Like so many in theater, wanted to be an actor. 鈥淏ut I wasn鈥檛 talented enough, and I was too 鈥� .鈥� He pauses long enough to offer a wry smile and a glance at his 6鈥�8鈥欌�� stature. 鈥溾�� Big.鈥� Yet an idealistic vision of what the arts can achieve burned within him, and he saw his future in the theater, if not on the stage.
In 1985, his idealism brought him to the position of managing director of the Virginia Stage Company and soon to a moment that he characterizes as one of the most satisfying in his career. His artistic director proposed a stage production of J.P. Donleavy鈥檚 Beastly Beatitudes of Balthazar B. Staging the work is challenging under any circumstances, and in this particular case the company faced funding obstacles and much external skepticism. Martin summarizes the situation succinctly: 鈥淚t had everything going against it.鈥�
Yet the artistic team was committed to the production, and Martin felt that if they had that level of commitment, then he had to find a way to make it work. Opening night arrived, audiences came by the hundreds, and the show was one of the theaters greatest successes in its history. 鈥淚 knew that we had done the right thing.鈥�
The production exemplified exactly what Martin believes the arts should do: take risks, stretch beyond the comfortable and the familiar, and explore challenging subjects. Art, in his opinion, is about who we are and where we are going, and so it must always be looking for something more. This level of conviction and the will to support artists鈥攖he will to do what people say 鈥渨on鈥檛 work鈥濃�攈ave motivated Martin, even in his most exhausting moments.
Martin joined the Carnegie Mellon faculty in 1992. He was recently named dean of the聽 (after serving in an interim capacity for the past two years). Martin still yearns to support artistic creativity and exploration. He makes a point to attend student performances and exhibitions from the five schools within the college. To his delight, he often sees students pressing boundaries. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we should be doing,鈥� he says, 鈥減roviding students with the opportunity to take risks!鈥�
鈥擜ndrew Swensen (adjunct faculty)
Related Links:
Carnegie Mellon Names Dan J. Martin Dean of it's College of Fine Arts
