Radcliffe to Take Control of Agassiz

The Harvard-Radcliffe merger, official as of last Friday, seals the fate of Agassiz House: it belongs to the new Radcliffe Institute.

Student groups that used the building's ornate second-floor theater for decades will still mount productions there for the next five years, according to an agreement negotiated between the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Radcliffe.

After 2004, Radcliffe can do as she pleases.

"Agassiz makes our show what it is," says Harini K. Reddy '01, co-president of the South Asian Association and co-producer of this year's Ghungroo performance. "It breaks our hearts to think future generations of Ghungroo won't be able to use it."

Since Nancy-Beth G. Sheerr '71, who brokered the merger for a $350 million Radcliffe Institute, envisions conferences and symposia in Agassiz, Harvard will need to make new plans so the shows can go on.

With scores of dramatic productions fighting over three--soon to be two--major theaters, stage space is a hot commodity on campus each year.

Students and some administrators are thinking aloud about dramatic changes for the Loeb Drama Center. A mere four undergraduate productions appear on the Loeb Mainstage, a space originally endowed for student use but overtaken by the American Repertory Theater (ART) in 1980. Even the black-box Experimental Stage (the Ex) at the Loeb, which hosts a different undergraduate production almost every weekend, turns directors away because there just isn't enough space on the calendar.

There has been a move in recent years to find alternate stages.

The Hasty Pudding Club has opened its stage to undergraduate productions in addition to their annual burlesque show, and what was the Adams House Pool has been converted into a theater space for smaller scale productions.

And then there's Agassiz.

The End of an Era

Nestled in the heart of Radcliffe Yard, the Agassiz boasts a moderately sized stage, room for an orchestra and a shop in the basement for building sets.

The theater's old-fashioned interior--elaborate cream-colored moldings, huge glass windows and decorative chandeliers--stands in sharp contrast to the more contemporary-styled Loeb.

Alan P. Symonds, technical director for college theater programs, calls it a "space with character" and a theater "unique to campus."

And students don't seem to mind Agassiz's shortcomings--some obstructed views, mediocre acoustics and limited space in the wings.

"These problems aren't that bad, and they can be worked out," says Matthew B. Denman '00-'01, technical director for Harvard Theater Advisory Group (HTAG). " It's a very nice space to go up in."

Symonds says Agassiz is a great place for students to learn the subtleties of theater because it's a space they can call their own.

"It's a learning environment," Symonds says. "Students can make a mistake, and the only person who might be mad at them is me. That's a lot better if they were sharing the space with professionals."

Though Agassiz will be available to undergraduates for the next five years, administrators say they are unsure who will grace its stage after 2004.

In an e-mail message, Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles would only say: "Arrangements for the longer term will be worked out after thorough discussions with the College and with the Dean of the Radcliffe Institute."

Sheerr, the former chairman of the Radcliffe Board of Trustees, says she anticipates that the new Institute will need the space for its own use.

"Agassiz Theater is one of the Institute's larger convening spaces and

those are spaces that we know we will need in the future--in fact, we have

needed them in the past," Sheerr says.

But Agassiz has a long history of serving undergraduates--the Gilbert and Sullivan Players have called the space home since 1956--and many hope the space can remain open to students.

"It's very important for the undergraduates to have the space," says Acting Dean of the Radcliffe Institute Mary Maples Dunn. "In my view, although my voice won't be the one who controls this, the undergraduates should continue to have Agassiz for their use."

Symonds recommends against using Agassiz for non-theatrical purposes. " It would be a horrible waste to do anything else with it," he says. "It makes a terrible lecture hall and a terrible event space."

But if Radcliffe's leadership refuses undergraduate performances, a long-recognized space shortage will suddenly become acute.

"Even if we keep Agassiz, we're in a crunch for theater space," says David P. Illingworth '71, associate dean of the College.

The possibility of a new building on what is currently Mahoney's Garden Center, housing a contemporary art museum and theater space, emerged last spring.

University President Neil S. Rudenstine hinted at such plans in a speech to prospective first-years in April, and former Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III has spoken openly about the possibility of such a building.

But the piece of land is located past Peabody Terrace.

"Personally, I would hate to think that the alternative as a performance space to the wonderfully central Agassiz Theatre is a site on Western Avenue, which is neither a convenient nor especially safe commute from the center of undergraduate life," Lewis writes in an e-mail message.

While few in the know dismiss the possibility of a new theater at the Mahoney site, most concur it wouldn't be ideal for students.

"I'd hate to be a theater person living in Pfortzheimer," Illingworth says.

And according to one Harvard official, a faculty-administration committee examining possibilities for the site briefly considered using the land for a new undergraduate theater. But the group quickly rejected that plan, deciding the site is too far for daily student use.

Instead, University officials may rethink how space is allocated altogether.

"It's a complicated question," Symonds says. "We have a number of spaces that were not using full time--the Loeb, for example."

Illingworth agrees that one of his primary concerns is to "figure out what space we have and see if we are using it efficiently and equitably."

As a member of the class of 1968, Lewis can remember when undergraduates had complete use of both Agassiz and the entire Loeb.

"Here we are thirty years later, with a greatly increased level of activity in theatre, facing the possibility of not having much access to either," Lewis writes. "Resolving this problem is an important priority."

Could a new theater on Western Avenue prompt a move of the ART, freeing up all of the Loeb for full time undergraduate use?

"There isn't any possibility being ignored," says David A. Zewinski '76, FAS associate dean for physical resources and planning. "Any space where performances could take place is being considered."

Student leaders say the Mahoney site may solve everyone's problems.

"It's worth looking into better utilizing the Loeb for undergraduates," says Anne M. Thompson, HTAG president. "It would make some sense for the ART to be at Mahoney. There's more parking and more access."

With few solid answers coming from the University, Denman and others say it is frustrating not to know the future of campus theater--never mind not to be included in the planning process.

"It's a little bit worrisome," Thompson says. "So many undergraduates use the space."