My Advisor

BY PHILIP WHITE, TUFTS STUDENT 1993-1998, COMPOSER, LOS ANGELES, CA
As a very green sophomore I remember walking down the steps of the Arena for my Winter’s Tale audition and eyeing a gentleman seated a few rows back with such tremendous poise as would embarrass foreign dignitaries. Without saying a word, he threw me a wide-eyed gaze, which I took to mean as “please begin.” After I was finished, I noticed he had curved slightly backward in his chair, smoldering in amusement and pain. “Yes…” he trailed off. I expected to hear the proverbial sling of the guillotine, but instead he proceeded to discuss the intricacies of Florizel’s character and his relationship to the others in the play, encouraging me—very decorously—to explore those ideas further. I was not cast in A Winter’s Tale (a wise decision), but I remember being so struck by this director’s intellectual curiosity and encyclopedic knowledge of all things Shakespeare that months later I sought him out as my faculty advisor. He was always invested in my academic progress and his help on my thesis was invaluable. Tony epitomized gallantry, a rare quality in our increasingly expedited world.