New Concentration Was Years in the Making

Although implementation is just a series of approvals away, much has yet to be determined for Harvard’s first-ever dramatic arts concentration, those who have guided the proposal through years of fits and starts say.

A recommendation for the new concentration first came before University President Drew G. Faust in 2008, but was left without a source of funding to make it a reality. That changed on Monday when Faust publicly pledged $5 million to move a proposed “Theatre, Dance, and Media” concentration off her desk and into the the final stages of development.

In Dec. 2008, a report from the University’s Task Force on the Arts recommended the creation of a “dramatic arts” concentration, pointing to 45 students who declared special concentrations in theater since 1984. Between 2010 and 2014, six special concentration degrees have been awarded in related fields, according to the Committee on Special Concentrations’ website.

By The Crimson Staff

The timing of the recommendation was “terrible” as the financial crisis hit concurrently, according to English professor Martin Puchner, who formally proposed the “Theater, Dance, and Media” concentration.

His proposal, he said, “[tries] to pick up where things had been left off.”

As the financial crisis receded, members of the Committee on Dramatic Arts, which currently oversees a secondary in dramatic arts, began developing the proposed concentration’s philosophy and preliminary logistics in 2011, immediately after Puchner was hired as the committee’s chair. In the process, members consulted with faculty from drama departments at Yale and Columbia, as well as students in the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club.

Puchner said that after this year-long process, he formally proposed the concentration, hand-delivering the proposal to Faust in the fall of 2012.

Since then, Puchner has been leading the charge to turn the proposal into reality; in an interview last Thursday, Faust called him the proposal’s “real engine” and “faculty leader.” With the proposal submitted, Puchner has spent significant time since 2010 trying to secure funding from donors, speaking with Harvard Campaign showrunners, as well as presenting to the Board of Overseers in Feb. 2013.

The governing body, Puchner said, was especially supportive of the inclusion of the “media” component of the concentration. He called this aspect “forward-looking,” and said that it accounts for the changing landscape of the arts.

Director of the Office for the Arts Jack Megan. By Zorigoo Tugsbayar

“The boundaries between theater, performance art, visualization art, and installation art are porous,” he said, adding that the loose definition of “media” could help to unite these artforms in a curricular setting.

Director of the Office for the Arts Jack Megan said that even without the financial crisis, he would have liked the project to have undergone a similar process to the one that has played out.

“A concentration like this doesn’t just get jump-started, it takes years of dialogue,” he said.

SETTING THE STAGE

Though it was received Monday as if it were a done deal, the concentration must clear several more hurdles before opening for enrollment.

First, it will undergo curricular review by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ standing committee on Undergraduate Educational Policy, according to Puchner. From there, the proposal will go to the Faculty Council for approval.

Puchner said that he expects the proposal will reach the Faculty for a full vote by the end of the 2014-2015 school year, nearly three years after he brought it to Faust.

If approved, the concentration will likely be administered by a committee, rather than a full department, according to Puchner, who added that the existing Committee on Dramatic Arts may be “transformed” to suit this need.

Outside of the approval process, Megan and Puchner said those working on the concentration still have many details to hammer out, like requirements and pathways through the concentration, as well as the hiring of additional instructors. With Faust’s seed money slated to run out within five years, FAS  leaders will also have to secure long-term funding to sustain the program.

Another primary challenge for the concentration will be meeting its needs for space and resources while preserving extra-curricular offerings in the arts, Megan said.

“I actually think that this will be a plus for non-curricular drama. We will need to invest in spaces to be shared by both,” Megan said, adding that he does not see a conflict. “I see a rising tide lifts all boats.”

Puchner agreed.

“In no way does this proposed concentration want to interfere with student-led theater,” he said, a fear that he noted was expressed by members of the Harvard Radcliffe Dramatic Club when he met with them two years ago.

Going forward, Megan said that the solution will arise “through a lot of give and take.”

“We all sort of know a piece of the puzzle,” he said. “Theater is collaborative, so of course this should be collaborative.”

—Staff writer Dev A. Patel can be reached at dev.patel@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @dev_a_patel.

—Staff writer Steven R. Watros can be reached at steven.watros@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveWatros.