The Towson University Master of Fine Arts in Theatre is dedicated to creating a fluid, alternative environment for the training of the total theatre maker. The program is designed as an experimental, self-directed process which will challenge, expand and develop each participant's artistic vision. This vision is explored in terms of its structural, aesthetic and cultural context, as well as its skillful application of craft. Intercultural, interdisciplinary and collaborative, Towson's MFA in Theatre is for artists who cannot be content working in a single discipline or in the traditional conservatory model. They want to construct the soundscape that interacts with the spoken text they've written. They want to build the puppets as well as train the performers they're directing. They want to perform the text themselves, illuminated by their own lighting design. They want to create the installation in which they will perform.

Students accepted into this program have already begun to articulate a creative vision, but have decided to return to graduate school to both expand and refine that vision. We seek artists who would feel restricted by a conservatory style program. Whether directing, designing, performing, producing, constructing or writing, the student/artist must be willing to work both independently and collaboratively. The program is based on the cross-fertilization of ideas among participants and the thoughtful implementation of human, material, economic and environmental resources. The program requires that its participants create their own opportunities, work in a variety of disciplines, and serve as self-producing artists.

Seminars and workshops with distinguished visiting artists play a major role in the foundation of the curriculum. Guest artists expose the student-artist to a wide range of theatrical styles and methods, emphasizing their cultural context and underlying principles. Guests may facilitate a master class for one or more days, lecture or demonstrate as part of a required class, or work in extended residency with the students of the program. While individuals will most likely have different experiences during their time in the program, there is a basic structure we suggest. Of the 60 credits required for graduation, 43 credits consist of the program's core courses. We encourage students to emphasize the core curriculum during the first two years, so as to leave the third year open to emphasize their final projects. During the first year of the program, student-artists are encouraged to explore their own artistic vision and the aesthetic of those around them fellow students, guest artists, people focusing on other disciplines - both within the University and beyond. In the second year, student-artists continue to seek out opportunities to collaborate on projects of others, while developing their own projects. Finally, in the third year, the student-artist seeks out collaborators to work on projects under their own development.

All graduate students approach projects from an interdisciplinary perspective and each student works in a wide variety of disciplines. New work may be created in a variety of forms, such as interdisciplinary constructions or installations, ensemble creation, performance art, movement-theatre, or productions of new scripts. Transformations of existing literature may involve reconstructing classic text or design elements, historical reinterpretation, or the integration of intercultural aesthetics. In directing and design, special attention is given to the collaborative creation of style. In text construction, special attention is given to innovative language and structure. In dramaturgy, special attention is given to aesthetic and cultural context. In technical production, special attention is given to safely integrating new technology, practices, and materials. In performance, special attention is given to the integration of voice and movement as an expression of style. The student-artist is urged to combine disciplines within a given project, perhaps working as director/designer, technician/designer, or writer/performer.

Towson's graduate students may not have been trained in theatre as their first art form. They may have been working as sculptors, filmmakers, choreographers, or poets. They may have been trained in theatre but are dissatisfied with what the industry offers and are looking for new questions to ask of themselves and their audience. They're reframing old questions in the light of a new relationship with their audiences and communities. They have begun to see what theatre can be (and what it is becoming) in the work of contemporary artists who are testing our assumptions about performance. Towson's program is fluid, evolving to allow room for discovery as each of these challenges raise new questions. Towson's Graduate Theatre Program is a laboratory for testing these questions and exploring the possibilities they generate.