Next Steps 2024 Online Application Form
Here you will find information about your Next Steps in the York University Theatre Department. Please be sure to review all of the materials below regarding the application process and expectations in the upper years of study for each specialization. We recognize that some students would have challenges with an in-person process due to the strike and the time of year, so, to be more inclusive and equitable, we’ve moved to an online/remote mode to better serve all students.
INTRODUCTION
Over the past few years, the York Department of Theatre & Performance has been shifting its focus to ‘new works’ and prioritizing ways for students to determine your own pathways through the programs we offer. This has resulted in things like opening performance classes to more students and allowing you to move between different forms of creation. This is a change continuing with you and will be an iterative change which will have its benefits and challenges.
First-year theatre students begin their time in the Department of Theatre and Performance registered in the BA Hons Theatre (Performance Creation) degree. This provides great flexibility for you to explore and find your interests in a department with diverse and comprehensive opportunities to prepare for a career in theatre, performance, and the many related fields which benefit from your rigorous cultivation of creative, practical, and critical skills.
After your first year, you will have the opportunity to explore and refine specializations in theatrical creation. For some of you, this may also lead you to change your degree to a BFA, to allow you to configure your education to best support your goals in our programs through studio-based courses. There are countless ways to be a creator in theatre and performance, and all our programs and degrees are designed to support you on your path by giving you a structure to build upon.
You may find your “thing” by selecting an array of courses which speak to your interest. Many of these are open to you. However, some courses will have prerequisites and corequisites which require you to take related courses, either concurrently or before you enroll. Others may require an application to take up one of a limited number of places in that course. Often these limited courses with applications open future options and course sequences which allow you to continue cultivating that area of your interest. And should you dedicate your time to a very specific specialization, you may find that it would benefit you to change your degree path (to BFA Hons Performance Creation, for example) so you can reconfigure your degree requirements (e.g. to take more studio courses) in a way that connects with your pursuits and best supports your ability to graduate on time. All these options mean you must be proactive and meet with your advisors to ensure you are on the right path.
The Next Steps process, and this information packet, has been put together to provide you with more information about your program and degree choices. And even while there are several options outlined below, know that how you define what you want to do while at York, and what you do after graduating, is up to you. What is offered here are some of the larger frames in which to organize your next few years and provide you with a structure to pursue those countless directions you can take yourself.
Understanding Programs and Degrees
Are you confused? Don’t worry, you’re not alone! This is confusing. The simplest way to put it is:
- A program is any topic you focus on through a series of coordinated course offerings. You may be involved in one or more programs during your time at York based on the areas of inquiry and skills you want to develop. For instance, Devised Theatre is a program with 5 classes which build on one another in a sequence. Also, design programs start with Introduction to Design and then have specialized courses in the third and fourth years.
- Degrees (also referred to as “degree programs”) refer specifically to the BA and BFA options for completing your education. You will engage with one “degree program” as your major in the Department of Theatre and Performance. There are many customizable ways to complete you degree engaging in the many programs of the Department. (In this document we refer to these as just your “degree” to reduce confusion.)
There are a four different degree options for completing you education at York: There is (1) one BA, and (3) three BFA options. The BA and BFA in Performance Creation provide flexible requirements to engage in a variety of programs. The BFA Acting and Performance and BFA Production/Design recognize intensive, specialized study which are engaged with specific programs through specific degree requirements.
APPLYING TO PROGRAMS
Programs which require a form of application to receive permission to join the associate courses include:
- Devised Theatre
- Acting and Performance
- Production/Design
[Please note that Playwriting will be suspended for the 2024-25 Academic Year. We expect that it will return in 2025-26, when we will be alternating one Playwriting course each year.]
Many students look to engage in these programs in their second year and therefore must apply to them at the end of their first year. Applicants wishing to apply for these programs through the Next Steps Process need to fill out an application form identifying what programs they are interested in. If your application is successful to any of these programs, you are strongly advised to attend an advising session to determine whether you need to or may want to switch to one of the BFA degrees.
DEVISED THEATRE
The Devised Theatre (DT) series of courses are a “hub” for diverse creators within the Department of Theatre & Performance. This means that DT students can be part of any of the programs (Playwriting, Performance, Production/Design in addition to DT) to degree-pathways (BA or BFA) in the department. You may or may not be a performer, designer, manager, or all three.
Students prepare for careers in any/all aspects of theatre and study Devised Theatre to learn skills, tools, and frameworks of devising and creating original theatre pieces.
APPLICATION for DEVISED THEATRE (DT) in 2023-24:
There is only 1 component to the audition for DT:
- Prepare a video audition with only ONE file: a performance piece that creatively interprets a moment or idea inspired from one of this year’s Devised Theatre Festival productions. The Devised Theatre festival ran from Wednesday, March 20 to Sunday, March 24, 2024 and information about the shows is at dtfest2024.com If you were unable to see a show in the DTFest, contact Ian Garrett igarrett@yorku.ca immediately about alternate options.
- The Devising Workshop process has been eliminated this year, due to our need to move online.
Video Audition Performance piece:
Your piece must be from your own point of view using the following criteria:
- Include your full name in the video’s Title/Heading/File Name (e.g. Gita_Singh_Performance.m4v)
- max (10) ten individual words (no min, can repeat)
- max (3) three props (no min)
- max (1) one minute length (strict)
- costumes are optional.
- Additional lighting or media are optional, but each device will count as props.
- Your devised piece may or may not include you as a live performer, but if your piece does have a live performer, only you may fill the role.
- BE CREATIVE
Please feel free to get together with your colleagues to help each other out with recording, creating, playing.
Please upload your video to the video sharing platform of your choice (YouTube, Vimeo) OR share the file via the cloud-based file sharing service of your choice (DropBox, Google Drive) and provide the link using the application to the DT Coordinator, Professor Ian Garrett igarrett@yorku.ca
- If sharing via YouTube, Vimeo, or other video platform, please make sure your permissions are set to public or unlisted, NOT Private.
- If sharing via DropBox, Google Drive, or other cloud-based file sharing service please share the link for the file, not the folder or the file itself.
- Do not combine your video submissions for DT and Acting and Performance. These should be two different videos at two different links. If you submit them together, you will be asked to separate them before they will be reviewed.
Video Submission Due by no later than noon, on April 13.
Submissions will be through an online form that will be shared after Weds. April 3rd.
DEVISING/CREATION WORKSHOP
- The devised/creation workshop has been cancelled for 2024.
PERFORMANCE PROGRAM (ACTING & DEVISING)
There are two pathways within the Performance Program:
- Focused performance study through 17 performance-based studio courses in voice, movement & performance skills including Acting and Devised Theatre. This culminates in a BFA Hons – Acting & Performance.
- Flexible performance study which opens opportunities to 12 performance-based studio courses in voice, movement & performance skills including Acting and Devised Theatre, while maintaining flexibility to pursue other theatre creation courses like directing, playwrighting and dramaturgy. This typically culminates in a BA or BFA Hons – Performance Creation.
Students prepare for careers related to performance, such as actor, devisor, creator, director, as well as playwright, playmaker, theatre educator, theatre activist, producer.
APPLICATION for the PERFORMANCE PROGRAM in 2024-25:
All applicants for the Performance Program must do the one component of the Devised Theatre process (detailed above).
Additionally, students must:
- Record themselves performing a monologue from a published play. This video should be separate from the Devised Theatre Video.
- Participate in a Zoom Acting Callback, which includes a live performance of a 2nd monologue, on April 17 or 18.
MONOLOGUE
In a single take, speaking directly to the camera, please say:
- Your full name (and your preferred name if you have one).
- Your pronouns, if you wish.
- What you will be performing, including the names of the character, play and playwright of your contemporary monologue (e.g., “Candy, from Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love, by Brad Fraser”).
- Your contemporary monologue::
- A maximum of 1 min 30 secs long.
- From a published play with a professional production history.
- No dialects or accents other than your own please.
- No mime and a maximum of one prop.
- Stand far enough back from your camera so that we can see you from the waist up.
- The monologue should be delivered as if speaking to someone slightly off-camera (i.e. NOT directly to the camera, but 6″ to a foot to the left or right of the lens) and shot in a single take, no editing, please. (Note that you can do as many takes as you like to find the best version of this monologue!)
- We suggest it be your 2nd best monologue—save the monologue you are most comfortable with for the callback, as you will be asked to “play” with that monologue in a redirect.
PLEASE NOTE: Though you only need ONE monologue for the video audition, you should prepare TWO monologues. You will need to present a different one for call backs.
Please feel free to get together with your colleagues to help each other out with recording, creating, playing.
VIDEO FILE SUBMISSION:
As per the DT process, you will upload your Acting video to the video sharing platform of your choice (YouTube, Vimeo) OR share the file via the cloud-based file sharing service of your choice (DropBox, Google Drive).
Submissions will be through an online form that will be shared after Weds. April 3rd, 2024.
If sharing via YouTube, Vimeo, or other video platform, please make sure your permissions are set to public or unlisted, NOT Private.
- If sharing via DropBox, Google Drive, or other cloud-based file sharing service please share the link for the file, not the folder or the file itself.
- Please ensure the title includes your NAME (first & last), and the program(s) you would like to be considered for. (BFA Acting & Performance, BFA Performance Creation, DT)
Video Submission Due by no later than noon on Saturday, April 13, 2024.
ZOOM ACTING CALLBACK
- At the Zoom Acting Callback, you will share your second contemporary monologue (maximum 1 min 30 secs) from a published play with a professional production history. No dialects or accents other than your own please. No mime and a maximum of one prop. You are advised to save your best monologue for this live performance
- Be prepared to have your monologue redirected, to move and improvise.
- Please test your Zoom set up beforehand. Make sure you can be seen from at least the waist up and that there is good lighting on you. Move lamps around if you need to have better lighting or place your camera/device facing away from a window (so you are looking towards the window). Avoid backlighting!
- If you have poor Wi-Fi/internet connectivity at home, you may do your Zoom Callback from a studio at York. CFT 138, 139 and 142 will be available for your use on both dates. Place your device along the wall with the windows and face the windows while doing your Zoom call.
- Please note that the Callback will be recorded.
- Callback dates/times will be assigned. If you have a conflict with your assigned time, please contact Professor Jamie Robinson at robinsoj@yorku.ca
DATES: April 17, 2–7 p.m. or April 18, 12–5 p.m.
PLAYWRITING
For 2024-25, there will be no Playwriting courses offered. However, we plan to offer Playwriting going forward on an every-other-year basis in order to have larger class sizes. We will be asking people to indicate their interest in Playwriting when the Application form is sent out.
When Playwriting is offered again, we will be asking for applications at that time.
PRODUCTION & DESIGN
Nearly all courses in Production & Design are open to all students in any area. Some courses may require prerequisites, corequisites or permission from the department to allow students to build cumulative skills and receive necessary safety training. Students who are committed to study in the areas of Theatre Design (set, costume, lighting, sound, and video), Construction (costume, and scenery), Craft (Props and Scenic Art), Technology (lighting, sound, and video), and Management (production management, technical direction, and stage management) and want to pursue intensive hands-on development of these areas will typically switch to the BFA Hons – Production/Design degree.
To switch your degree to Production & Design, applicants will submit a letter of intent, a portfolio and participate in a Hybrid (in person or via Zoom) interview April 24th. Details to follow.
What you are submitting:
- A single PDF with:
- A Letter of Intent: This should be a letter outlining why you wish to pursue studies in the Production & Design area and which disciplines are of most interest to you. Your letter should indicate previous relevant experience.
- A resume. This is not limited to theatre experience.
- Your document’s file name should be lastname_firstname.pdf, and the document must include your name, telephone, email, and year of study.
- A portfolio (one week before your interview):
- A digital portfolio is required no later than one week before your interview. Your digital portfolio should be a link to a cloud-based presentation. For example, Google Slides.
- It should include up to 10 images or samples of production documents.
- Please make sure your links are live and tested, ensure that you have shared the file and that it is set to be shared with “anyone with the link can edit”
- The images in your portfolio should showcase skills or accomplishments of your abilities and interests. For example, something you built, sewed, painted, lit, sculpted, edited, or recorded—something made. You can bring samples of your work to your in-person interview; please feel free to bring any physical work you would like to present.
- Submit the link to your shared file via the online application form by noon on Friday, April 19, 2024.
- Access to the Online Form for submissions will be shared after Weds. April 3rd.
- During your hybrid (in-person or Zoom) interview, faculty will discuss your digital file. You may be asked for a small presentation of your portfolio and material.
Please email any questions to Aaron Kelly at akelly1@yorku.ca
POSTING AND ACCEPTING OFFERS
- All offers will be emailed you at noon on May 3rd, 2024.
- You must accept or decline your offer(s) by e-mail by (or before) noon on May 13th, 2024, or your spot will be given to the next person on the waiting list. (There is no need to wait till May 13th once you know what you want to do.)
For All Programs: Email Ian Garrett at igarrett@yorku.ca with your choice as soon as you’re ready. - If accepted into more than one area, please notify the area whose offer you accept and the area(s) whose offer(s) you are waiving.
- Acceptance into any area/series of courses is conditional upon final grades at the end of the 2024 winter term
PICKING YOUR DEGREE
Based on the specialization(s) you chose to pursue and the classes you plan to take, you may want to consider which degree suits your interests best.
- BA Hons – Performance Creation: Offers significant flexibility to engage in all aspects of theatre through a balance of studies and studio-based coursework. This degree also provides the flexibility to pursue a second major or minor program and allows for a number of options should a student be interested in graduate study. Most students in the department complete this degree.
- BFA Hons – Performance Creation: Offers significant flexibility like the BA but prioritizes studio-based coursework. This degree is good for those in Devised Theatre, Flexible Performance Study, and/or if you’re interested in taking Production and Design courses. It also supports students in taking studio courses outside of the department. Anyone may request to switch to this degree if it is beneficial to their degree completion by submitting a Letter of Intent and attending a meeting with the BFA Hons – Performance Creation Coordinator.
- BFA Hons – Acting and Performance: This degree acknowledges the performance techniques and focused work of those pursuing an Intensive Performance Study specialization.
- BFA Hons – Production/Design: This degree acknowledges the stagecraft and design focused work of those pursuing an Intensive Production and/or Design specialization.
BFA HONS – PERFORMANCE CREATION CHANGE REQUEST
The BFA Hons – Performance Creation is not itself a program or specialization but does require an additional application process to request a change. While many students who specialize in Devised Theatre or the Flexible Performance Study program complete their degree as a BFA Hons – Performance Creation, a successful application to a program does not provide permission to switch to the BFA Hons – Performance Creation.
The Steps to switch to the BFA Hons – Performance Creation are:
- Submit a Letter of Intent to the BFA Hons – Performance Creation Coordinator, Professor Ian Garrett using the application form, or by email: igarrett@yorku.ca
- Attend an information meeting with the BFA Hons – Performance Creation Coordinator, Professor Ian Garrett
A group information session is schedule at the end of the academic year. If you are unable to attend this group session, you may request a one-on-one meeting to discuss the how this change may affect your planning for your time at York.
This year’s information session will be on Wednesday, May 15, 2024 at 2:30pm. Register for the session here.
WHEN TO CHANGE YOUR DEGREE
If your application is successful to any of programs and specializations, you are strongly advised to attend an advising session with your first-year advisor or the coordinator for the program to determine whether or not you may want to switch into a new degree path.
Students who choose to change to the BFA Hons – Acting & Performance, BFA Hons – Performance Creation, or BFA Hons – Production/Design are required to complete the online Change of Degree request to switch from Honours BA to Honours BFA. This request is available at http://myacademicrecord.students.yorku.ca/program-change.
Change of degree requests must be submitted no later than June 30 to take effect the next fall/winter session.
Acceptance into any area/series of courses is conditional upon final grades as of the end of the Winter 2024 term.
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU DON’T GET YOUR FIRST CHOICE:
- Accept your second or third choice!
- Talk to someone: speak with a teacher or staff member you trust to ask about other options that are available to you
- Reach out to your faculty mentor: make a connection to discuss what you might do next.
- Consult with OAISS about your choices: speak with someone about other opportunities within Theatre, AMPD, and York at large. Use this online form to book an appointment!
APPLICATION DATES, DEADLINES & OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Acceptances 2024
Offers will be emailed to all applicants at Noon on Friday, May 3, 2024
If you didn’t receive an email, check the time (please give the internet 15 minutes or so to process it!), please check your spam filters, and all of your email accounts. If you’re convinced you haven’t received an email, please contact Ian Garrett after 1:00 pm
Please ensure that you contact us with your acceptance before noon on Monday, May 13th, 2024.
AND if you know what you want, you can accept right away: you don’t need to wait until May 13th!
