The professionals also teach and advise undergraduate students through courses offered by the standing committee.

But some students say the ART does not provide sufficient opportunities in theater to the undergraduate community.

The Committee on Dramatics funnels the professional resources of the ART into teaching undergraduates about acting, directing, scenic design and other aspects of theater.

"Brustein was brought here to found the ART as a professional resident theater company that would be a resource for Harvard undergraduates," says Jessica Jackson '99, president of HRDC. "But it's turned into mostly a theater company."

"Their role in educating and guiding undergraduates [has changed] from its original purpose," she adds.

Considering Change

Some prominent figures in the Harvard theater scene say that drama on campus needs a significant overhaul.

"There's not enough emphasis on theater at Harvard," Shinagel says. "It's a shame we don't have a drama wing of the the English department, a drama department, or that we don't do what Yale does and have a drama school."

Despite the presence of theatrical luminaries such as Brustein, who teaches courses in the English department on modern and postmodern drama, Shinagel believes that the department could do more to give drama an accessible place in the curriculum.

"The English department does not have enough people who are dedicated to drama," Shinagel says.

Helen E. Shaw '98, who was president of HRDC last year, also expresses dissatisfaction with current drama offerings, even those provided by the Committee on Dramatics.

"It does make me grumpy that the only acting classes we offer are minimal--the real world demands so much more," Shaw says. "We have great acting teachers, but there's nothing about [the classes] that makes the adrenaline pump."

But Shaw notes that current student reaction to drama classes and ART guidance has "gotten a lot gentler, mostly because the relationship is much more comfortable" than it has been in the past.

Yet Jackson, HRDC's current president, says that despite criticism of the current academic status of drama, students have not made a significant push for a drama department.

She attributes this attitude to a desire to keep extracurricular and academic interests separate.