Mastering the Art of Long Days and Sleepless Nights.

My time at Villanova Theatre

I’m not going to lie, grad school is hard.  And as much as I love this program, it can be brutal!  I have a number of friends who are attending graduate school for Theatre and they are stressed and tired just like we are here, but I don’t think their programs are quite as all encompassing as the M.A. in Theatre program at Villanova. 

Coffee becomes your best friend in Grad School.

Some insight:  all graduate students here earn a Master of Arts in Theatre, a comprehensive degree with equal emphasis on scholarly and practical experience.  We are here to learn it ALL, not just acting or stage management or directing (as you might in an M.F.A program), we are all afforded equal opportunities to try anything and everything that interests us!  This means that not only are we LOADED with tons of academic work, readings, projects and papers, we are also the ones building the sets, props, and costumes, stage managing, and acting in the main-stage shows.  (I am not even in The Drowsy Chaperone and I’m tired!)

It's the little things!  The Drowsy Chaperone Co-Creator and Original (Tony Award Winning) Man in Chair, Bob Martin, visits a performance of The Drowsy Chaperone at Villanova Theatre.  (Bob martin is in the Middle.  Lisa Lambert, also a Co-Creator joined us!)

All of that aside, I couldn’t imagine myself at another program.  Through the tired tears, the sleepless nights, and the stress of getting our first Production History done (the first big project for our Dramaturgy – Classics class), I am confident that once I graduate from the Villanova M.A. in Theatre program, I will be able to handle absolutely anything that may be thrown my way.

My Production History Binder on August Wilson's The Piano Lesson.

The biggest challenge that I see myself facing here is that the program is only two years, and there is so much I want to get involved in, achieve, and accomplish!

If you are interested in learning more about the Villanova Masters in Theatre Program, or more about Villanova Theatre in general, please contact Annetta Stowman.  Auditions and interviews for the incoming class of 2013 are in February.  Visit www.villanovatheatre.org for more information.  Wish me luck as finals approach!

-Brie Knight

1^st Year Graduate Assistant

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