Student upstages cancer
Despite his struggle with cancer, first-year theater student Hunter Bird continues to produce, act, write and direct as part of UCLA’s Theater, Film and Television school and has created a new theatre group, Act III Theater Ensemble, on campus.
By Mariel Martinez
May 31, 2009 10:10 p.m.
“The sky is the limit.” “If you can dream it, you can do it.” “Just do it.” Do any of these phrases strike a chord? If you are familiar with Hunter Bird, they most likely just struck every chord in your metaphorical harp.
Bird, a first-year musical theater student, has had a passion for theater since his sophomore year of high school and worked rigorously throughout most of his high school career to hone the skills that would allow him to obtain a spot in UCLA’s musical theater program.
His work paid off and earned him an admission to the program, but things took an abrupt and sudden turn a few months before attending his dream school.
“In April of 2008, I found this weird lump in my paratesticular area,” Bird said. “A week after school let out, we went in for the procedure to have them check out the area and they told us it was a tumor.”
This tumor turned out to be rhabdomyosarcoma, cancer of the soft tissue. With this discovery, Bird came upon the task of having to make a difficult decision of whether to continue on to college or take time off from his education indefinitely and risk losing his spot in the theater program. He based his decision on a personal philosophy.
“Yes, I could go to my room and I could cry about it for ages. Or I could say, “˜Okay, it’s something I’m going through, but it’s not going to be my whole life,'” he said.
His decision to attend school has been made possible by his family’s unconditional support.
“I think at the beginning we were more solemn about it,” Bird said, adding that things got lighter over time.
“We joke about it so irreverently now,” he said. “I mean, after you go through sperm banking with your mother, there’s really no lines left.”
This support and attitude helped him begin his UCLA career ““ one filled with surgeries, radiation and chemotherapy. He has had three surgeries within this school year, dealt with radiation every day of December and into the first week of January, has been dealing with differing doses of chemotherapy since July.
Though most people who experienced this would not be able to find the energy to do anything, Bird manages a full class load with a 4.0 GPA, among many other activities. How he gets through it all might be a wonder, but for Bird it’s all a matter of planning.
“The whole time, I just think to myself, “˜Okay I’ll get this and I’ll be done and then I’ll move on to my next thing.’ I’m even planning my next week while I’m getting chemotherapy,” he said.
With this approach, it comes as no surprise that Bird is also co-founder of a new theater group on campus called Act III Theater Ensemble.
“My ambition in life is to become an artistic director, and so I had really wanted to create an on-campus theater company ever since I had gotten accepted into the program,” Bird said.
By winter quarter he co-directed and administratively put on the company’s first production, “The Wild Party,” a sold-out show that garnered recognition from students and theater faculty members alike.
“He knows how to get what he wants, and he establishes himself and goes for it,” said Jen Fingal, a first-year theater studies student and a colleague of Act III. “Who else would establish a theater company in his first year?”
Fingal and other friends said Bird’s ambition and optimism help him fight cancer, but also achieve the goals he has set out for himself.
“He has the most amazing attitude towards life. He’s like a locomotive and always moving forward in high speed,” said Bob Klein, Bird’s mentor and coexecutive producer of “The Festival of New American Musicals.” “I believe he has a good opportunity to be the best producer in theater in America.”
Even with all the recognitions and awards ““ he is one of the two award winners for this year’s Gil Cates Fellowship Award ““ Bird’s friends commend him the most for his humbleness.
“We’re all lucky to have him in our lives. He has his feet in the ground and head in the clouds: What better thing than that?” said Klein, adding, “Don’t let this get to your head, kid.”
This year has been very eventful for Bird, to say the least. But his plans for the future are to get bigger and better. He hopes that by his senior year, his work will have culminated into a huge one-night-only benefit show in Royce Hall.
“I’m going to live my life and whatever happens, happens,” Bird said. “But it’s in my power to have whatever outlook I’m going to have, and if I make it positive, then it’s just going to make the sun shine brighter.”
