Playwriting

M.F.A. and Certificate

The department is the oldest playwriting program in America and for decades has helped develop some of the country’s finest and most distinguished playwrights. A close working relationship with other talented students in all fields of theatre helps the playwright enter the profession with an understanding of, and connection to, all elements of the professional theatre. Playwrights are people of the theatre, and collaboration is at the heart of all theatre-making. Yale School of Drama and the Playwriting department are organized around this principle.

Playwriting is where theatre begins. Without the play there is nothing to direct, act, design, or produce. All theatre flows from the play, and the playwright stands at the very center of the theatrical landscape. This landscape is infinitely varied, both in subject and form, and the goal of the department is to encourage the widest range of work possible, to help students follow their voices, and to mentor their growth and understanding of the playwright’s craft. And the best way to develop this craft is for young playwrights to see productions of their plays. Productions of students’ plays are at the very center of the Playwriting department’s course of study.

The Playwriting course of study has a number of “tracks” which are taken concurrently over three years. Each Playwriting student is mentored by the chair in the writing of three plays; one one-act, and two full length plays. These are produced as part of three new play festivals. All productions are directed and acted by students. Emphasis is also given to understanding the pre-production process, the director-playwright relationship, and the playwright’s role in rehearsals. Students also enroll in courses in other writing disciplines: two years of screenwriting, one year of television writing, and one year of musical book and lyric writing. Each student enrolls in several term-long master classes on specific playwriting topics, such as “writing characters of a different race than yourself” and “writing material for yourself to perform.” All students participate in the weekly “intensive Wednesdays” during which there are workshops on specific topics from grantsmanship to theater architecture to directing, as well as weekly guests from the profession. All classes are taught by working playwrights and one film producer. In 2007-2008, the faculty includes John Guare, Michael Korie, Lisa Kron, Tina Landau, Lindsay Law, Richard Nelson, Lynn Nottage, Peter Parnell and Adam Rapp.

The Playwriting department at Yale School of Drama requires the playwright to write throughout the year, including the summer when he or she is not in residence. Recognizing this requirement, the School of Drama offers to pay playwriting students work-study compensation to write during the summers after their first year and second years.

The Yale Cabaret offers further production opportunities for new work and new plays.