Harvardwood HIGHLIGHTS - August 2025
- Aug 2
- 21 min read
Updated: Aug 5
In this issue:
MESSAGE FROM HARVARDWOOD
NEWS
Mario Cader-Frech Harvardwood Religion & Media Micro-Grant Fellowship
Featured Job: Co-Assistant to Talent Manager
FEATURES
Harvardwood Profile: Alison Haskovec AB '01 (executive)
Industry News
Welcome New Members
Exclusive Q&A with Haley Bennett AB '13 (music supervisor, conductor)
CALENDAR & NOTES
Harvardwood Beach Day (Los Angeles, CA)
&JULIET at the Ahmanson, with special guests AD Susanna Wolk '14 and MD Haley Bennett '13 (Los Angeles, CA)
An Evening of Classical Music and Conversation with Allison Charney Epstein '89, Ben Sherwood '85 and Kitt Wakeley (LA)
Harvardwood Creative Salon
Last Month at Harvardwood
Want to submit your success(es) to Harvardwood HIGHLIGHTS? Do so by posting here!
Whop, it's already August.
With it, comes a new Mario Cader-Frech Harvardwood Religion & Media Micro-Grant Fellowship! Are you a full-time Harvard University student interested in making a short film or executing a project at the intersection of religion and media? Me neither, but the ones who are should not miss out on this very exciting opportunity.
Then join us to see Broadway's &JULIET at the Ahmanson and hang with Associate Director Susanna Wolk AB '14 and Music Director Haley Bennett AB '13 before the show while Harvardwood tickets last! Later in the month, An Evening of Classical Music and Conversation and a Harvardwood Creative Salon to follow. Boy, oh boy!
As always, if you have an idea for an event or programming, please tell us about it here. If you have an announcement about your work or someone else's, please share it here (members) and it will appear in our Weekly and/or next HIGHLIGHTS issue.
Best wishes,
Grace Shi
Operations and Communications
Mario Cader-Frech Harvardwood Religion & Media Micro-Grant Fellowship
Application deadline: September 15th, 2025 11:59pm PT
Are you a full-time Harvard University student interested in making a short film or executing a project at the intersection of religion and media? Are you passionate about elevating portrayals or exploring issues around the role of religion and faith in entertainment? This is your opportunity!
In collaboration with Harvardwood, the Harvard Divinity School Film Festival (HDSFF) invites students to apply for a grant for work at the intersection of religion and entertainment media. APPLY HERE
Featured Job: Co-Assistant to Talent Manager
Job Description:
Talent Partner/Manager at Anonymous Content looking for a Co-Assistant (this is a 2-assistant desk). This is not a starter desk. All applicants must have at least one year of assistant experience (agency/talent experience preferred). Must be highly motivated, detail-oriented with superior organizational and communication skills to multi-task in a fast-paced environment.
Alumni Profile: Alison Haskovec AB '01 (executive)
by Laura Frustaci AB '21
Alison Haskovec is a film and television executive living in Los Angeles, CA. Currently an independent producer, Haskovec previously worked in the Original Independent Film Group at Netflix, specializing in family films, where she oversaw the development and production of numerous productions released on the streaming service, including NIGHTBOOKS starring Krysten Ritter, MIXTAPE starring Julie Bowen, and FEEL THE BEAT starring Sofia Carson. Prior to that, she was SVP Development and Production at Silvertongue Films where she set up CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG at Paramount Pictures. At Scott Free Pictures, she developed the 8-part mini-series WORLD WITHOUT END and identified the book that Discovery’s first scripted show, KLONDIKE, was based upon. Originally from Cambridge, MA, Haskovec is a volunteer head mentor for the Young Storytellers organization and a graduate of Harvard College.
Alison Haskovec AB '01 grew up just blocks from Harvard Yard. The daughter of Czech architects, she never imagined her childhood in Cambridge would lead to a career in Hollywood. “I didn’t know anyone in the film business,” she says with a smile, “but when I was at Harvard I did a lot of theater. I directed plays, took acting and directing classes, and acted in my friend’s student film. I definitely had the bug.” Though she loved storytelling, she hadn’t yet connected the dots between creative passion and professional opportunity until a junior-year internship changed everything. “I realized, ‘Oh, I can get paid to read scripts and work on projects. This is a job.’ That was so exciting.”
That internship sparked a focus on development, which she pursued immediately after graduation. Ultimately, she landed a position at Radar Pictures, where she met her mentor, producer Scott Kroopf. “He was a real soup to nuts producer.” She recalls. “There’s something so fulfilling about producing, because you’re there from the beginning of a project to the very end.” Under his guidance, she worked on THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK, even relocating to Vancouver for six months. “It was a big studio sequel to a low-budget genre film, and a great learning experience,” she recalls. That time on set cemented her love of producing, which has since taken her across indie film, television, book adaptations, and into the heart of family entertainment.
After Radar Pictures, Alison had the opportunity to work at various companies. While in her next position at Intermedia, she got her first co-producing credit on a horror film called ONE MISSED CALL and developed her love for the genre. “Working on a horror movie, I really appreciated the artistry and how much it's a director's medium,” she explains. She cultivated that appreciation and brought PARANORMAL ACTIVITY into her company as an acquisition before it sold to Paramount. Next, Alison pivoted into adaptations and then family content, with GOOSEBUMPS 2 and CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG. “That was my first experience in family films… It felt a little bit like coming home. These are the type of movies I've always loved: movies that are filled with hope and joy.” This led her to a role at Netflix, where she was part of a team that made an impressive total of sixteen movies in about four years. “It was a small, mighty group, and we really were trying to walk the walk of representation, of authenticity, having a strong voice from the community being portrayed at the table telling that story, and I'm really proud of that. It takes a little more work. But it's so rewarding.”
So what makes an adaptation strong from page to screen? Alison says that there must be characters you can really fall in love with, as well as a world that’s fleshed out and that you’re curious to explore. “Reading a book is a very different experience from watching a movie. So, a lot of those really successful book adaptations tend to be pretty easily translatable into a compelling concept.”
She connected with family media, she says, because “it's something that brings different generations together. Now that I have children, I can share that with them… the joy of filmmaking and exploration of different worlds and new characters, and finding ways to build empathy. I think there's a lot of value that can be brought in filmmaking and storytelling in general that is not just entertainment. I want a sense of purpose in my work.”
In terms of what’s influencing the work she’s doing, Alison says that IP is king right now within the industry. “Everyone's demanding a built-in audience,” she notes. “You have to draw a lot of people in these days in order to justify production and marketing budgets.” But is that dependence on IP overrated? “As someone that works in IP, a lot of my favorite movies are originals. And for me, it's really about the original voice of the filmmaker or show runner that makes for the most outstanding productions and storytelling.” The goal for Alison is to marry strong IP with an amazing voice; that’s her secret sauce to success. But still, “it’s so much easier to say no” to things right now, from the studio side, Alison points out. “You really have to show the vision and make it “undeniable.” This ties into what Alison views as the biggest challenge facing the industry right now. “It feels like the industry is contracting quite a bit… I worked at Netflix, and there was just a huge amount of content we were producing. Then it created a glut in the marketplace. Now, I think everyone's pulling back. I don't think that's a bad thing. I think fewer, better, is a good strategy.” However, aspiring creatives and execs, don’t lose heart! “The industry has gone through similar convulsions in the past,” Alison recalls. “You see this expansion, contraction, expansion, contraction.” Which means, hopefully, there’s a period of expansion on the horizon.
One thing that will likely impact the continued contraction or eventual expansion is AI. In terms of how she sees AI affecting her work specifically, Alison views it more as a tool than a complete replacement for people. “There is an element of humanity that audiences are still looking for,” she states. “I will say, though, that AI can perform a more powerful search.” And this function has been useful when seeking out new IP or researching during the development process. But ultimately, Alison says, she will “always root for the human part of the creative process with a tool of AI. If it's helpful.”
Speaking of helpful, Alison shared some lessons and advice she learned early on in the industry. For students, “find an internship, because having that background experience is so helpful. Figure out what companies and projects and genres excite you. And network. Reach out,” she says. “And foster those relationships, with your peers, mentors, and filmmakers you admire—those are key to finding great projects and lasting success in this business.”
Industry News
Noah Oppenheim AB ’00, screenwriter of JACKIE and ZERO DAY, brings a gripping political edge to A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE, crafting a high-stakes thriller that thrusts the White House into crisis after an anonymous missile strike sparks a desperate race to uncover the truth. (Screen Rant)
Jack Cutmore‑Scott AB ’10, Harvard alum and star of FRASIER, joins the reboot of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER as Mr. Burke — a beloved high‑school teacher who may assume a Watcher‑like role in guiding the new slayer, Nova. (Deadline)
Alan Yang AB ’05, Emmy‑winning co‑creator of MASTER OF NONE, alongside Aziz Ansari and Anthony Katagas, serves as producer on GOOD FORTUNE, the upcoming comedy starring Keanu Reeves, Seth Rogen, Keke Palmer, and Sandra Oh. (Deadline)
John Lesher AB ’88, Academy Award–winning producer, is producing MEET THE PARENTS 4 through his Red Hour Films banner alongside Ben Stiller, under the direction and screenplay of John Hamburg. This fresh chapter is set to hit theaters on November 25, 2026. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Simon Rich AB ’07, author of ANT FARM and ELLIOT ALLAGASH, wrote and will produce ARTIFICIAL—the AI‑driven comedic‑drama inspired by the 2023 upheaval at OpenAI that saw CEO Sam Altman abruptly ousted and reinstated. Directed by Luca Guadagnino, the ensemble cast includes Andrew Garfield as Altman, along with Cooper Koch, Cooper Hoffman, and Jason Schwartzman. (Deadline)
Rich Appel AB ’85, longtime FAMILY GUY co-showrunner, helped usher the beloved animated series into a new era with Hulu-exclusive holiday specials, including THE FAMILY GUY HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR, marking the show's first fully original episodes released on a streaming platform. (Deadline)
Lisa Joy JD ’09, Emmy‑nominated co‑creator of WESTWORLD, is executive producing the upcoming WOLFENSTEIN TV series for Amazon MGM Studios via her Kilter Films banner, alongside Jonah Nolan and Athena Wickham. (Variety)
Micah Fitzerman‑Blue AB ’05, co-writer/producer behind TRANSPARENT and A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, teamed up once again with Noah Harpster to adapt the debut novel THE BORROWED LIFE OF FREDERICK FUFE for Netflix. Together, they brought the story to the streamer and will produce through their Blue Harp banner. (Deadline)
Nell Benjamin AB ’93 and Laurence O’Keefe AB ’91, Tony-nominated lyricist and composer duo behind LEGALLY BLONDE and MEAN GIRLS, co-wrote the book, music, and lyrics for HUZZAH!, a new musical comedy premiering at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre. (Broadway News)
Jesse Andrews AB ’04, screenwriter of LUCA and ME AND EARL and THE DYING GIRL, co-wrote the screenplay for Pixar’s upcoming animated film HOPPERS, directed by Daniel Chong. The film follows Mabel, an animal lover whose consciousness is transferred into a robotic beaver, as she uncovers mysteries within the animal world. HOPPERS is scheduled for release on March 6, 2026. (ScreenRant)
Stockard Channing AB ’65, Tony Award–winning actress, reprises her role as Aunt Franny in PRACTICAL MAGIC 2, joining returning stars Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. The sequel, directed by Susanne Bier and based on Alice Hoffman's THE BOOK OF MAGIC, is set for release on September 18, 2026. (Deadline)
David Alpert AB ’97, co-founder of Skybound Entertainment, continues to expand the INVINCIBLE universe as an executive producer on the series. Amazon Prime Video has officially renewed the animated superhero show for a fifth season, even before the premiere of season 4, scheduled for 2026. (Deadline)
Nicholas Stoller AB ’98 and Francesca Delbanco '95, co-creators of PLATONIC, return as showrunners and directors for the upcoming second season of the Apple TV+ comedy series. Starring Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne, the new season is set to premiere on August 6, 2025, with the first two episodes releasing simultaneously. (Rolling Stone)
Nicholas Britell AB ’03, Oscar-nominated composer, is composing the score for Noah Baumbach’s upcoming film JAY KELLY. The romantic comedy-drama, starring George Clooney and Adam Sandler, is set to premiere in theaters on November 14, 2025, followed by a Netflix release on December 5, 2025. (World of Reel)
Erica Lipez AB ’05, creator/showrunner of Hulu’s WE WERE THE LUCKY ONES, adapted Georgia Hunter’s bestselling novel into an eight-episode limited series that premiered on March 28, 2024. The drama follows the Kurc family’s harrowing journey to survive and reunite during World War II. (Deadline)
Steven Schneider AB ’98, producer of PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, brings the franchise to the stage with PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: A NEW STORY LIVE ON STAGE, an immersive West End production opening December 5, 2025. (Yahoo! News)
Jeff Schaffer AB ’91, CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM showrunner, is co-writing and directing a new HBO sketch comedy series with Larry David. The six-episode limited series will humorously explore American history, executive produced by David and the Obamas. (Variety)
Welcome New Members
Harvardwood warmly welcomes all members who joined the organization or renewed their membership last month:
Philibert Hongtcheu
Wenona Baldenegro
Mason Hsieh
Alyssa Guillu
Udochi Emeghara
Sophie Barry
Xinran Li
Aliza Sovani
Angelique Henderson
Natalie Robinson
Exclusive Q&A with Haley Bennett AB '13 (music supervisor, conductor)
Recently named one of BROADWAY'S WOMEN TO WATCH, Haley Bennett AB' 13 is an NYC-based Music Supervisor, Conductor, Arranger, & Coordinator. She is currently the Associate Music Supervisor for all North American productions of the hit musical & JULIET, as well as the recent Broadway premier of REDWOOD starring Idina Menzel. In addition to her supervision work, Haley serves as the Associate Music Director / Conductor for the Broadway production of & JULIET, playing keyboards and/or conducting nightly in the pit. Additional Broadway credits include: DIANA: THE MUSICAL, COME FROM AWAY, ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE, DEAR EVAN HANSEN, ANASTASIA, BANDSTAND, PARAMOUR, FINDING NEVERLAND, PIPPIN, & THE GERSHWINS’ PORGY AND BESS. International/National Tours include: ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, ALADDIN, COME FROM AWAY, HAMILTON, RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN’S CINDERELLA, and PRINCE OF BROADWAY.
Haley also works as a Music Supervisor and Coordinator/Contractor for various NBCUniversal projects, including the annual Upfront presentation at Radio City Music Hall. There, she has supervised performances featuring artists including Kelly Clarkson, Jimmy Fallon, Seth MacFarlane, Michael Bublé, John Tesh, and Little Big Town, as well as full live orchestras of 30-60+ musicians, both at Radio City Music Hall and in the iconic SNL Studio 8H. She served as the Music Coordinator for SCHMIGADOON! on Apple TV+ and Associate Music Coordinator for NBC’s broadcast of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR LIVE IN CONCERT, worked on PETER PAN LIVE!, and has been a Music Coordinator for the annual RADIO CITY CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR’s 37-piece orchestra for 8+ years. Haley has also been the Music Contractor for the Ogunquit Playhouse since 2021.
As an Album & Recording Coordinator/Supervisor, Haley has overseen many original Broadway cast recordings, including the Grammy-nominated MJ: THE MUSICAL, DIANA: THE MUSICAL, ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, ANASTASIA, ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE, and the Grammy Award-winning DEAR EVAN HANSEN. In 2022, Haley collaborated with Jimmy Buffett and Frank Marshall to supervise, arrange, and orchestrate TALES FROM MARGARITAVILLE, the inaugural show for Jimmy Buffett's Margaritavillle at Sea cruise line.
Haley holds a BA in Psychology (Cum Laude with High Honors) from Harvard University, with minors in Dramatic Arts and French, as well as a Certificate in Music Production from Berklee College of Music.
Q: You’re currently touring with Broadway smash hit &JULIET. What are the challenges to a tour for this show, and what are the most exciting parts? How is the process different from the run in NYC?
As the Associate Music Supervisor for the touring production of & JULIET, I am in a unique position in that I oversee all things music, but I’m not actually on the road full time. Because I also have a full-time position on the Broadway production, I spend the bulk of my time in NYC, where I play and conduct the Broadway show while auditioning and rehearsing new cast members for both the Broadway and touring companies. I then travel out to visit the tour every few weeks to note the show, work with performers and musicians, etc. It’s both a challenge and a privilege having the opportunity to maintain multiple & JULIET companies. One of the trickiest elements is the schedule - making sure I am able to be where I am needed when I am needed! But as someone who loves travel, getting to check in on the tour is consistently a highlight for me. There’s something special about being able to step away and see the production again with fresh eyes, as well as to see how it plays in different cities and markets. Because I am typically away for 6-8 weeks at a time, there is an increased element of trust placed in the team on the road to maintain the integrity of the show. I am grateful to work with such a wonderful team - most importantly, our touring Music Director, Andre Cerullo, who keeps the show in excellent shape.
Q: How did your background in psychology from Harvard shape or influence your approach to working in music and theater, if at all?
I often joke that I use my psychology degree more than I would use a music degree! When I initially decided to study psychology, I wasn’t sure yet what I wanted to do career-wise, and I figured that psychology—which I found fascinating already—would be relevant no matter where I landed. Working in the arts especially, you are constantly surrounded by different personalities and folks of all ages and backgrounds at different points in their careers and lives. My job is a constant exercise in meeting people where they are and doing my best to understand how to best support each of my colleagues. Everyone learns differently, everyone requires different things to thrive - and my goal is always to enable the people around me to do their best work. I think that my background in psychology (and specifically the psychology of education and pedagogy) helps me to accomplish this goal, especially when I’m teaching singers.
Q: What first drew you to music direction? When did you realize this was the professional path you wanted to pursue?
My path into music direction was definitely very non-traditional (if the concentration in psychology didn’t already give that away!) Whilst I grew up playing instruments, performing in theater, and singing in choirs, I didn’t actually consider working professionally on the music side of theater until the summer after my sophomore year at Harvard, when I interned at the American Repertory Theatre. As a music intern on The Gershwins’ PORGY AND BESS, I had my first window into the multitude of roles within a Broadway music team. It was there that I first began to learn the difference between a music director and a music supervisor, an arranger and an orchestrator, a vocal arranger and a dance arranger. I gained a new appreciation for how many people it takes to carefully craft the score of a new (or revived) musical, and it was then that I first discovered that one of these could be a career path for me! The summer after I graduated from Harvard undergrad, I had the incredible good fortune of serving as a music assistant on the ART’s production of FINDING NEVERLAND—after which I was set to begin graduate school at the Harvard School of Education. It was on that production that I met David Chase AB '86 - music supervisor extraordinaire - who, it turns out, had been a biology major at Harvard before going on to become one of Broadway’s foremost music supervisors and arrangers. It was David who gave me the opportunity to move to NYC—with enough work lined up to be my “fall semester”—and I haven’t looked back!
Q: You have an enormously impressive resume. How do you decide which projects or roles to take on?
Thank you—I feel so privileged to have worked on the productions I have. At the end of the day, the most important thing for me is the people—I want to work in rooms with humans who treat each other with respect and kindness. After that, it’s about the work itself - I’ve certainly worked on several shows that don’t necessarily speak to me, but it’s always an even more powerful and fulfilling experience when I love the material and feel drawn to it in some way. I love theater that makes you think, but I also love theater that provides pure entertainment and escapism—there’s such a need for both. I’m personally most drawn to realistic productions that look at how humans think and interact (there’s that psychology degree at work!) and I equally enjoy any opportunity to work with kids (and there’s that education background at play, too!).
Q: What skills do you think are most essential to succeed as a music director on Broadway today?
Working as a music director requires a combination of many different skills. I think it’s important to note that everyone brings their own unique skillset and that no one person can ever be the best at all of these elements, and so at the top of this list is knowing what you do and don’t do well, and being willing to: A) admit what you don’t know, and B) learn, learn, learn! In terms of specifics, the basics include having a deep understanding of music, of course—music theory and reading, typically some level of piano skills, and often the ability to work in some sort of music notation software and/or DAW. Beyond this, a lot of the job of a music director is to be a conduit for the score, to interface with the creative team (director, composer, etc), and teach the cast and musicians. Just as important as musical skills are the abilities to interact with others well and to create an environment that makes people want to learn and do their best work. You’re often navigating a lot of different (and sometimes difficult!) personalities, and—especially if you are conducting the show—you are at the center of it all. Being able to stay calm and cool under pressure is key!
Q: You’ve been part of so many high-profile productions, including COME FROM AWAY, DEAR EVAN HANSEN, and the ONCE ON THIS ISLAND revival. What’s been the most creatively rewarding show you've worked on, and why?
Such a good question—there are so many ways I could answer this! I’ve found so many productions to be rewarding in different ways. The ONCE ON THIS ISLAND revival would definitely be at the top of the list—Michael Arden is one of the most genius creatives I know, and watching his vision for this revival unfold was an incredible creative experience. Working alongside AnnMarie Milazzo on the vocal design of the show was particularly special—she writes in such a unique way, and her complex vocals, mixed with Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty’s exquisite score, challenged the company in a way that yielded something amazing. Every actor had their own vocal line throughout the full show—the scores were MASSIVE—and it created a sonic experience unlike anything else! Getting to play a part in navigating these vocals—and then maintaining them on the national tour as well—was incredibly creatively rewarding.
Q: How does music coordination/direction differ between a live theatrical production and a televised event like JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR Live or SCHMIGADOON!?
While televised productions like JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR Live! and SCHMIGADOON! are like stage musicals in many ways, the television element also changes the working process in a variety of ways. Things start out quite similarly—assembling a score, teaching music to actors, and figuring out an initial mapping in terms of how the staging and music interact. After the initial staging in the studio, things begin to diverge! One of the biggest differences is how much more time is spent in the recording studio. Music is often prerecorded in stages—some live on set, some in a studio—depending on the production. On SCHMIGADOON!, for example, our supervisor/orchestrator produced demos to be performed to on set, and we then went into a studio with a full orchestra after the filming process was complete. On JCS Live!, however, the orchestra was playing live on set during the filming! All of the above requires an immense amount of organization, but the musical process—what is live, what is recorded, when certain elements are recorded—varies greatly from project to project.
Q: What changes have you observed in the Broadway music space over the last decade, especially for women in leadership roles?
In the past decade—particularly the past few years—there has been a marked increase in mentorship opportunities and community for women in musical leadership roles. On one of the first professional shows I conducted, I had a woman in the audience come up to me after the show and tell me how amazing it was for her to see a woman conducting. I worked with another male contractor who said he was glad I had decided to participate in a talk-back because it would be good for folks to see there were women in the band. I’d like to think we’re past the point of this being a novelty, but we’re still in the middle of doing the work. Organizations exist now to connect women at an early stage in their career with those who have been doing it much longer, and to put those women in rooms where they can observe, learn, and make connections. When I first started out, women were harder on other women. Now, women are championing other women. It’s a remarkable shift to witness and play a role in, too.
Q: You were named one of Broadway’s Women to Watch in 2021—what advice do you have for women and/or nonbinary musicians looking to break into the industry?
Never stop learning, and immerse yourself in environments in which you can do so. Because my degree is in psychology, the bulk of the knowledge I use every day is knowledge I learned in the room by studying the folks around me and absorbing everything I could. No job is too small, especially if it means you are able to spend time learning from the folks you admire and honing your own skills. As a woman, a particularly important realization I’ve come to is that your own leadership style is valid. I’ve spent the bulk of my career in rooms full of men, and I’ve learned some incredible things from many of them. But I’ve also learned that I will never lead a room in the exact same way, because I’m my own person. I’ve found that leading with empathy is actually a massive strength, and I can use my own anxiety and insecurities to help those in the room who aren’t as confident or as loud as their peers. I think leaning into what makes you you, and at the same time not being afraid to take up space, is massively important.
Q: How do you build and maintain your musical network when working across so many different mediums and companies?
Part of what I love about my job is how many different elements there are and how many different amazing people I get to work with from day to day. For me, wearing multiple hats makes me stronger at each and allows me to enjoy each even more. As a contractor and coordinator, I have the opportunity to hire musicians for various projects, and this is one of the primary ways in which I’ve built up my own musical network of sorts. There are few better feelings than being able to bring someone well-deserving onto a new project. It’s also a great reminder of how important it is to treat everyone in the room with kindness—the person sitting next to you at a reading one day might be the person to hire you the next. Everyone I work with is so multi-talented and brings such a unique skill set to the table, and it’s a privilege to be able to match those talents and skill sets with projects and collaborators that will allow them to thrive.
Q: Do you see any exciting shifts happening in how music is being developed or integrated into new theatrical productions?
I think one of the biggest and most exciting shifts we’ve seen over the past decade is the integration of technology. The impact it has had on music within theatrical productions is vast - at an initial level, it enables the use of synthesized sounds that can be used to provide fascinating colors alongside acoustic musicians. But beyond that, it also links music to other departments of the show in an exciting technological way. On the majority of new musicals, conductors are now also responsible for triggering something called time code—a series of code that actually runs directly to other departments such as lighting and video and allows for their cues to sync directly with the music. This enables video content, lighting effects, and even sound cues to be triggered by the conductor, ensuring that they will happen at the precise desired moment within the music. While it can put a lot of pressure on the conductor, this inter-departmental integration is hugely exciting.
Q: If you could MD or arrange any show, either classic or brand new, what would it be and why?
I am most excited by new works—having the opportunity to be a part of something from the ground up and bringing an unheard story to life. I’m particularly drawn to musicals that sit more in the folk and pop vernacular, while incorporating musical theater storytelling. I’m an absolute nerd when it comes to musical motifs, creating interstitial music and underscoring, and really looking at how music can achieve ultimate emotional impact as a storytelling tool. For me, that’s the perfect combination of my love of music and my love of psychology!
Come see &JULIET and chat with Haley in-person on August 17!
Harvardwood Beach Day (LA)
Sun, Aug 10
Join us for a summer day well spent with Harvardwood! We’re heading to the beach on Saturday, August 10th from 12 PM to 4 PM for sun, sand, and some quality time with fellow creatives.
&JULIET at the Ahmanson, with special guest Associate Director Susanna Wolk '14 and Haley Bennett '13 (LA)
Sun, Aug 17
Created by the Emmy-winning writer from SCHITT’S CREEK, this hilarious new musical flips the script on the greatest love story ever told. & JULIET asks: what would happen next if Juliet didn’t end it all over Romeo? Get whisked away on a fabulous journey as she ditches her famous ending for a fresh beginning and a second chance at life and love—her way.
Join us after for a private post-show Q&A with Susanna Wolk AB '14 (Associate Director) and Haley Bennett AB '13 (Associate Music Supervisor / Associate Music Director).
An Evening of Classical Music and Conversation with Allison Charney Epstein '89, Ben Sherwood '85, and Kitt Wakeley (LA)
Tue, Aug 26 Free for all Join us at EverGreen Studios for an evening of classical music and a fireside chat with renowned opera singer Allison Charney Epstein AB '89. Allison will discuss and perform selections from her newest album, ALIKE: My Mother's Dream with media executive and former president of Disney ABC Television Group, Ben Sherwood AB '85. The evening will also feature a special immersive, visually elaborate preview of Grammy award-winning composer and producer Kitt Wakeley's upcoming album.
This event is co-presented by Harvardwood and the Harvard Club of Southern California.
Harvardwood Creative Salon
Fri, Sep 05 Free for all
Come and showcase your work to the Harvardwood community! Our goal with this salon is to provide a space where creatives can come together and showcase ten minutes of their work—whether a performance, reading, an idea, short film, music video, or any other creative outlet! The group can help workshop and provide feedback, or merely provide an attentive audience.
Last Month at Harvardwood
Last Month at Harvardwood, we attended an Ivy Mixer, hosted a pool party for interns, and more!
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