Master of Fine Arts Degree in Television, Film and Theatre
The Cal State LA MFA in Television, Film and Theatre is a three-year, terminal degree program that prepares students for diverse professional and academic programs. In particular, the Cal State LA MFA in TVFT prepares students for careers as actors, writers, and content creators in the television, film and theatre industries. The MFA, along with extensive professional experience, also prepares students to teach in these fields.
The CSULA MFA in Television, Film and Theatre offers three formal options:
- Option l: Acting: The Acting option offers students a progression of acting training from the fundamentals up, through various styles and mediums (theatre, film, TV). Grounded in the approaches of Uta Hagen with additional tools from Meisner, Mamet, Viewpoints and more, the training is geared towards practical application, while simultaneously helping each actor grow individually. Students have the opportunity to perform in numerous venues prior to completing their degree, from our theatres to sound stages. The Acting Option includes classes and workshops in movement, including dance, Commedia del Arte, stage combat and Grotowski physical training; voice, including Linklater, Fitzmaurice, Roy Hart as well as Dudley Knight and Knight-Thompson Speechwork. Other courses are designed to inform students of current industry practices and procedures.
- Option 2: Content Creation: This option includes classes, and practicum in all related media through all stages of production. Students in the Content Creation Option benefit from visiting guest artists, from a Film/Television and Theatre faculty who continue to work in their professions, and from regularly scheduled screenings, speakers, demos, events, or staged productions.
- Option 3: Writing: Students in this option have the opportunity to write across television, film, and stage in courses focusing on playwriting, TV writing, screenwriting and new media. The courses in the option offer students the opportunity of experiential coursework that takes them from the writer’s room through production in collaboration with students in the other Options. Writers have the opportunity to see their works produced in a theatrical/television/film format.
Option Requirements: The graduate program consists of a total of 58 units, with 37 units in core courses and 21 units in one of the three options. Students must meet the requirements of the designated option. Graduate advisors must be consulted regarding specific option requirements.
The MFA in Television Film and Theatre has the following objectives:
- To offer a curriculum for future storytellers by educating them in a variety of forms of narrative arts: linear, and non-linear storytelling in television, film, theatre and new media;
- To prepare students for careers in content creation, writing and acting by emphasizing technical proficiency and creative artistry within and across television, film and theatre;
- To provide students career options with the intellectual and historical backgrounds central to their development as media artists and scholars;
- To provide the technical and academic expertise essential to prepare future professionals and faculty in this terminal degree program;
- To provide our uniquely diverse student body with opportunities for advanced coursework in content creation, writing and acting.