The Envoy

Emerging from the basement beneath Hunter College’s Baker Building, a multimedia arts showcase is under way. 

Starting this fall, “Hunter Underground” is actively searching for Hunter-heads of all creative mediums to get involved in curating their once a semester showcase which would run a few nights during a week.  Spearheaded by Hunter theater alumni Monica Orzelowski and Hunter MFA graduate Chad Kaydo, Underground is an initiative determined to nourish an artistic community for like-minded individuals on campus and bolster student’s creative talents through collaborative programming in 2024 and beyond. 

Currently, Underground is calling for 3-5 producers, and producing associates to work in producing a showcase in partnership with the office of the Senior Associate Dean of the Arts, where Orzelowski and Kaydo work closely with Gregory Mosher, the senior associate dean. Participants will be offered a $3,000 stipend for each producer for a workload of roughly 10 hours a week at $20 an hour. 

“This project grew out of that office. We’re also really excited about creating a space where Hunter students can experiment with new work and build an artistic community,” Kaydo said. 

Originally inspired by the Yale Cabaret, an experimental performance lab for drama students, Kaydo & Orzelowksi started Underground in hopes of providing a similar experience at Hunter. In the past, Orezelowski has produced plays on campus while Kaydo currently runs a development series for short plays at the Brick in Williamsburg.

Whether you’re interested in visual arts, theater, film, or something entirely different, Underground presents itself as an oasis for peers to collectively exhibit their original talents and projects. The showcase also allows students to learn, develop, and expand on their creative discipline’s outside of internships and job settings. 

Despite it being monitored by Orzelowski and Kaydo, the alumni duo are making way for students to take the reins on club programming, social media marketing, and the Underground’s image as a whole.

Throughout this summer, theater, film, and art undergraduate students have conducted two meetings in the basement of Hunter’s Baker Building to plan the upcoming showcase.

On a steamy Tuesday afternoon in June, students filed into the echoey Baker basement to join their peers for a two-hour long brainstorming session. As others trickled in via Zoom, in-person students were asked to quickly free-write showcase concepts and post them on the center wall. 

One by one, they clustered around the post, smoothing their sticky notes and stepping back to field the variety of themes. Topics ran the gamut from drag nights to poetry slams, artist speed-dating and even a sustainable fashion show. As the crowd eagerly exchanged ideas, the room became louder with laughter and side conversation until the meeting was adjourned and the party continued up in the third floor offices. 

For many student-artists in New York City, juggling artistic endeavors alongside their coursework, facing rejections, and developing community are just a few of many challenges they face. 

Danilo Tamayo is a sophomore majoring in theater, says his love for theater and the Hunter community transcends the awkwardness of connecting with people after Covid-19.

Tamayo joined Hunter Underground in hopes of developing a team for his upcoming immersive theater project. Now, in his search for a team, Tamayo is dedicated to making it work through the connections he makes at the showcase.

“Theater brings out people, it creates community and I believe we can do it,” Tamayo says. 

In regards to developing his own productions at Hunter, Tamayo has found it difficult for his ideas to be greenlit by his department. 

“Last semester I tried to do a show which was mad complicated to do, I felt there were many obstacles and I had to deal with people saying no,” he said.

Similar to Tamayo, Edilyn “Ed” Emille, a theater and film double major in their senior year, feels they meet barely anyone outside of their majors at all. 

“Even though we’re all art majors, each department is like its own saloon,” Emille says. Emille decided to join the Underground showcase in hopes of meeting and collaborating with Hawks outside their respective bubble.

“The fact that we don’t have something like this started already is disappointing,” says Jacob Shapiro, a sophomore film and theater major.

Shapiro is another student who ran into conflicts attempting to lead his own improv club. Regardless of his efforts to form a group, he was unable to garner any support for his budding initiative.  

“The fact that it’s just now getting started is great, it’s hopeful, it’s blue skies,” says Shapiro in regards to the promise of a Hunter arts showcase.

Interested students can apply to be a part of Underground by the end of Sunday, July 28.