Broadway meets Studio: The Studio Story (10)

For someone from the New York theatre scene, Daniel Harlan is surprisingly down to earth. I am used to meeting people at the Puli, Waldorf Astoria or at least a quiet Japanese restaurant if not in the office, so when Dan suggested we meet at Xiangyang Park, it was rather unsettling. When I met him right in front of the dancers and loud music, and realised that he actually meant we talk in the park, I was thrown off balance. Fortunately, we were conveniently close to the IAOM mall, so I could cajole him to “Awfully Chocolate”.

Daniel has been living in Puxi of Shanghai for six years and teaching drama at Studio for two years. David Symington will hate me for revealing that his daughter Jane thought Dan speaks Mandarin better than daddy.

But Dan’s romance with Shanghai started even earlier when he was a junior at New York University reading for drama. He had an opportunity to spend a year at Shanghai Theatre Academy. He studies Mandarin and Beijing opera in earnest. Who doesn’t know the theatre school is filled with beautiful girls who don’t speak English? I would rather skip the tasty story of Dan’s youthful days in Shanghai, fully aware that we have a lot of young readers here.

Anyway, one thing leads to another. Dan was out of New York only six months after drama school, and right before an agent was going to sign him up. Again, Dan was terribly candid: he didn’t follow my unconscious cliché storyline of a romantic, bohemian, or yuppie acting career and lifestyle in New York.

Broadway’s loss is Studio’s gain. We have a true actor actually helping G5 students to write their own scripts and direct their own plays. How awesome is that?

It is clear to me that Dan will leave a lasting legacy at The Studio School of Speech and Drama.

And in fact, he has never left acting or theatre at all. When he is not at Studio, Dan is rehearsing for his play at the Pearl Theatre in Shanghai. And guess what, Dan will be taking a performance to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland this summer.

Daniel’s parents are both teachers in Philadelphia and they are quite happy with what their talented son is doing right now.

But Shanghai is not home forever, and we mustn't expect this American actor to stay in Shanghai permanently. It is a fact that Shanghai's performance arts scene is not even comparable to a million-population American city. The Pearl is a legacy of 1930s Shanghai and a shadow of its past. As well as pursuing his own career in acting and theatre production, Dan will be setting up The Studio School of Speech and Drama in Manhattan from Autumn 2018. So, seize the moment, enjoy this fantastic ride with Daniel while he is around.

—— To be continued ——

These stories are told from Studio perspective. Every family has its own story with Studio. We’d like to hear and publish yours too. Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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