Scott Edmiston started acting in fourth grade.Now, with countless school plays under his belt-plus a Bachelor in Fine Arts degree in acting from Pennsylvania State University, a Master in Fine Arts degree in directing from Boston University, and 20 years' experience with nonprofit arts organizations throughout the Northeast, Edmiston comes to Brandeis as the director of the new Office of the Arts.

According to Edmiston, the role of this administrative office is to "raise awareness and appreciation in the educational value of the performing, visual and cultural arts at Brandeis." This means more communication and collaboration between departments, as well as "innovation in both programming and curriculum." One of Edmiston's responsibilities, for example, is to coordinate the annual Festival of the Arts.

How will he assess which areas need work? Firstly, by asking students; he plans to create a student advisory council on the arts.

Edmiston will also work with faculty and administrators in the School of Creative Arts, as well as the Rose Art Museum, the Office of Student Life, the Women's Studies Research Center, the Creative Writing program and the Film Studies program.

"I want to make sure that every student at Brandeis has some meaningful - or perhaps even revelatory - experience in the arts," Edmiston said.

To him, the arts play a critical role in higher education, and not just in their separate disciplines. The essence of art is creativity, he said, a skill that he feels we are not aptly taught in school. All students - theater majors along with chemistry majors - can benefit from exposure to art, he asserted, since art will "awaken their own sense of self" and let them be creative. "The science of art is about discovering how one can realize one's own creativity," he added, which allows one to excel anew in academic, professional and social pursuits.

Though Edmiston's background is in theater, he said it is crucial that he "remain Switzerland" and involve himself equally in all art forms at Brandeis. He adds theater is "arguably the most collaborative of all art forms," since in addition to instructing talented actors, directors must ensure that the sets are visually stimulating and the music is just right for each scene.

Edmiston was cited as one of the region's "Ten Best" directors by the Boston Herald, and has won numerous awards. Most recently, he directed a production this July of "Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris" for the Gloucester Stage Company. Edmiston will continue to direct professionally while at Brandeis. In January 2004, he will direct Noel Coward's "Private Lives" at the Lyric Stage Company. In April 2004, he will direct John Adam's opera "Nixon in China" with Opera Boston and the Majestic Theater.

Edmiston's favorite playwrights are Tennessee Williams, Eugene O'Neill, and Anton Chekhov. He is excited that Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard" is a Spingold production in spring 2004.



Students Speak

So what do Brandeis students think of their art departments?

Tatyana Levina '06, who has taken a number of Fine Arts classes, reports "being very disappointed" because of the department's size and because of the classes offered. "It's ridiculous," she said that "incoming students, even ones with experience in painting, cannot go on straight to the advanced classes because there will be nothing for them to take on afterwards."

She offers a solution: more classes, such as photography and graphic design. "What kind of self respecting art department does not have those two?" she asked. Admittedly, she said, resources and studio space are limited, but if changes are to be made, she hopes the department will increase its repertoire of classes.

Paul Mosier '06, who plays flute in the wind ensemble, said the music department's greatest need is more funding. "One complaint of the entire music department," he said, is "zero funds"-this negatively affects the sheet music available and the condition of practice rooms in Slosberg.

Should a budget increase occur, Mosier said money "should go to the condition of the building, first off."

Next in line is be the purchase of more music. Lastly, he said he hopes for better promotion of the music groups on campus. "The wind ensemble is consistently begging for people to join," he said. "Our turnouts for the concerts are good, but we can always see better."

Mosier plans to major in biochemistry, not music. But having played flute since fifth grade, he joined the wind ensemble to keep up the hobby.

If he could bring any musician to campus, it would be David Gray. "David Gray is the bomb," he raves. "I would love to see him."

Andrew Davies '06 senses a strong theater community on campus - both a good and a bad thing, according to him.

Davies had lead roles in two performances last year through the Undergraduate Theater Collective (UTC): "The Good Doctor" by Neil Simon, and "Shopgirl," an adaptation of the book by Steve Martin.

Overall, he says he is impressed with his directors and fellow actors and "surprised with the volumes of shows and the number of people interested. Although students are competing for roles, "there doesn't seem to be bitterness between people, kids are supportive of one another."

At the same time, Davies said he feels the Theater Arts department is "a little bit exclusive." Even the beginning acting class - Acting: The Vocal-Physical Connection (THA 4a) requires an instructor's signature, which to Davies, is perhaps too restrictive. Davies took THA 4a this past spring, but he was one of the lucky few. On the first day of class, 50 people showed up. Only 17 were admitted to the class. Many non-theater majors had no idea this would be the case, Davies adds.

"I kind of feel that ... theater classes are catered to people who are in the theater world," he said, since other students may not be aware of the deadlines to gain an instructor's signature, and thus miss out on enjoyable classes.

Davies is still deciding on his major; the choices are currently English (ENG) or Anthropology (ANTH). Why not theater? The major requires what Davies described as an overwhelmingly large commitment. The theater major is 15 classes, he said, which is almost half of one's classes at Brandeis.

Even the minor "is a big commitment," he said. "There are a lot of things I want to study and a lot of things I want to major in - but the theater major being so big makes me wary of it."

Davies suggests that perhaps the minor should be made slightly smaller, as this "would give more people a chance to do theater without committing their lives to it."

Davies said he is satisfied with his theater experience so far, but he wishes theater events were more publicized in central locations on campus, and that the major was "opened up to more people."

In light of these issues, Edmiston responded: "These are very real concerns, and reflect why an Office of the Arts is seriously needed."

"Unfortunately," he said, "there isn't a simple, quick-fix solution to issues which span curriculum, financial resources and marketing. But given their reputation for activism, I hope Brandeis students - together with the faculty, staff and administration -- will help me develop a strategic plan to address exactly those type of needs."

As students arrive on campus, Edmiston invites them to stop by his office and talk to him, since after all, he said, the students know best what they want.