Theater community reacts to 2020 report
by Sarah Bayer
Arts Editor
Arts | 3/2/10
Posted online at 11:50 PM EST on 3/1/10
Michael Lincoln MFA '79, now a professor of lighting design at Ohio University, says that the committee should have proposed changes that were "more surgical rather than amputation." He questioned why his department had not suffered as many cuts as the one at Brandeis. "The irony to me is that Ohio University has undergone cuts for years because of the economy in the state, which is terrible. [The design department today is] facing bigger cuts, but we're not facing that kind of draconian, and what really feels like an unfair cut," he told justArts.
Citing the Board of Trustees' decision to close the Rose Art Museum, Lincoln added, "You can't help but think that the arts are being marginalized at Brandeis."
Office of the Arts Director Scott Edmiston, a professional theater director, rejects this sentiment, saying, "I know many of the faculty on the Brandeis 2020 committee, and they care about the arts. I am glad that no cuts or reductions were proposed for the Department of Fine Arts or Department of Music." Edmiston takes an optimistic view of the committee's findings. "I support the committee's proposal to increase opportunities for undergraduates in the theater arts department. The budgets may shrink, but we have a wealth of student talent at Brandeis that I would love to see on the Spingold stages," he wrote in an e-mail to justArts.
Lighting Design student Benjamin Williams (GRAD), who has spearheaded the graduate student response to the proposed cuts, takes a similarly positive approach. After initially soliciting letters of protest from alumni and theater professionals nationwide, he says, "We realized that we, along with the University, have a unique opportunity to create something very positive out of this situation. We've taken a more pragmatic approach in how we are addressing the administration and are asking for the opportunity to help them find a solution that will maintain the prestigious program that we are a part of while increasing undergraduate involvement across the board."
Citing the Board of Trustees' decision to close the Rose Art Museum, Lincoln added, "You can't help but think that the arts are being marginalized at Brandeis."
Office of the Arts Director Scott Edmiston, a professional theater director, rejects this sentiment, saying, "I know many of the faculty on the Brandeis 2020 committee, and they care about the arts. I am glad that no cuts or reductions were proposed for the Department of Fine Arts or Department of Music." Edmiston takes an optimistic view of the committee's findings. "I support the committee's proposal to increase opportunities for undergraduates in the theater arts department. The budgets may shrink, but we have a wealth of student talent at Brandeis that I would love to see on the Spingold stages," he wrote in an e-mail to justArts.
Lighting Design student Benjamin Williams (GRAD), who has spearheaded the graduate student response to the proposed cuts, takes a similarly positive approach. After initially soliciting letters of protest from alumni and theater professionals nationwide, he says, "We realized that we, along with the University, have a unique opportunity to create something very positive out of this situation. We've taken a more pragmatic approach in how we are addressing the administration and are asking for the opportunity to help them find a solution that will maintain the prestigious program that we are a part of while increasing undergraduate involvement across the board."
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Scott Edmiston
posted 3/02/10 @ 9:16 AM EST
While I do support increased opportunities for undergraduate theater participation, the statement included in this article did not reflect my full support of the graduate design students and Brandeis Theater Company. (Continued…)
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