Jeremy LydicJeremy Lydic

Hope College graduate Jeremy Lydic is returning to campus to present three addresses on Wednesday and Thursday, April 5-6, reflecting on his career path and work as a theatre professional in New York City, most recently as a production manager.

He will present “The Careful Balance of Art and Pragmatism: An Introduction to Production Management (Or Making Shows Happen)” on Wednesday, April 5, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the DeWitt Center studio theatre.  He will present “And that has made all the difference” twice on Thursday, April 6: from 11 a.m. to noon in the John and Dede Howard Recital Hall of the Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts, and from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Maas Center auditorium.

The addresses are intended for those interested in learning more about work in theatre and especially for students interested in such a career themselves.

The public is invited to all three presentations.  Admission is free.

Lydic, who is a 2002 Hope graduate, wears several hats in many aspects of art and performance, from maker to manager, performer to technician.

Following graduation from Hope, he moved to New York City to pursue a career as an actor, singer, and director. While pursuing those career paths, he was able to use the skills in technical theater he learned at Hope to work in various roles in theater production.

In 2006, Lydic formed a theater ensemble called “semi:theater.”  Several Hope graduates have been members of this ensemble, creating and performing original works at The Ohio Theater, Theater for the New City, Dixon Place, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, and others.  In 2007, Lydic was selected as a member of the revered Lincoln Center Director’s Lab.  Along with several other “Labbies” from across the globe, Jeremy co-founded The Internationalists Directors’ Collective.  

As a singer (bass-baritone), he has sung professionally in many choirs throughout New York city, and has been a featured soloist in many new and old works.  A highlight was being selected as a member of the Meredith Monk Young Artists Workshop at Carnegie Hall, where he learned and performed pieces from Monk’s “Facing North.”

For five years, Lydic worked as shop foreman and associate prop master at The Public Theater.  Following that, he started Lydic!Design and Production, which started as a props design and fabrication studio, and has evolved to a full production management service.  Currently, he works primarily with Pomegranate Arts, a boutique International Production Company which produces the work of Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, Taylor Mac and Lucinda Childs, among others.

Recent highlights as production manager/technical director include Taylor Mac’s “24 Decade History of Popular Music” at St. Ann’s Warehouse, The RuhrTriennale’s production of “De Materie” at The Park Avenue Armory, the world tour of Lucinda Childs’ “Available Light” and the final production of Robert Wilson and Philip Glass’ “Einstein on the Beach” in South Korea. As owner of Lydic! Design And Production, he built selected props for the Broadway productions of “Cats,” “Something Rotten,” “On the Twentieth Century,” “Finding Neverland,” “Fish in the Dark,” “Gigi,” “The Last Ship,” “Book of Mormon” and more than 50 other Broadway productions. 

Lydic credits the rich liberal arts education he received at Hope, along with the endless support and enthusiasm of his professors in the departments of music and theatre, for the courage to explore his endless curiosity and fearlessly pursue his passions at the highest levels.  Only 15 years out of college, he notes that he can’t wait to find out what the next 15 will bring.

Lydic’s presentations are being sponsored by the college’s departments of music and theatre.

The studio theatre is near the southeast corner on the lower level of the DeWitt Center, which is located at 141 E. 12th St., facing Columbia Avenue between 10th and 13th streets.  The Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts is located at 221 Columbia Ave., between Ninth and 10th streets.  The Maas Center is located at 264 Columbia Ave., between 10th and 13th streets.