Train alongside Professionals
The Department of Theatre at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville is home to a nationally-ranked, three-year Master of Fine Arts in Theatre, with a concentration in Acting program that is seamlessly integrated with the operations of Clarence Brown Theatre – a professional LORT theatre. Our graduate acting students receive assistantships with full tuition remission plus annual stipends totaling approximately $21,000 for their performing and faculty assistance duties. Additional scholarships are available by application in the second and third years of training.
Recruiting
UT MFA programs recruit among the most elite programs in the nation.
Seven to eight acting graduates are ordinarily recruited for enrollment in the Fall of odd-numbered calendar years. The next acting recruitment cycle is in Spring of 2025 for admission Fall of 2025.
Recruiting for entry in Fall 2025 will begin in late 2024. View audition information HERE.
Check out this wonderful feature in The Torchbearer of CBT’s own Denzel Dejournette, an MFA Theatre Grad student!
View clips from this season’s productions of Cry it Out and Knoxville, featuring current MFA Acting students.
What Sets Us Apart
Department of Theatre Handbook
UTK’s educational programs are unique in the nation because they are seamlessly integrated with the operations of a LORT professional theatre: the Clarence Brown Theatre (CBT). We believe that the best way for actors to learn the craft of acting is to study in the studio and then to practice alongside first-rate professionals. This dual mission informs everything that we do.
As a graduate actor, you will join the ranks of our company. We train together during the day and rehearse and perform together at night; you will be acting alongside your faculty and national caliber guest artists on the Clarence Brown Theatre stages. All of our actors are eligible to join Actors’ Equity Association upon graduation. At its founding, the great Hollywood Director Clarence Brown endowed our theatre with a mission that we hold tightly to today. You, your faculty artists, and accomplished guest artists will exchange together in the studio and on the stage. At the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, we learn by doing.
Distinctive Program Features
Clarence Brown Theatre
Clarence Brown Theatre is a pillar of the arts in east Tennessee and the Southeast region. In addition to the tens of thousands of patrons who attend CBT productions each season, CBT enjoys the strong support of University of Tennessee leadership. The Clarence and Marian Brown Endowment, the state of Tennessee, and generous support from our community provide us with a stable financial foundation.
Unified Organizational Structure
Our structure is unique in the nation in that the training and professional wings are united under a single leader: the Department Head / Artistic Director. This unity ensures steadfast commitment to offering exceptional training in a professional context.
Season Selection
Each year, the Department engages in an extensive season selection process to ensure adherence to the dual mission, soliciting and reviewing ideas for shows from faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community members. With two theatres currently in operation, we are producing seven shows per season, four on the CBT mainstage and three in the Lab Theatre. MFA actors may be cast in any of these productions. In the first year of training, MFA actor casting is typically limited to one or two shows to favor training priorities. MFA actors may also be assigned understudy duties for CBT shows. In the second year, MFA actors are regularly cast in CBT shows, akin to resident company members. In the third year, the season selection process aims to place a greater priority on providing casting opportunities for MFA actors.
Auditions
Auditions for most CBT shows are held periodically during the academic year, typically at the beginning and near the end of each semester. MFA actor casting is handled by the Artistic Director and the Director of each production, with input from the Head of Acting. This process is designed to ensure appropriate training opportunities for graduate actors and adherence to the dual mission. Requirements for auditions vary, and may involve monologues, prepared song, readings of sides, improvisation, and dance.
Facilities
The Department currently has two venues for CBT and student productions: the Clarence Brown mainstage (574 seat proscenium/thrust) and the Lab Theatre (125 seat black box). A new state of the art venue, the Jenny Boyd Carousel Theatre, is slated to open 2025. MFA and BA students acquire production experience in these spaces in a professional context, with a wide range of dramatic material, under the guidance of faculty and alongside professional guest artists and staff.
Professional Faculty
UTK MFA Acting faculty and alumni are working professionals with credits on Broadway, Off-Broadway and across the country at organizations such as:
- American Conservatory Theatre
- American Players Theatre
- Arena Stage
- Asolo Rep
- Chautauqua Theatre Company
- Classic Stage
- Cleveland Playhouse
- Denver Center
- Lincoln Center Theatre
- Mark Taper Forum
- McCarter Theatre
- Oregon Shakespeare Festival
- Pittsburgh Public Theater
- PlayMakers Rep
- Portland Center Stage
- Roundabout
- Syracuse Stage
- Seattle Rep
- The Goodman Theatre
- The Old Globe
- The Public Theatre
- Utah Shakespeare Festival
Our Alumni
Our alumni are working in film, television and theatre in nationally recognized projects and venues. Especially notable alumni of our program include:
- Eric Ting Obie Award-winning director
- Tramell Tillman (’14) Severance, Hunters, Godfather of Harlem, Dietland
- Conrad Ricamora (’12) Fire Island, How to Get Away With Murder, Broadway’s The King and I, Here Lies Love and Soft Power at The Public Theater
LORT Theatre Company
The Clarence Brown Theatre is a LORT D Equity theatre (League of Resident Theatres) that works very closely with our graduate students. This affords excellent acting opportunities and the ability to work with our world class professional staff and guest artists.
URTA
The Department is a member of the University Resident Theatre Association (URTA).
Professional Staff
CBT has a professional staff of more than 25 full and part-time employees and offers a September to May season of new and classical works that are vital to the cultural life of the region.
Directors
Directors of our productions, whether in the lab theatre or on the CBT stage are working professionals. We are committed to engaging distinguished directors to help connect our students to professional networks outside the CBT. Recent guest directors include: Josh Rhodes (Broadway’s Spamalot), Rusty Mowery (Broadway’s Kinky Boots), Hunter Foster (Goodspeed, Utah Shakespeare Festival), Jessica Holt (ACT, Barrington Stage, Yale School of Drama), and more.
Knoxville
Knoxville is a thriving, rapidly growing city of over 850,000 people in the greater metropolitan area, yet it is only minutes from the stunning vistas of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In easy driving distance from Nashville and Atlanta, Knoxville is home to multiple dynamic cultural institutions, including Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville Opera, and the historically significant Carpetbag Theatre.
Season Selection
Your Theatre. Your Stories.
“The theatre is so endlessly fascinating because it’s so accidental. It’s so much like life.”
—Arthur Miller
EVENTS
