The Brown/Trinity Rep Master of Fine Arts Programs in Acting and Directing will indefinitely pause its new student admissions, program leadership and University officials announced last Thursday.
Run in partnership with Trinity Repertory Company — a Rhode Island regional theater — the program “combines technical training from Brown University with real-world experience,” according to the program’s website.
The University paused admissions to the program following analysis and discussion among Brown and Trinity leaders, as well as an external expert review. The indefinite pause comes after a temporary one that began in 2023.
“The review highlighted the need for the programs ... to adapt to the changing landscape of the arts, emphasizing flexibility and responsiveness to the evolving needs of the industry,” Provost Francis Doyle wrote in an email to The Herald.
Professor of the Practice Curt Columbus, who is the artistic director of Trinity Rep and the interim head of the MFA program, attributed the closure to a changing performing arts landscape faced with lingering pandemic woes.
“Audiences have not returned in the way that they were before the pandemic,” leading leadership to reconsider the goals of a performing arts institution, Columbus said. “It’s irresponsible to have students moving through a program that is trying to imagine what its foundational principles are.”
The University will continue to offer courses for current admitted students until the most recently admitted class graduates in June 2026.
While MFA students thought the indefinite pause was sudden, they were not surprised.
“I personally thought that we were never coming back when they (first) paused admissions,” said Nicholas Byers GS, an MFA acting student.
In 2022, graduate students in the MFA program attempted to unionize, seeking recognition as employees of the University. Their petition and subsequent appeals were ultimately rejected by the National Labor Relations Board.
Tara Moses MFA’24.5 felt that her “education was secondary to the needs of Trinity Rep,” alleging that students were pulled away from roles in her productions to act in Trinity shows.
Columbus said that MFA acting students had the “agency” to pick which productions to participate in.
Layan Elwazani GS, an acting student, claimed that the University moved to halt admissions for both “ease and university profit.” The University has made efforts to reposition itself as a research institution from its traditional liberal arts model.
Doyle denied that profit or the unionization effort had any affect on the decision to halt admissions.
According to the Today@Brown announcement, the University plans to create a working group with representatives from Trinity Rep, the Brown Arts Institute and professionals in the field to evaluate the future of the program.
“With the establishment of the Brown Arts Institute and opening of the Lindemann Performing Arts Center, there are exciting opportunities to offer students broader access to innovative resources and interdisciplinary learning,” Doyle concluded.
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Ian Ritter is a senior staff writer covering graduate schools and students. He is a sophomore from New Jersey studying Chemistry and International and Public Affairs. When he’s not at the Herald, you can find him playing clarinet or explaining the rules of kickball to confused listeners.