Pace University - The Actors Studio MFA - Overview
Intensive -- and Intense -- Training Prepares Students to Do Great Things
All MFA candidates study and practice together, beginning at the same place as they learn a shared "language" and technique. On parallel tracks to that "ensemble" experience, every student undergoes intensive -- and intense -- training in his or her own discipline, at the hands of one of the most distinguished acting, directing, and writing faculties ever assembled.
Students have the opportunity to develop their craft not only in their classes but also in a variety of public performing events. This dedication to offering students the experience of regularly performing in front of live audiences is at the core of the program, where immersion in one's craft and experiences that are akin to what graduates will experience as they continue in their chosen field are key elements of the program.
Students Learn Under the Direction of Top Professors, Actors, Directors, and Playwrights
From the beginning, all students participate in the Craft Seminars, where the most accomplished members of the Actors Studio share their knowledge and experiences. Many Actors Studio artists also teach in the intensive Friday Workshop sessions. While the Actors Studio is a private space, accessible only to members, MFA candidates have the rare privilege of attending a number of the studio's closed-door sessions as observers.
On numerous occasions, students have the opportunity to spend an evening with some of the world's most distinguished creative and performing artists in the Inside the Actors Studio seminars. For one year after graduation, all students have the privilege of the status of working finalists at the Actors Studio itself, which means they are eligible to attend sessions and take a final audition for studio membership, bypassing the usual preliminary audition.
Immersion in the Craft and Art of Acting, Directing, and Writing Produces Artists of the Highest Caliber
In the first week of their first semester, students are introduced to the communal world of the theater, and all of the students and teachers spend three days together in an informal introduction to the program's philosophy, process, and intentions.
Students encounter another unique feature of the program as they set out on a side-by-side journey -- actors, directors, and playwrights together learning the common language that will enable them to collaborate productively, harmoniously, and seamlessly. Armed with the technical fundamentals they are likely to use for the rest of their educational and professional careers, second-year students move from the preparation of their instrument (themselves) to the preparation of the role.
In the final year, course work continues, with the focus on the project that brings together three years of work in weeks of graduation performance nights. The Repertory Season is a semester-long series of evenings of scenes, one-act plays, and, if possible, one full-length play -- all new works written by student playwrights, directed by student directors, acted by student actors, and presented in repertory.
Real-World Connections Make the Actors Studio MFA More than Just a Degree -- It's an Experience
The Pace University Actors Studio MFA places students in the unique position of observer for the studio's private sessions and Craft Seminars, know to the larger world as "Inside the Actors Studio," the television feature that has seen some of the greatest artists in the visual and performing arts in the studio.
With some of the most prestigious names in the arts associated with the program, students naturally have a vast resource at their disposal, as each of the guests on "Inside the Actors Studio" interacts with students in the Actors Studio MFA program. Likewise, students have the advantage of being trained in the system and technique of the studio.
With a Location at the Center of the Visual Arts Scene in New York City, the Actors Studio MFA Offers Every Advantage
Pace University's location in downtown Manhattan places it squarely in the center of a thriving center for the visual and performing arts. The university is a partner with the Tribeca Film and Theatre Festivals, the New York International Fringe Festival, and the River-to-River Summer Stars Series. In addition, Pace's Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts is a 743-seat theatre and is the largest such venue in lower Manhattan. By learning in an environment that is extremely conducive to the development of actors, writers, and directors, students are given every advantage to succeed at Pace University.