Portrait of an Artist: Emily B. Hyman ’13

Emily B. Hyman ’13, a Crimson Magazine editor, is a literature concentrator and a resident of Currier House. She has been in 11 productions with the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club (HRDC) to date. She has played a wide range of roles in both comedies and tragedies, and will also act in “Little Shop of Horrors,” an upcoming musical. She has produced several student-run plays, including HRDC’s “Play It Again, Sam,” a comedy that ran in the Adams Pool Theatre this October.

The Harvard Crimson: When did you start getting involved in theater?

Emily B. Hyman: At Harvard, I started my freshman fall. I was in a show called “The Flies”—I was a townswoman and had about four lines, but it was great. Before Harvard, we had to do this big Shakespeare production in eighth grade, and that’s when I fell in love with theater. I did productions throughout high school—I went to an all-girls’ school, so it was a good way to meet people in my town outside of school.

THC: Which have been your favorite productions at Harvard?

EBH: I’ve gotten such different things out of almost everything I’ve done, and they’ve all been such different challenges, so I’ve been really lucky in that aspect. Another big aspect is whom I’ve gotten to know through theater—actors, student producers, and a few older directors. I think that I’ve grown the most in the student-directed productions, though.

THC: Which of those productions were you in this fall semester?

EBH: I was in three productions this fall: “Crave,” “Othello,” and now “Little Shop of Horrors.” “Little Shop of Horrors” is my first musical, so I’m really nervous. I have a singing part, which is really different because I usually just stick to straight plays.

THC: What are the types of roles you like to play?

EBH: It depends; I’ve been really lucky in that I’ve gotten a pretty big variety of roles. I love doing comedies, but I sort of took a very intense break from that this past year. I’ve been doing a lot of more serious stuff, which I love as well, and I learned a lot from that and feel really lucky that I was able to play those roles.

THC: What’s the difference, in your opinion, between acting in a comedy and a drama?

EBH: Comedy is all about the timing, while drama is a little more relaxed. Comedy is really hard in that way. You have to really be conscientious about how and when jokes land. It’s an art.

THC: Do you think that there is a specific group of Harvard students who identify with theater and frequently do theater productions together?

EBH: There certainly is a group who do HRDC productions, and I’ve been really lucky to know a huge group of people involved in Harvard theater; they’re all really wonderful, and I’m happy to work with them. It’s my hope that more than just those people see our plays because I fear that the theater community is lesser known among the larger Harvard community. In my world, theater feels really big, but I feel that other people I know who aren’t involved in productions don’t usually know what’s going on. It’s a problem that I hope we can one day fix.

THC: Considering that you’ve acted in so many productions, would you ever try playwriting?

EBH: I have never written a play, but maybe if I had a good idea. I think that to write a play you have to have something you’re really passionate about that you want to write about. Right now, I don’t think I have that yet.

THC: Do you think after you graduate you will continue on with acting?

EBH: That’s a loaded question. I would love to say “yes,” but it’s a very scary idea. I’m just thinking about next semester, and right now I don’t really know what I want to do.