Recruited Alums Unite for a January JAMSession

This Wintersession, Harvard students have the opportunity to experience a dose of Hollywood and the Boston art scene with the January Arts and Media Seminars (JAMS) program. The Harvard Arts Resource Council and the Office for the Arts at Harvard (OFA) have invited several notable alumni to work with Harvard undergraduates who are interested in pursuing careers in media and arts management from January 13 to January 22. The seminars include “Writing for Television,” with Carlton Cuse ’81 and Monica Henderson Beletsky ’99, “The Buck Stops Here: Perspectives on Careers in Arts Management,” with Connie Chin ’79, Lesley Koenig ’78, and James Torres ’83, “From Creation to Curation,” with Jen Mergel ’98, “Comedy: The Career,” with Andy Borowitz ’80, and “Scoring for Feature Films: An Overview,” with Robert M. Kraft ’76.

JAMS will provide a way for students to learn from alumni who have careers in fields that are not traditionally emphasized in Harvard’s liberal arts curriculum. “I think the chance to deal with a really terrific group of alumni will give students an opportunity to crack open the art world and imagine life in that world, and learn something about how to lead an accomplished life,” says Jack Megan, Director of the OFA.

Because they are conducted by contemporary, renowned practitioners, the seminars will give insight into the specific opportunities and challenges of occupations in art management and media today. For example, the “Writing for Television” seminar will be taught by Cuse, who wrote for the television series “LOST,” and Beletsky, who wrote and co-produced “Parenthood” and “Friday Night Lights.” “The course will teach students what it takes to be a successful published writer, as well as teach about narrative writing. I hope to provide some sort of basic tools of instruction to successfully navigate the world of TV writing,” says Cuse.

JAMS not only allows students to consider concrete examples of life in an art-related job, but also give the alumni a chance to impart the wisdom in all aspects of their professional lives. “I’ve been involved in many aspects, from performing standup to writing/producing TV and movie comedies to creating an online satire site, so I’m open to questions about all of this stuff,” says Borowitz, who is a humorist, New York Times bestselling author, and creator of the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and “The Borowitz Report.”

According to Megan, the alumni are thrilled to meet with undergraduates; he says it is a great opportunity for them to come back and connect with the Harvard community. “I am proud to return to Harvard to speak,” says Koenig, General Director of Opera Boston.

Kraft, the President of 20th Century Fox Music, exemplifies Megan’s sentiment. “It’s wonderful not only to return to Cambridge but also to experience the excitement of the undergraduates about the things that we have done professionally,” he says. “We feel that exposing students to the arts in a commercial setting is a valuable experience because students who want to pursue artistic careers need to understand what they’re going to face when they take their [art] from a college setting and apply it to the real world.”

Through their seminars the alumni want to motivate students to find enjoyment in whatever path they follow, especially in the arts. “If you love comedy, try to make it your life’s work. It’s always a good idea to follow your bliss,” says Borowitz. Similarly, Koening advises, “[In] these bleak economic times, [a life in the arts] can easily be an all- or-nothing choice. So follow your heart, not the bucks.”

For many of the alumni, passing on their own experience is a way to spark the interests in their students that they developed in their own Harvard undergradute experience. “Many of them feel that Harvard gave them opportunities that allowed them to be successful, and they want to give back to the students,” says Megan. Megan hopes that “the alumni’s direct engagement with students will not only be personally rewarding, but cause them to think about ways that they can help Harvard—whether it be other kinds of engagements, raising funds for the arts, or introducing other artists to the Harvard community.”

According to the OFA, as of a week ago the JAMS program enrollment was up to 60 people—and the numbers are growing. Megan hopes that the program will connect students and alumni in fields that both groups are passionate about: “my hope is that both students and the guest faculty walk out of the room feeling like they were jamming.”