Theatre - Graduate studies | Faculty of Arts

Programs

The Department of Theatre offers two programs at the Masters level.

Master of Fine Arts in Theatre (MFA) (Directing)

Application Deadline: February 1

This innovative program allows students to benefit from the approaches to directing found in Canada's two principal theatrical cultures. Our program also aims to cultivate our students' sense of aesthetic diversity, exposing them to contrasting approaches to the director's art, from traditional, text-based production to devised and post-dramatic performance.

Admission requirements

Applicants to the program are required to have an honours baccalaureate in theatre, or the equivalent, with a minimum average of 75% (B+) in their last two years of study and an overall average of at least 70% (B).

Program requirements

To be eligible, the candidate should have:

a solid background in dramatic literature, theory and the history of the theatre;
knowledge about the operation of the theatre, including an understanding about the basic techniques of acting, production and theatre administration;
experience, talent and an obvious aptitude for theatre directing;
some theatre experience outside the university environment;
proficiency in one of the two official languages and at least a basic knowledge about the other language; basic knowledge implies the ability to follow courses in both official languages, and to appreciate the English and French theatrical traditions, culture and practice.

Nota: In compliance with University of Ottawa policy, students may choose to do production work, and to write assignments and examinations in either English or French.

Degree requirements

The program combines directing seminars and practical production courses in which students direct a series of problem-scenes and plays with the guidance of professors and working professionals, and two core courses. Students will undertake a practicum in which they will observe a senior director mount a production in a professional theatre.

A total of 39 course credits are required.

Production courses (18 credits)
Graduate directing seminar (12 credits)
Core Courses THE5130 and THE5140 (6 credits)
Directing practicum (3 credits)

Students must pass a diagnostic examination upon entry into the program. The program must be completed in two years (five sessions of full time registration). The students register for the fifth session in the second year in order to complete their post-production analysis (THE 6001), the directing practicum (THE 6901) and write their comprehensive exams.

The minimum passing grade in all courses is C+. A student who receives two failing grades (equivalent to six credits), or who fails the same course twice, is required to withdraw.

The program is governed by the of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.

Documents required for admission

The following documents are required for admission:

the official University of Ottawa application for admission - graduate studies form;
a detailed up-to-date curriculum vitae;
an undergraduate transcript;
A letter of intent by the applicant (three pages maximum) outlining why he or she wishes to pursue graduate study in directing at the University of Ottawa ;
three letters of reference, including:
- at least one from a professor familiar with the applicant's undergraduate work.
- at least one from a person active in theatre outside a university setting.

After an initial selection process, the candidates whose applications have been retained will be requested to submit a dossier detailing their directorial work on a recent production. The dossier should include, at least:

the text of the play as it was performed;
a detailed written account of the applicant's directorial vision of the play and how that vision was carried out;
copies of newspaper, radio or television reviews, if they exist;
some visual documentation of the production;
a self-evaluation of the process and the performance.

These documents must be sent to the following address:
Office of Graduate Studies, Faculty of Arts, c/o Graduate Programs - Theatre
55 Laurier Avenue East, Room 8159
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
K1N 6N5

Based upon all documentation submitted to this point, a second selection will be made. Applicants remaining on the short list will be interviewed. The interview will include questions in both French and English. The interviewers will question candidates in detail about issues raised in their written submissions and will assess their communication skills and bilingualism. Following the interview, two candidates will be recommended for admission, and two or three will be placed on the waiting list.

Normal sequences for completion

	First year Fall session	First year Winter session	Second year Fall session	Second year Winter session	Second year Summer
Exams and submissions	Diagnostic examination (before beginning of first session)	Final production proposal (at end of second session)	THE 5952 (3 credits) Formal pre-production analysis
Production courses	THE 5901 (3 credits) Production I (Assigned problem-scenes and exercises)	THE 5902 (3 credits) Production II (One-act play)	THE 5903 (3 credits) Production III (One-act play)	THE 6001 (6 credits) Final production	THE 6001 (Formal post-production analysis) THE 6901(3 credits) - Directing practicum - Practicum report
Core courses	THE 5130 (3 credits) Dramaturgy		THE 5140 (3 credits) Theory of Performance
Directing seminars	THE 5931 (3 credits) Graduate directing seminar I	THE 5932 (3 credits) Graduate directing seminar II	THE 5933 (3 credits) Graduate directing seminar III	THE 5934 (3 credits) Graduate directing seminar IV
Total credits	18 credits	24 credits

The MFA program takes two years to complete. Courses are given in the autumn and winter sessions. If necessary, students may register for the spring session of their final year of program in order to complete their post-production analysis or the directing practicum.

No part-time students will be accepted.

The program is administered by the Director of Graduate Studies, the Department of Theatre and by the Graduate Studies Committee. Students' production-related work and essays are overseen by production supervisors, who will normally change each session.

Diagnostic examination

Before the beginning of the first session, incoming students will take a diagnostic examination consisting of a written test covering the whole range of theatre studies and practice.

Production courses

Each student will be involved in a sequence of four (4) production courses, each centered on a practical exercise, undertaken with the guidance of a production supervisor, who may be a theatre professor or a guest artist. Normally, each student's production supervisor will change from session to session.

THE5901 (3 credits) Production I (Fundamental Elements of Directing)

During the first semester students will work under the supervision of a faculty member on a sequence of directing exercises designed to develop students’ specific analytical and practical abilities. Scenes and exercises will introduce students to the fundamental building blocks of stage direction. One of the goals of THE5901 (3 credits) Production I is to allow students the challenge of directing professional theatre performers from the region for a period of one or two weeks.

THE5902 (3 credits) Production II (One-act play)

During the second session of the program each student will direct a one-act play. This production will serve:

to give students the opportunity to employ the practical skills they have acquired in THE5901;
to acquaint students with the Department and its production procedures;
to help define each student’s the specific directions for their upcoming projects in directing

Post-Production meeting

Following each production by an MFA student, there will be a formal meeting of the Graduate Studies Committee, the student’s supervisor and the MFA candidate. At the end of each discussion of the student’s progress through the program and artistic achievements, clear objectives for subsequent directorial exercises will be articulated.

THE5903 (3 credits) Production III (One-act play)

During the third session of the program each student will present a more complex and ambitious one-act play building on the work done in the first two production courses.

THE5952 (3 credits) Formal pre-production analysis and THE6001 (6 credits) Final production

This project is the culmination of the MFA curriculum. It consists of four (4) elements:

Before the end of the second session, each student must submit a brief final production proposal consisting of a list of three full-length plays to the Graduate Studies Committee. The proposal should include a clear rationale for the choice of each play in the context of the practical work that the student has completed so far in the program. The committee will recommend one of these plays as the student's final production project. In consultation with the MFA candidate and the Graduate Studies Committee, the Director of Graduate Studies will appoint a production supervisor.
During the third session, the student must register into THE5952 ANALYSE FORMELLE DE LA PRÉ-PRODUCTION / FORMAL PRE-PRODUCTION ANALYSIS (3cr.) and prepare a substantial formal pre-production analysis of the play, which must include a historical and dramatic analysis of the play, a study of the play's place within the author's oeuvre, a production history and a detailed production concept for the play, as well as a critical bibliography of works pertaining to the play and to the production. The supervisor of Final Production monitors the student’s progress through the course THE5952
After his/her successful completion of THE5952, the student must register into THE6001 PRODUCTION FINALE / FINAL PRODUCTION (6cr.). This course consists of a full-length final production, which is presented during the student's fourth session in the program. This production is designed to be a full scale public performance with complete technical and production support.
In order to complete THE6001, the student must submit a substantial post-production analysis of his or her recent production. In this report the MFA student reflects on the preparation, rehearsal, performance and reception of the production. After observing the MFA student’s preparation work, reflecting on his/her post-production report, and in consultation with the Graduate Studies Committee, the production’s supervisor assigns the grade to the course THE6001.

Seminar

All students in the MFA program participate in four (4) directing seminars. Each seminar is designed:

to ensure that students have a grasp of the practical foundations, theoretical components, and past and current trends of directorial practice;
to allow students to practically explore these ideas in their own studio exercises and MFA productions

Each seminar focuses on specific topics and approaches to directing. It provides a forum for the collaborative discussion of problems and issues encountered by the students in their production work. All graduate seminars are bilingual. Presentations and discussions will take place in both official languages. Following the University of Ottawa regulations, each student has the right to choose the language of their practical and written assignments.

Core Courses

All MFA students are required to take two (2) core courses THE5130/THE5530 Dramaturgy/Dramaturgie and THE5140/THE5540 Theory of Performance / Analyse de la représentation. The MFA students share these courses with the MA students.

THE5130/THE5530 Dramaturgy/Dramaturgie
[offered every year in alternate languages]

This course examines the dramatic text as a point of departure for theatrical performance. It defines the art of dramaturgy as the analysis of the poetics of dramatic text as well as the study of its structural specificities and norms. Students will be required to study major elements of—and theories related to—new play development, both from a historical perspective as well as a conceptual one.

THE5140/THE5540 Theory of Performance/ Analyse de la représentation
[offered every year in alternate languages]

This course takes into consideration a range of performance forms that define contemporary practice including performance art, fine art, film, site-specific theatre and cyber-spectacle. It seeks to equip students with the skills necessary for pursuing both practical and academic careers in theatre. Major elements of performance will be studied, both from historical and conceptual perspectives.

THE6901 STAGE / DIRECTING PRACTICUM (3cr.)

Students observe an established director mount a professional production. At the conclusion of the production, the student will submit a detailed record and analysis of the directorial process in which they have participated. Graded: S/NS. The practicum is co-coordinated and evaluated by the Director of Graduate Studies. The practicum is evaluated based on the student's practicum report (10-15 pages paper) and a follow-up conversation between the Director of Graduate Studies and the theatre director with whom the student worked.

Collaboration with the professional theatre community

The MFA curriculum is structured with the express purpose of facilitating the active participation of working theatre professionals, both the resident artistic directors of the English and French theatres in the region, and the directors, actors and other artists who regularly pass through Ottawa in the course of local theatre seasons. The program has been designed to incorporate meaningful contributions by working professionals in four distinct ways:

The modular structure of the directing seminar makes it possible for artists who may be in the region for a limited time to work as teachers for concentrated periods of between two and six weeks.
The rotation of graduate production supervisors means that professional artists, in particular local artistic directors, can work closely with students on individual productions over a single session.
The practicum assures that directing students will have the chance to observe established directors at work on productions outside the university setting.

Grading system

All courses are graded according to the alpha-numeric scale unless the course description in the graduate calendar explicitly indicates otherwise. The grading scale is as follows:

A+	90 - 100 %	10 points	Exceptional
A	85 - 90 %	9 points	Excellent
A-	80 - 84 %	8 points	Excellent
B+	75 - 79 %	7 points	Very good
B	70 - 74 %	6 points	Very good
C+	65 - 69 %	5 points	Good

All grades below C+ (65%) are failing grades for graduate students.

C	60 - 64 %	4 points
D+	55 - 59 %	3 points
D	50 - 54 %	2 points
E	40 - 49 %	1 point
F	0 - 39 %	0 points

The practicum and the comprehensive examination are graded satisfactory (S) or not satisfactory (NS).

Any student who receives two failing grades (equivalent to six credits), or who fails the same course twice, is required to withdraw.

The Department of Theatre

The Department of Theatre at the University of Ottawa is founded on the belief that theatre research and theatre practice can and should exist side by side. Strong theoretical knowledge and sound practical experience influence one another and lead toward greater creative undertakings in whichever facet of theatre students choose.

Learn more about the department.

Did you know?

Our Master of Fine Arts in Theatre (MFA) (Directing) is the only bilingual program in the country.
The new Master of Arts in Theatre (MA) (Theatre Theory and Dramaturgy) prepares graduates to follow doctoral programs offered by Canadian universities and abroad.

Graduate programs and opportunities

Distinguish your professional or academic profile at one of Canada’s top 10 research institutes. The University of Ottawa’s diverse range of programs allows you to choose a formula that improves your employment prospects and fits your lifestyle.

Learn more

Quick links

Graduate studies

Pedestrians crossing Laurier street on campus

Financial aid and awards

Close up on a calculator and hands on a keyboard

Research interests

	First year Fall session	First year Winter session	First year Summer Session	Second year Fall session	Second year Winter session	Second year Summer Session
Obligatory Courses	THE5140 Theory of Performance THE 5130 Dramaturgy	THE 5110 Research Methods in Theatre and Performance Studiess	THE7999 MA Thesis*	THE7999 MA Thesis	THE5120 Selected Topics in Theatre Studies THE7999 MA Thesis	THE7999 MA Thesis
Electives				Elective Seminar/course
Thesis Proposal		THE 6990 Thesis Proposal

C	60 - 65 %	4 points
D+	55 - 59 %	3 points
D	50 - 54 %	2 points
E	40 - 49 %	1 point
F	0 - 39 %	0 points