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Playwriting M.F.A.

Playwriting M.F.A.

M.F.A. – Playwriting

Develop your voice as a writer in a program that provides unique international and interdisciplinary exposure to the most contemporary work in the performing arts. We guide artists toward innovation and the fearless pursuit of bold ideas, while embracing the richness of their cultural backgrounds.

Our course of study combines ample practice in a variety of writing styles and creative processes integrated with a solid historical and theoretical base, using embodied and culturally responsive pedagogies that value all identities. A range of guest artists from around the world visit the program every year. There are plenty of opportunities for collaboration, international exchange, and educational travel.

Our three-year Fellowship program covers the cost of tuition and provides our playwrights a monthly stipend. Official information regarding specific degree requirements and course options can be found on the University Graduate School web page.

Meet our faculty

We produce eight to ten productions each year. Learn more about the performance opportunities in our department.

Check out our mainstage productions

Coursework

Classes are designed to give the writer a broad education in dramatic writing, in order to explore and develop multiple ways to tell a story as well as multiple ways to make a living. Professional guest seminars, master classes, and special workshops are a regular part of the coursework.

Only three playwrights are accepted into the program, allowing close artistic and career mentorship from our highly qualified faculty. All graduate playwrights receive at least one full production on the IU Theatre and Dance mainstage as a culmination of their degree, plus many opportunities to self-produce their work on campus. During the annual At First Sight New Play Festival, your new work is showcased to the larger community and professionals in the industry.

*1970's College Sex Comedy* by David Davila, '24

*Art of Bowling* by Nathan Alan Davis, '14

*Tiger Beat* by Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin, '20

*Lacy and Ashley Live in a Trailer Park Now* by Kelly Lusk, '14

Learn More About Our M.F.A. Playwright's Productions

M.F.A. in Playwriting Curriculum

Professional engagement

Each year a select group of industry professionals including literary managers, artistic directors, and agents is brought to campus to meet with the playwrights and to attend their productions. Check out the lineup for our 2024 At First Sight New Play Festival.

Bloomington is well situated, with several nationally recognized theatres within driving distance: Actors Theatre of Louisville: 1.5 hours; Indiana Repertory Theatre (IRT) and Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis: 1 hour; Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park: 3 hours. The city of Chicago is within 4 hours. Plus several exciting local professional theatres like Constellation Stage and Screen, The Brown County Playhouse, and the Jewish Theatre of Bloominton.

Teaching Opportunities

As part of the program, our students teach Intro to Playwriting, Script Analysis, Musical Theatre Songwriting, and other playwriting courses to undergraduates, contingent on adequate enrollment.

Retention

Retention requires 3.2 GPA or higher, the satisfactory completion of all major projects, as well as a positive year-end progress report from faculty regarding your artistic and academic progress.

Admissions

The Department of Theatre and Contemporary Dance at Indiana University will not be recruiting for the MFA in Playwriting again until academic year ’27-’28. Click here to notified when applications open.

We accept three playwrights in our highly selective, three-year, tuition-free Fellowship program. Applications will be accepted until February 15. Please contact Ana Candida-Carneiro, Phd with questions regarding the application process.

If you are selected as a finalist, you will be interviewed in person or via an online platform by the head of the M.F.A. Playwriting program and two additional faculty members.

Learn how to apply