Yale School of Drama
The Yale School of Drama is a graduate professional school of Yale University located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in every discipline of the theatre: acting, design, directing, dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, playwriting, stage management, technical design and production, and theatre management.
The school operates in partnership with the Yale Repertory Theatre, also located in New Haven.
History
The school traces its roots to the Yale Dramatic Association, the second-oldest college theatre association in the US, founded in 1900. The "Dramat" produced the American premieres of Albert Camus's Caligula and Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, as well as original works by Cole Porter, Stephen Vincent Benet, and Thornton Wilder written when they were students. This dramatic tradition led to the provision of funds in 1924 by Yale benefactor Edward S. Harkness to establish the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts and for the construction of the University Theatre, designed by Clarence H. Blackall and then later renovated by James Gamble Rogers in 1931. George Pierce Baker, a teacher of playwriting, was the first chairman of the department. The first class of students was enrolled in 1925 while the University Theatre was under construction and the first Master of Fine Arts in Drama was granted in 1931.In 1955, by vote of the Yale Corporation, the department was organized as a separate professional school, the first such in the Ivy League. In 1966, under Dean Robert Brustein, the Yale Repertory Theatre was formed to establish further ties between the professional and academic communities. Lloyd Richards, dean and artistic director from 1979 to 1991, increased the theatre's emphasis on new plays, premiering works by Athol Fugard, Lee Blessing, and August Wilson. Richards' successor as dean and artistic director, Stan Wojewodski, Jr. continued to emphasize the production of new plays, including several important works by Suzan-Lori Parks and Theatre de la Jeune Lune. The current dean and artistic director, James Bundy, has produced notable premieres by David Rabe, Jose Rivera, David Adjmi, and Sarah Ruhl, among others, as well as Radio Golf, the tenth play in August Wilson's 20th century cycle.
Facilities
A variety of locations on the Yale University campus serve the School of Drama. The University Theatre is a proscenium theatre that is shared with the undergraduate dramatic association and also houses the school's main administrative offices. The Yale Repertory Theatre is located in the former building of the Calvary Baptist Church and contains an auditorium facing a modified apron stage as well as the Yale School of Drama/Yale Repertory Theatre box office. Additional facilities include the Iseman theatre in Holcombe T. Green, Jr. Hall, the School of Drama Annex, and the Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library.Academics
Admissions
Admission to the Yale School of Drama is highly competitive. The Yale Herald reported that the school received 1,270 applications for the class of 1999 and admitted 68 applicants for an acceptance rate of 5.4%. The cost of tuition for the 2016-17 academic year was $29,750. James Bundy made improving financial aid for students a priority since his appointment as dean in 2002, and under his tenure, the school's financial aid budget grew from $1.4 million to over $6.1 million in 2017. Financial aid is awarded on the basis of financial need, with awards consisting of a combination of work-study employment, an educational loan, a tuition scholarship, and a living stipend. As of 2016, the average student with demonstrated financial need receives aid providing for 82 percent of the total cost of attendance.Enrollment
As of fall 2015, there were 194 students enrolled at the Yale School of Drama, 18% of which were international students.Degrees and certificates
The School of Drama offers a Master of Fine Arts in acting, design, sound design, directing, dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, playwriting, stage management, technical design and production, and theatre management. Students must hold an undergraduate degree and complete their program of study with distinction, which requires three years in residence. The school also offers a Doctor of Fine Arts to students who hold an M.F.A. degree in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism and have written a dissertation approved by the D.F.A. committee.A Certificate in Drama is available to those students who do not hold an undergraduate degree from an accredited college, but who are admitted and complete the same training as M.F.A. students. A Technical Internship Certificate is available to students who complete a one-year internship program of the Technical Design and Production department.
Rankings
The Yale School of Drama has emerged as one of the nation's best theatre conservatories.Student life
Activities
Founded in 1968, the Yale Cabaret is an entirely student-run extracurricular activity that allows students to create productions of their own. It is the only production opportunity at the school that allows students to work outside of their discipline. Patricia Clarkson, Tony Shalhoub, Kate Burton, David Alan Grier, Christopher Durang, and Wendy Wasserstein, among countless others, all performed at the Cabaret."Notable people
Faculty
Faculty members at the Yale School of Drama are working professionals in their fields, and in many cases, graduates of the school themselves. As of fall 2015, there are 79 faculty members. James Bundy is the current dean of the school as well as the artistic director of Yale Repertory Theatre. Current faculty members in the Acting department include Gregory Berger-Sobeck, Peter Francis James, and Walton Wilson, who also serves as chair of the department. Current faculty members in the Directing department include Emily Coates, Yuri Kordonsky, Robert Woodruff, and department chair Liz Diamond. Designers include Jane Greenwood, Jess Goldstein, and Jennifer Tipton. Playwrights include John Guare, Michael Korie, Lisa Kron, Tina Landau, Richard Nelson, Lynn Nottage, Peter Parnell, Adam Rapp, Paula Vogel, and Derek Walcott. Critics include Allardyce Nicoll. Music consultants include Rusty Magee.Former faculty includes dancer/choreographer Carmen de Lavallade, set designer Ming Cho Lee, actor Earle Gister and directors Robert Brustein, F. Curtis Canfield, Keith Fowler, and Nikos Psacharopoulos.
Alumni
Alumni of the Yale School of Drama are among the most distinguished in stage, film, television, and other creative fields.Acting
- Kimberleigh Aarn – Acting ; 1988 Tony nominee
- Yahya Abdul-Mateen II – Acting
- David Ackroyd – Acting
- Bruce Altman – Acting
- Amy Aquino – Acting
- Jayne Atkinson – Acting
- Dylan Baker – Acting
- Raymond J. Barry – Acting
- Martine Bartlett – Acting
- Gary Basaraba – Acting
- Angela Bassett – Acting
- Ralph Bates – Acting
- Chris Bauer – Acting
- Alan Baxter – Acting
- Richard Bey – Acting
- Sorrell Booke – Acting
- Ruth Brinkmann – Acting
- Brennan Brown – Acting
- Kate Burton – Acting
- Trai Byers – Acting
- Rob Campbell – Acting
- Reg E. Cathey – Acting
- Esther K. Chae – Acting
- James Chen – Acting
- Chung King-fai – Acting
- Caitlin Clarke – Acting
- Patricia Clarkson – Acting
- Christian Clemenson – Acting
- David Clennon – Acting
- Chris Henry Coffey – Acting
- Enrico Colantoni – Acting
- Forrest Compton – Acting
- Suzanne Cryer – Acting
- Alma Cuervo – Acting
- Seán Cullen – Acting
- Brett Dalton – Acting
- Jason Davis – Acting
- Stephen DeRosa – Acting
- Peter Donat – Acting
- Jeff Donnell – Acting
- Polly Draper – Acting
- Winston Duke – Acting
- Charles S. Dutton – Acting
- Jill Eikenberry – Acting
- Rick Elice – Acting
- Melissa Errico – Acting
- Christine Estabrook – Acting
- Bridget Flanery – Acting
- Joseph Fuqua – Acting
- Willie Garson – Acting
- Malcolm Gets – Acting
- Paul Giamatti – Acting
- Susan Gibney – Acting
- Robert Ginty – Acting
- Jay Goede – Acting
- Eve Gordon – Acting
- David Marshall Grant – Acting
- Karron Graves – Acting
- David Alan Grier – Acting
- Joe Grifasi – Acting
- Michael Gross – Acting
- Louisa Gummer – Acting
- Kathryn Hahn – Acting
- Julie Harris – Acting
- Donald Patrick Harvey – Acting
- Marcus Henderson – Acting
- Brian Tyree Henry – Acting
- Ken Howard – Acting
- Ernie Hudson – Acting
- Matthew Humphreys – Acting
- Jane Kaczmarek – Acting
- James Keach – Acting
- Stacy Keach – Acting
- Warren Keith – Acting
- Mike Kellin – Acting
- Patrick Kerr – Acting
- Aja Naomi King – Acting
- Robert Klein – Acting
- Dudley Knight – Acting
- Sanaa Lathan – Acting
- Sabrina Le Beauf – Acting
- C. S. Lee – Acting
- Charles Levin – Acting
- Mitchell Lichtenstein – Acting
- Jennifer Lim – Acting
- Mark Linn-Baker – Acting
- John Bedford Lloyd – Acting
- Jim MacLaren – Acting
- Peter Macon – Acting
- Delbert Mann – Acting
- Michael Manuel – Acting
- Mary Mara – Acting
- Mozhan Marnò – Acting
- Richard Masur – Acting
- Heather Mazur – Acting
- Tom McCarthy – Acting
- Tom McGowan – Acting
- Frances McDormand – Acting
- Anne Meacham – Acting
- Fred Melamed – Acting
- William Mesnik – Acting
- Philip Moon – Acting
- James Naughton – Acting
- Obi Ndefo – Acting
- Paul Newman – Acting
- Kristine Nielsen – Acting
- Tom Noonan – Acting
- Elizabeth Norment – Acting
- Chris Noth – Acting
- Carrie Nye – Acting
- Lupita Nyong'o – Acting
- Barbara O'Neil – Acting
- Dick Orkin – Acting
- Maulik Pancholy – Acting
- Evan Parke – Acting
- Geoff Pierson – Acting
- Bryce Pinkham – Acting
- Joel Polis – Acting
- Michael Potts – Acting
- Addison Powell – Acting
- Sarah Rafferty – Acting
- Da'Vine Joy Randolph – Acting
- Lance Reddick – Acting
- Adam Richman – Acting
- Tijuana Ricks – Acting
- Laila Robins – Acting
- Michael Rogers – Acting
- Reg Rogers – Acting
- Alan Rosenberg – Acting
- John Rothman – Acting
- Liev Schreiber – Acting
- Kimberly Scott – Acting
- Louise Shaffer – Acting
- Tony Shalhoub – Acting
- Talia Shire – Acting
- Roger Guenveur Smith – Acting
- Sarah Sokolovic – Acting
- Meryl Streep – Acting
- Robin Strasser – Acting
- John Turturro – Acting
- Joan Van Ark – Acting
- Courtney B. Vance – Acting
- Gary Waldhorn – Acting
- Sigourney Weaver – Acting
- Michael Whaley – Acting
- Peter White – Acting
- Rosalyn Coleman Williams – Acting
- Henry Winkler – Acting
- D. B. Woodside – Acting
- Jeff Yagher – Acting
Design
- Christopher Akerlind – Lighting Design
- John Lee Beatty – Scenic Design
- Robert Blackman – Costume Design
- Mel Bourne – Scenic Design
- Herbert Brodkin – Scenic Design
- Tom Broecker – Costume Design
- Pat Collins – Lighting Design
- John Conklin – Scenic Design
- William and Jean Eckart
- Heidi Ettinger – Scenic Design
- John Ezell – Scenic Design
- Ed Flesh – Scenic Design
- Paul Gallo – Lighting Design
- Jess Goldstein – Costume Design
- Gilbert Vaughn Hemsley, Jr. – Lighting Design
- Susan Hilferty – Costume Design
- Donald Holder – Lighting Design
- Peter Larkin – Scenic Design
- Tambi Larsen – Scenic Design
- Eugene Lee – Scenic Design
- Adrianne Lobel – Scenic Design
- William Ivey Long – Scenic Design
- Santo Loquasto – Scenic Design
- Derek McLane – Scenic Design
- Skip Mercier - Scenic Design
- Tharon Musser – Lighting Design
- Scott Pask – Scenic Design
- Constanza Romero – Costume Design
- Jean Rosenthal – Lighting Design
- Todd Rosenthal – Scenic Design
- Adam Stockhausen – Scenic Design
- Robert Wierzel – Lighting Design
- Michael Yates – Scenic Design
- Michael Yeargan – Scenic Design
- Catherine Zuber – Costume Design
Directing
- A. J. Antoon – Directing
- John Badham – Directing
- Melvin Bernhardt – Directing
- Ralf D. Bode – Directing
- Sandra Boynton – Directing
- Mark Brokaw – Directing
- Arvin Brown – Directing
- James Bundy – Directing
- James Burrows – Directing
- Lawrence Carra – Directing
- Robert Cohen – Directing
- Edward Cornell – Directing
- Jan Eliasberg – Directing
- Shannon Flynn – Directing
- Keith Fowler – Directing
- Jonathan Frid – Directing
- Dennie Gordon – Directing
- Ulu Grosbard – Directing
- Jon Jory – Directing
- Robert Kalfin – Directing
- Asaad Kelada – Directing
- Romulus Linney – Directing
- Richard Maltby Jr. – Directing
- Jennifer McCray Rincón – Directing
- Lynne Meadow – Directing
- Tom Moore – Directing
- George Morrison – Directing
- Jonathan Moscone – Directing
- Francine Parker – Directing
- Nikos Psacharopoulos – Directing
- Steven Robman – Directing
- Boris Sagal – Directing
- Anna D. Shapiro – Directing
- John Shea – Directing
- Rebecca Taichman – Directing
- Steve Zuckerman – Directing
Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism
- Allan Albert – Dramatic Literature/Criticism
- Robert Brustein – Dramatic Literature/Criticism
- Ernest Ferlita – Dramatic Literature/Criticism
- Rocco Landesman – Dramatic Literature/Criticism
- Michael Lassell – Dramatic Literature/Criticism
- James Magruder – Dramaturgy/Criticism
- Charles McNulty – Dramaturgy/Criticism
- Madeline Miller – Dramaturgy/Criticism
- Kate O'Toole – Dramaturgy/Criticism
- Andrew Paulson – Dramaturgy/Criticism
- Nahma Sandrow – Dramatic Literature/Criticism
Playwriting
- Liz Duffy Adams – Playwriting
- Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa – Playwriting
- Lewis Black – Playwriting
- Brother Blue – Playwriting
- E. Roger Boyle – Playwriting
- Janet Burroway – Playwriting
- Vincent J. Cardinal – Playwriting
- Fred Coe – Playwriting
- Bill Corbett – Playwriting
- Owen Dodson – Playwriting
- Christopher Durang – Playwriting
- Erik Ehn – Playwriting
- Femi Euba – Playwriting
- Charles Evered – Playwriting
- Richard Foreman – Playwriting
- Kimon Friar – Playwriting
- Marcus Gardley – Playwriting
- Stephen Geller – Playwriting
- Melissa James Gibson – Playwriting
- Frank D. Gilroy – Playwriting
- Richard Greenberg – Playwriting
- John Guare – Playwriting
- A. R. Gurney – Playwriting
- Jeremy O. Harris – Playwriting
- Allan Havis – Playwriting
- Amy Herzog – Playwriting
- M. Carl Holman – Playwriting
- Slade Hopkinson – Playwriting
- David Henry Hwang – Playwriting
- Albert Innaurato – Playwriting
- David Ives – Playwriting
- Talbot Jennings – Playwriting
- Rolin Jones – Playwriting
- Hansol Jung – Playwriting MFA
- Sam Kelley – Playwriting
- Frederick R. Koch – Playwriting
- Harry Kondoleon – Playwriting
- Kenneth Lin – Playwriting
- Wendy MacLeod – Playwriting
- David Madden – Playwriting
- Martyna Majok – Playwriting
- Albert Maltz – Playwriting
- William Marchant – Playwriting
- Grace McKeaney – Playwriting
- Tarell Alvin McCraney – Playwriting
- David J. McDonald, Jr. – Playwriting
- JP Miller – Playwriting
- Meg Miroshnik – Playwriting
- Tad Mosel – Playwriting
- Brighde Mullins – Playwriting
- Lynn Nottage – Playwriting
- OyamO – Playwriting
- David Rayfiel – Playwriting
- Keith Reddin – Playwriting
- Ola Rotimi – Playwriting
- Joanna Russ – Playwriting
- Robert Sandberg – Playwriting
- David Shaber – Playwriting
- Betty Shamieh – Playwriting
- Susan H. Schulman – Playwriting
- Michael Shurtleff – Playwriting
- Roger L. Simon – Playwriting
- William Snyder – Playwriting
- Ron Sproat – Playwriting
- Leslie Stevens – Playwriting
- Michael Stewart – Playwriting
- Milan Stitt – Playwriting
- Jon Stone – Playwriting
- Peter Stone – Playwriting
- Ted Tally – Playwriting
- Sarah Treem – Playwriting
- Rodolfo Usigli – Playwriting
- Donald Vining – Playwriting
- Wendy Wasserstein – Playwriting
- Ron Whyte – Playwriting
- Asiedu Yirenkyi – Playwriting
- Alexander Woo – Playwriting
Stage Management
- James F. Ingalls – Stage Management
- Thomas R. Bruce—Stage Management
Technical Design and Production
- Michael P. Price – Technical Production
Theatre Management
- Charles Dillingham – Theatre Management
- Anne Hamburger – Theatre Management
- Jenn Lindsay – Theatre Management
- Leslie Urdang – Theatre Management
- Stephanie Ybarra – Theatre Management
Other
- Carmen Capalbo
- Michael David
- Richard Fleischer – Drama
- Ernest K. Gann – Drama
- Elia Kazan – Drama
- Barnet Kellman
- Gertrude Prokosch Kurath – Drama
- Leo Lieberman
- Andrew Nelson Lytle – Drama
- H. C. Potter – Drama
- Burt Shevelove
- Janice Torre – Songwriting
- Max Wilk – Drama