M.F.A. Drama and Theatre for Youth

Program Description

The M.F.A. in Drama and Theatre for Youth is a program of study for students preparing for careers in regional or professional children's theatres or youth theatres, secondary or elementary education, as teaching artists in schools and communities, or in colleges. This degree provides advanced training for those specializing in theatre arts. It is an appropriate terminal degree for this area of study. The M.F.A. degree is a three-year (sixty-hour) program which stresses flexibility and encourages participation in classes throughout the Department and the University as a whole. The program culminates in a written thesis based on research and/or execution and analysis in a wide range of subjects including Applied Theatre and Drama, Theatre for Young Audiences, Youth Theatre, Educational Outreach, the creation or production of original plays for young audiences, or other appropriate projects. The M.F.A. degree does not include Teacher Certification. Students interested in certification must take additional classes to supplement this goal.

The DTY program plays a major role in the Department of Theatre and Dance at UT, continuing work begun in 1945 when the first creative drama classes and plays for children were offered. Over the years, the department has developed an excellent relationship with the Austin Independent School District, various state schools for special populations, and other school districts across Texas and beyond. These partnerships provide a living laboratory for students and faculty interested in pursuing a variety of projects in creative drama, theatre in education, children's theatre, and youth theatre.

Our innovative outreach programs (UT Connections and Drama for Schools) provide students the opportunity for research and experience, co-creating and managing programs within the fields of theatre-in-education and drama-in-education.

In children's theater, the UT's children's theatre tour has been an Austin area favorite for over fifty years. Each spring area schools come to UT for our main stage children's theatre production. Of the many plays presented for children at UT, over twenty have been premiers including: Reynard the Fox (American premier), The Honorable Urashima Taro, Yankee Doodle, A Toby Show, The Arkansaw Bear, The Magician's Nephew, Ellen Foster, and Braille: The Early Life of Louis Braille. Most recently, the DTY program has begun a relationship with a local professional children's theatre, Second Youth Family Theatre, offering graduate students opportunities to direct, act, teach, and premiere their plays in a professional setting.

New play dramaturgy projects feature in-depth relationships with leading professional companies such as Metro Theatre Company, The Coterie Theatre, Seattle Children's Theatre, Minnesota Children's Theatre, Childsplay Inc., P.L.A.Y. at the Mark Taper Forum, and the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. Aurand Harris and Joanna Kraus have served on occasion as playwrights in residence, contributing significantly to the program.

In the creative drama area a number of faculty and guest faculty have added depth of training to the program. Included in this list are Barbra Salisbury, Betty Vreeman, Susan Pearson Davis, and Cecily O'Neil.

In 1991, internationally recognized playwright Suzan Zeder joined the faculty as the first holder of an endowed chair in Theatre for Youth/Playwriting in the United States. Given our core faculty, which includes Dr. Coleman Jennings-children's theatre and creative drama, Prof. Joan Lazarus-head of the B.F.A. theatre teacher training program, youth theatre, and creative drama, and Dr. Sharon Grady-theatre-in-education, drama-in-education, outreach, and community-based theatre, our program represents both the diversity of exploration in the field as well as attention to the cutting edge issues currently under debate.

National Professional Affiliations

Outreach and Community Engagement