By: Hilary Hahn
4/21/2004

Whether it is acting and drama or technical work on stage with the set and lights or creating special effects for film, senior Dan Harmon is trying to find his niche and what he would like to do in the future.

“I think I have improved a lot since I started,” Harmon said. “I know that acting is a tough field, and I like doing special effects for film. But I have also been a head tech for sets and lights on stage. When it comes down to it, I won’t be disappointed if I pick one over the other.”

Harmon has enjoyed his experiences in all areas dealing with the theater at Friends University. During his last two years, he is working on his creativity while majoring in drama and computer graphics.

Harmon started his adventure in theater when a teacher approached him as a freshman in high school.

“I was conned into acting,” Harmon said.

He tried out and was presented a small part in the play “Murder in the House of Horrors,” but later got bumped up to a bigger role as a reporter.

After his stage performance, Harmon became involved in forensics and more theater productions during high school.

“I enjoyed it and didn’t do half bad,” Harmon said.

Harmon started to like drama more as he got involved, and he said it helped him socially because everyone knew him from his performances.

“I was outspoken,” he said. “It helped me because I wasn’t really involved in any other activities.”

High school came to an end and Harmon had to make the choice of a school to continue his education.

After looking at various schools both in and out of state, Harmon found that Friends had both of his majors at the time and seemed to be more in his price range than an out-of-state school.

As a bashful college freshman, Harmon said he had a horrible first audition for the one-act plays.

“It was really different,” he said. “My high school wasn’t big so by my senior year if I auditioned, I was pretty much in.”

His first audition in college was also his first time being rejected to play a part. Harmon said he did not take the audition seriously enough and was not as prepared as others were for the audition. He also added that not knowing anyone in the audition made him even more nervous.

“It was probably good for me,” Harmon said. “I’m sure that I’ll face a lot of rejection.”

    Even though Harmon was not chosen to play a part, drama professor Charles Parker said he came to Friends with a lot of skill and experience. Parker also included that because of his growth and advancement in talent, Harmon can play difficult parts like the one he played in the 17th century play “Tartuffe” by Moliere.
    
    “We count on him,” Parker said. “He is very flexible in his talent, meaning he can play the serious or comic role. Also his voice is changeable for impressions and playing unusual characters.”

    Junior actor Tom Schario agreed that Harmon is great to work with on stage.

    “He is easy to play off of,” Schario said. “He always brings something new and refreshing to the stage every single night of a performance.”

Harmon said one thing he has experienced from acting is the difference between an audience an actor is familiar with and a new audience.

“Performing in front of an audience where you know people is harder because there is that judging factor,” Harmon said. “They know when you are acting your best or not, but with a strange audience, it is easier to pull something off if you mess up.”

Right now Harmon is working on the directing aspect of theater. He is currently directing the one-act play “Hello … Out There” playing April 23-24.

“I like doing it because it spurs creativity and maybe will help me with other jobs in my life,” Harmon said. “But I’ve been an actor too long.”

Schario is also playing a part in the one-act and said Harmon has a soothing aura about him when he directs.

“It doesn’t feel like he is going to kill you if you can’t do it right,” Schario said. “But at the same time he still has the director’s edge. He is very organized and sees that things get done.”

For future acting, Harmon said the experience of directing will help him.

“I will do what the director tells me to do and spend more time focusing on the character and not how I would do it,” Harmon said. “It also helps me to separate what I would do rather than what my character would do.”

After graduation, Harmon wants to find a career in the film industry.

Parker said Harmon has worked hard, shown responsibility behind the scenes, has been helpful to other students and shown his capability on stage.

“He has the experience to support him in whatever he does,” Parker said. “He has a wide range of possibilities. I could see him producing films or videos, but there is that hope he will get to do it all sometime in his life.”