New York City Is His Classroom and Stage
 When Harry Rosenblum first arrived at Barnard College as the technical director of the theater faculty, he saw it as a chance to engage his students in the creative energy of the New York theatre world -- behind the scenes.
"Teaching at Barnard and taking advantage of all the city offers is as fulfilling as doing my art," says Rosenblum. "Because lighting design and technical theatre is so physical and hands on, I get to watch learning happen. That's very exciting and magical."
This semester, for instance, Rosenblum has led his lighting class around the city to spaces such as the Wooster Group's Performing Garage, The Metropolitan Opera, the banquet venue of the Old Bowery Savings Bank and to observe the pre-show set up at the Lyceum Theatre for the Broadway revival of "Steel Magnolias."
In past semesters, Rosenblum has taken students to the Classic Stage Company, Lincoln Center, the Apollo Theater, and New Amsterdam Theatre to see the stage for "The Lion King."
" None of these things would be possible if were we somewhere else," Rosenblum says. "It shows the students the real world, taking the information I'm lecturing about into real spaces. It helps them look at lights in the air at various shows and then try to understand why a designer has set them there."
Since 1999, Rosenblum has taught a variety of technical theatre classes while designing the lighting for Barnard productions at Minor Latham Playhouse, such as Three Sisters , The Bread and Roses Opera and Woyzeck . He designed the set for What the Butler Saw in the fall of 2002, and for the off-Broadway production of Rush's Dream, in July 2004. He has worked for Shakespeare and Co., the Roundabout Theatre, and the Des Moines Metro Opera as well as in and around New York television and industrial lighting firms.
Dana Bienenfield, a psychology major in Rosenblum's lighting course, says the field trips are key to the classroom lectures. "Our site visits are really interesting and place what we have been learning in the classroom in a real life context."
Before Rosenblum began teaching at Barnard, he spent four years building sets and designing lights for a variety of shows in Amherst, Massachusetts, while studying theatre at Hampshire College, where he realized that the technical side of the stage was his future.
His talents extend beyond the stage as well. He plays the saxophone in three different bands, performing at various clubs and cafes around the city. One of the groups, "Fear and Trembling" recently released its first album and this summer, Rosenblum will tour with another band, "Carpentry" from Louisville back to New York. When he's not performing, designing or teaching, he's coordinating the music for Rooftop Films, one of Brooklyn's most innovative outdoor movie spaces.
"I think because of the different arts I'm involved in, I can bring the perspective of a working professional to the classroom," Rosenblum says. "That helps me stay relevant and lends a lot to the teaching."
—Jo Kadlecek
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