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Program of Study

The MFA program is three years in length.  The first two years are devoted to class, studio and realized production designs.  In the third year students complete a ten-week professional internship before returning to the School of Drama for two quarters with a final thesis project occurring in either of those quarters. The program of study is intended to give the student the skills needed to work productively in his or her area of interest and to help the student develop his or her own individual artistic vision. The Design Studio class is a core class taken each quarter by directors and design students in all years and disciplines where students are asked to create designs for works for the stage.  Other studio and skills courses develop proficiency.  Each course of study also requires students to work in the other visual design disciplines.  In addition, professional designers and/or directors working in Seattle are often invited to attend classes and offer critiques or discuss their work, and students regularly assist faculty on outside projects.

Scenic Design    Through a rigorous succession of studio assignments and realized production work, students in scenic design are expected to develop proficiency of expression via drawing and painting, drafting, model building, scene painting, and a working knowledge of scenic and property construction. Production work is emphasized in the second and third year of residency.

Costume Design   This course of study emphasizes the aesthetic as well as intellectual analysis of theatrical or operatic texts and how one turns these impulses into three-dimensional, unified designs.  Students will have intensive exposure to this process as they are mentored through the production of their designs as well as through classes, which encompass design, construction, graphic skills, and history.  Production work in Costume design is emphasized in the second and third year of residency.

Lighting Design    The lighting design program focuses on dramaturgical understanding, communication with collaborators, and a rigorous understanding of a lighting design process.  The lighting curriculum emphasizes the development of both theoretical/thinking and practical/compositional skills.  Production work in lighting is emphasized in all three years, and often includes Dance and Opera.

Facilities    Students work on a variety of stages at the School of Drama, including proscenium, thrust, arena and black box. The costume shop, scene shop, electrics shop, design studio and light lab across campus are well-equipped and staffed by full-time professionals.

Program Faculty

Robert A Dahlstrom
William D Forrester
Sarah Nash Gates
Geoff Korf 
Thomas Lynch
Andrew Smith
Matthew Smucker
Deborah Trout

To see more photos, view our Production Photo Slideshow

School of Drama Calendars (UW NetID Required)