The MFA Contemporary Theater and Performance program takes an approach that is project-centered, process-oriented, and highly collaborative. Curricular pathways are designed based on each student’s unique point of entry in order to support their creative
practice and enable advanced skill development in multiple disciplines. Students work closely with faculty as they master the techniques necessary for success in stage, television, and film.
Students will develop their own projects, experiment within secondary and tertiary disciplines, work in new genres, engage in rich collaboration, and utilize new creative technologies and multimedia design.
The 60-credit, six-semester curriculum is comprised of the following degree requirements:
Core Requirements
History and Context (6 credits)
Traditional academic approaches to theater history are disrupted by examining the nomenclature of “theater” and “performance.” Through this critical lens, students investigate the historical context in which a work was created and the individual contexts from which it is interpreted.
Social Practice and Community Coursework (3 credits)
Students deepen their understanding of the role of performing arts as a catalyst for social impact, focusing on the integration of theater, political engagement, justice, and activism, while also exploring how theater artists can drive change through community engagement and entrepreneurship.
Embodied Performance (4 credits)
These courses explore the relationship between the body, breath, and voice in performance and storytelling. Through physical exploration, students deepen their understanding of how movement can serve as text and provide structure for performance.
Exploration of Space (2 credits)
Students engage with fundamental questions about space as a dynamic environment for action, interaction, and the interplay between performance and spectatorship. They investigate the multi-layered dimensions of space and create site-specific performances that integrate narrative, movement, and audience engagement.
Research and Creative Composition (4 credits)
These courses explore various approaches to research and composition for theater making. Students investigate diverse sources and methodologies to inform the development of original works.
Impact and Design (6 credits)
Students examine how theatrical design influences contemporary performance by exploring theoretical and practical aspects of design elements like textures, colors, and spatial relationships to foster a comprehensive understanding of the designer’s role as a co-author of the theatrical experience.
Collaborative Projects (16 credits)
These projects explore different theatrical forms and collaborative models, including but not limited to new and extant plays, devising and adaptation, physical theater, music theater, cabaret, multi-media performance, and cinema.
Guided Study Electives (8 credits)
Students design their unique combination of elective courses that develop advanced skills in one of several focus areas, including acting, directing, or writing for stage and screen, as well as transdisciplinary work, producing, technology, film, and media.
General Electives (8 credits)
Students may take additional coursework in any college at The New School, in consultation with their academic advisor, to supplement their coursework at the School of Drama.
Capstone Project (2 credits)
Students produce a collaborative work that demonstrates several of the artistic practices explored along their unique path in the program. Projects may take the form of an original play, film, devised work, or site-specific collaborative piece. Learn more about the capstone project experience.
Optional Graduate Minors
Students have the ability to take courses across the university and can combine their coursework with any of The New School’s graduate minors, including Creative Community Development, Impact Entrepreneurship, Transmedia and Digital Storytelling, and more.