HRDC Panel Supplies Advice to Theater Hopefuls

Jumping up from his seat on the Loeb Mainstage at the close of the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club’s panel on entering the theater industry, director Geordie F. Broadwater ’05 dramatically shouted, “It’s the late-night drunken artistic romance! It’s the 3 a.m., sitting with friends, drinking, and discussing theater in New York City! I live for that! I love that!” Despite this rousing conclusion, the panel was much more sobering, revealing that romance alone is not enough to sustain a career in the arts. For current HRDC members, the panelists emphasized the need to be honest and realistic about their prospects of finding a career in theater.

“There isn’t a lot of advising or guidance available for how to get a career in the arts,” says Matt C. Stone ’11, the historian of HRDC and primary organizer of the panel. “I’ve learned so much from HRDC, but there is no one here who will sit you down and tell you how to make a career in theater.” Because there is not a formal system in place for putting alumni in touch with recent grads, Stone has been working with the Harvard Alumni Association to compile a database of HRDC alums. The list includes professionals extending beyond actors and directors to set designers and light technicians. The panel consisted of recent alums with first-hand knowledge of breaking into the theater business.

“A good thing about having young alums and not big name people is that they are...trying to forge their career now and that’s what HRDC alums will do in one, two, three years from now,” Stone says. The audience seemed to find the panelists approachable, asking them questions about their thoughts on what city to move to after graduating and whether an agent is necessary. Alternating between questions from moderator Marcus Stern, associate director of the American Repertory Theater, and those from the audience, the panelists offered general advice on whether or not to attend graduate school and specific guidance on what schools were best for certain disciplines.

One of the key points emphasized by the panelists was the need to reconcile the lack of connection between the theater community at Harvard and the vibrant Harvard network in New York City arts. Describing this network, producer Karina A. Mangu-Ward ’05 explained, “We facilitate and co-market. We see each others’ shows even if we aren’t directly working with one another.” The difficulty is in knowing that this community exists and knowing where to find it. “I’m not going to go out of my way to get in touch with recent grads, but if they seek me out, I would give them advice,” actor Dan A. Cozzens ’03 added.

The panelists were also frustrated with the lack of practical preparation they received regarding how the theater industry works. “They should have an industry workshop where they teach people who want to act how to audition and how to get headshots because I didn’t know any of that,” Broadwater said. Stone agrees that a workshop is something that the HRDC could pull off with help from the A.R.T., which already teaches its students those basics.

But not all the discussion on the preparation that Harvard and the HRDC offered was critical. The panelists were unequivocally positive about the training—mental and professional—they received at Harvard. They lauded HRDC productions for being student-run and produced. Commenting on how this affects a young theater professional, writer Erica R. Lipez ’05 said, “It gives you a little bit of control over your destiny in an industry and city that doesn’t want to give you that.”

Despite a small turnout, Stone sees the event as a good starting point for HRDC’s alumni initiatives, which have been expanding since the influx of alumni to Cambridge last year to celebrate the HRDC’s 100th anniversary. With a new alumni newsletter, Stone hopes to develop and strengthen the club’s relationship with alumni, while more panels on a larger scale help to fill the void of theater career advising.

“There’s this perception that having a successful career in theater is an extremely difficult thing to do, maybe even impossible,” Stone said. Echoing the sentiments of the panelists about the difficulties and possibilities of creating a career in theater from an HRDC background, Stone reiterated the importance of contacting alumni. “But from all the alumni that I’ve corresponded with, I’ve seen that a Harvard education 110 percent prepares you for that. It’s just that we aren’t so good at networking with the alumni we have.”