Graduate Acting
Master of Fine Arts, Theatre
Most programs in the UCF School of Performing Arts require an audition or interview.
The MFA Acting Track is a NAST-accredited pre-professional actor training program. Through intensive practical and theoretical classwork and production experience, students are prepared physically and vocally as artists to succeed in this demanding profession.
The first two years are spent on campus in classes and performing in Theatre UCF productions. MFA Theatre students will serve as Graduate Teaching Assistants in the first and second years, and some will have the opportunity to be instructor or record for undergraduate classes in year two. The third year is spent as a resident company member at Orlando Shakes where students perform in mainstage and theatre for young audience productions, teach, study and assist with the operations of the theatre.
What performance opportunities will I have at UCF?
Students are guaranteed at least two roles in Theatre UCF productions and two roles at Orlando Shakes. The Theatre UCF season typically produces six shows per year and MFA Acting candidates can expect to appear in one to three shows per season during their first two years. While students are permitted to seek work outside the university, especially in the summer, they are expected to put UCF as their top priority and must obtain permission to appear in productions in the community during the school year.
What will I study in the classroom?
Course study includes voice and speech, movement, acting, theory, history, criticism, stage combat, acting for the camera and professional development. Students are exposed to Meisner, Stanislavsky, Chekhov and other acting techniques and study the Fitzmaurice technique, Laban movement analysis and mask work.
What gives UCF students a competitive advantage?
Most MFA Acting Track students graduate with enough equity points to join Actors Equity Association. Their resumes include several professional credits as well as teaching experience. The connections they make at Orlando Shakes often lead to professional engagements after graduation. The comprehensive study of acting, movement, voice, combat, camera acting and history/theory prepare them well for careers as professional actors as well as university professors.
Application Requirements
Minimum requirements for admission are a B.A. or BFA degree in Theatre or equivalent. An audition and interview are also required. Each student interested in the program must apply to UCF through the College of Graduate Studies before being considered a candidate. The MFA Acting Track admits students every two years to start the fall semester of each even-numbered year with interviews and auditions held early that same year.
Students applying for entrance to the MFA program should have successfully completed the following undergraduate courses or their equivalent:
- Script analysis or Play Analysis
- Theatre History and Dramatic Literature sequence of courses
- Advanced Acting
- Classical Acting
- Voice and Speech
- Movement
Any questions about these requirements should be directed to the program coordinator. Students must submit application materials to UCF Graduate Studies and the School of Performing Arts. The University of Central Florida employs an online application process which can be accessed at graduate.ucf.edu. Additional materials must be submitted directly to the School of Performing Arts.
Submit to the Office of Graduate Studies
- Online application
- Application fee
- Official transcripts
- Residency classification form
- Statement of purpose
- Résumé
- Three (3) current letters of recommendation
The School of Performing Arts requires applicants to participate in an audition as well as an interview.
Additional Application Information
The audition must include:
- Two contrasting 2-minute monologues (one classical)
- Optional, recommended for singers: at least 16 bars of a song (preferably more)
Please do not sing a capella; prepare to provide your own accompaniment via audio device.
Schedule Your Audition
The M.F.A. Theatre, Acting Track accepts students each even-numbered year to start in the Fall semester. Application and audition information is typically announced the previous November, with auditions typically occurring in February. For 2024, the Orlando audition date will be held in early February 2024.
Additionally, UCF will attend URTA auditions in New York and Chicago in January 2024.
Slots for Orlando auditions will be held by appointment only and can be scheduled via email with Michael Wainstein at michael.wainstein@ucf.edu.
Contact
Alumni Highlights
Quentin Earl Darrington ’16
Broadway Performer, Cats, MJ, Once on this Island, Ragtime
Brooke Haney ’11
Artistic Producer and Director, Apprentice Company for Daughters of Troy, New York, NY; Adjunct Professor of Acting, Marymount Manhattan College
Evelyn Tyler ’07
Artisan, Event Planner and Professor of Theatre at Florida A&M University
Amanda (Wansa) Morgan ’09
Asst. Professor of Performance at University of Mississippi; Former Director of Music Education & Resident Music Director, Charleston Stage
Trent Fucci ’11
Actor, New York, NY