As we enter a new academic year, Cal sat down to answer some questions about graduate theatre training–what it’s about, what to look for in a program, and what the University of Tennessee recruiters will be looking for this year.

University of Tennessee’s relationship with the Clarence Brown Theatre Company is a perfect example of the type of professional association fostered and encouraged by URTA among its member programs. Can you tell us a little about that association, how it benefits each institution, and what it means for the MFA students at UT?

The Clarence Brown Theatre provides a particular kind of laboratory for professional practice. It runs and has professional goals similar to other regional theaters. It attempts to provide for the East Tennessee region a professional organization that can be used to foster a stronger community. The association attempts to involve students undergoing training in that effort—directly and substantively – working with professionals, and under professional practices. It does so under a dual structure that requires certain compromises in the professional organization in order to accommodate training, and vice versa, in the training program in order to accommodate professional goals and practices. We view these compromises as a necessary and vital aspect of the missions of both the professional theater and the educational programs.

We sometimes hear from students about to complete a B.A. in theatre, that have been counseled to look into MFA programs, but have no idea what to expect from graduate school. How would you describe the difference between undergraduate and graduate-level training in theatre?

Well, that depends upon the particular undergraduate degree program. BFA’s and MFA’s are more similar than BA’s and MFA’s. The essential difference, it seems to me, is the need for a baccalaureate program to provide some kind of general “liberal arts” education. This general education, presumably, introduces the younger student’s mind to skills in advanced problem solving and critical thinking. A graduate education focuses more specifically in research methods for the particular discipline. Both undergraduate and graduate programs may attempt to foster and train students in particular skills associated with their area of interest, but an undergraduate degree, whether BA or BFA, will need to also address the needs of a general education.

Your program will be recruiting candidates this year in costume design, lighting design, and scenic design. What qualities are your recruiters most interested in as they interview design candidates and review their portfolios?

First, they look for aptitudes: a lively and inquisitive mind, abilities to express oneself verbally and in writing, curiosity and facility to pursue productively that curiosity, and some degree of potential to be able to express oneself artistically. Artistic and technical skills are less valued, although how well the individual expresses him or herself has much to do with their skill set. We try to gauge potential, as well as evaluate current skill level.

How would you describe your own time in graduate school? And has your training benefited you in your own career?

Absolutely. I learned what to do as a director in graduate school. I learned how to think like a director; how to communicate with other theater artists. How to better express myself verbally, and especially, in writing. I learned how other disciplines (music, visual arts, dance) could contribute to, and inspire my own work. I learned what was expected of me, and what was not. I learned how to begin to actually collaborate – which is, I think, the essential artistic task of the theater artist.

What do you feel a student actor or designer should look for in a prospective graduate program?

The “feel” of various opportunities: with the faculty, with the facility, with the educational objectives and philosophies, with the production program. One should trust one’s instincts with the individual teachers: do they excite you? Do they connect with you? Does their work interest you?

What do you find to be the most rewarding aspect of teaching?

The renewal that comes as young artists discover themselves and gain maturity as they pursue their goals. It is a feeling akin to successful parenting.

What advice would you give to someone who has just completed a MFA and is about to embark on their theatre career?

The next five years are important in the process of assimilating your education. Provide yourself with opportunities to work on that assimilation. Seek professional opportunity, but do not only take on “careerist” pursuits. You have to practice. Like a piano player: do your scales, work on your craft. There is a certain amount of “hanging around” and dues-paying one must do, but it is important to work in obscurity for a while – a lot of learning can happen in the safety of that obscurity.

 Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions, Cal!

Cal MacLean is the current President of the University Resident Theatre Association. He has served jointly as Head of the Department of Theatre at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Artistic Director of the Clarence Brown Theatre Company since 2006. Prior to his arrival at UT, Cal was Head of Directing at Illinois State University for fifteen years. He was also Artistic Director of the Illinois Shakespeare Festival. With Chicago’s Famous Door Theatre Company, he directed productions including: The Lonesome West (Joseph Jefferson Award nominations for Outstanding Production of a Play, and Outstanding Direction), The Living (Joseph Jefferson Awards for Production and Direction), Conquest of the South Pole (Jeff Citations for Production and Direction), Salt of the Earth (Jeff Citations for Production and Direction), and most notably, Joshua Sobol’s Ghetto, a production that ran for seven months. Critically acclaimed as one of the best productions in Chicago for 1999, Ghetto was nominated for six Joseph Jefferson Awards and honored with four including Outstanding Production of a Play and the first-ever Michael Maggio Award for Outstanding Direction of a Play. Other professional credits include Chicago’s Tony Award winning Victory Gardens Theater, the Connecticut Repertory Theatre, the Asolo Theatre in Florida, Indiana Repertory, and the University of Illinois. Directing credits at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival include: King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, King John, Measure for Measure, Cymbeline, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, As You Like It, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Wild Oats, and The Triumph of Love. Cal was named by the Chicago Tribune in 2002 as one of the “ten most promising” theatre artists in Chicago. Married to Rebecca MacLean, they have two children, Rachael and Sam.