UCSD Extends MFA Application Deadline For Theatre - Sound Design

Jan 31, 2008 11:23 AM

The department of Theatre and Dance at University of California, San Diego (UCSD) is accepting applications for the MFA in Theatre - Sound Design degree for the 2008/2009 academic year until Feb 29th, 2008.

The University of California at San Diego aims to widen the place of sound in theatre by integrating state-of-the-art real-time audio/visual technology within a highly acclaimed training and production curriculum. The theatre and dance department at UCSD is ranked among the top three graduate programs in the nation in theatre studies by US News & World Report.

Through the program's close ties with the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology and the Center for Research in Computing and the Arts at UCSD, sound design graduate students will have access to some of the most advanced computing facilities and audio/video technologies available. Students in this program will have the opportunity to participate in four or five fully supported and professionally realized productions during their eight quarter tenure at the program, including at least one guaranteed professional gig as an assistant sound designer at the Tony Award-winning La Jolla Playhouse.

In their first year, design students will attend design classes (scenic, costume, lighting, and sound) and collaborative classes with actors, directors, playwrights, and stage managers. They will also participate in the highly acclaimed Balwin New Play Festival. In their second year, students will embark on at least two large projects (working on a thesis projects and/or with a well-known invited director). In their third year, each student will work on one large production and prepare their portfolios. Students will also attend many master classes on topics such as paperwork, contracts, system analysis, drawings, Autocad, VectorWorks, etc. The productions are fully supported with budgets realized by professional shop staff. The relationship between the student designers and the shop staff is similar to that found in very respectable regional theatres.

The program will integrate the use and the research in computing fields for realizing new aesthetic visions in theatre. Students will learn advanced computing and audio production skills; however, the focus of their training will be towards their growth as artists. UCSD is looking for artists proficient in sound design and/or electronic music composition interested in working in collaborative settings. Sound design students will also work closely as composers and sound designers with the students of our newly formed MFA in Dance Theatre program.

Questions regarding the application process should be sent to:

Lee Montano, graduate advisor, Department of Theatre and Dance
Tel: 858-534-1046
Email:lmontano@ucsd.edu