Visiting Director Program Sparks Debate

Tonight is a night of many unveilings.

When Harvard kicks off its third annual ARTS First Weekend with the East Coast premiere of Anthony Clarvoe's The Living at the Loeb Drama Center Mainstage tonight, the production will mark the debut of the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club's Visiting Director Project, an endeavor that has recruited professional director John Dillon to lead a student cast and crew.

With no drama department, Harvard has established an almost unmatched tradition of student-run college theater. Directors such as Peter Sellars '81 and Bill Rauch '84 have gained national recognition with talents honed as undergraduate directors of major campus productions. And Jack Lemmon '47, who will be honored with the first Harvard Arts Medal on Saturday, is just one of many professional actors to emerge from Harvard's amateur theater.

Because of the long tradition of student theater at Harvard, the introduction of a formal project that brings professional directors to campus has sparked controversy within the college's drama circles.

Some see the HRDC's Visiting Director Project (VDP) as the resurrection of large-scale student theater on the Loeb mainstage; others see it as a precedent for institutional control of a uniquely independent community. Most agree that it has provoked a re-examination of the role of student theater at the Loeb.

Although the Hasty Pudding Theatricals regularly employ professional production staff for their annual all-male musicals, and American Repertory Theatre professional like David Wheeler and Jane Nichols have directed undergraduate shows in the past, the HRDC has never attempted to install a program with the potential to hire professional directors on a regular basis.

A 'Professional Resource'

Anothony Clarvoe's The Living was first performed in 1993 by the Denver Center Theater Company. Set in London during the Great Plague of 1665, The Living follows the lives of seven people coping with crisis. According to Dillon, "[The Living] focuses on the question of how we are to live in the face of death. It's about the process of living and the choices we make as a result."

With 16 years of experience as Artistic Director of the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre and an extensive directing resume, Dillon has directed more than 60 professional productions. He brings a level of experience to The Living and associations with the professional theater world that other Harvard directors cannot offer.

Dillon envisions his role as the Visiting Director as an asset to the entire theater community. "I see my function as having two parts: to try to put together the best production of the play that I can, and also to be a professional resource for students interested in theater."

The HRDC has done enormous amounts of work over the past year to bring Dillon's expertise to The Living staff and the rest of Harvard. The idea was first proposed by student playwright and director Todd Kessler '94 as a way of changing the direction of the HRDC's shows on the Loeb mainstage.

In an open meeting of the HRDC in January, 1994, "[Kessler] brought up the idea of bringing in someone professional to direct, and having just one mainstage show instead of two," according to former HRDC President Sarah T.Stewart '95. "The goal was to cut down on thenumber of shows so that the quality of the showscould go up."

"The idea was the source of debate amongmembers of the HRDC community. "I was veryhesitant coming in because bringing in aprofessional director sets a percedent," saidTerrell P. McSweeney '97, Assistant Director ofThe Living and HRDC Campus Liaison. "Ihave a very strong feeling that Harvard drama isstudent-run and should continue to be, becauseit's really excellent."

"[The VDP proposal] received positive feedbackfrom the actors, negative feedback from everyoneelse," said Bradley G. Rouse '94-95, VDPCoordinator and member of The Living cast.

However, the HRDC Executive Board, a panel ofstudent officers whose duties include overseeingundergraduate productions at the Loeb DramaCenter, determined that there was sufficientinterest in the project to investigate further.Stewart said, "It wasn't like all the [student]directors were trying to get on the mainstageanyway. And those who did weren't necessarily thepeople who belonged there, or were ready."

"The mainstage has become such a low-prestigespace," said Rouse. "They're always beggingdirectors to do it and none of them arequalified."

In each of the past four semesters, there havebeen no more than three applications for the twomainstage slots allotted per semester to the HRDC.

"We wanted to revive the mainstage and havemore people want to work on it," Stewart said. "Wethought that the VDP would be a perfect vehicle todo that."

The HRDC formed a Search Committee toinvestigate the project consisting of Stewart,Rouse, Matthews, Maria L. Gambale '95, Alexis L.Susman '95, Susanna P. Witt '95, and Colin S.Stokes '96. The Committee made the final decisionto go ahead with the VDP in April 1994.

"Any conflict that was there at the beginningdissipated once it became clear what an experiencethis could be and what an important tradition itcould set for the huge problems the HRDC faces inthe long term," Rouse said.

However, the project's momentum ground to anear stand-still when school ended, leavingCommittee members scattered across the country.Rouse, who stayed in Cambridge with theHarvard-Radcliffe Summer Theater, decided topursue the project on his own.

"The Search Committee left for the summer, andnothing was happening. So I just started writingletters." Rouse said. "I found the money, foundthe housing, structured the project, figured outhow it would work, and set it in motion."

"[Rouse] did 90 percent of the work over thesummer," said Stewart.

When classes resumed, the Boardofficially named Rouse VDP Coordinator, making hima sitting member of the HRDC Board.

According to Rouse, the efforts to solicitapplications for the residency led to positiveresponses from 70 to 80 potential directors and 30complete applications. Dillon was one of the firstpeople to respond, and, said Rouse, one of themost qualified. "All along, [Dillon] surfaced as aclear choice," he added.

Members of the Search Committee conducted phoneand personal interviews with potential directors,announcing Dillon's selection in late September.

Dillon's enthusiasm for working with studentsappealed to the Board. "One of the reasons wehired him was that he was very much willing andinterested to meet with students outside the show.He wanted to be a resource to the wholecommunity," Stewart said.

Through the audition and rehearsal process, thecollaboration between Dillon and students workingon the VDP has been nothing short of ideal, saidthose working with Dillon.

"It's an exciting thing to be acting with afull cast of really good actors, to be in a showwhere there's a steady hand. I can really focus onwhat I'm doing as an actor in the cast," saidRouse, himself an active campus actor who recentlyreceived national recognition for his direction ofThe Baltimore Waltz.

"He has had so much experience that he knowsexactly how to get an actor to understand what hewants," said McSweeney. "He gives actors thefreedom to explore but also guides them towardshis goals for the production. Student directorsdon't have enough experience to do that as well ashe does."

Dillon, too, is complementary of his studentcrew. "They are very eager to try new things," hesaid, "very eager to learn, willing to risk makingmistakes and explore new territory, and verybright."

Whatever problems the VDP hasencountered so far have been caused by what isperceived by some as its near-monopoly of the HRDCBoard's members hold major positions on the castand crew of The Living, while none weremembers of the production staff of ThreeSisters, the student-directed spring mainstageproduction. However, the Board is responsible foroverseeing both shows.

McSweeney emphasized that the staff for the VDPwas chosen before the present Board was elected."I think it's an unfortunate situation. But theoverlap between the Board and the VDP staff ismostly coincidental."

The tensions surfaced early this month, asPeter Freilinger, producer of ThreeSisters, expressed his opinions in an openletter to the HRDC Board, written in the HRDC'sOpen Book in its Loeb Center offices.

"There are two mainstage productions, it istime you started acting as if you understandthat," Freilinger wrote. "The Board has wrappeditself in the VDP and in the process gained afalse and undeserved sense of superiority."

Stewart conceded that the imbalance between theVDP and the student-directed show is something theBoard feared when it initiated the project. "Interms of balance between the two shows, in termsof Board members and the best people on campus,they were all weighted towards one."

Matthews said that the attention paid to theVDP is partly inevitable. "Inherently, a visitingdirector project is [an HRDC] event from theget-go because there's a lot more pomp andcircumstance surrounding it," she said.

"I never thought the first slot should be afull production," Rouse said. "I can't imagine a[student] director who would put themselvesagainst a visiting director and the Pudding, fordesigners and for actors."

Many hope that the VDP can become aregular part of Harvard theater. But the HRDC doesnot currently have funding to continue theproject.

"Hopefully, someone will see the show and beoverwhelmingly supportive. But as it stands rightnow, we won't be able to do it again," saidMatthews.

Rouse is working towards the project'scontinuation, and is planning to meet with Dean ofStudents Jeremy R. Knowles to discuss thepossibility of using part of a $1.5 million grantfrom Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Loeb to fund futureresidencies.

"Aside from physical plant needs, I can't thinkof a better way to spend the money," said Rouse."Having a director here every year willunquestionably improve the quality of acting anddirecting all over campus."

Others are concerned that an annual residencywould change Harvard student theater.

"Having it every year would be overkill,"McSweeney said. "I think that it should ideally bedone every three years, two years at the most. Itwould allow members of every class to work on theshow without depriving student directors of theopportunity to work in the space."

"We've seen frustrated production afterfrustrated production," Rouse said. "How many moredo we have to watch before we learn our lesson,before we re-gear the value system of theorganization to promote good mainstage shows?"

For the semesters in which a professionaldirector is in residence, Rouse and McSweeney haveproposed a solution to alleviate tensions with the"competing" mainstage show: a series ofstudent-directed one-act in the earlier mainstageslot.

Freilinger objected to the idea. "Making theother mainstage slot in the spring a joke--whichis what one-acts would become--amounts todegrading the mainstage and will do nothing tohelp theater at Harvard."

"Perhaps one-acts might work, but keeping theintegrity of one of the mainstage slots as apurely student-run show is a good idea despite thepolitics." said Matthews. "Inherently, any newproject will have more politics surrounding it;the first step is always the hardest."

Tonight, The Living will take that firststep.Photo courtesy of the LivingDillon (standing) with members of the castand crew of The Living.

"The idea was the source of debate amongmembers of the HRDC community. "I was veryhesitant coming in because bringing in aprofessional director sets a percedent," saidTerrell P. McSweeney '97, Assistant Director ofThe Living and HRDC Campus Liaison. "Ihave a very strong feeling that Harvard drama isstudent-run and should continue to be, becauseit's really excellent."

"[The VDP proposal] received positive feedbackfrom the actors, negative feedback from everyoneelse," said Bradley G. Rouse '94-95, VDPCoordinator and member of The Living cast.

However, the HRDC Executive Board, a panel ofstudent officers whose duties include overseeingundergraduate productions at the Loeb DramaCenter, determined that there was sufficientinterest in the project to investigate further.Stewart said, "It wasn't like all the [student]directors were trying to get on the mainstageanyway. And those who did weren't necessarily thepeople who belonged there, or were ready."

"The mainstage has become such a low-prestigespace," said Rouse. "They're always beggingdirectors to do it and none of them arequalified."

In each of the past four semesters, there havebeen no more than three applications for the twomainstage slots allotted per semester to the HRDC.

"We wanted to revive the mainstage and havemore people want to work on it," Stewart said. "Wethought that the VDP would be a perfect vehicle todo that."

The HRDC formed a Search Committee toinvestigate the project consisting of Stewart,Rouse, Matthews, Maria L. Gambale '95, Alexis L.Susman '95, Susanna P. Witt '95, and Colin S.Stokes '96. The Committee made the final decisionto go ahead with the VDP in April 1994.

"Any conflict that was there at the beginningdissipated once it became clear what an experiencethis could be and what an important tradition itcould set for the huge problems the HRDC faces inthe long term," Rouse said.

However, the project's momentum ground to anear stand-still when school ended, leavingCommittee members scattered across the country.Rouse, who stayed in Cambridge with theHarvard-Radcliffe Summer Theater, decided topursue the project on his own.

"The Search Committee left for the summer, andnothing was happening. So I just started writingletters." Rouse said. "I found the money, foundthe housing, structured the project, figured outhow it would work, and set it in motion."

"[Rouse] did 90 percent of the work over thesummer," said Stewart.

When classes resumed, the Boardofficially named Rouse VDP Coordinator, making hima sitting member of the HRDC Board.

According to Rouse, the efforts to solicitapplications for the residency led to positiveresponses from 70 to 80 potential directors and 30complete applications. Dillon was one of the firstpeople to respond, and, said Rouse, one of themost qualified. "All along, [Dillon] surfaced as aclear choice," he added.

Members of the Search Committee conducted phoneand personal interviews with potential directors,announcing Dillon's selection in late September.

Dillon's enthusiasm for working with studentsappealed to the Board. "One of the reasons wehired him was that he was very much willing andinterested to meet with students outside the show.He wanted to be a resource to the wholecommunity," Stewart said.

Through the audition and rehearsal process, thecollaboration between Dillon and students workingon the VDP has been nothing short of ideal, saidthose working with Dillon.

"It's an exciting thing to be acting with afull cast of really good actors, to be in a showwhere there's a steady hand. I can really focus onwhat I'm doing as an actor in the cast," saidRouse, himself an active campus actor who recentlyreceived national recognition for his direction ofThe Baltimore Waltz.

"He has had so much experience that he knowsexactly how to get an actor to understand what hewants," said McSweeney. "He gives actors thefreedom to explore but also guides them towardshis goals for the production. Student directorsdon't have enough experience to do that as well ashe does."

Dillon, too, is complementary of his studentcrew. "They are very eager to try new things," hesaid, "very eager to learn, willing to risk makingmistakes and explore new territory, and verybright."

Whatever problems the VDP hasencountered so far have been caused by what isperceived by some as its near-monopoly of the HRDCBoard's members hold major positions on the castand crew of The Living, while none weremembers of the production staff of ThreeSisters, the student-directed spring mainstageproduction. However, the Board is responsible foroverseeing both shows.

McSweeney emphasized that the staff for the VDPwas chosen before the present Board was elected."I think it's an unfortunate situation. But theoverlap between the Board and the VDP staff ismostly coincidental."

The tensions surfaced early this month, asPeter Freilinger, producer of ThreeSisters, expressed his opinions in an openletter to the HRDC Board, written in the HRDC'sOpen Book in its Loeb Center offices.

"There are two mainstage productions, it istime you started acting as if you understandthat," Freilinger wrote. "The Board has wrappeditself in the VDP and in the process gained afalse and undeserved sense of superiority."

Stewart conceded that the imbalance between theVDP and the student-directed show is something theBoard feared when it initiated the project. "Interms of balance between the two shows, in termsof Board members and the best people on campus,they were all weighted towards one."

Matthews said that the attention paid to theVDP is partly inevitable. "Inherently, a visitingdirector project is [an HRDC] event from theget-go because there's a lot more pomp andcircumstance surrounding it," she said.

"I never thought the first slot should be afull production," Rouse said. "I can't imagine a[student] director who would put themselvesagainst a visiting director and the Pudding, fordesigners and for actors."

Many hope that the VDP can become aregular part of Harvard theater. But the HRDC doesnot currently have funding to continue theproject.

"Hopefully, someone will see the show and beoverwhelmingly supportive. But as it stands rightnow, we won't be able to do it again," saidMatthews.

Rouse is working towards the project'scontinuation, and is planning to meet with Dean ofStudents Jeremy R. Knowles to discuss thepossibility of using part of a $1.5 million grantfrom Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Loeb to fund futureresidencies.

"Aside from physical plant needs, I can't thinkof a better way to spend the money," said Rouse."Having a director here every year willunquestionably improve the quality of acting anddirecting all over campus."

Others are concerned that an annual residencywould change Harvard student theater.

"Having it every year would be overkill,"McSweeney said. "I think that it should ideally bedone every three years, two years at the most. Itwould allow members of every class to work on theshow without depriving student directors of theopportunity to work in the space."

"We've seen frustrated production afterfrustrated production," Rouse said. "How many moredo we have to watch before we learn our lesson,before we re-gear the value system of theorganization to promote good mainstage shows?"

For the semesters in which a professionaldirector is in residence, Rouse and McSweeney haveproposed a solution to alleviate tensions with the"competing" mainstage show: a series ofstudent-directed one-act in the earlier mainstageslot.

Freilinger objected to the idea. "Making theother mainstage slot in the spring a joke--whichis what one-acts would become--amounts todegrading the mainstage and will do nothing tohelp theater at Harvard."

"Perhaps one-acts might work, but keeping theintegrity of one of the mainstage slots as apurely student-run show is a good idea despite thepolitics." said Matthews. "Inherently, any newproject will have more politics surrounding it;the first step is always the hardest."

Tonight, The Living will take that firststep.Photo courtesy of the LivingDillon (standing) with members of the castand crew of The Living.