UCLA Acting Programs: Cultivating the Next Generation of Theatrical Talent
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) stands as a premier institution for aspiring actors, offering a rich and multifaceted educational experience within its esteemed School of Theater, Film and Television. Here, academic rigor fuels creativity, and performers, designers, directors, playwrights, and scholars are supported by world-class faculty who champion collaboration, critical thinking, and innovation. The department’s training engages with our complex, changing world and integrates the unique opportunities available at the nation’s top public university. This comprehensive approach ensures that students are not only equipped with exceptional technical skills but also possess the intellectual and artistic depth necessary to thrive in the dynamic landscape of the performing arts.
The UCLA General Catalog: A Foundation for Academic Exploration
The UCLA General Catalog serves as the definitive listing of all departments, programs, majors, minors, and courses offered by the university. Published annually in PDF and HTML formats, it includes detailed degree requirements, as well as academic and administrative policies. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information presented in the UCLA General Catalog. However, all courses, course descriptions, instructor designations, curricular degree requirements, and fees described herein are subject to change or deletion without notice. Prospective students and faculty are strongly encouraged to consult this Catalog for the most current, officially approved courses and curricula. Beyond the General Catalog, additional information about UCLA may be found in materials produced by specialized schools, including those for Arts and Architecture; Dentistry; Education and Information Studies; Engineering and Applied Science; Law; Management; Medicine; Music; Nursing; Public Affairs; Public Health; and Theater, Film, and Television, underscoring the breadth of academic and artistic disciplines available at UCLA.
Undergraduate Acting and Musical Theater Programs: A Pathway to Professionalism
UCLA offers robust undergraduate programs in Acting and Musical Theater, designed to provide students with a comprehensive foundation for professional careers. These programs are characterized by their demanding curriculum, which integrates theoretical study with intensive practical training. For instance, introductory courses delve into the basic methods of interpretation in theater and performance throughout the world, illustrating key concepts through faculty expertise, guest speakers, and visits to off-campus theaters, alongside readings from contemporary plays.
The practical training is equally rigorous. Students engage in studio work that focuses on the interpretation of drama through the art of the actor, aiming to develop individual insights, skills, and disciplines in presenting dramatic material to audiences. This is complemented by specialized training in music theater dance technique, building confidence and ease in advanced performance skills. For those in musical theater, there's a focus on developing dance and movement techniques essential for the genre. Vocal training is also a cornerstone, with advanced sight-singing courses that incorporate complex musical elements like minor keys, chromatic scales, internal key changes, and bass clef, while also exploring song form, musical theater score formats, and harmonic/contrapuntal singing.
Furthermore, the curriculum extends to the exploration of physical comedy, drawing inspiration from American Vaudeville traditions, acts, and performers. This aspect of training examines the crucial elements of rhythm, timing, delivery, speech, and body language in American comedy, emphasizing imagination, physical improvisation, and the integration of diverse art forms such as stunts, music, dance, storytelling, clowning, and tumbling.
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Graduate Studies and Specialized Training
Beyond the undergraduate offerings, UCLA provides advanced training through its graduate programs and specialized certificate courses. For example, the UCLA Extension Acting Certificate program is meticulously designed for individuals pursuing careers in film, television, commercials, and digital media. This program allows students to hone their performance, auditioning, and improvisation skills under the direct guidance of seasoned acting professionals. A key component of this certificate is the emphasis on how new technologies continue to impact post-production processes for film and television. Students also enhance their screen acting skills through dedicated courses, gaining proficiency in acting for the camera.
The Audition Process: Showcasing Talent and Potential
Admission to UCLA's acting programs is a competitive process that requires a thorough demonstration of a candidate's talent, dedication, and artistic potential. Applications are reviewed, and admission to the program is granted on a rolling basis, typically starting from December 1st. The application package generally includes several key components designed to provide a holistic view of the applicant.
A critical element is a 500-word or fewer essay responding to a prompt such as, "How do you define diversity?" This essay allows applicants to articulate their personal perspectives and understanding of inclusivity, a value deeply ingrained in UCLA's educational philosophy.
A letter of recommendation is also required. This letter should come from a teacher, director, or a similar individual who can attest to the applicant's theatrical ability, identify challenges they have faced, and highlight areas for potential growth. This external perspective offers valuable insight into the applicant's character and artistic trajectory.
A resume is a standard requirement, detailing the applicant's previous theatrical and artistic experiences. If an applicant does not have a formal resume, a brief description of their theatrical and/or artistic experience is acceptable.
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Perhaps the most dynamic part of the application is the video submission of a 1-to-1½ minute monologue or improvised scene. Applicants are provided with prompts for their auditions. The guidelines for filming the monologue are clear: the frame should capture the applicant from a medium to close-up shot, facing the camera. The applicant is encouraged to use their best judgment regarding framing, with a medium shot being preferable if movement is involved. Applicants are reminded to review their takes, assess what works best, and make necessary adjustments before submitting. Filming can be done using a phone or tablet, as high production value is not a primary concern. It is explicitly stated that prior performances or tapings from plays should not be submitted, and applicants are encouraged to avoid putting undue pressure on themselves to deliver a "perfect" audition. The slate, which includes the applicant's full name, the title of the play their piece is from, the character's name, and the playwright, is also required, with no need to explain the context of the play.
Curriculum Highlights: From Foundational Skills to Specialized Craft
UCLA's acting curriculum is meticulously structured to guide students through various stages of development, from fundamental techniques to advanced applications. Several course descriptions highlight the depth and breadth of this training:
- Introduction to basic music theater dance technique: This foundational course, offered as a studio component for four hours, is designed for Theater majors and may be repeated once for credit.
- Introduction to basic methods of interpretation in theater and performance: This seminar, lasting four hours, explores fundamental approaches to understanding and performing theater and performance across global traditions. Faculty members and guest speakers illustrate topics, complemented by visits to off-campus theaters and readings from contemporary plays.
- Exploration of visual interpretation of drama: This course combines three hours of lecture with six hours of studio work, focusing on the visual aspects of dramatic interpretation. It covers styles and techniques of design, the collaborative role of the designer, and principles of design for scenery, lighting, costumes, and sound, providing both technical and aesthetic groundwork for further study.
- Introduction to interpretation of drama through the art of the actor: This studio course, spanning three hours, focuses on developing individual insights, skills, and disciplines for presenting dramatic material to audiences. It requires completion of course 23A.
- Advanced sight-singing: This studio course, lasting three to four hours, builds upon foundational vocal skills. It incorporates minor keys, chromatic scales, internal key changes, and bass clef, while also exploring song form, musical theater score formats, and harmonic/contrapuntal singing. It requires completion of course 27A.
- Exploration of the art of physical comedy: This studio course, with five hours of instruction, delves into building confidence and ease in advanced performance skills. It examines the importance of rhythm, timing, delivery, speech, and body language in American comedy, emphasizing imagination, physical improvisation, and the integration of diverse art forms.
- Development of dance and movement techniques for musical theater: This course, offered as a laboratory experience for six to nine hours, focuses on essential dance and movement skills for musical theater performers.
- Laboratory experience in theater production: Courses like 50A, 50B, 50C, and 50D offer practical experience in various aspects of theater production, including stage management or working as a member of a production crew. The combination of these courses cannot exceed 8 units.
- Internship opportunities: Tutorial courses, spanning six to twelve hours, are limited to freshmen and sophomores. These internships provide hands-on experience at theaters, studios, or entertainment organizations, focusing on creative contributions and the work of professionals. Students meet regularly with faculty and provide reports. This can be taken for a maximum of 4 units.
- Undergraduate Research: Tutorial courses provide supervised research or scholarly work for lower-division students under faculty guidance. Students must be in good academic standing and enrolled in a minimum of 12 units (excluding this course). Individual contracts are required. This may be repeated.
- Histories and Historiographies of Theater and Performance: This course, consisting of three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion, introduces the historical and theoretical study of theater and performance globally, with a focus on the 18th through 21st centuries. It covers representational modalities from melodrama to performance art and theoretical approaches from Marxism to poststructuralism.
- Asian American Theater: This seminar, lasting three hours, explores Asian American theater through the lens of aesthetics and politics, examining race in intersectional contexts with an emphasis on technology and migration.
- Approaching New Plays: This seminar, required for students in the playwriting sequence, focuses on analyzing a diverse range of contemporary plays written within the last 15 years. It builds manuscript analysis skills, develops a working vocabulary of dramaturgical concepts, and explores various styles of acting, directing, and design.
- Pre-Renaissance Architectural and Interior Décor: This course, requiring four hours of lecture, examines pre-Renaissance architectural and interior décor as a reflection of cultural, social, economic, and political influences, providing a historical framework for theatrical design. It may be repeated once for credit and is concurrently scheduled with course C404E.
- Speculative Fiction and Technology: This seminar, lasting three hours, explores how stories, particularly in embodied speculative fiction, influence the imagination, creation, and use of technologies. It examines the interplay between fiction and reality, focusing on how 20th- and 21st-century speculative fiction has impacted current technology and how new fictions could shape future technologies. It is concurrently scheduled with course C212C.
- Advanced Acting Techniques: Various studio courses, such as those focusing on heightened language, post-realist texts, physical comedy, and vocal challenges associated with contemporary texts, are offered to refine actors' craft.
- Applied Theatre and Social Issues: This laboratory course, lasting four hours, investigates applied theater methods used to address social issues, emphasizing culturally sustaining practices and communal activities that empower individuals to express their experiences through theater-based techniques.
- Expressive Potential of Embedded and Wearable Technologies in Performance: This studio course, lasting four to six hours, provides hands-on exploration of these technologies, using puppetry as a medium to examine agency, presence, and interaction. Students create responsive systems that engage with the body and objects.
- Actor-Director Collaboration Workshop: This workshop, lasting four hours, allows students to rehearse, perform, and critique scenes, fostering reflection on the actor-director relationship. It may be repeated once for credit and requires course 20.
- Study and Practice of Acting: Studio courses focus on perfecting acting techniques and their application to various acting challenges.
- Dialect Work: Studio courses are dedicated to developing techniques for approaching and performing dialects.
- Characterization and Verse: Advanced studio courses focus on characterization, verse analysis, and embodiment in classic texts, emphasizing personalization within heightened realities.
- Playwriting Development: Studio courses guide students through the process of conceiving, researching, and developing full-length plays.
- Musical Theater Performance Techniques: A series of studio courses explore and master vocal styles and acting approaches essential for professional musical theater, including gospel and rhythm and blues music, with an emphasis on improvisation.
- Transition from Stage to Film: A lecture course examines film production, its physical characteristics, and the acting styles required for film and television, with opportunities for on-camera performance in simulated studio settings.
- Conceptualization and Design of Interactive Theatrical Events: A lecture course explores original forms of media-rich entertainment experiences through lectures, presentations, and seminar participation, with students forming teams to conceive and propose interactive entertainment events.
- Design and Technical Theater: Group study courses cover various subjects in design and technical theater, with opportunities for laboratory experience in diverse production roles.
- Art Direction and Set Design for Screen: A lecture/studio course covers the role of the art director, scenic design for single-camera and multicamera production, and set decoration.
- Lighting Design for Television: A lecture/studio course examines current professional lighting design practices in television for single- and multiple-camera productions.
- Costume Design and Wardrobe for Film and Television: A lecture/studio course studies current professional costume design and wardrobe practices, including the impact of different media on design choices.
- History of Costume Design: A lecture course surveys the history of costume design within the context of 20th-century fashion and film history, exploring the evolution of the costume designer's role.
- Sound Design for Theater and Themed Entertainment: Lecture/studio courses delve into sound design techniques for theater, including mixing, reinforcement, and signal processing, as well as the unique needs of sound design for themed entertainment.
- Music Composition for Performance: A lecture/studio course provides an overview of music, musical genres, and their structure, enabling students to create musical ideas and sound design components using software.
- Rendering Theatrical Costumes: Studio courses focus on techniques for rendering theatrical costumes, emphasizing figure, clothing, and fabrics.
- Drafting Techniques for Scenic and Lighting Designs: Studio courses cover drafting techniques using Vectorworks for scenic and lighting designs.
- 3D Lighting and Scenic Design Previsualization: Studio courses investigate 3D lighting and scenic design previsualization techniques, including wire-frame perspective drawing and photo-realistic computer rendering.
- Play Direction: Courses cover basic theories of play direction and their application through scene preparation, with further development of directorial methods and emphasis on director/actor communication.
- Production and Postproduction Practice: Studio courses offer exploration and laboratory experience in various aspects of production and postproduction for entertainment media.
- Assistant Designer and Designer Roles: Laboratory courses provide experience as an assistant designer or as a designer in scenic, lighting, costume, or sound design.
- Stage Management: Laboratory courses offer experience in professional duties of assistant stage management.
Industry Showcases and Career Launchpads
A significant aspect of the UCLA acting and musical theater programs are the annual industry showcases. These events are designed to spotlight the talents of students nearing the completion of their studies. Each spring, the undergraduate acting and musical theater seniors develop two separate showcases with the explicit aim of launching their class into the professional realm. During these showcases, students meticulously select scenes and songs that best highlight the craft they have developed over their four years at UCLA. This invaluable experience serves as a crucial bridge, connecting UCLA's rising graduates with key industry professionals, including, but not limited to, managers, agents, and casting directors. The showcase is a student-funded initiative, guided and advised by esteemed faculty members, ensuring its relevance and effectiveness in preparing students for the professional world.
Embracing Diversity and Innovation
UCLA's commitment to diversity is evident not only in its academic and artistic pursuits but also in its admission processes and curriculum. The prompt "How do you define diversity?" for admissions essays underscores the university's dedication to fostering an inclusive environment. This commitment is further reflected in the curriculum, which increasingly integrates discussions on race in intersectional contexts and explores culturally sustaining practices within applied theater. The university's position as a leading public institution further amplifies its ability to engage with a complex, changing world, offering unique opportunities for students to learn, grow, and contribute to the evolving landscape of theater and performance.
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