Take a bow

In the years since Theater, Dance & Media (TDM) launched in fall 2015 as Harvard’s 49th official concentration and an academic home for performance pedagogy and arts education on campus, almost 40 College students have graduated with a concentration in TDM and more than 90 have pursued secondary concentrations in the field.

Courses on acting, choreography, and technology complement the University’s extensive arts landscape, which includes the American Repertory Theater, ArtLab, and Office for the Arts. In addition to the permanent Harvard faculty who serve on the concentration committee, TDM has added more than a dozen instructors and College Fellows to its teaching roster and invited practitioners such as Patricia Lockwood, Amirah Sackett, and Young Jean Lee to perform for and teach students.

While working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2020 and 2021 academic years, TDM’s faculty, students, and staff adapted live performances for screens and virtual stages. With the support of production staff, Harvard affiliates, and arts professionals, students used animation, video game technology, and augmented reality tools to create ensemble productions including “The Great Emu War of 1932” and “I Have a Door Up There,” developed online showcases for their senior theses, and started a monthly BIPOC Play Discussion Group.