Latin School of Chicago

"The theater facilities at Latin were primitive. It didn't matter. We made the sets. We brought things in from home – much to the chagrin of my mother. She'd say, 'Where is that painting?' and I'd say, 'Oh, it's in Arsenic and Old Lace but you'll get it back in about a week and a half.' I seem to remember that Dearborn, where I was until sixth grade, had a more usable stage. I remember being in first or second grade and going to watch my sisters, who were probably in seventh grade, in Pirates of Penzance on Scott Street. It was Girls Latin School then, so my identical twin sisters ended up marrying each other in the play." – Bob Balaban '63, Oscar-nominated actor, producer, writer and author Bob Balaban's senior portrait from the 1963 yearbook. The play Arsenic and Old Lace was performed in 1945. From 1988 to 1994 Ann Hartdegen would take students on a biennial theater exchange to Dulwich College in London. 88 L AT I N M AGAZINE philosophy was: Hire people who know more than you do, then support them and stay out of their way." As early as 1981, Slater overhauled the entire Arts Department, first hiring Arts Chair Jerry Morin, with whom he had worked at his previous school. Morin went on to hire the professionals who would build the program into what it is today: Hartdegen, Visual Arts Chair Betty Lark Ross and former visual arts teacher Richard Bough. Slater also hired Phill Carey, revered long-time vocal music director. A number of the arts teachers who came to Latin during Slater's time, and the majority of those who followed, were successful professional artists in their own right, exhibiting their work and performing both locally and nationally. Before Slater's arrival, only 25-30 percent of Latin students were taking an art class, according to Ross. "Art was recreation," she said. "There was no set curriculum, no accountability, no sequential learning, no actual program." More pointedly, Slater said, "It [the program] wasn't worthy of the school." Morin and Betty Lark Ross's impact on the visual arts was almost immediate. "The improvement in the quality of the student art hanging on the walls was remarkable," Slater said. Shortly after Slater's arrival, Latin launched Visual Arts Foundations and Theater Arts Foundations courses; all ninth graders were required to take one of the two. A permanent collection of student art was started. Middle school students took the Arts Cycle class, with one quarter each of dance, general music, art and drama. Band director Tom Stone created the Wind Ensemble (or band) program as it is known today. Under

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