A new agreement between The Cleveland Play House (CPH) and Case Western Reserve University elevates their joint master's degree of fine arts in theater to that of the country's top acting programs.

Building on a recently completed six-year affiliation between Case and CPH, the new agreement outlines a vision to expand the program into all areas of theater-from acting to directing, stage and costume design, playwriting and arts management-and to give students theater experience in their first year of study.

"It brings to the Midwest region a new kind of graduate theater arts education deeply immersed in the professional experience," said Case President Edward M. Hundert.

What sets the new program apart is that all of the graduate classes and conservatory ensemble performances will be at CPH. Under terms of the prior agreement, first-year students had classes at Case, with the second-year students transitioning into The Cleveland Play House environment. Students were not totally immersed in an apprenticeship at CPH until
the third year.

"This new arrangement creates a full immersion experience for the students from the very start of the program, allowing them the opportunity to understudy professional actors throughout the season and receive true apprenticeship training for the theater," said Peter Hackett, artistic director of CPH.

Interest in the CPH/Case program has risen from approximately 100 applicants and 50 auditions in its first year to over 500 applicants and 400 auditions for the last incoming class in 2003.

"The growing number of applicants indicates a building of national awareness by potential students and their
undergraduate theater programs to the Case/CPH partnership," said Ron Wilson, chair of Case's department of theater and dance. "As the MFA program continues to mature, and now with the newly expanded relationship with The Cleveland Play House, our students are receiving a quality of artistic education offered only by a handful of theater arts training programs across the country."

CPH, the country's oldest professional regional theater, and Case, with the area's oldest University theater program, conducted a mid-term and six-year review of their joint master's of fine arts acting program. In response to the findings, CPH and Case forged the new agreement.

Other changes to the program that will occur this fall include:
• Addition of a new graduate-level directing program
• Availability of CPH staff as teachers/directors for the Case undergraduate theater program
• Acceptance of eight acting students every other year, rather than every third year, to create a Conservatory Ensemble at CPH
• Expansion of space for classes and productions to include the CPH facility, which totals more than 300,000 square feet on a 12.5 acre campus and includes five performance spaces, three large rehearsal rooms, two general use classrooms and thousands of square feet in scene, paint, properties and costume shops

Return to the online edition of the 9-11-03 Campus News.