Program Overview

Introduction to the MFA Acting Program

The MFA Acting Program, also known as the Professional Actor Training Program (PATP), is a comprehensive and intensive course of study designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in the acting profession.

Curriculum

The PATP curriculum is divided into three years, each with a specific focus and set of objectives.

First Year: Foundations

• Acting (Drama 720): Use of self; presence, impulse and play; being and doing, actions and objectives; attention to the world of the play and the building of a character, including moment-to-moment awareness, specificity, and given circumstances.
• Voice/Speech/Text (Drama 722): Inspiration (integrating thought, breath, phonation, resonance, and articulation in expressive vocal actions); vocal expansion; vocal care and stamina; emotional susceptibility; rhythm, pace, pitch and stress work for clarity of thought through language; introduction to International Phonetic Alphabet; American English pronunciation in varying contemporary and classical styles; text/rhetorical analysis.
• Movement (Drama 724): Body as Instrument: corporeal awareness and presence, releasing tension, knowing and breaking habitual patterns, strength and flexibility, psychology manifested in the body, character transformation, ensemble building. Utilizing Yoga, Lecoq (neutral and basal mask) Grotowski’s physical metaphor, Laban and Viewpoints.
• Rehearsal and Performance (Drama 726): Roles with PlayMakers as cast through auditions with the director or as assigned by PlayMakers; roles with Ground Floor as cast by PATP faculty or as initiated by the actor; readings; auditions.
• In addition to this curriculum, the first year begins with a series of additional workshops including The Curiosity Project.

Second Year: Variation and Transformation

• Acting (Drama 721): Application of acting process to a variety of classical and formal texts including Shakespeare.
• Voice/Speech/Dialects (Drama 723): Application of advanced vocal technique to scene study and classical texts; character voice and character perspective; dialect work beyond personal dialect.
• Movement (Drama 725): Body in Space and Time: a physical approach to periods and styles to gain specificity and increase imaginative range; Contemporary Farce, Clown, Comedic Application to Text
• Rehearsal and Performance (Drama 727): Continuing work at PlayMakers, Ground Floor, readings, and auditions.

Third Year: Ownership

• Acting (Drama 728A): Continued and advanced scene work; the business of acting; showcase preparation and presentation; continued work with PlayMakers and Ground Floor.
• Voice/Speech (Drama 728V): Continued application of a free and expressive voice to varying contemporary and classical work; camera work; voice-over; individual coaching and tutoring to address specific challenges and interests.
• Movement (Drama 728M): Actor as Creator: devising work; creating, producing and performing a solo show.

Ground Floor Series

Ground Floor productions are designed with the actor in mind. They are rehearsed and performed in studios with little-to-no production values, with a focus solely on the acting. Recent Ground Floor productions include:

• Circle Back, Pass Over, The Lifespan of a Fact, The Taming, and Stupid Fucking Bird, world premiere of an original commissioned piece by PATP alum Rishan Dhamija, directed by guest Raghav Puri
• Den of Thieves directed by guest Kristy Dodson
• Grand Concourse directed by PATP Faculty Tia James
• The Mountaintop directed by guest Phillip Bernard Smith
• _The Kritik _directed and written by Brenda Withers – written specifically for PATP actors
• _Top Dog Under Dog _directed by guest artist Tyler Dombrowski
• Beast on the Moon directed by UNC faculty Aubrey Snowden
• _Pavilion _directed by guest artist Dana Marks
• _Time Stands Still _directed by PlayMakers Producing Associate, Alejandro Rodriguez
• _Real Estate _directed by guest artist Talya Klein
• _Good Girls: A Play in Five Fabulous Acts _devised by PATP actors with director and guest faculty, Maria Enriquez
• _Space Plus Time _written and directed by guest artist Kevin Vavassuer
• _Mud _by Maria Irene Fornes, directed by guest artist Ron Menzel
• _References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot _by Jose Rivera, directed by Aubrey Snowden
• , a devised project created and directed by UNC faculty Aubrey Snowden
• The Brothers Size by Tarell Alvin McCraney, directed by guest artist Jameeka Holloway
• by Branden Jacobs Jenkins, directed by guest artist Daniel Wilson
• A Doll’s House, Part 2 by Lucas Hnath, directed by guest artist Beth Gardiner
• Stop Kiss by Diana Son, directed by guest artist Jackson Gay
• by Nick Payne directed by PATP faculty Tia James

Guest Workshops and Master Classes

The PATP’s Course of Study is occasionally supplemented by workshops and special classes taught by distinguished guests. Recent workshops include:

• Workshops and panel discussions with casting directors , such as: Erica Hart; Jennifer Liestman of Guthrie Theatre; Paul Davis at Calleri, Jensen and Davis Casting; Pat McCorkle; Erica Arvold; Heidi Griffiths of New York’s Public Theater; Bass/Valle Casting; and Capelleriotis Casting; Ken Melamed from Bret Adams, Ltd.; Katie Lynch from Resolute Artists Agency; Shir Arahon from Anonymous Content; PATP alum, Alice Whitley from CAA Agency; Lori Swift from Sweet 180….
• Workshops and panel discussions with agents and managers from: : Jordan Parente and Nicole Wichinsky at Stewart Talent Agency; David Gretchko at HCKR Agency, Professional Artists; Boals & Winnett; Harden, Curtis; and ICM
• Specialty Movement, Voice and Acting Workshops : Lucid Body – Fay Simpson, Thiago Felix; Maria Enriquez; Zachary Fine; Scott Miller; Rebecca Guy; Andrew Borba; David Hyde-Pierce and Brian Hargrove

PRC’s Mobile Unit

• The Tempest, A Mobile Shakespeare production directed by PATP Faculty, Tracy Bersley
• Measure for Measure , a Mobile Shakespeare production directed by guest artist Katie McGerr
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream , a Mobile Shakespeare production directed by PlayMakers Artistic Associate Mikey Perlman
• , a Mobile Shakespeare production directed by PATP faculty, Tia James
• Wilder by Wilder , Mobile production directed by Alejandro Rodriguez