Spotlight: Margaret D. Maloney '06

The stage will be just about the only place where Margaret D. Maloney ’06 won’t play a leading role in the Harvard-Radcliffe Gilbert and Sullivan Players’ production of “The Yeomen of the Guard.” The Dunster House resident has been instrumental to the show at every point in its production, from being one of the people who chose “Yeomen” as this season’s Gilbert and Sullivan operetta right down to designing its publicity posters.

Maloney left Decatur, AL for the bright lights and big city of Cambridge, MA with little more than unsatisfied curiosity about the ways of the theater and a vague desire to learn more. She didn’t have to wait long before the world of Harvard drama came knocking on her door, in the character of her sister.

“My freshman fall, my older sister, who was a junior at the time, was producing the fall Gilbert and Sullivan show, which was ‘The Mikado’, and she basically told me that I was going to be in ‘The Mikado.’ Not knowing any other options, I said, ‘sure, that’s fine.’”

It would take a few Gilbert and Sullivan productions, however, for her to find her true calling within the organization and trade Victorian costume for backstage black.

“I wanted to be on the stage to begin with. I was in the chorus of both Gilbert and Sullivan shows my freshman year, but then I got sucked into the backstage world. Also, at a certain point everyone has to realize how good of an actor or actress they are, and I’m not a terribly good one. I think I have more fun doing the backstage stuff.”

Maloney’s immersion in theater has not been without consequences. She has found balancing commitments difficult, but is unapologetic about her priorities.

“It’s very difficult if you decide that theater is going to be your vocation. Either your extracurriculars or your academics are going to suffer. In my case, it’s the academics. Theater is what I want to do, so it’s what I’m going to focus on.”

Soon, however, she won’t have to worry about non-theatrical demands on her time. A senior, Maloney plans to enter the dramatic world full-time upon graduation.

“Theater is what I plan to do with my life. I want to be a producer. That’s my aspiration.”