Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE - Over a long and distinguished career, Harv Thompson has been dedicated to two things: theater and education. A solid foundation for his career was formed at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

Thompson, a UWP alumnus who just this September retired after nearly 40 years of service in theater education, has been honored with the 2004 UWP Arts and Letters Alumni Award. Thompson will be recognized at the UWP College of Liberal Arts and Education Recognition Banquet Friday, Oct. 8.

"An award form Platteville is so meaningful. My undergraduate work at Platteville really was the launching point for my career," said Thompson. "UW-Platteville has meant a great deal. It's just a wonderful closure to my career to be recognized by UWP with this award."

For nearly 30 years Thompson served on the faculty at UW-Madison, but he got his first experiences in theater while a student at Platteville High School. His desire to devote his career to theater education solidified as he double majored in speech communication/theater and English as a student at UWP, studying under Harold Hansen and Paul Gauger in the early 1960s.

Thompson was most interested in set design, but got experiences acting as well. After graduating from UWP in 1963, Thompson taught the arts for five years at a West Allis high school and then furthered his education at UW-Madison, gaining instructional experience as a teaching assistant. He earned his masters in fine arts from UW-Madison in 1971 and soon thereafter joined the staff of the UW-Extension.

Since then, he has been involved with several projects and activities that have strengthened community, educational and professional theater throughout the state and the nation. He joined the UW-Madison faculty in 1975, and was instrumental in creating the National Community Theater Directors Conference in 1977. The conference presents opportunities for theater directors to share ideas, network and support each other.

"Directors from all across the country and abroad have come to UW-Madison over the years," Thompson said. "The folks who come to it are fulltime theater directors from around the country. The idea is to help them find new and unique ways to manage theater in their community."

Community theater managers responded well to the biennial event, and Thompson said the conference prompted the founding of the American Association of Community Theater in 1986. The national organization for community-based nonprofit theater companies now boasts 7,000 theater members across the nation.

Thompson served as the faculty artistic director of the annual summer School of the Arts in Rhinelander, offering more than 60 classes in the arts for adults and older youth. He helped form and co-produced the Wisconsin High School Theater Festival, a rotating festival that has provided educational workshops and performance activities for 2,000 students and teachers annually since 1991. Thompson also produced annual theater auditions and workshops for Wisconsin theater professionals, streamlining the audition and callback process for theater in the state.

As Thompson reflects on these accomplishments and his career, he remains modest, satisfied that he and his colleagues helped spread opportunities for people to enjoy the theater, regardless of whether they're in the audience, onstage or behind the scenes.

"I'm glad for the people of Wisconsin. I'm glad we had the opportunity to create the programs so the public has them available," Thompson said. "That's what's probably most satisfying. We did have a chance to impact theater in Wisconsin." A resident of McFarland, Thompson is taking some time off upon retirement, but he'll remain involved with the theater. He continues as an advisor to the theater staff at UW-Madison, and he plans to do consulting work for community, educational and professional theaters across the state.

Contact: Pat Bromley, assistant dean, College of Liberal Arts and Education, 608-342-1092, bromleyp@uwplatt.edu

Prepared by: Dan Lehnherr, UWP Public Relations, 608-342-1194, lehnherd@uwplatt.edu