Yale University, School of Drama

Theater Management Department

Yale University School of Drama
PO Box 208325
New Haven, CT 06520-8325
United States
Main Phone: 203/432-1591
Main E-Mail: edward.martenson@yale.edu

Degree/Credential: Graduate (MFA; MFA/MBA)
Web Site: http://www.yale.edu/drama

Program Director: EMartenson [link available to AAAE members only]

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Program Goals and Objectives

The Theater Management department prepares aspiring leaders and managers to create organizational environments increasingly favorable to the creation of theater art and its presentation to appreciative audiences. Recognizing that there is no substitute for experience, the department provides students with the knowledge, skills, and values to enter the field at high levels of responsibility, move quickly to leadership positions, and ultimately to advance the state of management practice and the art form itself.

Though the focus is on theater , some graduates have adapted their education successfully to careers in dance, opera, media, and other fields.
In the context of an integrated management perspective, students are grounded in the history and aesthetics of theater art, production organization, hiring and unions, the collaborative process, decision making, organizational direction, motivation, organizational design, human resources, financial management, development, marketing, and technology. The Theater Management program focuses primarily on theater organizations, but incorporates discussions of other performing arts organizations, other nonprofits, and for-profit organizations to help identify the factors that theater organizations succeed as meeting grounds for artists and audiences. It is training in the practice, supplemented with up to date theoretical knowledge.
The training program combines a sequence of departmental courses, approved electives in other departments and schools, topical workshops, a case study writing requirement, and professional work assignments. In a distinctive feature of the Theater Management curriculum, students are involved in the management of the Yale Repertory Theatre from the beginning of their training, as well in collaboration with students and faculty from other departments in productions of the School and the Yale Cabaret.

The Theater Management department offers a joint-degree program with the Yale School of Management, in which a student may earn both the Master of Fine Arts and Master of Business Administration degrees in four years (rather than the five years that normally would be required). A joint-degree student must meet the respective admission requirements of each school. The typical plan of study consists of two years at the School of Drama, followed by one year at the School of Management, and culminating with one combined year at both Schools. Generally, students have until the beginning of their second year at the School of Drama to decide whether they are interested in the joint degree option.

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Administration of the Program

The Theater Management Department is chaired by Edward A. Martenson. Other faculty include leading practitioners, consultants, and academics in the field of theater and cultural management.

Offices, classrooms, and workspaces are located on the campus of Yale University. The majority of offices, classrooms, and workspaces are centered in a 2-square-block area. These buildings include University Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, New Theater in Holcombe T. Green, Jr. Hall, Vernon Hall, Yale Cabaret, and the Drama School Annex.

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Curriculum

Over the 3-year program, students are required to complete twenty-four required courses (including the case study writing requirement), eight approved electives from other departments and schools, a variety of topical workshops, and professional work assignments. (For students opting for the second-year Fellowship, the course requirements are reduced to twenty-three departmental courses and four electives.) In the first year, a student enrolls in seven departmental courses per semester, one of which consists of a case study on a particular theater organization, attends a variety of topical workshops, and is given professional work assignments in a number of operating positions on a rotating basis.

In the second year, the student enrolls in five departmental and elective courses per semester, attends a variety of topical workshops, and is given two term-long professional work assignments of increased responsibility. In another distinctive feature of the Theater Management curriculum, t he second-year student has the option of replacing one semester in residence with a Fellowship in a professional setting away from the campus, selected by the Faculty.

The final year of the program is designed to be a culmination of the student’s formal education and to begin a transition into the profession . The student enrolls in four departmental and elective courses per semester, attends a variety of topical workshops, and is given a year-long professional work assignment of high responsibility. Occasionally, a student chooses to write in-depth case studies in lieu of the third-year professional work assignment.

Required courses:
Advanced Financial Management
Advanced Topics in Development
Advanced Topics in Marketing
Case Study
Contracts
Financial Accounting
Financial Management
Founding Visions for Places in the Art
Functions of Leadership: Motivation and Organizational Design
Functions of Leadership: Setting Organizational Direction
Governance
Human Resources Policies & Practices
Law and the Arts
Labor and Employee Relations
Managing the Production Process
Management Seminar (4 semesters)
Principles of Development
Principles of Marketing and Public Relations
Production Management or Production Planning
Survey of Theater and Drama
Theater Organizations
One additional course in Dramaturgy
Production Management or Production Planning

Topical Workshops and Modules:
The Actor’s Life
Analyzing Field Needs & Designing Policy
Commercial Theater
Crisis Management
Decision Support: Gathering and Using Information
Deferred Giving
The Designer’s Life
The Director’s Life
Graphic Design Applications
History of Theater Management
Leadership
The Manager’s Relationship with Art & Artists
Negotiating the Major Gift
Network Access & Applications
Nonprofit on Broadway
On-line Giving
The Playwright’s Life
Production Contract
Prospect Research
Self-Marketing
Taxation
Ticketing & Database Applications
UBIT
Web Technologies

Visit www.yale.edu/bulletin for detailed course descriptions.

All required courses in the Theater Management department are taught within the School of Drama. Students may also choose electives from courses offered from Yale's undergraduate and graduate schools, including the Yale School of Management and the Yale Law School.

Professional Work Assignments
First year:
Assistant Company Manager
Cabaret Assistant
Development Assistant
House Manager
Press and Marketing Assistant
School Show Administrator

Second year:
Assistant Director of Development
Assistant Director of Marketing
Associate Cabaret Manager
Company Manager

Third year:
Associate Director of Development
Associate Director of Marketing
Associate Managing Director
Associate Managing Director for Special Projects
Managing Director, Yale Cabaret

Research and/or thesis requirements: As an alternative to a third-year work assignment, students may elect to create two in-depth case studies.

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Admissions

Admission to the School of Drama is for full-time study only beginning in the fall term. There is no part-time study or summer session. The School of Drama Admissions Committee carefully evaluates all applications, and admission decisions are mailed on or before April 1. In general, all applicants submit the application form, a current résumé, statement of purpose, one official transcript from the institution granting the bachelor’s degree, the application fee and three letters of recommendation. Applicants may only seek admission to one department in a given year. Multiple applications will not be processed. Applicants are urged to apply for admission online.

The Theater Management department directly schedules interviews for qualified candidates during February and March. The department may request the submission of writing samples.

All applicants must have a bachelor's degree.  Professional experience is preferred.

To request application materials, contact:

    Registrar/Admissions
    P.O. Box 208325
    New Haven, CT 06520-8325
    Telephone: (203) 432-1507
    Facsimile: (203) 432-9668
    E-mail: maria.leveton@yale.edu

    Applications may be submitted electronically at www.yale.edu/drama.

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