At the School of Drama, your training starts the moment you set foot on our campus, where you’re immersed in the artistic and cultural life of New York City. You are surrounded by legendary artist-educators who challenge you to expand the boundaries of your artistry and instill in you the commitment and discipline you need for bold creative success. We teach you to take control of your artistic career. Explore our community, which over its 100-year history has shaped some of the most important theater and film artists the world has ever known.
where new storytellers are born
The four-year BFA in Dramatic Arts prepares undergraduate students to thrive as artists and engaged citizens in today’s evolving theater and film industries. Our program fosters artistic flexibility, proficiency across multiple media, and contemporary relevance.
As a BFA student, you can also apply to the MA in Arts Management and Entrepreneurship program. This graduate program, offered by the College of Performing Arts—home to the School of Drama, Mannes School of Music, and the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music—focuses on the business, management, and leadership skills that artists need to broaden their career options. Through our integrated program, you can complete the MA (ordinarily a two-year program) and a BFA in a total of five years.
The three-year MFA in Contemporary Theatre and Performance revolutionizes dramatic arts training to prepare graduates for success in an ever-changing field and to expand the artist’s role in society today.
Learn more about the values driving our educational programs at newschool.edu/artists-proficiencies.
174 students enrolled at the School of Drama (142 undergraduate, 32 graduate)1
31% international students
Our faculty is made up of contemporary New York legends— award-winning actors, playwrights, directors, and creative technologists who bring a wealth of industry experience and proven teaching methods to the classroom.
A few of our faculty are listed below; see the whole list at newschool.edu/drama-faculty.
Cara Hagan—A multidisciplinary performer, curator, and community builder, Hagan has performed around the world using art to pursue liberation. Her work has been seen at the Performática Festival in Cholula, Mexico; the Conference on Geopoetics in Edinburgh, Scotland; and the Loikka Dance Film Festival in Helsinki, Finland. y our faculty
Stephen Karam—A playwright, screenwriter, and director, Karam has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice. His play The Humans won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Play, and he wrote and directed its film adaptation, released in 2021.
Joanna Chinyere “ChiChi” Anyanwu—Anyanwu is a leading talent manager, the founder of the CHI Talent Management agency, and a producer for the Now Africa: Playwrights Festival.
Sarah Gancher—Gancher is an Obie Award–winning playwright whose work has been produced or developed at venues including London’s National Theatre, Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre, The Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, Playwrights Horizons, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
Sanjit De Silva—An actor, writer, and director, De Silva has worked on Broadway and in film and television. De Silva has performed in Thomas Kail’s world premiere of Dry Powder at The Public Theater, in New York’s Shakespeare in the Park, in Hammaad Chaudry’s An Ordinary Muslim at the New York Theatre Workshop, and in J. T. Rogers’ Corruption at Lincoln Center Theater.
Christopher Shinn—An award-winning playwright, Shinn earned the 2005 Obie Award for Playwriting for his play Where Do We Live. He was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Dying City. Shinn’s work has been produced by companies including Playwrights Horizons, Royal Court Theatre, Vineyard Theatre, Lincoln Center Theater, and Roundabout Theatre Company.
Irina Kruzhilina—A designer and director, Kruzhilina has an award-winning and diverse portfolio that encompasses interdisciplinary downtown theater, large-scale parades, and site-responsive installations. Her work has been showcased worldwide at venues including Tokyo Disney, Brooklyn Academy of Music, La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, Prague National Theatre, and the New York Philharmonic.
9:1
student-to-faculty ratio
68
School of Drama faculty members
At the School of Drama, you’ll find a community of creatives dedicated to amplifying stories that move society forward. Actors develop their skills by performing playwrights’ scripts; playwrights gain insights from actors; directors work with digital designers to transform theater for the future.
As a College of Performing Arts student, you can take courses taught by Mannes and School of Jazz and Contemporary Music faculty members such as Broadway performer Grace McLean (Suffs; Bad Cinderella; Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812) and Broadway and film composer David Van Tieghem. And because your school is part of the New School community, you can connect and collaborate with peers and instructors at Parsons School of Design, at the School of Media Studies, and in the Creative Writing Program— a diverse array of media makers, designers, photographers, and writers.
Follow us on Instagram to see our community in action: @newschoolperformingarts .
If you’re in the area, observe our work firsthand by attending a performance. View our event calendar at newschool.edu/drama-calendar.
New York City Partnered Projects
At the School of Drama, you’re guided by a faculty of industry professionals and benefit from connections to theater innovators and legendary arts organizations in a global capital of theater. Recent School of Drama partners include the New Victory Theater, Naked Angels, Ping Chong & Company, St. Ann’s Warehouse, and Domino Sound.
Learn more at newschool.edu/drama-partners .
BFA DRAMATIC ARTS
In the Bachelor of Fine Arts program, an interdisciplinary, studiobased structure ensures that you develop a strong foundation in acting, directing, playwriting, and creative technology. Our Guided Theater Electives offer you project-, technique-, and theory-based courses that help you develop advanced skills in one of several areas of focus, including Advanced Performance, Advanced Directing, Advanced Writing, Transdisciplinary Work and Producing, and Technology, Film, and Media. Your coursework is designed to enable you to explore your artistic vision and expand your skills. Your BFA studies include professional development opportunities and the industry access you expect from a top-tier theater school in New York City.
newschool.edu/drama/bfa-dramatic-arts
Curriculum Overview
The BFA Dramatic Arts curriculum includes required courses taught at the School of Drama and throughout the College of Performing Arts, University Lecture Courses, Guided Theater Electives, and general electives that allow you to explore and tailor your studies through a minor.
Credit requirements sometimes change; visit newschool.edu/provost/ academic-catalogs to see educational requirements for a given year.
Performing Arts Core Courses
All College of Performing Arts undergraduates take the Performing Arts Core program—courses and electives designed to help you explore crossdisciplinary topics crucial for professionals in the field, nurture you as a holistic and generative artist, and broaden your perspective. Required courses include The Whole Human Artist, Socially Engaged Artistry, Improvisation and Collaboration, and Technology and Experimentation.
Explore courses at newschool.edu/drama-courses .
Creative Technologies
Creative Technologies is a multidisciplinary course of study for theater students interested in integrating digital media and live performance. Our courses in video projection design, filmmaking, and sonography equip you with the skills you need to create innovative work and take on hybrid roles such as director-designer and actor-designer. Students with advanced skills in creative technologies can build their portfolio by working on senior film and media pieces or as sound or production designers for our various productions.
Minors That Help You Stand Out
Minors let you explore subjects that complement your drama studies, acquire specialized skills, and stand out in professional settings. Popular minors include Contemporary Dance, Film Production, Screenwriting, Fashion Business, Creative Entrepreneurship, Sociology, and Audio Production.
Our full list of more than 70 minors can be found at newschool.edu/ drama/minors .
Drama studios 4 dedicated performance venues
SPECIAL BFA LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Learning in the BFA program goes beyond the classroom to include special opportunities like the Creative Lab/Studio series of student-led productions, study abroad in the United Kingdom or Ireland, and an annual devised performance. Many of our opportunities include invited guests and display your creativity to theater professionals.
See the list on the next page and visit newschool.edu/dramaopps and newschool.edu/drama-abroad to learn more.
The Creative Lab/Studio allows you to pitch and produce work under the guidance of a faculty advisor while gaining hands-on experience by managing a project from start to finish. You collaborate with students from across the New School community, who help bring your project to life.
The Dramatic Arts Senior Festival presents thesis work by BFA Dramatic Arts students that highlights their training in technique while demonstrating the depth of their critical inquiry abilities.
Directed Research Projects are year-long development undertakings that give graduating students the opportunity to apply their skills to a culminating work in writing, directing, acting, or design. Projects can include a new or extant play, film, collaborative work, or media piece.
The Actor Showcase is available to graduating students following a semesterlong intensive course taught by a professional manager. Students select and rehearse dramatic material for a performance before an audience of invited casting directors, managers, and agents.
Music Theater Lab is a collaborative theatrical course in which students explore and develop musical theater performance. Students practice and perform songs from a variety of eras and genres.
Bank Street Theater Productions offer students opportunities to work closely with faculty, industry professionals, and peers to create productions and share them publicly. Recent BFA productions include Caridad Svich’s Red Bike; Christopher Chen’s Passage; Julia Izumi’s Sometimes the Rain, Sometimes the Sea; Branden Jacob-Jenkins’ Everybody; and Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
16–20 performances per year (faculty-, guest-, and student-directed works)
Accelerated Bachelor’s-Master’s Option
The New School’s five-year Bachelor’s-Master’s program augments your drama training with courses in business, leadership, and entrepreneurship designed to help you thrive in your creative endeavors and career. You save time and money by earning graduate credits that apply to both your undergraduate degree and an MA in Arts Management and Entrepreneurship degree. The MA course of study gives you greater control over your future by cultivating the skills you need for roles in management, arts administration, arts education, and cultural policy and advocacy.
newschool.edu/drama-bfa-ma
“I chose The New School because it was in the heart of NYC and was one of the only schools that felt like a playground for artists of all kinds—actors, writers, musicians, fashion designers, community organizers. You can’t help but be inspired here.”
Jordan E. Cooper, BFA Dramatic Arts alum
MFA CONTEMPORARY THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE
The three-year MFA in Contemporary Theatre and Performance combines the rigor of traditional conservatory training with learning experiences that strengthen your abilities in ensembledriven collaboration, innovative practice, the development of new work, and entrepreneurship. Your studies take you to the intersection of acting, writing, directing, creative conceptualization, and technology. You master your artistic field of practice while acquiring the practical skills and knowledge you need to thrive as an independent artist in an industry that increasingly demands interdisciplinary abilities. You develop dramatic narratives rooted in emotional honesty that reflect a solid mastery of technique in a process guiding you to interpret, improvise, create, collaborate, and bring projects to completion.
newschool.edu/mfa-drama
“ Working so closely with my cohort enriched my understanding of the power of collective creativity in bringing stories to life.”
Bin Bin Kuo, MFA Contemporary Theatre and Performance student
Curriculum Overview
The program’s approach to learning is project-centered, process-oriented, and highly collaborative. Your curricular pathway—designed on the basis of your background and goals—supports your creative practice and fosters advanced skills in multiple disciplines, including multimedia design and new creative technologies. You work closely with faculty, mastering the techniques necessary for careers on the stage and in television and film.
Visit newschool.edu/provost/academic-catalogs to see information on educational and credit requirements for your year of entry.
Capstone Projects
As a third-year student, you produce a work that represents the culmination of your unique path through the program. Projects can take the form of an original play, film, devised work, or site-specific collaborative piece.
Minors That Broaden Your Horizons
Graduate minors offered throughout The New School enable you to acquire skills to complement your School of Drama course of study.
Learn more at newschool.edu/graduate-minors .
Your diverse community of fellow MFA students, faculty, and industry partners broadens your creative horizons and professional networks. You are encouraged to share ideas for new works, seek collaborators both within the school and from other parts of The New School, and propose projects that provide hands-on experience in all phases of conceiving and producing work. New School graduate students also take part in 1st Mondays, Naked Angels’ monthly play reading series, and participate in events like the APEX Festival and the Mannes Sounds Festival. Described below are initiatives created to give MFA students experiential learning opportunities.
To learn more, visit newschool.edu/drama-opps.
Site-Specific Projects go beyond the traditional stage as you and your peers create a work responding to a specific physical space, one that draws inspiration from the site’s architecture, history, setting, and use. The project offers unique opportunities for creative placemaking and community engagement and culminates in a public performance.
The New Play Workshop offers hands-on learning in the process of creating a play—from developing and rehearsing to staging and presenting. Along with your artist peers, you define and explore the roles and responsibilities involved in producing a new play, developing your ability to contribute creatively in the process.
APEX Projects are third-year Contemporary Theatre and Performance students’ culminating productions. APEX projects showcase the extensive knowledge, technique, and artistry students have developed in their course of study.
MA ARTS MANAGEMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
MFA students can take advantage of course offerings in the Master of Arts in Arts Management and Entrepreneurship program offered by the College of Performing Arts. The program complements your creative work with courses that develop your real-world skills and prepare you for success in all performing arts fields. Explore entrepreneurship, management, arts administration, arts education, professional practice, and cultural policy and advocacy with creative peers and with faculty devoted to helping you manage your creative career in an evolving industry.
newschool.edu/drama-ma-arts
“At The New School, from the very beginning you’re taught about the importance of collaboration.”
—Jason Kim, MFA Playwriting alum
y our creative future awaits
School of Drama faculty and staff help you make your career ambitions a reality. We assist you in finding courses, collaboration partners, and projects beyond the classroom that develop your craft and prepare you to launch a career in the arts.
Our Student Career Services team helps you chart a path after graduation and secure internships with renowned organizations such as Theater for a New Audience, Ma Yi Theatre Company, Lincoln Center, BAM, American Ballet Theatre, and many others in the New York metropolitan area.
Learn more about undergraduate career advising at newschool.edu/dramacareers and graduate advising at newschool.edu/drama-grad-careers .
Alumni Innovators
Our graduates take their education and creativity into new terrain, reimagining theater and eliciting new emotions, insights, and action from audiences.
A few of our alumni are listed below; learn more at newschool.edu/drama/ outcomes .
Stefania Bulbarella, BFA Dramatic Arts ’19, is a Tony-nominated projection designer whose off-Broadway credits include Travels (Ars Nova), Jaja’s African Hair Braiding (Manhattan Theatre Club), Space Dogs (MCC), Semblance (New York Theatre Workshop), and The Watering Hole (Signature Theatre). Bulbarella was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Projection Design and an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Video/Projection Design for Space Dogs.
1,279
School of Drama program alumni
Jordan E. Cooper, BFA Dramatic Arts ’18, is an award-winning performer and playwright. He starred in the sold-out 2021 run of his play Ain’t No Mo’, which then moved to Broadway and was nominated for six Tony Awards, including two for Cooper himself. Cooper played Tyrone in FX’s Pose and is the creator and executive producer of The Ms. Pat Show, which airs on BET+ and is produced by his company, Cookout Entertainment.
Jason Kim, MFA Playwriting ‘13, is a playwright, screenwriter, and librettist. Kim wrote the book for KPOP—which won Outstanding Musical at the 2018 Lucille Lortel Awards and a Tony nomination in 2023 for Best Original Score—and was a writer on HBO’s Girls and a producer of the Netflix series Love. His play An American Man, commissioned by the Washington National Opera, was performed at the Kennedy Center.
Calley Anderson, MFA Playwriting ’20, is a program director at the NY Writers Coalition. Her plays, including commissioned works, have been staged at colleges and festivals nationwide. She is an alum of the Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellows and the Liberation Theatre Company Writing Residency Program.
Stevie Walker-Webb, MFA Directing ’16, launched his career with We Ain’t the Huxtables, a work created by members of C.A.S.T., an arts nonprofit he co-founded that uses theater as a means of creating radical social change. Walker-Webb also directed Ain’t No Mo’, which won him a nomination for a Tony Award in the Best Direction of a Play category. He earlier won a Princess Grace Award for Directing. Walker-Webb is the artistic director of Baltimore Center Stage.
school
at the school of drama
Your New Home in a Creative Capital
Your studies at the School of Drama unfold in New York City’s legendary downtown neighborhood, Greenwich Village. The Village’s history—which includes social activists who stirred the nation and virtuosos who developed new art forms—inspires you as it did New School alumni and faculty groundbreakers like Marlon Brando, Bradley Cooper, Bea Arthur, Bill Evans, James Baldwin, Stella Adler, and John Cage. Today the Village is home to dozens of small theaters, jazz clubs, and performance venues, all just steps away from our dorms and classrooms. li ving and learning
Housing
Our residence halls and other university facilities are a short walk from your classrooms, giving you easy access to libraries, computer labs, and our 24-hour University Center, which houses our cafeteria and performing arts library. Our dorms offer a secure, supportive environment, and residence hall staff organize a variety of social, educational, and cultural activities.
For details, visit newschool.edu/housing.
Financial Aid
The New School’s comprehensive financial aid program provides competitive merit-based scholarships and need-based aid for those who qualify. All applicants, including international students, are automatically considered for merit aid. We also participate in government grant, loan, and work-study programs.
For more information on financing your education, visit newschool.edu/drama/ tuition-fees-estimator and newschool.edu/student-financial-services. You can email questions to sfs@newschool.edu.
Learning Resources
The New School’s extensive resources—performance and gallery spaces, libraries, XR studios, making facilities, computer labs, archives, and research centers and institutes—help you get the most out of your time at the university. Public programs bring luminaries and new ideas to campus, drawing on the city’s position as a center of culture, commerce, and innovation. The University Learning Center (ULC) provides academic support to The New School’s diverse student population through one-on-one tutoring sessions and workshops.
newschool.edu/learning-center
Health and Wellness
The Student Health Services (SHS) team help you thrive in the classroom by offering comprehensive confidential, culturally sensitive medical and counseling support. Resources include immunizations, in-person and telehealth appointments, individual counseling, support groups, and psychiatric care. Dedicated staff on campus provide services and can refer you for specialized and public healthcare resources. SHS also organizes wellness activities such as meditation classes, workshops, and stress relief events during challenging times of the year.
newschool.edu/health-services
The School of Drama is part of the College of Performing Arts, which also includes the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music and Mannes School of Music. The College of Performing Arts is housed in a larger university, The New School. This unique model allows us to offer three tiers of collaboration. Within each school, students collaborate across disciplines with their classmates—actors with directors, composers with musicians— erasing boundaries between majors. In the three performing arts schools, musicians, composers, playwrights, actors, and directors join forces, taking classes and creating together.
Across The New School, performing arts students can pursue minors and courses in every discipline, including liberal arts, design, technology, media, and management. We embrace collaboration with an entrepreneurial spirit. Discovery, rigorous practice, and versatility aren’t just words to us; they are at the core of the New School curriculum.
WE ARE THE NEW SCHOOL
Since its founding in 1919, The New School has been a center of independent thought, dialogue, and action. We are a community that applies integrative approaches to global problems and leads the systemic change needed to make the world more equitable, more sustainable, and better designed for all. Today our university is made up of colleges offering courses in art and design, music and performance, the liberal arts and social sciences, management, media, and more.
Get in touch and take the next step
Contact our team, learn about admission requirements, attend an admission event, or make an appointment.
Contact the program
212.229.5150 x2 or 800.292.3040 x2 performingarts@newschool.edu
For important information including accreditation, student rights, campus safety statistics, and tuition and fees, visit newschool.edu/your-right-to-know. Published 2024 by The New School. The New School is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Photo credits: Maria Baranova, Sophie Barkham, James Ewing, Ben Ferrari, Guerrilla Photography, Nathaniel Johnston, Matthew Mathews, Siobhan Mullan, Martin Seck, Michael Kirby Smith
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