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."