A Bachelor of Arts degree in dramatic arts traditionally focuses on the academic exploration of theater, in comparison to a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree, which is more performance and conservatory-based. Merenda has heard that “the new concentration in drama would be very academic-based, which I think is completely normal. I hope it makes people realize how silly it was not to have a concentration anyways.”

In the current drama program taught by professionals from the American Repertory Theatre (A.R.T.)—one of the foremost repertory theaters in America—the experiential learning process dominates much of the acting curriculum, making personal interaction and hands-on experience tantamount to success. The downside to this type of class structure is that enrollment caps limit the number of students who can pursue training and the experienced actors teaching are not necessarily scholastically trained. The lack of definite structure leaves many interested in creating a theater degree feeling frantic and uncertain of whether they will be able to fulfill requirements.

Sophie B. Kargman ’08 parallels Merenda’s ambition to study theater at Harvard, but adds an additional academic facet that she believes only Harvard can provide. Her major goal in coming to Cambridge rather than a conservatory is to craft a complex special concentration.

Comprehensively-minded Kargman cites Anna Deveare-Smith, author of one-woman show Twilight: Los Angeles, as one of her major inspirations. Deveare-Smith successfully gets into the head of every character involved in the Rodney King beatings of 1992 through the study of sociology and psychology. “Harvard has an opportunity to bring in classes from literature, history, sociology and psychology, all of which will give me a much better grasp on being able to play truthfully the characters I imagine,” Kargman says.

While uncertain if she would pursue a dramatics arts concentration if it were offered, Kargman says the establishment of a degree-granting department would certainly help her accomplish her ambitious goals.

LES MISERABLES

Not all dramatists at Harvard are enthused by the possibility of a theater concentration. One major conflict that has arisen in the discussion of a dramatic theater concentration is the constraints that might be placed on extracurricular theater groups, such as the Harvard Radcliffe Drama Club (HRDC), whose seasons are already packed without having to compete with the performed theses of concentrators.

“Certainly, there’s a lot of excitement about anything that might expand the range of courses available that focus on theater or performance,” says outgoing HRDC President Bobby A. Hodgson ’05. “Our current Dramatic Arts course offerings are fantastic and obviously, the idea of adding even more courses appeals to a lot of people. At the same time, the current system seems great to many in the HRDC. Would anything be lost or altered from what is currently available?”

Jason M. Lazarcheck ’08, who is actively involved in HRDC, entered Harvard with no plans to concentrate in theater. In an e-mail, he describes the troubles of a friend at another university who “is disgusted by the hoops he must jump through to do theater at that university because so much preference is given to theater majors.”

“Harvard’s theater is dynamic and wonderful, and adding academics into the mix would only limit our creativity,” Lazarcheck says.

In a Nov. 30 Crimson op-ed, HRDC member Susan E. McGregor ’05 argues “one can hardly imagine that a highly invested thesis advisor won’t at some point insist that a particular student’s thesis be given space. What could the student theater community do? And in a season with less than ten slots total, even the handful of students in the concentration would significantly alter the character of student theater at this school.”

Hodgson says that the group will continue to have open meetings and attempt to maintain contact with faculty and administrators as the concentration is planned. The group has a very flexible attitude, but wants to assert that multifarious student opinions are incorporated into the most ideal situation.

Rumors have also been circulating on the issue of whether A.R.T. lecturers would be replaced in the dramatic arts committee by tenured faculty. Kiely denies such rumors, saying “there’s no motivation for having them excluded.” In fact, he says that the vision of A.R.T. professionals will likely be included in the ultimate design of the theater concentration.

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