National Theater Institute

National Theater Institute (NTI) is the conservatory-level training arm of the two-time Tony Award-winning Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, long celebrated as the “Launchpad of American Theater.” From its seaside campus in Waterford, Connecticut, the O’Neill pioneered the script-in-hand staged reading, sending scores of plays and musicals on to Broadway, Off-Broadway, London’s West End and major regional stages. NTI builds on that legacy by giving emerging artists a direct pipeline to professional development while they earn transferable academic credit.

The flagship NTI Semester compresses a full conservatory curriculum into 13 intensive weeks of acting, directing, design, playwriting, movement and voice—14 hours a day, six days a week—granting up to 20 credits through Connecticut College. Complementary tracks include the 14-week National Music Theater Institute for triple-threat performers and the six-week Theatermakers Summer Intensive, an accelerator that places students in the room as new works are developed for the O’Neill’s summer conferences. More than 3,500 alumni now carry NTI’s “Risk. Fail. Risk Again.” ethos into Broadway houses, Hollywood sound stages, regional theaters and streaming writers’ rooms. For students seeking an immersive, credit-bearing study-abroad alternative focused on professional theatre, the National Theater Institute turns creative ambition into disciplined artistry.

Study Abroad with National Theater Institute