It is notoriously difficult to gain a first foothold in the post-collegiate arts community. A team of Tufts administrators, professors, coordinators and other alums aims to make this transition at least a little bit easier, while at the same time recognizing the successes of other graduates.
In 2004, the Los Angeles Tufts Alliance (LATA) alumni chapter had the idea of creating the From the Hill to Hollywood ceremony, a major annual recognition program that aims to foster a stronger community for Los Angeles alums in the entertainment, arts and media industries. The awards, dubbed the P.T. Barnum Awards in honor of the iconic showman who helped found Tufts, go to alums with distinguished careers in theater, film, television or communications. Honorees for the 2012 award ceremony will be announced in the next few weeks.
The first Hollywood on the Hill ceremony took place in 2005. Several Tufts-affiliated organizations collaborated to make the event happen, including LATA; Tufts Entertainment, Arts and Media Network (TEAM); the Communications and Media Studies Program; the Department of Drama and Dance and the Office of Alumni Relations.
"The impact of the award was immediately felt in our Los Angeles and New York City communities," said Gretchen Dobson, senior associate director for domestic and international programs in the Office of Alumni Relations.
After all, the program may have originated on the West Coast, but as Dobson said, "We knew that we had the same opportunity in New York City, so we decided to alternate the awards between Los Angeles and New York City." When the annual award ceremony is held in Los Angeles, it is known as "From the Hill to Hollywood"; when held in New York, it is referred to as "From Ballou to Broadway."
Downing Cless, chair of the Department of Drama and Dance, said, "[The awards] recognize how many people from Tufts as a whole end up having really stellar careers in arts and entertainment; [they] bring people together to celebrate that."
Three to four awards are usually given out annually, though last June's ceremony had a record five award recipients. There have been around 25 award recipients to date, a small handful of whom include:
Jeff Greenstein (LA '84): Writer and producer for television; he has won a Primetime Emmy award, and has been nominated for 14 awards in his career for his work on shows including "Friends" (1994-2004), "Will and Grace" (1998-2006) and "Desperate Housewives."
Hank Azaria (LA '87): Winner of three Emmys; best known for his work as several of the voices on "The Simpsons." His latest projects include "Love and Other Drugs" (2010), "Happy Feet 2" (2011) and "The Smurfs" (2011).
Christopher Brown (LA '91): Art director and production designer for "Twilight" (2008), "Glee," "Mad Men" and "Judging Amy" (1999). He has been nominated for three Emmys.
Albert Berger (LA '79): Co-founder of Bona Fine Productions, which produced films such as "Little Miss Sunshine" (2006) and "Cold Mountain" (2003).
Ben Silverman (LA '92): Producer of a wide variety of well-known shows, including "Ugly Betty" (2006-2010) and "The Office."
Ameesha Patel (LA '97): An actress who began her acting career in 2000, has risen to Bollywood stardom and has acted in dozens of films.
The awards and their associated ceremonies give alums the opportunity to connect, network and further their careers. Cless said that, for recent Tufts graduates, the awards are a "great way to hit the ground running, get their work seen and work with important people."
The annual ceremonies are subsets of a broader networking endeavor by Dobson. Her efforts have linked the awards intimately to TEAM, which aims to connect alums and to create mentoring programs for recent graduates around the globe.
Tufts seniors involved in the arts are invited to the events, and it is on account of them that the awards' impact is felt back on campus. The seniors network and are able to meet influential people in their fields of interest. These connections ideally help them find mentors, careers and internships later on.
The eighth annual P. T. Barnum Awards for Excellence in Entertainment will be distributed on June 6, 2012 at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City.
