MFA Practicum Project

General Description
A requirement of the M.F.A. degree in Theatre is the completion of a Practicum Project. The purpose of this project is to demonstrate that the candidate possesses professional proficiency in the area of specialization. The project is supervised and evaluated by the student's Advisory Committee, but the student is given significant control and responsibility regarding the implementation of the project. The body of work that the student completes during the first two years of study is preparatory to the Practicum Project and should be viewed as such in terms of providing competencies and qualifications for the Practicum.

Nature of the Project
For both directing and design students the Practicum Project is usually a project produced as part of The University of Memphis Theatre season. The student will serve as director, designer, or technical director according to their area of emphasis.
Occasionally, opportunities exist for a project at another area theatre and students may propose such as their Practicum if they can demonstrate to their Advisory Committee that appropriate supervision is feasible and reasonable.

The Role of the Advisory Committee
The student's Advisory Committee has the direct responsibility to supervise the project per se. This involves:
• Counsel in determining project proposals
• Approval and endorsement of the project proposals prior to review by the department's Season Selection committee
• Guidance in development of the project's plans of action
• Establishment of evaluation criteria
• Guidance and counsel, as needed, during the implementation of the project
• Conduct of a final review and evaluation of the project
• Certification of successful accomplishment of the project as fulfillment of the MFA degree requirement.
The Advisory Committee will endeavor to provide enlightened consistency to the project with respect to the concept of a Practicum in our Department. However, since each student and each committee is unique, the specific agreed upon Practicum and its attendant universe will also be...unique. The Committee Chair will identify key events and instances at which the Chair or a designee will be in attendance for guidance and counsel. In order for the Advisory Committee to carry out its responsibilities it must be made aware of all developments in the life of the project. Committee meetings will naturally provide a point of communication, as will the plans of action developed for the project. In addition, the Committee may request e-mail notification summarizing the discussions and outcomes of meeting and events that occur during the process of the project.

Timetable
The Practicum Project is usually produced during the third year of the student's program of study. In order for a Practicum project to be considered for inclusion in The University of Memphis Theatre season, it must be submitted to the Season Selection committee for review as a potential season production. Thus, directors should submit proposals to the Season committee by the time they begin their deliberations in the late Fall of the student's second year. Designers may also submit proposals at that time but more typically submit proposals later the following Spring once the season has been selected. When considering projects to be produced at other area theatres, students are advised to contact producers and artistic directors well in advance to discuss their season submission procedures and deadlines. In all cases, the student's Graduate Advisory Committee must approve Practicum proposals before they can be considered for inclusion in the Theatre Season.

Project Phases and Plans of Action
The Practicum typically evolves in identifiable phases and each phase involves documented plans of action to achieve objectives. The principle phases are:
• Project proposal
• Preparation for collaboration
• Collaboration and conception
• Process planning and documentation
• Process implementation
• Evaluation
The breadth and complexity of the various plans of action required for each phase—and their submission dates—will be determined by the Advisory Committee.

The Proposal
The Proposal is a document that delineates the nature of the project and identifies the goals and challenges of the project. It should offer sufficient information to allow both the Advisory Committee and the Season Selection Committee to consider the project for endorsement. Directors should present a sufficient number of proposals to their Advisory Committee to enable that committee to approve and endorse three. The proposals should be sufficiently varied to provide flexibility as potential season productions. The proposals should include such information as title, the principle raison d'être for the production as it relates to the director's program of study, the number and gender of required performers, significant design and technical challenges, rehearsal requirements, and preferred venue. Once approved and endorsed by the committee, three proposals will be forwarded to the Season committee for consideration. Since the Season committee will be attempting to determine which proposed production best integrates with the needs of the Season, the student director should be committed to each proposal.
Designers typically are responding to particular productions that have been selected for the Theatre Season (although they may also wish to initiate season proposals). Designers should present a sufficient number of proposals to their Advisory Committee to enable that committee to approve and endorse one. The proposals should include such information as title, the principle raison d'être for the production as it relates to the designer's program of study, the design, technical, and collaborative challenges offered by the project, and an analysis of production and calendar resources required.

Preparation For Collaboration
In preparation for and in advance of commencement of collaboration (before the first design meeting) between director and designers, a document should be prepared for review of the student's Advisory Committee that delineates a plan of action for the collaboration. This preparation will allow the directors and designers to discuss the important ideas to be engaged by the production at the first design meeting. The discussion will include topics of style, or ways-of-doing, which seem appropriate for the production and will allow the collaborators to identify key moments and images they feel are important to the production. The initial design meeting discourse will allow the contributory role of the various elements of the production to be articulated. The preparation for collaboration will, in other words, serve as a basis for the first of 4 design meetings that will take place.

The Director's written response to the text in the preparation for collaboration phase will serve to outline his or her vision of the production in order to give focus to the initial collaborative discussion with designers. The director's preparation for collaboration paper will be the document that draws forth designers' ideas based upon an overall vision. This written preparation could be viewed as the director's first draft of a production conceptualization that will prompt further discussion in the collaborative process. For a full understanding of what is required in producing this initial concept document for collaborative discussion, the Directing students are referred to the headers: Preface, Script Analysis and Vision of the Production under the section Project Conceptualization in the Grad handbook.

Collaboration and Conception
Collaboration and Conceptualization refers to the collaborative discussions towards final conceptualization that will happen over the course of 4 design meetings. During the collaboration and conception process, the student should keep the Advisory Committee apprised of the development of the conceptualization.
Upon commitment to a conceptualization for the production at the 4th design meeting, a Collaboration and Conceptualization Report is to be produced which discusses the artistic choices and commitments that have been made. This report will articulate the implications and consequences of the artistic choices and the challenges they occasion. The report should also delineate the techniques that will be employed to best fulfill the promise of the concept. In producing this paper, the student should also consider the intent of the conceptualization with respect to the communication of ideas to an audience.

Process Planning and Documentation
Having conceived the production, plans of action are developed for realizing the production. These plans of action should reflect an awareness of the resources (human, temporal, physical, and financial) that are available to the project.

Directors are to produce a Rehearsal Plan and a Rehearsal Schedule that are submitted to the Committee no later than two weeks prior to the first rehearsal.
The Rehearsal Plan delineates the director's approach for rehearsing the actors. Issues and challenges unique to the performance of this specific text should be identified and a plan for addressing these in rehearsal should be presented.
The Rehearsal Schedule is a plan for the progression of rehearsal from first rehearsal to opening. It should reflect a point of view as to how to "build" the play through rehearsal phases and time periods.
Designers are to produce design documentation for their designs and a schedule of implementation.
Design documentation will vary with respect to the design area but will in all cases be expected to conform to established professional practice and style and be completed according to agreed upon timetables.
Designers are to meet with their Advisory Committee (and, as appropriate, the respective design area supervisor and the Production Manager) to determine the specific design documentation package that will be produced.
The schedule of implementation produced should include a calendar of process dates from design development to opening.

Process Implementation
Carpe Diem! Do It!
As the Practicum project progresses some plans will prove effective and successful; some plans will require modification; and some new plans will have to be developed to account for...unplanned events. The student is encouraged to keep a record—a diary (el día, the day), or journal (le jour, the day)—of the process as this will aid in preparing the final evaluation of the Practicum. Naturally, the student is also encouraged to seek advice and counsel from the Advisory Committee.

Evaluation
After the close of the Practicum production—within two weeks at the latest—the student is to meet with the Advisory Committee to engage in an evaluation of the Practicum.
In preparation, the student should produce and submit an evaluative report to the Committee (courtesy requires that the report be sent to the committee members at least two days prior to the meeting). This report should evaluate the production as a total experience as well as a series of progressive experiences — from collaboration through implementation.
Discuss the outcome of the collaborative process and the artistic choices made as part of the production conceptualization. Then evaluate the implementation of those choices. Discuss the success or failure of plans and expectations. What was different than expected? What was most successful? What was least successful? What might have been done differently and how would that have improved the production?
Directors should discuss the progression of the creative process from conception through rehearsal and performance, giving particular attention to artistic problems encountered and their resolution. Evaluate the outcome of the rehearsal process and rehearsal plan. What were you most pleased with in terms of the rehearsal process and realized performances? What difficulties did you encounter? What would you do differently? Also discuss the maturation of the production through the period of performances, noting insights about your directorial process that are therein revealed.
Designers should discuss the evolution of the design process from conception through implementation. In discussing the collaborative process, deal not only with the director but also with other designers and with those responsible for implementing the design. Evaluate the productivity and efficiency of the techniques and technologies employed to realize the goals of the project. Comment on the use of resources (human, temporal, physical, and financial) available to the project.

Both directors and designers should provide a summary of the artistic and craft achievements evident in the project, which demonstrate competency and mastery of their specific disciplines. To be effective, the written evaluation should make direct reference to the previously produced Practicum documentation. This is especially important as one tries to evaluate the success in achieving the stated goals of the production conception and of the proposed implementation plans.

Along with the written report students should submit archival documentation relating to the production. Photographic images are especially appropriate to illustrate production concept, spatial composition, design form and style, and specific production solutions. Consider also articulate professional reviews or interesting feature stories. Designers should include a copy of their design documentation package. These archival documents must ultimately be rendered on a CD in the student's final semester prior to graduation to be submitted to his or her Committee Chair along with other documents/ forms that are specified on the Exit Checklist for the Graduate Student's Departmental File.
Honest expression and candor is expected in this evaluative report (that includes comments as to the level of helpfulness and effectiveness of the Advisory Committee during the process). Recriminations and accusations, however, are to be avoided unless they are intrinsically pertinent to an objective assessment of a production experience.
Although the report may engage an emotional retrospective, it should nonetheless be written in a clear and professional style.
For the meeting with the Advisory Committee, the student should bring a Practicum Project Evaluation form (available in the Theatre office) with appropriate sections completed. The purpose of the form is to record the committee's decision concerning the Practicum. The Committee will discuss and evaluate the Practicum and the evaluative report, and a decision will be made whether to accept the Practicum Project as meeting the requirements for the M.F.A. degree. In the case of rejection the student will be allowed one additional attempt.

All of the above-described Practicum Project paperwork must be put onto one CD by the student and given to his or her Advisory Committee Chair for filing at the end of the student's final semester prior to graduation. (Please see the Exit Checklist for the Graduate Student's Departmental File for a complete list of all documents that the student must include on this CD.)

Registration
The student receives six credit hours upon successful completion of the Practicum Project (graded as "Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory"). The student may choose to register for all six (6) hours in the semester of the Practicum or for three (3) hours in the semester of the Practicum and three hours in the prior semester. The course is entitled THEA 7995 – Production Practicum.

Resources
Practicum Projects, scheduled as part of The University of Memphis Theatre Season, will receive the normal production resource support afforded to Season productions. This includes a full production staff, an appropriate production budget, priority space scheduling for rehearsals, production execution and performance, and the authority and respect which is professionally appropriate to the position of director or designer for the production.
In the case of productions at other area theatres, the student should receive assurance from the theatre's producer that the appropriate production resource support that will be required will indeed be provided. Additional production resources may be made available by The University of Memphis if it is determined that these resources are essential to the success of the project.