Who: Mikhail Kachman, Head of MFA in Design
School: University of Maryland – Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies
City: College Park, Maryland

What should candidates look for in a training program? And what unique qualities do you think candidates would find in your program?

Candidates should look for 3 things: 1) whether the program educates true artists, meaning individuals who will advance our art form in the future, and offers curriculum and faculties that represent the state of art in the industry; 2) professional and artistic profile of the faculty – including not what those professors had accomplished in the past but rather what they are doing/designing now and going forward; 3) program’s connections with professional world and its location /association with a major theatre community (New York, Chicago, Washington, DC/Baltimore, LA – the list of truly big theatre scenes in the United States is finite).

What do you find to be the most rewarding aspect of working at the University of Maryland?
Studying at the nation’s capital (DC is the nation’s second-largest theatre market in gross tickets sales) and working or assisting professionally at companies ranging from the Kennedy center and Arena Stage to Woolly Mammoth and Centerstage; amazing faculty and professional connections; full financial support; state-of the-art facilities and generous production budgets.

Where is your favorite place to eat lunch or grab coffee near campus?

It depends on your definition of near… The DC line is a 20 minute drive away by car, and Washington has an amazing restaurant scene. In the meantime, the best coffee shop on campus is probably the one that’s inside the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, where the MFA Program is housed. It’s called Applause and it’s hard to imagine our life in the building without it.

Describe College Park in a few words.

College town 4 miles away from the DC line.

For more info about TDPS:
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