Chron profiles Sidney Berger, one of UH's many gems
This weekend, the Chronicle ran an interesting profile of Sidney Berger, the renowned chair of UH's school of theater, who is stepping down after 38 years at the helm:
When Sidney Berger became chairman of the University of Houston drama department in 1969, it had a three-person faculty and 30 students with that major.
Today, as the UH School of Theatre and Dance, it boasts a faculty of 15 and 300 majors and a higher national profile — an enduring legacy as Berger steps away this week from a tenure of nearly four decades.
When Berger came aboard, there were no opportunities for UH students to absorb lessons directly from the theater's greatest talents.
Today, because of the celebrated artists Berger has attracted here, hundreds of alumni can include on their résumés that they studied with such renowned figures as playwrights Edward Albee and Lanford Wilson, producer Stuart Ostrow and directors José Quintero and Sir Peter Hall.
When Berger moved here, there was no professional outlet in which theater students could hone their craft.
Today, thanks to the two professional summer projects Berger founded in the 1970s (Houston Shakespeare Festival and Children's Theatre Festival), students have the opportunity to work with theater pros from across the city, as well as guest artists from elsewhere.
Peter Sargent, dean of the Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts at St. Louis' Webster University, deems Berger's leadership at UH "visionary and successful." Sargent was one of three prominent figures in theater education contracted in 2003 to give an objective evaluation of the UH School of Theatre.
"He is going to leave quite a legacy," Sargent says. "He has attracted nationally significant theater artists and professionals to present a thorough perspective on theater education. His leadership of HSF and its partnership with the school is an excellent example of how two institutions can work together successfully. He has moved the UH school to a position of national recognition. And he has done so with a sense of what is best for the institution and the students."
Thankfully, Berger will be staying on at the fine department he built, as a faculty member and as director of the annual Shakespeare Festival held at Hermann Park every summer.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/30/07 09:21 PM | Houston Arts/Culture | Technorati | Sphere | Comments (9)
Previous Entry | Home | Next Entry
Trackback
Unfortunately, abusive spammers have forced us to disable incoming trackback pings. The Technorati link should list related posts. Feel free to drop us an email if you've linked a post and would like to let us know about it.
ADVERTISING
DISCLAIMER
All content © 2004-08, blogHOUSTON and the respective authors.
blogHOUSTON.net is powered by Nucleus.
Site design and Nucleus customization are by Kevin Whited.