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Wherefore Art Thou, Drama Support Line?

Symonds Departure May Harm Theater

"If you have various groups occupying a building there's no such thing as a perfect, peaceful arrangement," he says.

Brustein also says ART professional are ready to help students when they have the time but that they already have many responsibilities to fulfill during their working hours.

"At the ART, whoever has the time gaves, the time [to students]," he says. Brustein says the professionals are already overextended in their work, trying to "stay alive as a professional theater at a time when finances are terrible.

Many students say there is little support for theater beyond the Loeb. With the exception of a handful of house drama tutor, there is no official supervisor for house drama productions.

Although there are some indications of a renewed commitment to theater in the houses including the conversion of the Adams House pool and Lowell lecture hall into theaters--many students say the loss of Symmonds who had been an unofficial advisor to the houses well hurt future productions.

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"The University will be lucky if someone's not killed working on house shows because there's no one there advise them," Graham says.

In response to safety and efficiency concerns, Kiely and Shinagel say they may propose hiring Symonds to a new position as technical director for house productions.

"As a house master, I feel very strongly that student should be encouraged to do drama as much as they can but also that there be adequate support to avoid risks," Shinagel says.

"There might even be savings in the long run because if there was somebody really overseeing the tech work and the technical equipment there wouldn't be so much wash in renting things and losing things," Kiely says.

Although both Kiely and Shinagel say the proposal create a house technical director position look proposal to create a house technical director position looks promising, students involved in the dramatic arts have little concrete commitment from the College in term of improving the curriculum or smoothing relations with the ART.

"If properly managed, the ART Harvard relationship could be a productive, workable environment for student theater," says Symonds.

"But a combination of the lack of priority toward undergraduate theater on the university's side and ART artistic and financial concerns for itself has led to imperfect situation," he says.Crimson Jamie W. BillettTechnical Director ALAN P. SYMONDS '69

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