Master of Fine Arts Program in Acting

Top-ranked professional actor training
in the heart of San Francisco

Download the 2013–14 Policies and Procedures (PDF)

Download the 2013–14 Application and Letters of Recommendation (PDF)

Application deadline extended to January 18, 2013 for Chicago, and January 25, 2013 for San Francisco auditions.

We will be accepting walk-in auditions at all audition sites.

New! Watch our new video to learn more about the A.C.T. M.F.A. Program. This video features interviews with students, faculty, and renowned alumni, including Elizabeth Banks, Annette Bening, Benjamin Bratt, and Anika Noni Rose.

Statement of Purpose

The A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program in Acting is for individuals who, after serious consideration and self-evaluation, have chosen acting as a profession. This highly competitive graduate program offers a rigorous three-year course of training designed to educate and stimulate the most creative, promising young actors, who are selected through nationwide auditions.

“I felt incredibly prepared for each mainstage role because of the comprehensive training I received in the M.F.A. Program. Now, as a working actor, I feel prepared to work on any stage in the country.”
Patrick Lane, class of '11

L to R: Ashley Wickett and Patrick Lane, class of '11, with Jason Frank, class of '12, and Patrick Russell, class of '10, in Once in a Lifetime on the A.C.T. mainstage. Photo by Kevin Berne.

The curriculum in the M.F.A. Program in Acting combines comprehensive actor training with the rehearsal and performance of classical and contemporary works. A.C.T. believes that actors who recognize a relationship between new and classical work, and who have an intellectual and visceral grasp of dramatic literature, are uniquely prepared to collaborate in and support the development of new dramatic forms. These are the individuals who will go on to energize and advance the art of performance, and who will ensure the future of theater in America.

Our place at the center of a renowned professional theater company, as well as our urban location in San Francisco, enriches every aspect of the program, bringing students of diverse backgrounds into close contact with dynamic writers, directors, designers, and actors of varied theatrical traditions. Through exposure to professionals at work, our M.F.A. Program actors explore how drama informs the life of a community, and how, in turn, the life of a community inspires its theater.

As one of the most competitive and prestigious actor training programs in the country, A.C.T. accepts a small, select group of students (typically 8 to 12) for each incoming class—a company of actors who will work, perform, and develop together as an ensemble. The M.F.A. Program in acting cultivates transformative actors—self-starters who are flexible, imaginative, and collaborative, and who can inhabit a range of roles in a breath of dramatic literature. A.C.T. also strives to support its students financially through paid teaching and acting opportunities.