Breaking Character: The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) is the professional theater at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Diane Paulus, the theater strives to immerse audiences in transformative theatrical experiences. In all its productions and initiatives, A.R.T. is motivated by a mission to expand the boundaries of theater.
3 comments:
The ART has always been an inspiration and long time goal. This article only strengthened my prerogative to one to day work with the organization. I believe that because of it's affiliation with Harvard, and the strong intellectual community in the surrounding the area the ART is exposed to so so much inspiration. It was exciting to read about all of the new initiatives and creative new ways the ART is looking to showcase different types of theatre and ideas. As an applicant of the new undergraduate studies of Theatre at Harvard I was excited to hear about the new programs affiliate with the ART. What I find so exciting about the ART is that they actually perform in rep, and truly push the boundaries of traditional theatre.
Diane Paulus is a genius, and truly paving the way for more powerful women to take center stage on the creative side of the table. Her work is fresh, and new, yet still accessible to many different audiences. She is also someone I hope to cross paths with in the future.
As a side note, I really enjoy these types of articles that highlight different theater organizations. I am eager to read more about theaters, specifically ones that I am less familiar with!
I’m almost certainly biased since I live about five minutes away from it but I love the A.R.T. Its been an important part of my life for years and is no small part of why I wanted to pursue a career in theater. Seeing shows there has been a regular part of my life since they did their Marie Antoinette show, and while not quite as central their shows certainly made an appearance in my life before that. Getting to work on shows there is one of my dreams as a designer. So much so that one of the few pieces of my interview for CMU that I can remember in detail is that when our faculty asked me where I wanted to work in the future, along with Broadway, the A.R.T. was my answer. It’s not just the quality of theater they produce that attracts me but the way they interact with the community. They’re incredibly welcoming to the public and go to great lengths to try and make their shows accessible to students.
The A.R.T. is absolutely one of my favorite theatre companies, ever. The first production I saw of theirs was The Glass Menagerie back in 2013, and it was absolutely beautiful. I went with my class of acting students and sat with our teacher, who described to me the way the set was designed and what "forced perspective" meant. That production marks the first time I really started thinking about the people who work on launching the show, rather than just being entertained. I was totally enthralled by the whole thing, and that is one of the reasons why I went to Northwestern's Cherub program that summer, so that I could learn more about design and production and what goes into that. The next production I saw was Finding Neverland, which absolutely floored me. It was the most gorgeous production I have seen in my entire life. This show literally saved me from a crisis. It was the summer before attending CMU and I was extremely worried about the career path I had chosen. I worried that it was not intellectual enough, and that I was throwing away my education on a conservatory program. When I saw this show, I cried at intermission because I realized that all I want from my life is to create beautiful things like this.
So yeah, you could say the A.R.T. is a little important to me.
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