Ellie Grueskin - Story of Self
When I entered Kirkland House as a sophomore in the fall of 2019, I spent the first month feeling rather lukewarm about house life. I missed living in close proximity to my classmates and felt anxious about beginning conversations in the dining hall with other Kirklanders, as social groups were more defined than they had been in Annenberg. Through word of mouth, I began hearing more and more great reviews about a Kirkland-only drama organization aptly named "Kirkland Drama Society," or KDS for short. After receiving welcoming emails from KDS leaders over the Kirkland House email list inviting us to come audition, I reached out to my friend Andrea Zhang, who also seemed interested. We decided to try it out, excited that it was a no-cut cast and one week rehearsal period. Neither of us came into it having any drama experience, unless you count some plays prior to middle school.
Acting in KDS's fall 2021 production, Twelfth Night, will forever remain a highlight of my time in college. Under the wonderful leadership of Matthew Holloway and Nathan Sharpe, I was able to meet a cast of 15 Kirklanders of different ages, discover a joy for acting, and feel included in the house life I had been looking for. Since Matt and Nate were graduating in the spring, they reached out to me and Andrea to ask if we would be interested in being the next co-directors and shadowing for the spring. We began our 2020 spring at the KDS writers' room, learning about their creative process in scripting the play. Unfortunately, we had to leave campus on March 10th, 2020 due to Covid-19, but we were still able to put together a "KDS movie" with recordings taped together.
During my tenure co-directing KDS with Andrea, we ran a live virtual production in the spring of 2021 along with live in-person plays in Fall 2021 and Spring 2022. Although our time has certaintly been different from expectations, I have felt extremely lucky to learn more about comedy, acting, directing, and leadership through Kirkland Drama Society. While it has been one of the most rewarding and genuine activities I have been able to join at Harvard, it has also been a taxing responsibility. KDS is a student-written, produced, and acted show led by two students and two House Tutors. I personally found it challenging to focus on the traditional duties of a director when also carrying roles such as head writer, producer, treasurer, and stage director. As an outgoing Co-Director for KDS, I have been thinking carefully about what could have been better during my unusual tenure. Through this research project, I hope to use interview and survey data from members within and outside KDS to create a current pulse report of KDS and leave tangible ideas for how to improve the KDS leadership structure.
