, designers, entrepreneurs, and those at the forefront of the industry share the common bond of being interdisciplinary artists. At the School of Drama, we don’t prepare you just to succeed in the careers of today. We provide fertile ground to be tomorrow's game-changers, innovators, and trailblazers - as we have been doing for nearly a century.

The MFA in Contemporary Theatre and Performance revolutionizes dramatic arts training to prepare graduates to thrive in a constantly evolving field and expand the artist's role in society today. Our program is ideal for exceptional theatre artists and storytellers who look to prioritize collaboration, transcend traditional labels, and master multiple disciplines. Whether you enter as an actor, director, writer, or media artist, our innovative approach will prepare expansive and entrepreneurial artists to lead and redefine the dramatic arts through its 21st-century renaissance. 

Our curriculum takes an ensemble-based approach to writing, acting and directing, and to creating and producing narrative work. Our model places each student into a selective ensemble that applies contemporary techniques and approaches to devise new works and to reimagine extant works. Each cohort is unique, and their work reflects their artistic and aesthetic individuality. They experiment within secondary disciplines (including creative technologies and performance design), work with nationally and internationally-recognized artists and methodologies, and refine their collaborative and communication skills.

In our program, students work as actors, writers, directors, and digital media artists in a cohort model that equally celebrates traditional and experimental forms. Curricular pathways are designed to expand creative practice and provide advanced coursework in non-dramatic disciplines, including transmedia storytelling, community development, entrepreneurship, social justice, and mindfulness studies. Students work closely with artist-educators from across The New School, guest artists, and mentors drawn from the rich fabric of New York’s performance communities to refine the skills necessary for success on stage and television, in film and media, and in disciplines yet to be defined.