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Graduate Acting at UC San Diego

Student mission statement:

The mission of the UCSD MFA Actor is to be a group of collaborative, diverse, and bold storytellers, dedicated to becoming proactive generators of art in an ever-changing society

 



Voice

"At UCSD, we value your voice and the creativity and responsibility that comes with the wonder of vocal expression. We believe speaking is a physical act so that our work demands full body engagement. We believe breath is the answer to the truth of the character, the moment, and the story. We believe that rigorous, disciplined vocal training is the key to flexibility, variety, specificity, and play. We believe that every class is a chance to make theatre. We believe that your voice and what you have to say matters. And we also are on fire to share with you the glorious sounds of the poets and playwrights whose words still make us tremble."
~ Ursula Meyer




Movement

"Movement training at UCSD sits at the intersection where perspiration, observation, inspiration and imagination collide. The body thinks. The body plays. The body acts. We develop actors who play with a thinking body capable of dynamic expressivity and fearlessness. Whether playing with the buoyancy of comedy or the gravity of tragedy, the body must articulate with in-the-moment responsiveness. Come play to your full capacity and ferociously engage the live theatrical event!"
~ Stephen Buescher






Speech

"Speech and Dialects are foundational to Actor Training, providing transformational tools and language skills needed for expansive careers in theatre, television and film. Speech training is both technical and physical, and actors’ voices and bodies are fully engaged in the learning. The mastery of speech, accents and dialects allows actors to shift from their personal dialect in order to authentically assume the accents/regional dialects of characters from various regions, cultures and eras. Voice and Speech faculty assist and mentor the acting and directing students in the student productions, which are the Department’s laboratories, reinforcing classroom instruction and promoting its practical application in the Department’s plays." 
                                                     ~ Eva Barnes
 

 


Shakespeare

"Shakespeare’s texts serve as road maps for the actor. Like a musical score, Shakespeare is very specific about what he wants from the actor, at least as a starting point for performing his characters. By studying Shakespeare’s texts and identifying his implicit “director’s hand” in the words themselves, the actor can identify a pathway to allow his/her own artistry to flourish. No training program can teach “talent;” one either has it or one doesn’t. A training program can, however, teach a technique that will allow that student’s innate talent to take wing and realize its full potential. That is my aim in teaching Shakespeare to actors."
~ Marco Barricelli


 

Click here to visit the Acting MFA Admissions page

 

If you have questions or would like more information about our Graduate programs, call the Graduate Coordinator at 858-534-1046 or email at tdgradcoord@ucsd.edu