Administrators hope to use the pause to pursue fundraising, including a proposal that could make the MFA acting program tuition-free.
When Dean Martine Kei Green-Rogers enters The Theatre School (TTS), she carries the weight of the entire building and everything inside it.
“This entire building is my responsibility — both what’s happening inside of it and the building itself,” she said.
Her title may suggest a single role, but it’s closer to four: “I guess the best way to describe my job is that I am the chief academic officer in the building. So anything that is curricular that is shifting, changing, moving — my job is to make sure that we are essentially following all the federal guidelines around those things.”
However, the work doesn’t stop at academics. “I’m also the person who holds the budget strings. Money comes through here first. And I’m the producer in the building. I’m responsible for all the mainstage shows, and the hiring and things around studios, etc. So basically, it’s kind of 3.5 jobs.”
In recent months, her attention has been occupied by one demanding challenge. The two-year MFA acting program has been officially paused as of this academic school year.
The intensive program hasn’t always been present, as it was once a three-year track prior to Green-Rogers’ entrance into TTS.
Each year, the program enrolls a class of roughly 14 students. “So between two classes, we’ve got like 28 people.”
The size isn’t the problem at hand — the funding is.
“This is part of the reason why it’s actually a little painful that we’re having to make this decision, because there was [nothing], beyond a bunch of stuff that was going on at the federal level, that we couldn’t control.”
On the federal level, new regulations are tightening how graduate students can borrow money and how universities are evaluated on their debt-to-income ratios. Because arts graduates typically take longer to earn enough to offset their educational debt, MFA programs are now more vulnerable under these rules.
Malik Lucas, MFA Rep and year one student, found out the MFA program was put on pause during a meeting with his cohort and faculty. Lucas’ role as rep is to be a voice for MFA actors and ensure their needs are being met.
“My immediate reaction was disappointment, but I also understand the larger context surrounding the decision,” Lucas said. “The leadership at The Theatre School felt it would be unfair to bring in a new MFA class without knowing what additional cuts or resource limitations could happen in the future.”
He added: “They didn’t think it was right to ask people to spend that amount of money on a program that might not be able to provide the same level of resources and support moving forward, which I wholeheartedly agree is the right choice.”
Green-Rogers agrees that funding on the federal level and the government’s shifting rules around graduate loans is the heart of the issue.
“Because we are a Vincentian institution, we’re very interested in bringing a diverse group of folk into the fold. Not everyone is independently wealthy,” Green-Rogers said. “Unless you can prove a return on investment with a certain amount of time, which we all know takes time [when] building a career, especially in the arts.”
But the program isn’t ending, it’s strategically pausing.
Green-Rogers and the rest of TTS administration is using the pause as an opportunity to revamp, fundraise and explore other options with the MFA program.
The explanation is technical, but the effect is simple: “The main gist is that essentially they are capping how much people can take out for student loans. And they’ve gotten rid of some student loan programs that were especially for graduate students.”
Without a redesigned financial structure, Dean Martine explains admitting a new class would feel irresponsible.
“We just need a better plan for how we’re going to support those students fiscally before bringing in a class,” she said. “I don’t feel good about bringing in a class knowing we have no way to help them if they need help.”
Lucas expressed his trust in the program regardless, and is why he chose to come to TTS. He explains that the training offers something he is looking for as an artist in today’s acting scene.
“What makes this program unique is the level of rigor and ensemble-based training. The program pushes actors to grow across multiple disciplines while also encouraging vulnerability, collaboration and individuality,” he said. “The relationships built with my cohort and with faculty create an environment where we can truly challenge ourselves creatively.”
It’s not only the MFA Acting program being put on pause at DePaul, but also the MFA Arts Leadership and MFA Directing.
“The plan is to bring [the MFA programs] back,” Green-Rogers said. “ I’m actively working on bringing them back. The question is how long it’s going to take — but it’ll happen. It will happen.”
As Green-Rogers encapsulates her experience of being a dean right now, she feels she is a wilderness firefighter with a spray bottle, tackling challenges and putting all the effort she can into the The Theatre School, to the best of her abilities.
As of now, Green-Rogers and her administration will continue to plan and revise for the future of the MFA program.
There is no expected class of 2028. Only 14 members of the MFA acting program will move on to their second year.
“I think next year will be bittersweet in some ways because my cohort and I will be continuing as the only MFA acting class in the program,” Lucas said. “I believe it will motivate us to continue representing the program with pride and make the most of the opportunities we still have.”
Header Image by Noemi Romero
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