Data from Expert Interviews
Andrea Zhang (Co-Director '20-22):
- Sees "pros and cons" to adding more leaders to the existing structure:
- On one hand, she likes the compact structure because the time period is so short, making it easy to get things done across a few people rather than get bogged down in allocation costs.
- Yet, acknowledges that a lot of work falls on a few people.
- Relative to other leadership experiences at Harvard at Kirkland House Committee, Harvard Computer Society, Andrea finds KDS to be much more concentrated. She thinks that the time-crunched nature of the play is what builds such strong community.
“Best activity I’ve undertaken in college by far, [based off the] pure amount of enjoyment personally, community I’ve seen built, and what I’ve personally learned from it.” -Andrea Zhang
Matthew Holloway and Nathan Sharpe (Co-Directors '18-20)
- Primary focus of their tenure was to open up the creative process to more of Kirkland. Built the "writers' room," which allowed the scriptwriters to include all Kirklanders interested, rather than a small circle of friends or, in rare cases, 1-2 writers.
- Nathan and Matthew delegated their roles to their specific strengths. Nathan had more of a theatrical experience and was more acting-facing, meaning that he led warmups, helped with technical roles, and was very involved with acting. Matthew took a more writing and logistical role, leading the writers' room and designed flyers along with other publicity materials.
- Time Commitment: Spent about 4-5 hours writing for the first six weeks, 5-10 hours writing in the week leading up to the play, and 25-30 hours the week of the play/tech week.
- Unlike other theater experiences, Nathan said KDS was really about giving agency to the actors and not having as tailored of a vision for the play...
“We came in with a script and a loose idea of what we wanted a scene to look like. Beyond that, we wanted the actors to take charge… Do what they thought as fun and have them buy into it instead of having us directly telling them every micromovement.” - Nathan Sharpe
Wilson Qin (President '14-16, Tutor '19-22)
- Describes the main objective of the student leadership and tutors as "making sure the play gets run in the fall and spring"
- Throughout his time, Wilson recalls significant variance in how leaders were chosen as well as the exact leadership structure
- Wilson would recommend having a fall interest meeting or a stronger mission statement to help set expectations for everyone involved.
- Strongly believes that the play should be student-run, and that the tutors are there to help make sure the play gets executed.
“It’s important that there’s that the possibility of failure. That's what makes the show an exciting and interesting experience to participate in" - Wilson Qin
Katilau Mbindyo (Tutor '21-22)
- In her theater experience at Vassar, undergraduate theater did not have the type of adult supervision that tutors have in KDS. Katilau believes that those lessons learned on the job provided valuable skills for the job market. She tries to strike a balance in her role to let us learn in the same way.
- Katilau thinks that it would be helpful for communication to have more roles. Specifically, she would advocate for adding a stage manager, tech director, and maybe a props director.
- Similarly, Katilau suggested that we run an audit before each play to understand our resources and set expectations accordingly. For example, if there is not enough interest in tech crew, we should rethink the scope of the play
"You all deserve the opportunity to challenge yourselves to have this project be your own (...) and we just so happen to be the adults to support, not so much have the final say in it."- Katilau Mbindyo
Expert Interviews with Other Undergraduate Drama Organization Leadership:
Cabot Theater Group - Director Sonia Kangaju
Perhaps the most similar group to KDS, Cabot Theater Group is a theater organization in Cabot House that runs an annual musical in the spring and coffeehouses in the fall. Like KDS, the Cabot Musical runs no-cut auditions and most Cabotians involved enter with little to no musical and/or acting experience. Through interviewing current Director Sonia Kangaju, I learned that the Musical's leadership structure is currently comprised of a director, music director, stage manager, and two choreographers. To determine leadership, members interested in leadership roles meet in the fall to discuss which roles they're interested in. Typically, there is not much overlap amongst interest, so they are able to build the team fairly quickly.
They also determine the musical in the fall and work on getting the proper materials. In February, the Director, Music Director, and Choreographer(s) host auditions and decide casting. From there, they host 8 weeks of rehearsals from Early March until their show at the end of April. Each week, the stage manager collects the cast's schedules and works with the rest of the creative team to determine the scheduling of the individual scenes.
“The Cabot Musical is a learning experience for all involved. [We think about] What is the best way to learn, teach music given that people are coming from all different backgrounds?” -Sonia Kangaju
Hasty Pudding Theatricals - President Lyndsey Mugford:
The Hasty Pudding Theatricals (HPT) is an annual student-written and composed musical that travels beyond Harvard's gates to New York City and Bermuda to perform for a variety of audiences. I was fortunate to speak with the current President, Lyndsey Mugford, and learn more about their complex yet effective leadership structure.
Hasty Pudding's current organizational structure is multi-pronged, involving a mixture of students, alumni, and professionals. After each year's show in early spring, they elect the new student Executive Board, which is comprised of a President, Cast VP, Band VP, Producers (2), and Tech VP. This Executive Board then runs "comps" to determine the Creative Team - Scriptwriters (2), Lyricist, and Composer - for the next show. The Executive Board also chooses members of the Junior Board by application. The exact roles of the Junior Board fluctuate over time, but usually include 2 historians, 2 social chairs, a community engagement manager, and a diversity and inclusion officer.
On the non-student side of leadership, HPT hires a Director, Music Supervisor, Music Director, and a few arrangers, among other roles. HPT also has a graduate board, which is comprised of around five alumni who stay on for longer periods of time. They serve as "constants" with the high turnover of undergraduate leadership. While the large leadership structure can at times makes communication "a game of when2meet," the prescribed leadership roles in the Constitution give useful clarity in moments of disagreement.
"What’s really interesting about HPT leadership is that it is simultaneously something that is very steeped in tradition (…), [and] because people are cycling through so quickly, it is very dynamic (...) Yes it is something we are inheriting, but it also belongs to the people in the organization at any given moment." -Lyndsey Mugford
Harvard Radcliffe Dramatic Society - President Ian Chan:
Harvard Radcliffe Dramatic Society (HRDC) is the "umbrella" organization for student theater at Harvard College, whose primary purpose is to "allot" theatrical spaces to different productions. Unlike aformentioned theater organizations, they do not produce their own plays, but rather approve applications for shows during each academic term. HRDC currently has a 9-person Exec Board with membership extending to anyone who has been involved in a HRDC-supported production.
HRDC President Ian Chan said that they are primarily looking for productions with a full leadership structure and that are achievable given the constraints and resources. Their website specifically asks that each proposal include a "director, producer, music director (if a musical), a stage manager, a set designer, a technical director, a lighting designer, a sound designer, a costume designer, and a properties designer." Depending upon the requirements of the show, it may also be necessary to have other staff positions filled, such as choreographer, video designer, projectionist, or orchestra manager."
Yale Dramat - President Sam Bezilla and Producer Casey Tonnies:
The Yale Dramat is the equivalent of the HRDC at Yale, serving as the largest undergraduate theater organization at the College. The Dramat is comprised of an 11-person Executive Board, group of undergraduate members at-large, alumni board, and technical director from the Undergraduate Production Office.
Each Dramat Play relies on a triumvirate structure of Producer, Stage Manager, and Director. More specifically, the Producer handles financing/ marketing/communication, the stage manager oversees scheduling and technical details, and the director manages the artistic vision. For their mainstage productions, they consult first appoint the Board elects the Producer by application. Together, the board and producer decide the show and hire managers for lights, tech, etc. For their other four shows, applicants form a triumvirate team and build a proposal. The Dramat Board then chooses which proposals are the best for the year.
