“My piece is an expression and reflection of the intense anguish, self-doubt, and loneliness that I went through this year. It’s a message to future student leaders that they are not alone, and they will persevere. It’s a love letter to those who made me as dedicated to Ram’s Head as I am…Mostly, as a great deal of art aims to be, it’s a glimpse into human nature and parts of the human experience.”
Excerpt from ‘Strength and Grace, A Reflection of
Leadership in a Student Arts Organization’ by Caitlin Fong
After years of involvement with Ram’s Head Theatrical Society, Caitlin Fong (’14) was inspired to pen a piece on the ups and downs of the theatrical performance culture at Stanford. “I was living what I was researching and writing,” said Caitlin, “and it was an extremely difficult and painful year for me.”
Fong’s journey began when she became involved with Ram’s Head Theatrical Society the very first week of her freshman year. By her sophomore year, Fong was stage manager of Ram’s Head’s spring show, City of Angels. “Without me even realizing it at the time, I think that’s where the seed for my Honors in the Arts project was first planted,” said Fong. City of Angels tells the story of a protagonist who struggles to maintain his artistic integrity under great pressure from his film producer boss. The plot rang true with Fong, who was already experiencing these issues through her work at Ram’s Head. “As a student theater organization, Ram’s Head often faces the challenge of reconciling great artistic visions with the practical and financial realities of being a college group,” said Fong, “This issue of artistic and commercial success – are they as opposite as they seem? How do you reconcile them? – intrigued me.”
“As a student theater organization, Ram’s Head often faces the challenge of reconciling great artistic visions with the practical and financial realities of being a college group,” said Fong, “This issue of artistic and commercial success – are they as opposite as they seem? How do you reconcile them? – intrigued me.”
By her senior year, Fong had been promoted to Executive Producer (EP). It was then that Fong decided to write an in-depth, reflective piece on her time as an EP, highlighting issues quintessential to organizational theory, such as motivation, power dynamics, and group development. But it was tough.
“To be honest, I really struggled through the process of writing it,” said Fong, “the issue of arts management is by no means a new one, and plenty of people have spoken and written on the relationship between art and business.”
Working with the Stanford Arts Institute towards her honors project helped Fong meet key players in the arts management field. She spoke with with Joseph Melillo (Executive Producer at the Brooklyn Academy of Music), Colleen Jennings-Roggensack (Executive Director, ASU Gammage at Arizona State University), Kristy Edmunds (Executive and Artistic Director at the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA) and Chris Henderson (Executive Director of the Chicago Shakespeare Theater).
Working with the Stanford Arts Institute towards her honors project helped Fong meet key people in the arts management field.
“They influenced me in both the “leading” phase of the project as I was able to apply what they said to my own experiences in Ram’s Head as well as the “writing” part, as it helped me think through a lot of the topics I would end up writing about later,” said Fong.
But it was the workshops with other Honors in the Arts students that Fong enjoyed the most. “It was amazing to work with other student-artists and get their input and feedback on my project,” said Fong, “and in so many big and small ways, I feel my piece is all the better because of them and my experience at Stanford is all the better for knowing them.”
With personal experience, input from her peers and professionals alike, and a whole lot of research, Fong accomplishes two major things with ‘Strength and Grace’; she provides an in-depth look at the entrepreneurial side of theater, and touches on the emotional and human element of leadership in an intimate, transparent way.
Fong’s experience as Executive Producer has led her to remain at Stanford post-graduation, working for the Department of Theater & Performance Studies. Her passion for theater has grown into a determination to be not only involved, but to build skills as a leader.
