Yale School of Drama

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Yale School of Drama traces its roots to the Yale Dramatic Association, the second oldest college theatre association in the country, founded in 1900. The "Dramat," which produced the American premieres of Albert Camus's Caligula and Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, and also produced original works by Cole Porter, Stephen Vincent Benet, and Thornton Wilder written when they were students.

This lively dramatic tradition led to the funding, in 1924, by Yale benefactor Edward S. Harkness, to establish the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, and for the construction of a theater. George Pierce Baker, a teacher of playwriting, was the first chairman of the department. The first Master of Fine Arts in Drama was granted in 1931.

In 1955, the department was organized as a separate professional school, the first such in the Ivy League.

In 1966, the Yale Repertory Theatre was formed to establish further ties between the professional and academic communities. Today, Yale Drama students perform at both the Yale Rep and the Yale Cabaret, which mounts fully-student productions.

1 Notable alumni
2 Notable Yalies in film (not Drama School alumni)
3 Notable Yalies in television (not Drama School alumni)
4 External links

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] Notable Yalies in film (not Drama School alumni)

Angela Bassett (B.A. 1980 African-American Studies, MFA 1983), actress
Jennifer Beals, (B.A. 1987 American Literature) actress, best known for Flashdance and The L Word.
Henry Bean, screenwriter/director The Believer
Jordana Brewster, actress, plays Mia in The Fast and the Furious
Bruce Cohen, film producer, won an Academy Award for American Beauty
Michael Cimino, Academy Award-winning director
Jennifer Connelly (Class of 1992*), Academy Award-winning actress
Claire Danes (Class of 2002*), actress
Noah Emmerich (B.A. 1992), actor
Jodie Foster (B.A. in literature, magna cum laude), Academy Award-winning actress and director
Kathryn Hahn, actress
George Roy Hill, Academy Award-winning director
Holly Hunter, Academy Award-winning actress
Daniel Lewis James Jr. (Class of 1933) screenwriter, playwright, & novelist. Collaborated with Charlie Chaplin on the film The Great Dictator. Blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Collaborator with wife Lillith Stanwood on Broadway Musical Bloomer Girl. Authored the novel Famous All Over Town under the pseudonym Danny Santago. First cousin of Jesse James.
Phil LaMarr (B.A. 1989), actor, comedian.
Ron Livingston, actor. Best known for Office Space
Edward Norton (B.A. 1991), actor
Mills Pierre (B.A. 1999), actor. UK Screen Awards, nominated best supporting actor for the Quiet Storm.
Bronson Pinchot (B.A. 1981), actor
Vincent Price, actor
Gene Siskel (B.A. 1967), movie critic
Todd Solondz, director Welcome to the Dollhouse & Happiness
Oliver Stone*, Academy Award-winning director
Ted Tally (B.A., 1974), Academy Award-winning screenwriter
Sam Waterston, (B.A. 1961), actor
Jennifer Westfeldt, actress, screenwriter (Kissing Jessica Stein)

[edit] Notable Yalies in television (not Drama School alumni)

John Hodgman, comedian who often appears in The Daily Show and in the Get a Mac ad campaigns, representing a humanized PC.
Mark Linn-Baker
James Bohanek (B.A. 1991), Broadway and television actor
Dick Cavett, TV personality, nominated eleven times for the Emmy Award, and won three times.^[1]
Akhil Conner (B.A. 2004), actor in The Uninvited and contestant on Off The Wall, a Vin Di Bona production.^[2]
Anderson Cooper (B.A. 1989), CNN anchor of Anderson Cooper 360°
Bill Corbett (DRA 1989), actor, writer, played Crow T. Robot in Mystery Science Theater 3000
David Duchovny (M.A. English literature), actor in The X-Files
Dick Ebersol, president of NBC Sports division, helped launch Saturday Night Live
John Gidding (B.A. 1999), architect, one of the designers on the ABC Family show Knock First
Sara Gilbert, actress, best known for her portrayal as the daughter "Darlene Conner" on the sit-com Roseanne^[3] by Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide at the New York Times
Felipe Gozon, Philippine television executive
Michael Gross (DRA 1973), actor, best known as "Steven Keaton" (the father of Michael J. Fox's character) on Family Ties^[4]
Leo Laporte*, host of The Screen Savers on TechTV
Demetri Martin (1995) stand-up comedian who often appears on The Daily Show
Crystal McKellar (B.A. 1999), played "Becky Slater" in The Wonder Years in her youth; now an attorney.
Anne Meacham (B.A. 1947), Broadway and television actress (Another World)
Ari Meyers (B.A. 1991), actress, played Emma McArdle on Kate & Allie
Stone Phillips, television anchor for NBC
Robert Picardo, the holographic doctor on the television show Star Trek: Voyager^[5]
David Hyde Pierce, actor, best known as "Dr. Niles Crane" on Frasier; winner of four Emmy Awards^[6]
Steve Skrovan (B.A. 1979), executive producer of Everybody Loves Raymond and An Unreasonable Man
Ben Stein (J.D.), economist, host of Win Ben Stein's Money
Ming Tsai (B.A. 1986), chef on East Meets West with Ming Tsai on PBS
Margaret Warner, co-anchor on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, PBS' weekday news program
Sam Waterston, best known for his portrayal of A.D.A. Jack McCoy in Law & Order