Mason Gross School of the Arts is the arts conservatory at

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat, seat of government of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Mason W. Gross, the sixteenth president of

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was a ...

. Mason Gross offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, Theater, Digital Filmmaking, and Visual Arts, Bachelor of Music, Master of Fine Arts in Theater and Visual Arts, Master of Education in Dance, Master of Music, Doctor of Musical Arts, Artist Diploma in Music, and MA and Ph.D. in composition, theory, and musicology. Mason Gross recently introduced a new program in the Visual Arts that offers a Bachelor of Design. MasonGrossSchoolRutgers!

Mason Gross was founded in 1976 as a school of the fine and

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...

within

and in 1976 became a separate degree-granting institution from the other Undergraduate colleges. All fine arts departments at the other

colleges were merged into Mason Gross in 1981 and as of 2005 has expanded to more than 20 buildings, including the spacious visual arts studios at the Livingston campus and the Civic Square Building in the center of New Brunswick and a variety of performing-arts spaces. The buildings are all situated within

Douglass College Douglass Residential College, is an undergraduate, non degree granting higher education program of Rutgers University-New Brunswick for women. It succeeded the liberal arts degree-granting Douglass College after it was merged with the other und ...

campus with the exception of the Civic Square Building (on Livingston Avenue) in the city's Civic Square government and theatre district and the sculpture facilities (on the Livingston campus). Theater actor, director, and playwright Jack Bettenbender served as first dean of the school, from 1976 until his death in 1988. Bettenbender directed hundreds of theatrical productions, both at

and in New York City. An outdoor space dedicated in 2002 to honor John Bettenbender, the founding dean of the Mason Gross School of the Arts. The square is a gathering spot for students between classes, the site of impromptu performances and a summer setting for evening events. Avery Brooks gave the dedication eulogy. Bettenbender Plaza Bettenbender Plaza sits in front of Nicholas Music Hall, the performing arts center of Rutgers University, New Brunswick. The challenge was to design a plaza that would complement the theater’s activities as well as act as a gateway to the university. The Blanche and Irving Laurie Music Library houses approximately 15,000 recordings and 30,000 monographs and scores, serving as a research and reference library at all levels. Studios and stages for the school will be located in the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center upon completion in 2019. The Mason Gross School of the Arts has more than 500 events taking place annually on campus, alongside classes, rehearsals and numerous recreational activities. Has an 18% application acceptance rate.

Notable alumni and faculty

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'') * Atif Akin (artist, designer) * Emma Amos (painter) *

Andrea Anders Andrea Anders (born May 10, 1975) is an American actress. She is best known for her work on television, notably through her main roles on five anticipated but short-lived sitcoms, ''Joey'', '' The Class'', ''Better Off Ted'', '' Mr. Sunshine'' and ...

(actress, '' Mr. Sunshine'', ''

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'') *

Alice Aycock Alice Aycock (born November 20, 1946) is an American sculptor and installation artist. She was an early artist in the land art movement in the 1970s, and has created many large-scale metal sculptures around the world. Aycock's drawings and sculp ...

(sculptor) *

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'', '' The Producers'' ''

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'') *

Natalie Bookchin Natalie Bookchin is an artist based in Brooklyn, New York. She is well known for her work in media. She was a 2001-2002 Guggenheim Fellow. Her work is exhibited at institutions including PS1, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, the Museum ...

(media artist) *

Bill Bowers Bill Bowers (born April 16, 1959) is an American mime artist and actor based in New York City. As an actor, mime and educator, Bill has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. He is a Movement for Actors Instructor at ...

(mime artist and actor) *

Avery Brooks Avery Franklin Brooks (born October 2, 1948) is an American actor, director, singer, narrator and educator. He is best known for his television roles as Captain Benjamin Sisko on ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', as Hawk on '' Spenser: For Hire'' ...

(actor, jazz and opera singer, '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'') *

Kevin Chamberlin Kevin Chamberlin (born November 25, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for his theatre roles such as Horton in ''Seussical'' and Uncle Fester in ''The Addams Family''. For his theatre work, he received three Tony Award and three Drama Desk A ...

(Tony-nominated actor, ''

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'',

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's '' Jessie'') *

Cook Thugless Cook Thugless is an independent music collective and hip hop act formed in New Brunswick, New Jersey in 2012. Popular in the New Jersey underground music scene, Cook Thugless gained national attention with their 2019 single titled, "Lockjaw". ...

members *

Melvin Edwards Melvin "Mel" Edwards (born May 4, 1937) Samella S. Lewis, ''African American Art and Artists'', University of California Press, 2003, p. 210. Lisa S. Weitzman"Edwards, Melvin 1937–" encyclopedia.com. is an American contemporary artist, teacher, ...

(celebrated abstract steel metal sculptor) *

Michael Esper Michael James Esper (born December 1, 1975) is an American actor, best known for his stage work. Early life Esper was born in Manhattan and raised in Montclair, New Jersey. He is the son of acting teachers William and Suzanne Esper, of the W ...

(actor, Broadway's '' American Idiot'') *

Paul Cohen Paul Joseph Cohen (April 2, 1934 – March 23, 2007) was an American mathematician. He is best known for his proofs that the continuum hypothesis and the axiom of choice are independent from Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory, for which he was award ...

(classical-contemporary saxophonist/saxophone historian) *

Mike Colter Mike Randal Colter (born August 26, 1976) is an American actor best known for his role as Luke Cage in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in the streaming television series ''Luke Cage'' (2016–2018), '' The Defenders'' (2017), and ''Jess ...

(actor, "''

Million Dollar Baby ''Million Dollar Baby'' is a 2004 American sports drama film directed, co-produced, scored by and starring Clint Eastwood from a screenplay written by Paul Haggis, based on stories from the 2000 collection ''Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner' ...

'' ''

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'', ''

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'') *

Jessica Darrow Jessica Darrow (born January 7, 1995) is an American actress and singer best known for voicing the character Luisa Madrigal in Disney's Encanto (film), ''Encanto''. Early life Darrow was born in Miami, Florida. She is of Cuban descent. As a te ...

(actress/singer, voices Luisa Madrigal in

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's ''

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'') *

Kristin Davis Kristin Landen Davis (also listed as Kristin Lee Davis; born February 23, 1965) is an American actress and producer. She is known for playing Charlotte York Goldenblatt in the HBO romantic comedy series ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004). She ...

(Emmy-nominated actress, ''

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'') * Mike Dawson (cartoonist) *

Tim DeKay Timothy Robert DeKay (born June 12, 1963) is an American actor. He starred in the USA Network series '' White Collar'' (2009–2014) Early life Tim DeKay was born June 12, 1963, to Jim DeKay and Jill Vaughn in Lansing, New York, where he and ...

(actor, "White Collar," "Carnivale," "Tell Me You Love Me") * Angela Ellsworth (artist) *

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(Golden Globe-winning actress, "Ally McBeal," "The Birdcage") *

Midori Francis Midori Iwama (born April 16, 1994), known professionally as Midori Francis, is an American actress. She began her career in theatre, earning NYIT, Obie, and Drama Desk Awards. She received a Daytime Emmy nomination for her role as Lily in the N ...

(actress) * Derrick Gardner (jazz trumpeter) *

Tina Gharavi Tina Gharavi ( fa, تینا غروی) is an Iranian-born British-American BAFTA and Sundance nominated artist, director and screenwriter. Gharavi is known for her innovative cross-platform stories about outsiders, misfits and rebels as well as ...

(filmmaker, professor) *

Nancy Gustafson Nancy Gustafson (born June 27, 1956, in Evanston, Illinois) is an American opera singer. She received her B.A. from Mount Holyoke College in 1978 and her M.Mus. from Northwestern University. She has appeared in numerous productions at venues bo ...

(soprano, faculty) * Israel Hicks (stage director who presented

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's entire 10-play Pittsburgh Cycle; 1943–2010) *Mary Howard (set and production designer) * Sean Jones (former lead trumpet in the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra) *

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(actress) *

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(pop artist) * Linda Lindroth (artist) *

Ardele Lister Ardele Lister is an artist working in time-based media. From 1991 to the present, Lister has taught media production and critical studies at Rutgers University, where she is currently Graduate Director of Visual Arts. She has also taught at Mont ...

(media artist) * Raphael Montañez Ortíz (performance artist) *

Matt Mulhern Matt Mulhern (born July 21, 1960) is an American actor and historian who has starred in such films as '' One Crazy Summer'' and '' Biloxi Blues'', and such television series such as '' Major Dad'', '' JAG'', and '' Rescue Me'' (playing Lt. John ...

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(composer) *

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(artist, historian, author, '' The History of White People'') *

Marissa Paternoster Marissa Paternoster (born August 1, 1986) is an artist, singer and guitarist active in New Jersey's New Brunswick, New Jersey music scene, New Brunswick music scene. She is the lead singer and guitarist in the bands Screaming Females and Noun (band ...

(lead singer,

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) *

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(musician with Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble) *

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(Emmy-winning actor, "Guiding Light," "As The World Turns"; Broadway's "End of the Rainbow") *

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(voice actress) *

William Pope.L Pope.L (also known as William Pope.L, born 1955 in Newark, New Jersey) is an American visual artist best known for his work in performance art, and interventionist public art. However, he has also produced art in painting, photography and theater ...

(performance artist) * Melissa Potter (artist) *

Molly Price Molly, Mollie or mollies may refer to: Animals * ''Poecilia'', a genus of fishes ** ''Poecilia sphenops'', a fish species * A female mule (horse–donkey hybrid) People * Molly (name) or Mollie, a female given name, including a list of persons ...

(actress, "Third Watch," Broadway's "Death of a Salesman") *

Sheryl Lee Ralph Sheryl Lee Ralph OJ is an American actress and singer. She made her screen debut in the 1977 comedy film '' A Piece of the Action'', before landing the role of Deena Jones in the Broadway musical ''Dreamgirls'' (1981), for which she received a ...

(actress, singer, "Dreamgirls," "Moesha") * Charles Ray (artist) * Harry Romero (DJ and record producer known as "Harry Choo Choo Romero") *

Martha Rosler Martha Rosler (born 1943) is an American artist. She is a conceptual artist who works in photography and photo text, video, installation, sculpture, and performance, as well as writing about art and culture. Rosler's work is centered on everyday ...

(artist) *

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(actress) * Gary Schneider (artist) *

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(painter and sculptor) *

Katrín Sigurdardóttir Katrín Sigurdardóttir (born 1967 in Reykjavík, Iceland) is a New York-based artist who works in installation and sculpture. Katrin studied at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts, Reykjavík and received a BFA from the San Francisco Art In ...

(sculptor, installation artist) *

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(MTV executive) *

Joan Snyder Joan Snyder (born April 16, 1940) is an American Painting, painter from New York City, New York. She is a MacArthur Fellows Program, MacArthur Fellow, a Guggenheim Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellow, and a National Endowment for the Arts, National End ...

(artist) *

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(minimalist, performance, video and light artist) *

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(jazz trumpeter) *

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) *

Justin Mortelliti Justin Mortelliti (born August 30, 1980 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American actor, singer/songwriter and recording artist. Early life Mortelliti was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His family moved to Washington Township, Gloucest ...

(actor) *

Aaron Stanford Aaron Stanford (born December 27, 1976) is an American actor best known for his roles as Pyro in '' X2'' and '' X-Men: The Last Stand'', and Doug in the 2006 remake of '' The Hills Have Eyes''. From 2010 to 2013, he starred as Birkhoff in '' N ...

(actor) *

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(first violinist,

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) *

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(actor) *

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(actor, "Men In Trees," "Grey's Anatomy") *

Dietlinde Turban Dietlinde Turban (born 27 August 1957 in Reutlingen in Germany) is the birth name and stage name of Dietlinde Turban Maazel, a German actress. Her brother is the violinist Ingolf Turban. Dietlinde Turban's first stage appearance at the age of ...

(actor, faculty) * Stephen Westfall (painter) * John Yau (poet) *Nicholas Alexander Chavez (actor, did not graduate)

Notable alumni and faculty

See also

References

Related links