Performing spaces on campus abound, including the Leverett Old Library, the Cabot House Fishbowl, the Adams House Pool and Kronauer Theaters.

Students are also being encouraged toward more creativity by the new Artistic Director of the ART Robert E. Woodruff, whose work is regarded as fresh and controversial.

Last May, when he first met with members of the HRDC, Woodruff encouraged them to push to new levels of creativity.

At a theater summit two weeks ago jointly organized by HTAG and the HRDC, many students suggested that site-specific work would help Woodruff's goal while addressing the increased lack of space available on campus.

"The play should fit the space," Guest says. "If you're using a space, make sure you need that space. The notion of being on your own encourages creative thinking."

HRDC President Daniel A. Cozzens '03 says such spaces may offer audiences better shows because the greater barriers to production, including lower budgets and less publicity, force students to plan and design their shows more carefully.

"If [directors or producers] have the guts and the drive to accomplish those difficult things, that's typically an indication of their drive and their need to do that show." Cozzens says. "That's really a fantastic thing."

HTAG Vice President Katherine F. O'Gara '05 says performances outside the Loeb also give opportunities to less established student directors.

"I would like to see more beginning directors have a chance," she says.

Accounting Problems

And thanks to a tax regulation, O'Gara's HTAG might be able to do just that.

In the past few years, the voice of Harvard theater has largely come from the HRDC, whose eight-member executive board chooses the Loeb's student productions and runs the campus-wide Common Casting procedure through which shows select their actors.

Officially, however, the HRDC only has jurisdiction over shows that occur in the Loeb.

When students perform shows in other Harvard spaces, each show's producers are in charge of handling the budgets and other administrative tasks.

These shows are often funded by grants from the Office for the Arts (OFA) or the Undergraduate Council, and tickets are sold through the Harvard Box Office in Holyoke Center.