Ralph Freud Playhouse

Location: Macgowan Hall

UCLA TFT’s historic Freud Playhouse has been the vital, creative hub of the UCLA TFT Department of Theater and much of the UCLA campus for more than 50 years. The Freud offers a fully dynamic learning and performance space for UCLA TFT students, faculty and staff, as well as national and international theater companies. The Freud was constructed in 1962 and was dedicated to the UCLA Department of Theater Arts founder and Professor Emeritus Ralph Freud in 1969. The Freud has a rich history hosting world-renown companies including Disney; The Olympic Arts Festival; The Wooster Group; The Berliner Ensemble; The Royal Court Theatre; and Suzuki Company of Toga, Japan, to name just a few. In addition, the Freud was home to alumnus Francis Ford Coppola’s American Zoetrope studio, which created, in collaboration with UCLA TFT, Distant Vision, an experimental live cinema project involving more than 100 UCLA TFT students, faculty and staff in various production and acting roles.

The Freud Playhouse is a 562-seat proscenium theater. The versatile space features a stage size that is typical for a 1,500-seat venue. With elevators and space extending 12 feet back under the stage, it can easily accommodate a full orchestra.

Directions and Parking
1. From Hilgard Ave. enter the east side of campus at Wyton Dr.
2. Make and immediate right turn onto Charles E. Young Dr. East and signs will direct you to Parking Structure 3.
3. From the ground level of Structure 3, enter the underpass (or from the street level cross Charles E. Young Dr. North and proceed down steps) and walk straight alongside Melnitz Hall and Macgowan Hall.
4. Turn left at the plaza and proceed to the courtyard of theaters.