MFA Devised Performance | Pig Iron Theatre Company
MFA Devised Performance | Pig Iron Theatre Company
Master of Fine Arts, Devised Performance
Rowan's College of the Arts and Philadelphia's Pig Iron Theatre Company have joined together to offer a Master of Fine Arts in Devised Theatre degree.
Program Info Sessions
Interested in collaborative, ensemble-driven theatre-making?
Discover Rowan University’s MFA in Devised Performance, created in partnership with Philadelphia’s renowned Pig Iron Theatre Company.
Join us for a virtual information session to learn more about this one-of-a-kind program. You’ll gain insight into our curriculum, which emphasizes:
- Physical theatre
- Improvisation
- Movement and voice
- Collaborative creation inspired by Lecoq pedagogy
Upcoming Information Sessions (all held virtually at 5:30 PM EST):
Audition Dates/Information
The audition is one part of the application process for the MFA and Certificate Programs in Devised Performance, a partnership between Rowan University and Pig Iron Theatre Company. The auditions are conducted in a collaborative, workshop-style environment so we can get to know you as a performer and theatre-maker. There will be three components to the audition: movement, improvisation, creation. There is nothing to prepare in advance, but do come prepared to move and work with others.
Prospective students interested in joining the program for Fall 2026 are invited to audition. The audition dates - both live and virtual - are listed below. You must start your application in order to sign up for an audition slot. Click the link below to get the application and audition process started!
Audition Dates:
- Saturday November 22 10am-12pm (in person)
- Saturday January 17 10:30am-12pm (virtual Zoom)
- Saturday January 24 10am-12pm (in person)
- Thursday February 26 4-6pm (in person)
Faculty
- Gabriel Quinn Bauriedel, Program Director
- Sarah Sanford, Movement Analysis, Pedagogy, Improvisation, Creation
- Emmanuelle Delpech, Improvisation and Creation
- Liz Filios, Voice
- Makoto Hirano, Catapult Advisor
- Aram Alan Aghazarian, Jeu, Absurd
- Ben Grinberg, Acrobatics
- Nicole Burgio, Acrobatics
- Nichole Canuso, Dance Theatre, Catapult Advisor
- Trey Lyford, Catapult, Improvisation
- Dito van Reigersber, Cabaret, Open Canvas
- Dan Rothenberg, Measures, Dramaturgy for Devisors
- Suli Holum, Open Canvas, Dramaturgy
- Nell Bang-Jenson, Civic Practice
- Jonathan VanDyke, Visual Art, Object Performance
- AJ Luca, Music Skills
- Allen J. Kuharski, History, Theory and Practice of Ensemble Physical Theatre
Contact
If you have any questions about the program or the application process, feel free to send an email to Program Director Quinn Bauriedel, quinn@pigiron.org or School Administrator Francesca Montanile, francesca@pigiron.org.
About Pig Iron
ABOUT PIG IRON THEATRE COMPANY
Pig Iron began as a “dance-clown-theatre” ensemble in 1995, and their innovative productions garnered rave reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and then in the burgeoning arts scene of their hometown of Philadelphia. Now, over 25 years later, Pig Iron has emerged as part of a movement of alternative theatre makers who seek to resituate how audiences encounter performance. The company is at the forefront of the “devised” theatre movement, a practice of performance-making in which an ensemble of actor-creators begins its work in the studio rather than from a script. Pig Iron has developed a method of co-authorship that springs from focused improvisation, discussion and innovative collaborations. Pig Iron engages in collaborations with visionary artists who push the ensemble in new directions. Collaborators have included: legendary director Joseph Chaikin; playwright Toshiki Okada; designers Mimi Lien (Macarthur “Genius") and Machine Dazzle; the Grammy-winning choir The Crossing, indie rock outfit Dr. Dog, and filmmaker Josephine Decker. Pig Iron has toured to 15 countries on four continents with notable appearances at the Public Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, the Humana Festival, TR Warszawa and TPAM (Tokyo), among others. The company has won two OBIE Awards (NYC) and 10 Barrymore Awards, with over 45 nominations in Philadelphia. Learn more at pigiron.org.
Pig Iron School is a physical theatre school rooted in Lecoq pedagogy and ensemble theatre practice founded in 2013. It is a space for rigorous experimentation, playful theatre-making, and long-lasting collaboration. From 2015 to 2024, Pig Iron School offered MFA and certificate programs in Devised Performance through a partnership with the University of the Arts, as well as workshops, residencies, and other training opportunities.
Pig Iron School is run alongside Pig Iron Theatre Company, one of the foremost ensemble-devising theatre companies in the country. Founded in 1995 as an interdisciplinary ensemble, Pig Iron Theatre Company is dedicated to the creation of new and exuberant performance works that defy easy categorization.