MFA acting students comprise a significant part of the resident acting company at the Connecticut Repertory Theatre, the performance wing of the Department of Dramatic Arts. Producing in three unique theatres, the CRT performs a wide range of plays from the classical to the modern, as well as new plays developed during the theatre's Summer Series. Plays are often directed by professionals, many of whom have worked extensively in major regional repertory theatres as well as Off- and On-Broadway. CRT also gives student actors the opportunity to perform alongside experienced, working professional actors while earning membership points in Actors Equity, the American professional actors union. Although it is not guaranteed, graduate-student actors invariably perform in at least one and sometimes two Mainstage CRT productions during each of their six semesters. As a result of this casting pattern, most of our MFA acting students are eligible to join Equity upon their graduation. The department may also provide third-year MFA actors with opportunities to understudy and/or perform in outside productions at such prestigious regional repertory theatres as the Long Wharf in New Haven.