FSU/Asolo Conservatory For Actor Training
FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training's MFA in Acting is consistently ranked among the top-25 MFA performance programs in the world.
Named one of the top ten actor training programs in the country, the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training in Sarasota, Florida is a three-year graduate program culminating in a Master of Fine Arts degree. Only twelve students are chosen each year from the thousands who audition nationwide to work in a program that combines rigorous classroom training with guest artist workshops and professional production experience.
Upon graduation, all students are eligible to join Actors’ Equity Association and enter the ranks of this country’s most highly regarded professional artists. Graduates of our program have appeared on and off Broadway, in regional theatres, in feature films and on television. The program was initiated by the Florida State University School of Theatre in Tallahassee in 1968 and moved to Sarasota five years later to establish a permanent relationship with the Asolo Repertory Theatre.
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Explore the 2024/25 Season
The FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training is thrilled to announce its 2024-25 season! We invite you to dive deeper into each production.
TRAIN ALONGSIDE PROFESSIONALS
For more than 50 years, the FSU/Asolo Conservatory and Asolo Rep have been linked in a unique collaboration that combines a classical academic training program with a professional regional theatre company.
This is one of the last remaining conservatory programs in the country, offering a sophisticated combination of graduate classroom training with professional performance opportunities at Asolo Rep. Although each organization is a separate institution with a separate budget and structure, they have grown around each other over 50 years into a complex and mutually beneficial structure.
RECRUITING
The FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training MFA programs recruit among the most elite professional degree programs in the nation.
10 to 12 acting graduates are recruited for enrollment in the Fall. The next acting recruitment cycle is in Spring of 2025 for admission Fall of 2025.
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Application
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No formal application is necessary before the Audition.
After receiving and accepting an offer from the FSU/Asolo Conservatory, you will receive a Conservatory application and instructions for the FSU admissions process.
To be eligible for admission and an assistantship, a student must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 in the last two years of college work or an acceptable score on the combined verbal and quantitative portions of the Graduate Record Examination taken within the last 5 years.
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Audition Process
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The first step in the application process is the Audition (either through URTA or a Private Audition). No University or Conservatory application should be started before receiving an official offer from the Conservatory Director.
PRIVATE AUDITION AND INTERVIEW
Private auditions are 20 minutes each and guarantee an opportunity to present work (two contrasting monologues: one classical and one contemporary) and interview with our faculty. The fee for a private audition is $50.00.
After paying the $50 audition fee, you will receive a confirmation email with a link to submit your headshot, resume and audition preferences. You will receive a final confirmation email from the Conservatory with your audition date and time.
THE UNIVERSITY/RESIDENT THEATRE ASSOCIATION (U/RTA) UNIFIED AUDITIONS
U/RTA auditions allow students to audition for more than 40 different universities and resident theatre companies at one time for one fee. To learn more about the auditions, contact the U/RTA office in New York at 212.221.1130 or visit their website at urta.com.
After a candidate receives an offer from the FSU/Asolo Conservatory, they must apply for admission to the FSU Graduate School. Any other questions about the audition/admission process can be answered by calling 941.351.9010 Ext. 2316 or by emailing jcourtemanche@fsu.edu.
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Brochure
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Curriculum
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THE FIRST YEAR
The first year focuses on establishing a foundation in acting, voice, movement and text work. The training emphasizes a process-oriented technique, establishing the student in the organic school of acting that they may be able to utilize throughout their training. During the year, students are not cast in productions to assure full concentration on these fundamental processes. First-year students also begin their relationship with the Asolo Repertory Theatre by serving as understudies for the professional season.
CURRICULUM
Acting: Nikolai Demidov School of Acting; fundamental principles and supplemental techniques; intensive work on actors’ organic process and creative instrument; improvisational exercises (Demidov etudes), character embodyment and scene/play study in Contemporary and Classical Realism.
Voice: Part I of the 2-year progression of intensive training in Fitzmaurice Voicework and supplemental vocal production techniques; articulation.
Movement: Movement Fundamentals I, including Body Dynamics™, Developmental Movement Technique™, Body Mind Centering™, Capoeira, and The Viewpoints.
Text Work — Embodying the Text (Actor’s Practical Work on a Play): Training how to read a text from an actor’s standpoint by extracting a character from a play and embodying it, while experiencing a play as a whole; connecting text work with the organic process exercised in the acting studio.
Rehearsal and Performance: Understudy roles with Asolo Rep.
THE SECOND YEAR
The second year builds on the discoveries of the first, but the focus in the acting classroom shifts to Shakespeare. The curriculum begins with developing a deep personal connection to the text, then moves on to partnering skills, actor-audience relationship, rhetoric, structure of the verse, sonnet, and first folio work. The Second-year students will learn stagecraft skills as they pertain to various stage configurations, and during the latter part of the year will explore how these techniques can also be applied to the performance of modern works. Students in their second year perform roles in the four-play Cook Theatre season, each production of which is chosen to provide the opportunity for students to explore the acting techniques being covered in class in front of a live and appreciative audience. This performance series is presented in the 161-seat Jane B. Cook Theatre as part of the Asolo Repertory Theatre. Each play is chosen specifically for the casting possibilities in the second year class.
CURRICULUM
Acting: Shakespeare, and the application of Classical techniques to modern material. Freeing the imagination via personal relationship to the text; partnering; dynamic status and stagecraft; actor-audience relationship; figures and rhetoric; the function of Theatre in the world.
Voice: Part II of the 2-year progression of intensive training in Fitzmaurice Voicework and supplemental vocal production techniques; articulation; International Phonetic Alphabet; regional & world dialects/accents.
Movement — Dynamics of Composition (Alive in the Theatrical Space): Movement Fundamentals II, including Le Coq, Neutral Mask, Ashaya Yoga™, Live Sound Action, Grotowski, Clown and Historical Dance
Rehearsal and Performance: Roles in the Cook Theatre season.
THE LONDON STUDY PROGRAM
During May and June of the second year, FSU/Asolo Conservatory students take part in an intensive training session in the London Study Program, one of the highlights of the Conservatory curriculum. While living at the Florida State University London Study Center, located in the historic Bloomsbury area of central London, the students work with master teachers and internationally known artists including Mark Wheatley, Patsy Rodenburg and Charmian Hoare. The training in London continues the second-year concentration on the classic repertoire with special focus on Shakespeare. In addition, students work on developing original material and exploring the dramaturgy of new work. The experience not only provides the students with concentrated acting and voice classes taught by master British teachers, but also allows the students to immerse themselves in the theatrical and cultural life of London.
THE THIRD YEAR
In their final year of the program, students become associate members of the professional resident acting company of Asolo Rep. Because Asolo Rep produces in rotating repertory, each student is guaranteed the opportunity to perform in several productions alongside seasoned, professional artists. Students also prepare for entering the profession by creating and rehearsing material for presentation in a virtual showcase published with Breakdown Services, giving our students access to a curated audience of Studio and Network Casting Executives, Casting Directors and Talent Representatives across the country. Guest artists and industry professionals instruct the students in the business of acting as well as commercial techniques, film/television workshops and audition skills. Through the Actors’ Equity Membership Candidate program, all students are eligible to join Actor’s Equity Association upon completion of their three years at the FSU/Asolo Conservatory.
MEET OUR CURRENT MFA ACTING CANIDATES
3RD YEAR STUDENTS | Graduating Class of 2025
JONATHAN ACOSTA
JOHN LEGGETT
CATHERINE LUCIANI
ASHLEY McCAULEY MOORE
ELLE MILLER
IBUKUN OMOTOWA
AYDA OZDOGANLAR
CAITLIN ROSE
BRIAN ZANE
2ND YEAR STUDENTS | Graduating Class of 2026
CHRISTINA MEI CHEN
LUKE HOONMIN CHOI
CALEE GARDNER
ZACH HARRIS
ALEX HATCHER
AMARA KALI
BILLY LYONS
YAALA MULLER
ASHLEY BROOKE RAYMOND
ANGELLE MISHON
WILL WESTRAY
URI ZHANG
1ST YEAR STUDENTS | Graduation Class of 2027
BRANDON BILLINGS
ALAN KIM
JACQUELYN MORALES
CORRIE OWENS
AUSTIN RIDLEY
EDGARDO SOLORIO
KATRIANA VÉLEZ
MAX YILLAH
ZOÉ ZERVAS
WHAT SETS US APART
From Andrei Malaev-Babel, Director and Head of Acting, FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training
The FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training is among top 25 acting MFAs in the World! It is a playground for the new generation of actors, who command perfect control over their process. Our MFA candidates feel safe to investigate and explore while relying on expert guidance. Our faculty of distinguished professionals synthesize research and practice to offer unparalleled methods for cultivating artists.
Every season, the Second Year Conservatory students put on four shows in the Conversatory's Cook Stage. Each play is carefully chosen and staged to cultivate our actors’ inimitable creative individualities, and their collective identity as an ensemble. In choosing our four-play season, guest artists and faculty, we are guided by the ideals of excellence, equity and diversity. While most of our faculty and staff operate behind the scenes, their work is crucial to the success of our season.
In their second year, our graduate actors spend a summer semester in London, training with England’s best master-teachers. Due to the Conservatory’s close relationship with the Asolo Repertory Theatre, our students understudy for the Rep already in their first year. In their third year, they become associate company members with the Asolo Rep, performing on the Mertz Stage.
Our actors are also aided by the dedicated Sarasota philanthropists who have deeply invested in their education.
The FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training is one of theatre world’s precious gems. Our alumni are sought after by theatres nationwide, and they enjoy successful careers in film and TV. You can see them live in New York, Chicago and beyond. Meanwhile, our actors here in Sarasota look forward to sharing their talents with you!
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Professional Faculty
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An intensely dedicated faculty of professional artists is devoted to developing within each of our students the emotional and technical skills that are essential to the successful actor.
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Support
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For more than 40 years, the FSU/Asolo Conservatory and Asolo Rep have been linked in a unique collaboration that combines a classical academic training program with a professional regional theatre company.
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Full Tuition
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All students accepted to the Conservatory are awarded graduate assistantships that provide full tuition waivers and an annual stipend.
Costs for the London program, including tuition and housing, are fully funded and provided for each student.
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Our Alumni
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We have been training actors for more than 50 years and are proud of all our graduates. For more than 40 years, the FSU/Asolo Conservatory and Asolo Rep have been linked in a unique collaboration that combines a classical academic training program with a professional regional theatre company.
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Season Selection
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Numerous factors play into our season choices. The collective individuality of our graduate second-year ensemble is considered, as well as its individual members’ distinct talents. Our season selections cater to their strengths, but also challenge them to achieve new artistic heights!
Our loyal Sarasota audience, are always on our mind, as we design our season programing. For over a decade we’ve been, and remain, the only local company that dares to produce Shakespeare. We have successfully combined some of the best contemporary drama with major classics in our seasons. We speak to our audiences frankly about the most pressing issues of today, while we touch on timeless themes connecting us with our ancestors and descendants alike.
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Cook Theatre
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A contemporary 161-seat venue designed to create an intimate relationship between the audience and actors. The Cook Theatre is the primary performance space for the FSU/Asolo Conservatory and small cast Asolo Rep shows.
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Asolo Rep
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Asolo Repertory Theatre is Florida's premier professional theatre and one of the leading artistic organizations in the Southeastern United States. Asolo Rep is one of the only remaining theatres in the country performing in true rotating repertory, producing around 8 and 12 productions a year on two stages. Each season the theatre produces an eclectic mix of plays, ranging from celebrated classics to exciting contemporary plays. The theatre's productions feature the talents of award-winning guest directors and designers, a company of professional actors and the gifted young actors in the third year of training at the FSU/Asolo Conservatory.
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URTA
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FSU/Asolo Conservatory is a member of the University Resident Theatre Association (URTA).
As Aan URTA member and we are committed to professional standards in theatrical production and training, a fair and honest recruiting process, and the principles of integrity and respect.
URTA members retain accomplished faculty who continue to work professionally, and provide quality facilities and the other essential resources and technology needed to allow graduate students the ability to reach the full potential of their training. Their students are provided exposure to professional practice, either through a partnership with a resident theatre, regular engagement of guest artists, or other means.
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Professional Staff
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Asolo Rep has a mix of full time staff and seasonal employees and offers a Novemeber to June season of new and classic works that are vital to the cultural life of the region.
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Professional Guest Directors
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The London Study Program
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During May and June of the second year, FSU/Asolo Conservatory students take part in an intensive training session in the London Study Program, one of the highlights of the Conservatory curriculum. While living at the Florida State University London Study Center, located in the historic Bloomsbury area of central London, the students work with master teachers and internationally known artists including Mark Wheatley, Patsy Rodenburg and Charmian Hoare. The training in London continues the second-year concentration on the classic repertoire with special focus on Shakespeare. In addition, students work on developing original material and exploring the dramaturgy of new work. The experience not only provides the students with concentrated acting and voice classes taught by master British teachers, but also allows the students to immerse themselves in the theatrical and cultural life of London.
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Sarasota
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Sarasota County is enriched by its visual and performing arts offerings and distinctive cultural experiences. Known as Florida's Cultural Coast®, it's where you can enjoy museums, art galleries and performing art venues all around town. No matter when you visit, there's always an art attraction with something new and inspiring to see!