精东影业 University welcomed its newest director for the School of Theatre and Dance in July after a nationwide search to fill the position. Tony Hardin grew up loving the arts, pursuing a career in scenic, lighting and projection design. He recently served as an associate professor and chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Kentucky before becoming a director at 精东影业.
Learn more about Hardin as he answers five questions.
Why did you decide to come to 精东影业?
精东影业 values the arts. They don鈥檛 only say that, but they also live those words in their actions by providing the resources, the personnel and the money that is needed to have a thriving arts community at a research one institution.
How do you feel your role at 精东影业 is different from previous roles in your career?
It鈥檚 different because it's bigger. This is a school of theatre and dance, so there鈥檚 multiple degree programs: undergraduate and graduate. There鈥檚 a faculty and staff of over 34 individuals and multiple campuses. It鈥檚 bigger, but at the same time there are more resources, and there鈥檚 more support here. It would be daunting, but because I have the support and the right people around me, it鈥檚 not daunting at all. It鈥檚 actually very relaxing, and I feel at home.
What sparked your passion for theater and dance?
I was blessed to have a family growing up that liked the arts. My dad was a sales engineer for Ford and my mother was a school teacher. They sacrificed, and they did things. I was able to see a touring production of 鈥淟es Miserables鈥� in Louisville in 1987. I was in the audience watching the Javert suicide. He鈥檚 out there, the line from the song is, 鈥� I am reaching but I fall, and the stars are black and cold鈥︹€� As he鈥檚 reaching out, he鈥檚 connected to a harness that you can鈥檛 see, but he leaps off a scenic element and hangs there. He鈥檚 鈥渇alling鈥� and the scenic unit flies up. There鈥檚 fog on the ground, and it's starting to swirl and he lowers into the fog and is gone. It got me hooked.
I went into undergrad as a psychology major. I was taking a class and saw one of my first mentors teaching and designing and doing all these things, and I thought, 鈥渢hat鈥檚 what I want to do.鈥� So I changed majors within the first few weeks of my first semester to become a theater major and the rest is history.
What is your favorite show to watch versus your favorite to work on?
That鈥檚 a tough question. I think my most recent favorite is 鈥淢a Rainey鈥檚 Black Bottom.鈥� I designed the scenery for that at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company back in January. It was a great company, great director and creative team, it was a lot of fun.
Prior to that, I have so many. I think 鈥淪pring Awakening鈥� is up there. 鈥淛esus Christ Superstar." These are powerful shows and usually they鈥檙e centered around things that happened in my life that I can really connect with. I can watch 鈥淟es Miserables鈥� multiple times, I can watch 鈥淪pring Awakening鈥� and 鈥淛esus Christ Superstar鈥� multiple times. I鈥檝e also worked on about five 鈥淚nto the Woods鈥� productions and have enjoyed those. It鈥檚 so hard to choose.
Do you have any goals for the future?
I'm just enjoying my time here. It鈥檚 nice to be at a state institution 鈥� a land grant institution 鈥� that believes in the arts. One that not only says they believe in the arts but they put their money where their mouth is by providing the right resources and people.
Northeast Ohio has been good to us so far, but I haven鈥檛 had a winter yet so I have to brace myself for that.
I spent my career being behind the scenes and making things work, making sure we solve things in effective and efficient ways. What I鈥檓 trying to do here is just that - my job, which is helping faculty, staff and students do their respective jobs. I support the students so that they learn what they need to learn to be successful in theater and dance.
To learn more about the School of Theatre and Dance, visit: www.kent.edu/theatredance.
