The RSC launched a three-year partnership with Montclair State University in 2023.
Artist Residency
Our programme of work with Montclair State University began in September 2023 with a two week residency on campus in New Jersey. Acting and Musical Theater students took part in a series of workshops led by three RSC practitioners, exploring Shakespeare’s language and plays through practical exploration and staging.
For the Fall Semester in 2025, juniors in the BFA Acting and BFA Musical Theatre programs took part in an intensive two week process of workshops and rehearsals culminating in a staged, script-in-hand performance directed by RSC Associate Learning Practitioner Aaron Parsons and supported by Directing and Dramaturgy Apprentices from the BA Theatre Studies program. Meanwhile, MA Theatre and BA Theatre Studies students explored RSC rehearsal room approaches through workshops including Directing Shakespeare, Teaching Shakespeare, and RSC Performance Techniques, delivered by RSC Associate Learning Practitioners Joseph Arkley, Emma Manton and Aaron Parsons.
"Having the Royal Shakespeare Company return for a third consecutive residency is a testament to the transformative power of this collaboration," affirms Dean Daniel Gurskis of the College of the Arts. "Each year, our students deepen their understanding of Shakespeare’s language and performance through the RSC’s extraordinary teaching and artistry. What began as a pilot program has become a defining experience in our theater training."
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About Montclair State University
Montclair State University is a university with a public purpose — one that not only creates transformational opportunities for students, but also partners with communities to make a difference in the lives of others.
Recognised as one of the most inclusive and best value universities in the US and ranked No. 21 in social mobility. It recently ranked among the top universities in the nation in The Wall Street Journal/ College Pulse 2024 Best Colleges in the US, which measured the extent to which a college boosts its graduates’ salaries beyond what they would be expected to earn regardless of what school they attended.
“We are achieving life-changing outcomes for a highly diverse student body without compromising rigor or quality. These rankings are the latest testament that ours is an educational model that truly serves the public good” - Montclair President Jonathan Koppell
