Issue 12
Winter/Spring
“I am honored that my installation is included in this important museum exhibition, 21st Century Women, at the Honolulu Museum of Art. The exhibition opened in June and runs through Dec. 15. Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art Katherine Love selected works from their collection made between 2000 and 2018 by 27 women artists. 21st Century Women is…
Stan Tusan ’60 tells us of his recent trip to visit the Whitney Museum, Guggenheim, and Neue Galerie: “The Whitney building is an outstanding design by architect Renzo Piano of Italy. I loved the Biennial 2019 exhibit: all stunning and very refreshing, including a number of paintings by Edward Hopper. Finally, it was thrilling to…
Ken Graning ’66 says, “This past June, I toted my paint box through the woods and parks in close proximity to the Suzy Haskew Art Center. It was the annual three-day Fresh! Milford plein air painting competition in Milford, MI, and I threw my CalArts hat in the ring once again. I painted three paintings…
Richard Littlefield ’69 shares this recollection titled, “Dead Man Floating: A Chouinard Memory.” “Michael and I had just finished our morning breakfast at Dunkin’ Donuts: a cup of weak coffee and two plain donuts for 19 cents. We walked down Alvarado to Wilshire to cut through MacArthur Park, then on to Chouinard to attend that…
Donald “Don” Simpson ’69 says, “I was at Chouinard in the late ’60s on a veteran loan. I had a summer job at W.E.D. (the firm that designs Disneyland parks) where I built model houses for the EPCOT diorama and painted the original pirate shoes for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. I got to…
Marjorie Hayes ’72 writes to tell us: “I was promoted to Full Professor of Acting-Directing at the University of North Texas. Continuing to work as an actor, singer, and director in the US and abroad. Thanks to the CalArts School of Theater for the professional start and the great colleagues I met there.”…
Jon Barlow Hudson ’72 reports, “In May I created Cloud Hands III in local granite for the city of Nashua, NH. In July I attended the ceremony installing my five-meter stainless steel sculpture Synchronicity XIII in the Minqin Desert International Sculpture Park, Minqin Co, Gansu Prov, China—my 23rd such project throughout China.” …
Markene (Marki) Smith ’73 writes, “I’ve worked as a writer/editor/photographer for Petersen’s Photographic Magazine for nearly a decade. I also wrote for L.A. Weekly (films), was Contributing Editor at Rolling Stone (Photography column), and performed as an extra in Orson Welles’s The Other Side of the Wind. I moved to the SF Bay Area to…
Rachel Youdelman ’73 lets us know that “The Metropolitan Museum of Art has acquired nine of my bookworks. Photo: a page from At the Theater (1976).” …
Joyce Borenstein ’74 writes, “In 1972, eager to move to LA for my graduate studies and about to purchase my plane ticket, an earthquake happened and the Villa Cabrini Campus was damaged. My move was delayed for a few months until the new campus was completed, but the delay made the anticipation of CalArts even…
Ruth Cox ’74 reports, “As a kid from CA’s Central Valley, my time at CalArts was so formative—an awakening to the possibilities of a life filled with creative expression. After working in the theater and Hollywood as an actor in my 20s and 30s, I did graduate work in psychology and embarked on a second-act…
Jody Diamond ’74 says, “The first time I played gamelan at CalArts in the fall of 1970, a voice in my head said, ‘I am going to play this music for the rest of my life.’ Fifty years later, I am still in the world of gamelan—learning, playing, teaching, writing, publishing, and composing. I was…
Roberta Friedman ’74 tells us: “Currently I coordinate the Film Program at Montclair State University and run a film forum—always looking for CalArtians to invite—so if you’re coming East, contact me! Recently the film I produced, Power to Heal: Medicare and the Civil Rights Revolution, was included in the 2019 Global Peace Film Festival, [won]…
Jodi Stuart ’74 says, “Being a free spirit and an artist in Manhattan didn’t compare to arriving at CalArts in the early years. In my first five minutes I met a guy in the cafeteria who took me under his wing—David Hasselhoff ’73. Shortly after I arrived, so did the big earthquake. … Shaken, David…
Bob Getter ’76 says, “Marten Ingle ’78 and I are recording tracks in Orsay, France, for our new group The Buellz, in honor of our late, former CalArts professor, bassist extraordinaire, Buell Neidlinger.” …
Paul Kaufman ’76 reports, “Awakened by the ‘ping’ of a message arriving, I rolled over and saw the white/black fur Chelsea boot I had designed some years back, toe-tapping. Rubbing sleep out my eyes, I wondered who had spent their time creating this cute meme for Instagram. But then, the shot panned out revealing the…
Dorit Cypis ’77 says, “My urban installation for social engagement, Welcome the Stranger, was open at City Arts Festival in Lublin, Poland, from Sept. 13 through Oct. 12. It celebrated the Old Well, the only remaining of [the]12 wells [that had been] located in what was once Lublin’s Jewish neighborhood. By placing ‘water stations’ across…
Sari Gennis ’77 writes, “After a grueling couple of physically challenging years, in which I had to spend several months in bed, I’m happy to report that things are finally turning around! I was just invited to join the Motion Picture Academy (short film and animation category). I was also well enough to go on…
Michael Mendelson ’78 says, “I’ve continued as a caregiver to an autistic man and his senior father for eight years now. I still go to see live music as much as possible while living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I’m releasing photos from my archives, including Bruce Springsteen from the late ’70s. See my…
Chris Woods ’78 writes, “My son (also named Chris Woods) and I both attended the CalArts School of Film/Video and if there’s one thing that we gained from the experience, it’s that we both have stayed true to our own artistic styles and beliefs. Although I’ve learned a great deal from other filmmakers, CalArts nurtured…
Hamish (Korky) Paul ’79 tells us: “I was born in Zimbabwe. After studying Fine Arts at Durban Art School and Film Animation at CalArts, I began my career in advertising before becoming an award-winning illustrator of children’s books. I’ve illustrated the Winnie the Witch series for Oxford University Press, which won the Children’s Book Award…
David Evans (McMullen) ’70 writes, “After 51 years, I have finally copyrighted my storyboard, logo, and T-shirt titled Stars and Stripes, based on Robert Kennedy’s assassination; [he] was shot a couple of miles from Chouinard Art Institute in 1968. The Russian ambassador to the United States at the time said, ‘the stars in the American…
Deborah Teller Scott (Snipes) ’71 exclaims, “Calling all CalArtians! I want to inform you about my cozy mystery novel, Downfall,and its sequel, Breakdown. Feedback always welcome! Along with reveling in the relative peace and quiet of semiretirement in a small, southern Oregon town, that’s what I’ve been up to in recent times—writing and waiting to…
Byron Tomingas ’71 writes to say he’s returned to Jenny Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park for his “dozenth” year. “I perform solo instrumental classic guitar Fridays and Sundays from 6:00 to 9:00 P.M. I use my Bird’s Eye Maple Oribe concert guitar, which was presented to me as a Lifetime Achievement Award in…
Donald Beagle ’72 updates us: “Two of my poems appear in Kakalak, the annual anthology of Southern poetry (2019 ed.) to be released in December. The anthology’s Prologue comments: ‘Time and again, Donald Beagle’s “On Driving to the Solar Eclipse with My Granddaughter” and “Blue Ridge Vision” take us through landscapes of family, memory, and…
John Collins ’72 writes, “Ah, another lap in The Pool (‘pal’ in the ‘loop’) at CalArts. Best regards to all still swimming! My newest project, I am Yours, is out, and I’m currently available for international travel as a personal concierge. The innovative poetry book Buddha Plays the Bongo Drums is printed and available, and…
Steven Gaydos ’72 says, “I was named Chevalier du Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) of France.”…
Lenny Horowitz ’72 just wants to say, “Thanx for everything.”…
Garit Imhoff ’72 tells us: “I continue performing in two world music groups, Zimbeat and Kembang Sunda, playing music from Southern Africa and Indonesia. With Zimbabwean Karimbas (thumb pianos) I teach a class [of] grade school students for the Center for World Music here in San Diego and still ‘clown around town’ as well. I’m…
Daina Krumins ’72 says, “Please check out my website!”…
Llois Miller ’72 checks in to say, “Aloha from Maui.”…
Thom Mount ’72 says, “I earned a BA from Bard, and an MFA from CalArts. A truly great experience, and continuing, as I see lots of CalArts graduates contributing throughout popular culture. Onward!”…
Philip Demosthenes ’73 writes, “The short-lived School of Design, where I spent four years, produced many successful graduates. We had progressive thinkers and educators for studies in social systems; architecture; urban planning; human factors; environmental studies; industrial and graphic design; environmental ethics; critical thinking; and problem solving. With this rich and diverse educational experience, I…
Bruce Green ’73 says, “after more than 40 years working as an editor, I am now primarily teaching young filmmakers at both USC’s School of Cinemamatic Arts and Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. I’m also a grandfather. The journey continues—I’m never bored and I’m challenged every day!”…
Nancy Karp ’73 reports, “Nancy+ Dancers will be celebrating its 40th season in the San Francisco Bay Area with the premiere of several new dance works and a new music commission by composer Jay Cloidt, February 2020. An excerpt from the evening will be previewed at BAMPFA (Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive) as part of…
Lisa Mikulchik ’73 tells us: “I recently retired from my career as a creative specialist/art instructor for a number of programs serving people with developmental disabilities. I sort of stumbled into the work through a job listing for people with ‘empathy, patience, and good communication skills.’ It was amazing work and the clients became family…
Marcia Resnick ’73 updates us: “My out-of-print book Re-visions has been republished by Edition Patrick Frey in Zürich, and is distributed by D.A.P. In 1975, while driving my car in Manhattan, I was in a car accident and my life “flashed” before me. When I awoke in the hospital, I began to think about all…
Edward Rollin ’73 says, “During the past year I have been cast in several short films, worked on The Deuce with my 1979 Olds Delta 88 Royale, and Newark with my 1965 Plymouth Barracuda. I starred in Louise Devery’s production of The Creature, playing the title role.”…
Mira Schor ’73 reports, “My work from my years at CalArts was exhibited in Mira Schor: California Paintings, 1971–1973 at Lyles & King Gallery in NY last April. The show was widely reviewed, including in Artforum, the New York Times, Hyperallergic, 4Columns.org,ARTNews.com, Artnet, and the New Yorker. My work from that period is included in…
Leda (Linda) Siskind ’73 tells us: “My play, The Surveillance Trilogy,was at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills this fall. The Surveillance Trilogy is an evening of three pieces that trace how our country’s surveillance of its citizens—from the Red Scare to our present-day artificial intelligence devices—can be used against us and can tear our relationships…
Nicholas (Nicky) Gervay ’74 writes, “I’ve retired from my previous career as a Film and Video Artist/Compositor. I worked internationally in various softwares (Flame, Inferno, Shake) on such Oscar-awarded features as What Dreams May Come, Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Spy Kids. I also worked locally in multiple post-production houses (Digital Domain, Rhythm &…
Mark Gordon ’74 checks in: “I wrote and directed my first feature-length documentary film, Awakening in Taos: The Mabel Dodge LuHan Story. The film has won numerous awards, been screened at the Smithsonian Art Museum in Washington, DC, and is currently syndicated on PBS stations nationwide. Alumni who are interested will be able to view…
Robert Glenn Ketchum ’74 writes, “Last fall I had a large exhibit of my new work at the Manhattan Beach Art Center. The show was comprised of my current digital printmaking, and the last of the large embroideries and loom weavings created during my 35-year UCLA to China Exchange collaboration in Suzhou. I am now…
Dean Lyras ’74 checks in: “During my last year at CalArts, I was a student trainee on the Disney film The Strongest Man in the World. After graduating, my friend and mentor Verna Fields recommended me to Universal Studios as an assistant director. One of the many films I worked on during that period was…
Denman (Denny) Maroney ’74 writes, “To mark my 70th year on earth, I made a triple album of solo recordings—38 of my compositions, half of which have been recorded before in ensemble versions, and half of which have never been recorded at all. The album is called Solo@70 and is available for download on all…
Susan Starbird ’74 reports, “I recently published the fourth issue of my irregular Susan The Magazine. The latest issue, Wheels, is about cars. Earlier issues discussed water, women, and work. Search my name on Amazon!”…
Michael Fink ’75 updates us: “Not much to say on this post—just hoping for one of those hats! I continue as Chair of Film and Television Production in the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Following a screening of The Lion King in July at Disney Studios, I had great fun moderating a panel with Director…
Bob Frazier ’75 shares, “I’m about to go on tour with the Black Jazz All Stars. Concerts in Paris and Berlin in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Black Jazz label. I played trumpet and flugelhorn on the album Infant Eyes with Doug and Jean Carn.”…
Gary Hirschman ’76 writes, “After teaching elementary school general music, band, and chorus for 26 years, I have retired to Atlanta, GA, where I’m working part time at School of Rock and preparing a covers act with my wife Michelle.”…
Gregg Barbanell ’77 writes, “I am honored to be part of the sound team that received an Emmy nomination for our work on Better Call Saul. It was nominated in the category Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series. This is my 11th Emmy nomination with one win.”…
Robert Bassett ’77 checks in: “I retired in January 2018 after a very successful career as an international lawyer in the mining industry, and have since returned to my musical roots. This year my string quartet was premiered by the Mivos Quartet at the Creative Musician’s Retreat in New Hampshire, and my score for The…
Suzan Shutan ’77 reports, “I have been a working exhibiting artist. I received my MFA from Rutgers Mason Gross in 1988, after an eight-year hiatus living and working in Berlin and NYC. I’ve worked as Museum Education Curator at the Des Moines Art Center, Director of Education at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum, Director of…
Chas Smith ’77 updates us: “The Mantis is one of my sound sculptures. Back in the 1980s when Lockheed was clearing house and moving to Georgia, they would have ‘surplus day’ on Thursdays, and I would be there looking for materials to work with. The Mantis’s armature is made from the titanium fixtures that were…
Adam Stern ’77 says, “The Seattle Philharmonic is continuing its work in support of forgotten or neglected composers. During the 2019–20 season, it will present four US premieres by women: Mel Bonis, Ruth Gipps, Molly Kien, and Grazyna Bacewicz, as well as the world premiere of a Philharmonic commission by Washington composer Gina Gillie. The…
“Bear” Thomas (Tom) Woodson ’77 writes, “I have been a composer of modern symphonic music for 50 years. I have a one-hour long symphony, dozens of unaccompanied and accompanied sonatas, and many other chamber works. There are fewer than 10 composers alive worldwide right now, who have written 10 concerti. I just finished my ninth…
Bradford Bancroft (bradford cat) ’78 says, “I smiled when I saw Jesse Bonnell was helping with these class notes, for Jesse helped me come full circle with CalArts the last few years—from the theater school to creative arts therapy, and then back to theater when he invited me to help the Poor Dog Group put…
Emily Hay ’78 checks in: “Residing in the mountains near the town of Ojai in Southern California, I continue my work as a paralegal for Rimon Law, specializing in contracts in the field of music, copyright, new media, and entertainment law. I also perform and record regularly as a flutist and vocalist in various improvisation…
Roger Holzberg ’78 tells us: “As the cofounder of Reimagine Well, I taught the Healthcare by Design class with Shannon Scrofano ’06 for the experience design track in the School of Theater last spring. The class delivered a pilot program designed to reduce anxiety for pediatric cancer patients in treatment at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles….
Allan Trautman ’78 reports, “I was the Artist in Residence last summer at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s annual National Puppetry Conference, where I debuted my first puppet-and-mask stage work, Gripe.”…
Bob Watt ’78 updates us: “I’m the former Assistant Principal French horn of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. I published my autobiography, The Black Horn, in 2015. I was the first African American French horn player hired by a major symphony orchestra in these United States. My solo CD, titled I Play French Horn by Bob…
L. Martina Young, Ph.D., ’78 checks in: “I’ve returned from Australia to resume my teaching schedule as faculty member in Humanities at the University of Nevada, Reno. I continue to curate my newest performance work called Black Swans, an opera poem. It’s being hosted and presented by the National Museum of Australia in Canberra, the…
Beth Brody ’79 recalls, “At 65, I look back over the years: children’s roles with New York City Ballet and Bolshoi Ballet; teen years with Omaha Civic Ballet; study at the Royal Ballet School; pieces for CalArts alumni dance concerts; a teaching award at Gustavus Adolphus College; a year as Visiting Artist in Dance at…
Emily Sanders (Sandler) ’79 reports, “I’ve performed with Angel City Chorale for 20 years and appeared with the 160-member choir on America’s Got Talent in three different episodes. The LA-based choir advanced to the semi-finals.”…
Robert Stadd ’79 writes, “Since CalArts, I’ve worked as visual effects producer on Mortal Engines; visual effects supervisor on Father Figures; The Earthquake Bird; and Steven Soderbergh’s The Laundromat starring Meryl Streep, Antonio Banderas, and Gary Oldman. Current film I’m working on is A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting, for Netflix. It’s a teenage girl…
Steven Kassel ’81 says, “Though I haven’t worked in the film industry for very many years, my creativity (nurtured by ‘the CalArts Educational Experience’) has landed me in the role of creative pioneer in my field: Biofeedback Therapist. After becoming certified in biofeedback in 1985, and then as a Marriage and Family Therapist in 1992, I…
Lisa Popeil ’81 tells us: “I just had the ultimate summer vacation singing backup on ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic’s huge summer tour across the US and Canada. Sixty-seven mostly sold-out shows, performing every night with a full orchestra. Now back in LA, I’ve returned to my true calling—voice coaching—with teaching trips to Italy and Romania in…
Tim Wolf ’81 updates us: “I recently released Tidal, an album-length collection of live, improvised, solo pieces featuring the six-string donso n’goni harp and African thumb pianos. The acoustic sources are altered with variations of spectral processing and other digital filters creating ambient drones and soundscapes. The release is available on Bandcamp and major digital…
Dave Bossert ’83 reports, “My latest book Kem Weber: Mid-Century Furniture Designs for The Disney Studios won the gold medal Bill Fisher Award at the 31st Annual IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards held in Chicago in April 2019. The book has since received gold medals in the nonfiction and history categories from the Nonfiction Authors Association,…
J. P. Allen ’84 says, “I wrote and am directing my 10th independent feature film, Girl In Golden Gate Park, produced by Coffee and Language. Scheduled for release in 2020, it stars Kim Jiang and Erin Mei-Ling Stuart (both in photo).” …
Jeff Perry ’84 writes, “This school year began my 26th year teaching in the School of Music at Louisiana State University. In fall 2019 I’ll conclude my stint as editor of Music Theory Online, one of the oldest extant peer-reviewed online journals. This November I’ll give a paper on John Cage’s Song Books at the…
Sarah Schneiderman ’84 tells us: “In 2016, facing the dismal future of a Trump presidency and the reduction of environmental regulations, I commenced making portraits of 45 and members of his administration. I use found/recycled materials and everyday trash to create fractured likenesses of these politicians. A solo show of my work You’re Fired! I…
Sandi Bohle ’86 checks in to tell us: “In June I joined Tree of Life Healing in Pasadena, CA, as an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in complex trauma and sexual trauma across the lifespan; addiction; depression/anxiety; behavioral disorders; and mood disorders.”…
Travis Williams ’86 checks in: “I’m teaching business at Hartnell College in Salinas, CA, and working toward a Ph.D. with Capella University. I also serve on the board of an interfaith nonprofit, providing assistance to homeless populations in Monterey County.” …
Abbe Gore ’87 lets us know that “I’m always creating! Photography, video, ceramics, glass, mosaic, and metal arts. I’ve been fortunate enough to have had two first place winning photos in the Canon Photo Imagin8tion competition, to which more than 92,000 images were submitted. I’m currently living in Tucson, AZ, which is a very creative…
Julian Stone ’87 writes, “My photo memoir coffee table book, No Cameras Allowed: My Career as an Outlaw Rock and Roll Photographer 1981–1987, was published last year to great critical and popular acclaim. My previous work, a novel titled The Strange Birth, Short Life and Sudden Death of Justice Girl, about the Golden Age of…
Summer Rognlie Trisler ’88 says, “I earned my living as an actor, doing many national and European tours (including Cats) as well as regional theater. I went on to perform in the West End of London in the title role of the new musical Maddie (original cast recording), Personals (original cast recording), and numerous BBC…
Melissa Sullivan ’88 says, “I recently played Stella in Streetcar Named Desire at the Odyssey Theater MainStage. I’d like to thank my CalArts professor Lou Florimonte for inspiring my work on this role so many years ago in his script analysis class! My album Late Last Night is completed and can be found on various online…
David Jude Thomas ’89 sent a picture….
Scott Frank ’81 checks in: “I just completed the screenplay for the feature film Tiger Heart, directed by Dwight Little. Shooting in India in 2020.”…
Richard Mann ’81 reports, “My photo series, Life Is Like A Ride In The Park, can be found on my website, along with my other work. An additional person on my ‘Roller Coaster of Life’ is Tony Dow, who played Wally in the TV series Leave It to Beaver. Tony has survived a plethora of…
Randall Packer ’81 writes, “As the host of The Post Reality Show (which is produced, directed, and broadcast live from my underground studio bunker in Washington, DC) I embed myself in the spectacle of digital culture to perform a critique of its intoxication, disinformation, and disorientation. By activating the empowering medium of independent Internet broadcasting,…
Carl Palmer ’89 tells us: “I was in Darlin’, which premiered this summer and was directed by Pollyanna McIntosh of The Walking Dead. I was also in episodes of Queen of the South and Queen Sugar, respectively. These are all available online. I also recently shot Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon, directed by Ana…
Kevin Richardson ’81 says, “I’ve licensed the classic comic strips Wizard of Id and B.C. from John Hart Studios, and I’m developing them into feature animated films. Both are published daily in over a thousand newspapers worldwide, written and drawn by Hart’s grandsons Mick and Mason Mastroianni. Wizard of Id and B.C. are in story…
Dale Franzen (’89) reports, “I’m an eight-time Tony Award-winning lead producer on the 2019 ‘Best Musical’ Hadestown, now playing on Broadway. The show will launch its North America National Tour in fall 2020. I’m also a lead producer, with Elizabeth Weber and Don Franzen, on a new play Sisters in Law that had its West…
Gary Schwartz ’81 writes, “I’m proud of my work Under the Microscope—real or imagined, microorganisms or matter. Carrington Arts gallery owner, Marsha Carrington ’81, exhibits my installation, Spencer’s Slightly Imperfect Peep Show, a.k.a. Micro-Burlesque, in her current show at the Sandusky, OH, gallery.”…
Jeffrey Brenner ’89 checks in: “I recently performed in the world premiere of Danny Clay’s The Bell Ringers in Millennium Park, Chicago, with Third Coast Percussion.”…
Steven Bilow ’82 tells us: “I’ve had two exciting opportunities in 2019. First, I was recently invited to guest edit the SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal’s Jan./Feb. 2020 special issue on Blockchain Applications in Media and Entertainment. Second, in January 2019 I was invited to participate in the Sefaria Innovation Circle, where I focused on making…
David Wendt ’88 reports, “I am now a board member for the Contra Costa County School of the Performing Arts (cocoSPA).”…
Lester Cohn ’87 looks back: “CalArts changed my life in 1986 when I was fresh out of high school and off to Southern California. While it took me years to realize, all those incredible experiences I shared—in that place, with those people—I carry them with me today. Ever grateful for the life lessons learned. For…
Catherine Guard ’82 writes to tell us: “While Leonice was on tour for seven months, I decided to try my hand at comedy. One evening in 2003, waiting to go onstage at The Ha-Ha Comedy Cafe in North Hollywood, CA, for an open mic night, I thought up the ideaa for ‘Cash Cab.’ Crouching by…
Ramsey Avery ’87 reports, “I’ve been the Design Director for the new Avengers Campus theme park land at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. I was responsible for the design of the land as well as the two new attractions planned to occupy it. I’ve now relocated to New Zealand to design production of the new…
Amy Knoles ’82 reports, “this past August I spent a few weeks touring Portugal (in a VW van with a hammock in the back) with Vasco Costa and Monika Frycová [who are] in residence at Gafanha da Nazaré Ideas Factory. FCK performed in a decommissioned convent on No Noise Festival de Música in Porto, where…
Nini Mazen ’82 checks in with, “Greetings, CalArts Alumni and Friends! In August 1979 I entered the School of Theater, PADT (Performing Arts, Design, and Technology). My teachers were all working professionals at the top of their game—extraordinarily talented. I earned a BFA in Production Stage Management and loved every moment being a CalArts student….
Brooke Steytler ’82 says, “In addition to exhibiting my watercolor paintings regularly at the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove, I teach cartooning and animation to kids and teens at Community Arts in Phoenixville, PA. In October I had my second solo exhibition with The Upstairs Artists, which included paintings and animated videos.”…
Susan Emshwiller ’83 writes, “I’m honored to have an essay about growing up with my father Ed Emshwiller in the exhibition catalogue for the upcoming retrospective of Ed’s work in Philadelphia. I spoke during the opening weekend, Oct. 19, 2019, at the Lightbox Film Center.”…
Krid Asvanon ’84 reports, “I am the founder of The Creative Raja Thai, Bangkokian. In addition to CalArts, I also attended the University of Alabama. I love bicycles, cooking, design, food, movies, swing dancing, and traveling. Living in Bangkok, Thailand.”…
Nayland Blake ’84 shares, “This fall I opened No Wrong Holes, a retrospective exhibition spanning 30 years of art practice at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. The exhibition will travel to the MIT List Center in the summer of 2020. Since 2002 I’ve been the founding chair of the ICP/Bard Master’s Program in…
Alexis Krasilovsky ’84 says, “My film End of the Art World (featuring Andy Warhol, Bob Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, and others) had a retrospective screening with Q&A at Yale University this past September. I also gave a presentation at the Greater Los Angeles Writers Conference in August 2019 about the Heroines’ Journeys, based on my book,…
Paul Richmond ’84 updates us: “After graduating CalArts, I received an MFA from AFI. I produced public affairs programming and wrote for a number of smaller newspapers, mostly around Portland, OR. I played a role in ending clearcutting in Portland’s main watershed, ending a program that had the National Guard accompanying on drug raids, and…
Ellen Woodbury ’84 reports, “On June 14, 2019 I received the Marilyn Newmark Memorial Grant for a meritorious body of work in animal sculpture from the National Sculpture Society in New York City. I was an Animator and Directing Animator at Walt Disney Feature Animation for 20 years. In 2005 I resigned from Disney and…
David Bussan ’85 says, “After 32 years of teaching at my undergraduate alma mater, I retired from Denison University this past December. Having cofounded the Department of Cinema with my mentor and colleague Professor Elliott Stout in 1998, I leave the fortunes of filmmaking to the next generation of students and faculty. Currently two of…
Ellen Burr (Schimmel) ’85 checks in: “I’ve continued as a Yamaha Artist presenting clinics to local high schools. In addition to playing with the Los Angeles Flute Orchestra, I play creative music with harpist Anne LeBaron, reeds player Charles Sharp, and bassist Jeff Schwartz, as The Present Quartet. Jeff and I cohost a monthly creative…
Kevin Adams ’86 reports, “This fall I am lighting SpongeBob the Musical, which will tour the US for the next year. I’m also lighting a production of SpongeBob in the UK that will be filmed for broadcast on Nickelodeon.”…
Shari Cohen ’86 writes, “My career has now split into two distinct paths. I continue to create interactive trainings for UN and international NGOs. There, I assist people in harnessing their human technology to create participatory, social change movements by using human rights-based approaches through my Change Makers Experiential Learning Labs. To date we have…
Georgi Ann Coquereau ’86 reports, “I was recently invited, with supporting grants, to serve as a Visiting Artist in Residence at A.I.R. Vallauris Gallery in Valluaris, France, and Cans Serrat, Barcelona. There, I fabricated interactive environmental installations using projections that integrated the viewers’ shadow silhouette with images cast onto the walls and floor when walking…
Curtis Macdonald ’86 updates us: “I’m continuing my creative progress as a composer and recording artist in the New Age genre. On the heels of my 25th CD release Where the Heart Belongs, my solo piano composition saluting veterans and first responders, “Coming Home,” is included in the new piano retrospective Keys of Beauty released…
Michael McDonough ’86 says, “Currently, my writing partner David Nathan Schwartz and I are working on a screenplay titled Dyslexic, based on my life experience as a dyslexic kid attending a Catholic school in the ’60s. This was a time in which we had to ‘duck and cover’ for fear of nuclear attack; corporal punishment…
Morgan Rusler ’86 writes, “In May I performed in the Troubadour Theater Company’s Julius Weezer at the El Portal Theater [North Hollywood, CA] alongside Beth Kennedy ’91, who also produced the show. The LA Times had some nice words about it, writing, ‘tragedy and comedy zanily commingle when Robinson’s Caesar heads to a Senate session…
Jacqueline Wright ’91 says, “I was recently living in my Dope Elf House (designed & constructed by Trulee Hall) with five other cast members, each living in their own designed home/sculpture on the gallery floor of the Yale Union building in Portland, OR. We were performing in The Dope Elf, which was part live play,…
A. Laura Brody ’92 tells us: “I’m now in my fifth year of producing and curating Opulent Mobility, a group exhibit that reimagines disability as opulent and powerful. The most recent exhibit ran from Sept. 14 through Oct. 19 at the Dora Stern Gallery at Arts Unbound in Orange, NJ. The show is available online…
Christian Greuel ’92 tells us: “I’m a producer with AppliedVR, developing therapeutic virtual reality products designed to help people living with pain. I recently posted some dusty tracks on Bandcamp as XianAtro.” …
Joel Marshall ’93 writes to say, “My wife Kamala Lopez and I formed an organization that draws attention to women’s lack of rights under the US Constitution, and to the fact that the Equal Rights Amendment was never ratified. Our movie Equal Means Equal is available on Amazon Prime. Since the film was made, two…
Mellissa Tong ’93 updates us: “In September I was selected to be one of six speakers for Sue Talks, a TED Talk-style presentation designed for women. I spoke about what it means to be and remain a disruptor. I moved to Los Angeles in 1991 by myself, carrying three suitcases and a one-way ticket, and…
Mary Beth Heffernan ’94 writes to tell us: “My Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Portrait Project (2015) is included in the Welcome Collection’s upcoming 10-year exhibit, Being Human. The PPE Portrait Project, a social practice intervention to humanize the frightening hazmat suits in the 2014–16 West Africa Ebola epidemic, placed adhesive photo portraits of Liberian health…
Alisa Rasera ’94 reports, “I spent 2019 creating a new dance film set to premiere in 2020. The short is a collaboration with local Bay Area artists including alumnx Dana Lawton ’94 and Wally Holden ’94. I continue to teach dance in schools in the Bay Area and recently became a trained audio describer for…
Bobby “the New York guy” Brennan ’96 says, “I’m currently on a World Arena Tour with the Cirque Du Soleil show, Corteo. One of our stops was the LA Forum, where I was able to reunite with many of my CalArts colleagues and professors. They all loved the show and, of course, my costume and…
Lisa (Danielle) Villegas ’96 writes, “Since completing my two films Dos Almas (2013) and InBetween; One Body, Two Spirits, Third Gender (2016), I’ve been hard at work building my real estate empire (accidental landlord) by providing much-needed housing for my family as well as other low-income families. By 2020 I’ll have a website and plans…
David Raiklen ’98 writes to tell us, “As a composer and producer, I’ve worked for major studios including Sony, Fox, Disney, Sprint, Mattel, Warner Bros., and PBS, plus many independent productions. My projects star Elliott Gould, Doug Jones, Blythe Danner, and Martin Sheen. I made the New York Film Critics Top Ten with the documentary…
Andrea Tinnes ’98 checks in to say, “Last spring I opened my solo exhibition Library of Shapes, Texts and Structures in the new Berlin gallery A—Z, run by Anja Lutz. The show consisted of a series of experimental typographic posters and the ‘library’ (my ongoing visual research project). It brought a variety of forms and…
Kevin Dunayer ’90 says, “I was recently promoted to Assistant Professor of Theater & Event Production at George Mason University. Additionally, this position is responsible for heading up the Sound Design/Engineering and Event Technical Production concentrations.”…
Amanda Sowerby (Goldman) ’90 writes, “After CalArts, I received an MFA in Modern Dance from the University of Utah. I worked for several years with the Gary Palmer Dance Company in California’s Bay Area and assisted in setting new and repertory pieces on the National Ballet of Peru and the National Ballet of Chile, as…
Scott and Karen Hardman (Rips Kincaid) ’90/’92 write, “We are newly married and live in San Jose, CA. In May Scott published his first book Tell It to the Bees, a see-and-play compilation of visual shorts illustrating the music of Paul Melancon. Scott’s comic Coffee Jerk debuts this winter. Karen does printmaking and graphic design….
Cathe Boudreau ’91 reports, “I’m producing Laugh Moon Bay in the San Francisco Bay area, and performing my stand-up as well (I can be seen at Cobbs with comedian Hal Sparks). I’ve also started my own Twitch Channel, under CathesComicz, where I discuss comic books and games while doing improv comedy. Red Pennants, my band,…
Chris Innis ’91 checks in: “I’m an Academy Award-winning film editor and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. This year I was selected for Ryan Murphy’s television directing Half Initiative program, and shadowed on an epic earthquake episode of Murphy’s show 9-1-1 starring Angela Bassett, Peter Krause, and Jennifer Love Hewitt. I’m currently screenwriting a short…
Charles Quinn ’91 updates us: “I’m beginning my 27th year as a VFX artist in New York City. Some of my recent notable projects include Super Bowl campaigns for Budweiser and Chase, as well as Robert DeNiro’s film, The Comedian, directed by Taylor Hackford.”…
Jillian Campana (Dean) ’92 informs us: “I’m a professor and Director of the Theatre Program at the American University in Cairo, Egypt. I’ve also just taken on the role of Director of the Creative Pulse program, a low residency MA program in Integrated Arts Education at the University of Montana. Recent projects include an original…
David Dalzell ’92 reports, “I recently joined Magnopus as studio Technical Art Director to work on developing groundbreaking VR and AR experiences.”…
Wiley Evans ’92 “Nice Pants Wiley! Instagram: nice_pants.”…
Daniel Mirer ’92 reports, “In June I was interviewed by Brainard Carey on Yale radio’s Praxis Interview magazine about my career and my continuing research project Indifferent West. An article about the Indifferent West project was published by American Airlines magazine, January/February 2019, and the project itself was published by The Modern-Day Explorer, Jan. 14, 2019.”…
Deborah Wasserman ’92 writes, “Two of my recent paintings were included in a group show at Jonathan Ferrara Gallery in New Orleans, which opened on Sept. 7. Here’s a short excerpt from a statement about my pieces: ‘The imagery that emerges amidst these painterly spills, as if floating on a thin crust, narrates a crumbling…
Blair Wolf ’92 checks in: “It has been a wild ride since graduating from CalArts. I worked in animation, then video games, then print and web design. Currently I run my web and print companies from Nevada, and serve clients nationally.”…
Susannah Copi ’94 writes, “I’m continuing my education to earn my teaching credential in high school English at Cal State Northridge. My children, 10 and 14, are budding artists. I live with them and my girlfriend in LA.”…
Matt Hauser ’94 says, “I’m keeping busy growing my music and audio post-production company, Twelve Eight Sound. Currently I’m scoring a documentary about The Go-Go’s, mixing a weekly podcast called “The Passion Economy” on Luminary Media, and I recently mixed and sound-designed a spot for Avion Tequila with 21 Savage. I live in New Jersey…
Kris Ilow (Robinson) ’94 says, “I import and export museum quality Asian and African antiques, textiles, and international art. I’m based in Hong Kong, Macau, and London.”…
Dan Joseph ’94 writes, “I visited the Pacific Northwest in March for a series of performances, participating in Portland’s Extradition Series, Oregon State University’s Site of Sound series, and the Wayward Music Series in Seattle, where I shared an evening with electronic musician Blevin Blectum. Back in NYC, I’ve enjoyed performing in my monthly series…
Zak Zych ’94 checks in: “My animated short Birth Cycle, a flip book by Zak Zych has screened at 16 festivals around the world (so far), was a finalist for the 2018 GIPHY Film Festival in New York City, and I received the award for Best Short at the 2018 Toronto Short Film Festival.”…
Mary Ann Eisenberg ’97 updates us: “Since leaving CalArts, I’ve taught drama to students Grades K–6 for the Los Angeles Unified School District. I have also published three middle grade novels featuring a girl hero, available through Amazon. Aly Rutherford and the Journey of the Seven series takes you on an imagination-packed fantasy adventure at…
Denise Gillman ’97 reports, “I’m an Associate Professor of Directing & Dramatic Literature at Christopher Newport University (CNU) in Newport News, VA, as well as a Stage Directors and Choreographers Society member. I coauthored an article titled “Promoting Interdisciplinary: Its Purpose and Practice in Arts Programming” with CNU alumni Shannon McNeely and Danielle Hartman, for…
Chad Hamill ’97 writes, “This past July and August, I brought Coyote Made the Rivers: Indigenous Ecological Continuity in the Era of Climate Change to audiences throughout Australia, including Launceston, Hobart, Sydney, and Macquarie Park. With a blend of music, visual imagery, storytelling, and scholarship (what I’ve termed ‘performative scholarship’), the work employs traditional stories…
Sandy Rodriguez ’97 says, “I am overjoyed to announce that my recent work created for the COLA Awards Exhibition, called Rainbows, Grizzlies and Snakes, Oh My! Conquest to Caging in Los Angeles 2019, has been acquired by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. There will soon be an official blog post on LACMA’s blog…
David Weinberg ’97 reports, “I moved to London in 2003 to complete an MA at RADA, and have since worked as an actor and director at West End theaters including the Arts Theater, Leicester Square Theater, St. James Theater, Trafalgar Studios, and the Soho Theater as well as Off-West End/Regionally at the Young Vic Theater,…
Andrea Claire ’98 says, “I’m a licensed architect, a widely exhibited artist, and a surfer. In 2010, after working for some A-list designers such as Frank Gehry, Vito Acconci, and the Rockwell Group, I decided to break out on my own. Inspired by the ‘invented geometry’ of my abstract paintings, I did research and development…
Elaine Kao ’98 writes, “I’ve joined the cast of the new Disney Channel original movie Upside-Down Magic, based on the NY Times best-selling children’s books. I’ll be playing the role of Professor Han, who teaches Fluxing, the magical art of turning into animals.”…
Clay Alexander ’99 writes, “I’m an inventor, serial entrepreneur, and hold more than 100 patents worldwide. I’m also the Founder and CEO of Ember, a global consumer electronics brand and manufacturer of the world’s first temperature-controlled mug. After graduating from CalArts, I started my first company, Radiance Lightworks. It has since grown to become one…
Tom Hiel ’99 reports, “I cowrote an electronic track titled “Green Blue” with Joseph Ray, to be released on Big Beat Records (subdivision of Atlantic). I also completed a seven-minute chamber wind ensemble piece to be premiered in spring of 2020 with the CalPoly Pomona Wind Ensemble, directed by Dr. Rickey Badua. I’ll have two…
Juliana von Haubrich ’99 says, “This year I had the honor of designing a show titled Ann for the Arena Stage in Washington, DC, starring Jayne Atkinson. The show traveled to Dallas Theatre Center in October. It will also make an appearance at Laguna Playhouse in May 2020. This past summer I designed a critically…
Andrew Vontz ’99 writes to tell us: “I’m the global head of communications at Strava, a social network for athletes and the world’s largest sports participation platform with more than 45 million members. Previously I worked as head of content at TRX, a fitness and training company. Before that I was a freelance journalist for…
Barry Morse ’93 says, “Two Tall Mountains is my latest music video collaboration with Nancy Sandercock ’93 for Julianna Parr’s ’94 Halloween Countdown website, Gothtober.com. Working with an iPhone and an iPad, we are using dream imagery to express a doll’s peace, living alone.”…
Robert Jacobson ’00 checks in to say, “I married my best friend, Michelle Lai, in Bali, Indonesia, in July 2018, where a number of CalArtians (including Tonya Tbird Ridgely ’99, Ben Zadan ’02, Agnes Chu ’00, and faculty, I Nyoman, and Nanik Wenten) joined us in celebration. Pak Wenten’s group from Sading performed over the cliffs of…
Paloma Navarrete ’00 “Hi, Everyone! I’m still running my shop, HYPERCLASH, in Santa Fe, NM. I dedicate my shop to artist-made goods that feature naive handmade details that recall the beautiful simplicity of rural life. Deliberate creasing and crumpling serves to add texture and dimension to flat, simple cotton jersey knit, aiding the rough-and-ready aesthetic….
John Churchville ’01 reports, “I’ve been performing regularly with Sumkali, the Indian fusion group I founded in 2007. Recently we presented on the Indian influence on the Beatles’s music at the Association for Popular Music Education’s National Conference in NYC, and have also performed in numerous festivals in the Midwest. I have hosted and continue…
Goh Kurosawa ’03 tells us: “This summer I was invited to participate in an event organized by Seiya Nagaoka in Kyotango, and therefore, was able to experience the summer in Japan—something I have not experienced in 20 years. He told me he could plan his event around my schedule, so I finalized my itinerary with…
Matt Normand ’03 checks in: “Currently I’m working as a contract graphic designer for Los Angeles Metro. I focus mainly on motion graphics, but I also do some typography treatments as well. … Looking forward to acquiring more space to experiment with one-off screen printing.” …
Shaun Fillion ’05 shares, “My wife Rubina Fillion and I are overjoyed to announce the birth of our son, Orion. My daughter, Serena, is cautiously optimistic about her new sibling.” …
Ashley Reeve (Beauchamp) ’05 writes, “I spent the last two years playing in arenas world-wide with iconic singer Cher, as well as residencies at The Park Theater in Las Vegas. I performed with Cher on Ellen and the 2019 finale of America’s Got Talent. I also had the great privilege of performing with Lionel Richie…
Sechita McNair ’06 says, “I had the pleasure of performing as a stuntwoman on BET’s American Soul Season One. Ten years after giving birth to my son Elias Washington, I’m expecting my second son Malachi McNair in Sep. 2019.” …
Will Kim ’07 says, “In September I had the world premiere of my short, animated film The Hole at Animation Block Party in Brooklyn, NY. I also had a solo exhibition at Teacision Art Gallery in Santa Clarita, CA, from Sept. 1 through Oct. 27.” …
Niko Solorio ’07 writes, “I recently took part in Exercises on Displacement, a site-specific program of live performances, screenings, and discussions by interdisciplinary artists, held at the Camden Arts Centre in London. The event was the fourth in a series of five staged in London by Tutto Questo Sentire (TQS), an artist collective founded in…
Andrea Lambert ’08 exclaims, “I married Jessica Michelle Johnson on July 26, 2019 at the Washoe County Clerk’s office!” …
Stephen van Dyck ’09 updates us: “My first book People I’ve Met From the Internet is being published by Ricochet Editions. The book is a queer reimagining of the coming-of-age narrative set at the dawn of the Internet era in the form of an annotated database. It has received praise from Chris Kraus, Miranda July,…
Nate Schulman ’09 writes, “I’m currently an adjunct faculty member of California State University, Long Beach. I’ve been on faculty at The American University and Marymount University. I have given public presentations and refereed academic conference presentations on graphic design history.”…
Gala Porras-Kim ’09 says, “Pictured is the installation view of the Whitney Biennial 2019 (The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York). From left to right: Gala Porras-Kim, La Mojarra Stela and its shapes; Gala Porras-Kim, La Mojarra Stela negative space; Gala Porras-Kim, La Mojarra Stela illuminated text; and La Mojarra Stela incidental conjugations. Photograph…
Ed Garcia ’09 tells us: “I’m conducting Fulbright research in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia, entitled “Sundanese Dance-Drumming: Style Studies of Tari Putri, Topeng, and Jaipongan.” The project compares and contrasts the drumming patterns and performance techniques used to accompany Sundanese traditional dance styles. I hope that my research will expand international pedagogy of Sundanese arts,…
Paul Turbiak ’08 writes, “I appeared in Little Shop of Horrors at Pasadena Playhouse from Sept. 17 to Oct. 20.”…
Andrew Munsey ’08 writes to tell us: “On Aug. 30 I released High Tide on Birdwatcher Records. Stereogum said, ‘Munsey’s debut album as a leader features some serious, if currently under-celebrated, players; JazzTrail sung its praises for ‘both remarkable individuality and strong personality.’ The quintet, which was originally assembled in Brooklyn in 2009, includes Steph…
David Mack ’08 reports, “I produced Formulae & Fairy Tales at the Broad Stage in September with CalArts alums Mallory Fabian ’16, R. S. Buck ’18, K. Bradford ’14, NightLight Labs, Veronica Mullins ’15, and Leslie Scott ’16.”…
Alex Lewin ’08 writes, “In May I graduated from Bowling Green State University with my master’s in College Student Personnel, and was very fortunate to start my new role as the Coordinator for Student Conduct and Community Standards at the University of Toledo the following month. I’m thrilled to be pursuing this career path and…
Robin Sukhadia ’07 reports, “My wife Neelanjana and I welcomed our newborn son Kabir on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019. Both Kabir and mama are doing well in these precious early days of the baby’s life! I recently performed at the 2019 Festival of Tabla, presenting classical tabla compositions by Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri. It was both…
Phillip Stearns ’07 checks in: “This July I premiered a new real-time, multichannel sound installation, Here Be Dragons, as part of the EIM Triennale (Espace [IM] Media) produced by the Sporobole, an artist-run center in Sherbrooke, Quebec. The work translates cyber attacks on servers located in 15 different countries directly into raw sound. These servers…
Roman Jaster ’07 and Kat Catmur ’14 send greeting to their friend, Jim Wolken, the father of The Pool….
Shane Hazleton ’07 checks in to say, “I’ve been synchronizing brainwaves and blowing minds with the Made Of The Moon Experience. I’m living in Northern California at festivals such as Northern Nights and Art and VR. In the MotM Experience, the audience falls in and out of eyes-closed to eyes-open visuals, immersed in 3-D video…
Sarah Dahlen ’07 updates us: “In 2007 I launched my calligraphy business, New England Calligraphy. Since then my work has been featured at such venues as The University Club of New York, The Plaza Hotel, The Metropolitan Club, The Cosmopolitan Club, New York Botanical Garden, East Hampton Point, and the Vanderbilt Mansion, among many others….
Daniel Corral ’07 tells us: “I was just designated a 2019–2020 ‘Cultural Trailblazer’ by the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. This past March I premiered Summits in Santa Monica. In April I performed “Comma” at the MATA Festival in New York and Summits at the Center for New Music in San Francisco. In August…
Cristina Paulos ’06 says, “My work was displayed in Magnetisms, a three-person show featuring the work of Jill Emery, Svetlana Shigroff, and me. The show opened Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019, as part of the Second Saturday Joshua Tree Artwalk, and ran through Oct. 6, 2019.”…
Louis Page ’06 reports, “It’s been upwards of 10 years since I graduated CalArts. For the last 5, there were a couple of times I really wanted to (and almost had the chance to) come for CalArts Weekend, but unfortunately it wasn’t possible. Now, more than ever, it truly is an exciting prospect to attend,…
Zachary Morris ’06 writes, “It’s been a productive summer working on new music and touring regionally. The project is called The Bronze Medal Hopefuls. It’s a funk/experimental band and budding collective that’s got the right combo of players and personalities. Gio Benedetti of The Brothers Comatose is composing and arranging the bulk of the material….
Emery Martin ’06 writes to tell us: “Electronic Countermeasures—Kerstin Hovland ’12 and I—teamed up once again with Beck for The Night Running Tour. We were tasked with designing, animating, programming, shooting, and creating custom hardware to take on the new tour, all revolving around mirrors and reflections. Electronic Countermeasures created an ambitious slate of conventional…
Aaron Drake ’06 tells us: “A film that I recently scored, titled The Godfathers of Hardcore, has found a home on Showtime. I also recently scored the theme song for the Jimmy Kimmel-led reboot of All in the Family and The Jeffersons, which aired on ABC [and was] seen by more than 10 million viewers….
Jared Olmsted ’05 reports, “The musical duo I write and perform with, Courtship Ritual, released a new song called “Uncle Incision” in August. The song is part of the GREYS compilation on Anachronisme Records. The proceeds received for purchasing the recording on Bandcamp will benefit the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees.”…
Tanja Raaste ’04 says, “I started a new job as a producer at Fourth Monkey in London. If you’re in London, come say hi!”…
Sam Lustig ’04 checks in: “In 2018 I had the good fortune of joining the team at Mint Potion Studios under composer Jake Kaufman, and had a blast contributing music to seasons two and three of OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes on Cartoon Network. Since 2019 I have also been working on a new animated…
Ron Yavnieli ’03 says, “In 2013 I sold an animated series to DreamWorksTV called Gorillaville. It ran for three seasons, from 2014 to 2017, with me writing, producing, directing, and voicing it in those years. Gorillaville can be found on YouTube, go90, and Amazon Prime. Since 2018 I’ve been working as an animation producer and…
Salvatore (Sam) Torrisi ’03 reports, “I earned my MFA in Comp/New Media, and later an MA in Applied Linguistics from UCLA. Then I earned a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from UCLA, after which I did a five-year post-doc at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, MD. I’m now a research scientist at UC Berkeley…
Nirvan Mullick ’03 says, “imagination.org, a nonprofit established to foster child creativity after the success of the short film Caine’s Arcade, received a $1 million grant from Vans—its single largest charitable donation ever—to help support the impact of creativity programs upon millions more children.”…
Brad Comfort ’03 writes, “I recently edited House of Cardin, a feature film documentary about the legendary fashion designer, directed by P. David Ebersole and Todd Hughes. The film represents a unique opportunity to peek into the mind of a genius, and is an authorized documentary that chronicles the life and design of the celebrated French fashion icon. Cardin…
Elaine Avila ’03 updates us: “I’m the first Fulbright Scholar at the University of the Azores in Ponta Delgada, where I’m researching and writing two new plays inspired by the women of my ancestral lands through the lens of contemporary politics: one based on the Portuguese form of the burqa, the other on the first…
Siciliana Trevino ’01 reports, “The Martians are here for our memes! Inspired by the H. G. Wells sci-fi classic, I developed and launched “War of the Worlds: Invasion,” an exclusive Bose AR-enabled podcast and action-adventure game, featuring music from Gabby La La ’01, ASMR, a snooty digital assistant, and Shia LaBeouf! Evade the Martian attack,…
Joe Shannon ’01 says, “I’m entering year 40 of a wide and varied career as a designer, producer, performer, teacher, equity stage manager, and now, as Production Manager for the 3,000-seat E. J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall at the University of Akron.”…
Soyeon Kim ’01 writes to say, “my short experimental film Diary 2013–2018 was screened at the 42nd Mill Valley Film Festival and the 17th Santa Cruz Film Festival this October. I’m currently full-time faculty in the Animation program at California State University Long Beach, and I run my own design and animation studio called Yellowshed with my partner…
Joe LoPiccolo ’00 says, “I was honored to be invited to perform and be one of five international judges at the Euro Strings Mottola Guitar Festival in Italy this past July. I continue to teach guitar at both Mt. San Antonio College and College of the Canyons, where I helped organize the first International Guitar…
David Loitz ’00 writes, “I spent the past year growing my film and animation school for kids aged 5–13, called Mr. David’s School of Film! We helped students in five Portland Metro-Area schools by using stop-motion animation as an educational tool. Over 1,500 students had the chance to tell their stories and create short films…
Grady Cousins ’00 checks in: “I am married and have a nearly 3-year-old son. I continue to work in a ritual theater vein, and continue to develop works inspired by the Kecak-Monkey Chant. I also lead workshops in The Rhythmic Interplay of Community Voice.”…
Iris Andersen Grizzell ’00 reports, “Since moving back home to Baltimore in 2011, I’ve performed at the Kennedy Center with Bowen McCauley Dance, and locally with the Campbell Dance Experience and Harford Ballet. I’ve taught for several dance programs in the region including Towson University Community Dance and Charm City Ballet. Currently I teach modern…
Cady Zuckerman ’10 says, “The Actors’ Gang Prison Project has been working throughout the state of California since 2006. I am pictured here at High Desert State Prison with inmates who run a group to manage their emotional lives through the characters of the Commedia Dell’Arte.” E…
Cristina Frias ’11 checks in: “As an actor, educator, storyteller, and artivist, I’ve recently accepted a faculty position in the Theatre Arts Department at East LA College. I’m the first Latina to be hired full time, and I’ll serve as both Performing Arts Faculty and Outreach Liaison. I continue to perform on TV, in film…
Emily Brundige ’12 tells us: “I’m the creator of Pubertina, and recently developed the animated series Harvey Girls Forever! for DreamWorksTV on Netflix. Currently I serve as story editor on the Annie and Emmy award-winning animated series Hilda, also on Netflix. My independent, short animated film Goldie (2019) has been touring festivals internationally and was…
Andrea Williams ’12 checks in: “Howdy, from Idaho! Since you’ve seen me I’ve gained a newfound love for bluegrass music. I went to my first bluegrass festival in Montana this summer (I know, look at me go!). I’m loving my role in the marketing department at a rafting company in Moscow (Mos-coe—we ain’t Russia, but…
Stephanie Zaletel ’12 writes, “Two thousand eighteen was a beautiful, challenging, and exciting year—here are some of the highlights: I married Louis Lopez ’12! I collaborated with Lars Jan on The White Album, based on the essay by Joan Didion, and toured in creation of the work to UCross, WY, Wexner Center for the Arts,…
Catherine (Cat) Tanchanco ’14 tells us, “‘Your deepest work will be the darkest.’ Self Portrait taken by sinking a Sony Underwater Handycam from the Film & Video film cage to the bottom of the Chouinard Pool.” …
Lena Sands ’15 reports, “This year has been very exciting. Last summer a selection of my designs for Venus, by Suzan-Lori Parks (which I completed at CalArts) was on exhibition in Moscow at the A. A. Bakhrushin State Central Theatre Museum as part of the show Innovative Costume Design of the 21st Century: The Next…
Cooper Wolken ’15 writes, “In June Jordan Saenz ’12 and I got married in the beautiful mountains of Colorado. It was pretty spectacular—surrounded by family and friends, many of whom were CalArtians, too! Our dear friend Jacob Gibson ’15 was the world’s greatest officiant, and even our pit bull Luca was there. Apart from that,…
Lucas Lipari-Mayer ’17 updates us: “Since graduating from CalArts, I won a permanent position as Solo Trumpet for the renowned Ensemble InterContemporain, created by Pierre Boulez in Paris. I also won the First and the Public Prize of the Città di Porcia International Italian Trumpet Competition and came as a Semi-Finalist of the ARD Competition held in…
Sierra May ’17 writes, “My dad receives The Pool, so, Hi, Dad! In case ya’ll didn’t know, Santa Clarita has its very own community media station, SCVTV. I’ve had the pleasure of spending most of my post-CalArts existence working among creative people who do much for the SCV. I work mostly on our arts- and…
Todd Harper ’18 writes, “Since graduating from CalArts’s Creative Producing and Management MFA program, I have started my own wedding and event planning and production company in Minneapolis, MN. While it’s been a pretty slow first year, we’re looking ahead to a busy 2020 wedding season with a healthy dose of corporate events sprinkled in….
Pamela Hoogeboom ’19 reports, “Just three months after graduation, I’m situated in my dream job as a visual development artist at Warner Bros. Animation. I owe a lot to the teachers and faculty of the Character Animation program. Thanks to them, I was able to jump into this position with confidence and versatility. The support,…
Jillian Lihani ’19 checks in to say, “I’m an artist!”…
Mitchell Leitschuh ’19 updates us: “Since graduating last spring with my MFA in Technical Direction, I moved to NYC and now work as an Audio-Visual Technician at the Museum of Modern Art, primarily in the new Marie-Joseé and Henry Kravis Studio. The museum is currently completing a major renovation and so far, my job has…
Isabel Ivey ’19 says, “CalArts will forever be my second home. I am so grateful for the people I met and for the amazing experiences I had. Thanks to all of my amazing teachers and my mentor (who never stopped believing in me), I’m now the Production Assistant on a Disney Channel show!”…
Serena Himmelfarb ’19 tells us: “I just moved with my fiancé (and fellow CalArts alum) to Western Massachusetts, where I’ve accepted a position as Visiting Assistant Professor of Art at Hampshire College. I’ve designed my courses to combine the things I love most about CalArts and Hampshire College—both being visionary schools that have changed the…
Brandon Chang ’19 chimes in, “Real ‘Emo’ only consists of the dc Emotional Hardcore scene and the late ’90s Screamo scene. What is known as ‘Midwest Emo’ is nothing but Alternative Rock with questionable real emo influence. When people try to argue that bands like My Chemical Romance aren’t real emo, while saying that Sunny…
Cody Banks ’19 says, “Onward.”…
Hannah Trujillo ’18 reports, “I just closed out Bad Hamlet with Coin & Ghost—a theater company started by CalArtians! I also recently finished several readings with the San Diego Rep Latinx New Play Festival. Coming up I’ll be performing in the WOW Festival produced by La Jolla Playhouse. This fall I’ll be directing a reimagined…
Ian Stahl ’18 writes, “I’ve had quite a few adventures since graduating a year ago! My rock band, Cilience, is excited to release our second EP, Event Horizon. We played at the Mint in September to celebrate! I’ve continued to collaborate with fellow CalArtians in the In Situ Ensemble, with Janzie ’19 and Anthony Storniolo…
Fahad Siadat ’18 writes to tell us: “I recently composed music for and performed in Theatre Dybbuk’s newest theatrical piece Hell Prepared, a nearly two-hour interdisciplinary work with a soundtrack of entirely a cappella voices. I was also the composition director for the NEO Voice Festival, a new festival in Los Angeles celebrating new and…
Katie (Kathleen) O’Kelly ’18 updates us: “I’m currently the Director of Production at Triad Stage, a regional theater in Greensboro, NC. In addition to working at Triad Stage, I’m an adjunct professor of Production Management and Stage Management at Greensboro College and teach a master class on Production Management vs. Stage Management at the Southeastern…
Carolina Hicks ’18 reports, “It’s going to take me a very long time to fully recover from the total psychic earthquake that was CalArts. My MFA experience was an intensely transformative period that split me to my core, and then some. Some moments were deeply uncomfortable and outright scary. I left CalArts a very different…
Alexandra Bender ’18 checks in: “I just got back from presenting my piece “Three” in Utah. It was made while at CalArts and performed by Chenhui Mao ’19, Aaron Theodore-Cooke ’17, and OCSA alum Seth Horinouchi. Now I’m back in LA as the new Admissions Director and Dance Team Director at St. Lucy’s Priory High…
Jesse VanDenKooy ’17 says, “I currently work in Enterprise Technology at The Walt Disney Company, and continue to write fiction. I’ve also developed a taste for whiskey, and while it’s complimentary to the writing, wine will always be my first love.”…
Jodi Porter ’17 reports, “Two thousand nineteen has been an exciting year to pivot from 25 years in arts production to business! I’m lucky to be a founding partner at Ciger Asset Management – Ciger Trading. We utilize proprietary deep learning models derived from artificial intelligence and expertise in the US power markets to generate…
Sihui Shao ’16 sends this cryptic message: “BB3BB3BB3”…
Sarah Melnick (Van Sciver) ’16 writes, “I had a beautiful wedding in June on Cape Cod surrounded by friends, family, and wacky weather (hail, rain, sunshine, wind, and rainbows all in one whirlwind day!). Keeping busy and loving every minute as the CalArts Alumni & Family team’s Assistant Director. I also run my own freelance company,…
Sara Martin ’16 tells us: “This past year I was selected a 2019 Emerging Content Creator by NALIP and HBO, and had my latest documentary titled Mason showcased at the 2019 Audience Award LGBTQ Shorts Festival as well as the 2019 Audience Award Documentary Shorts Festival. In the summer, I was a Media Producer for…
Anthony Mariani ’16 says, “My play The Rooster Rebellion opened in Little Rock, AR, at The Weekend Theater and ran through Sept. 8.”…
Jordan Dykstra ’16 writes, “New Music USA awarded me a 2019 Project Grant for my proposal Recording of Commissions by Alvin Lucier & Jordan Dykstra. The two new works—Corner Church and High (Lucier) and 32 Middle Tones (Dykstra)—were premiered and recorded in Connecticut by the ensemble Ordinary Affects (Morgan Evans-Weiler, Laura Cetilia, J. P. A….
Diana Cioffari-MacPhee ’16 reports, “I’m excited to say that my husband Matt and I celebrated our one-year anniversary in September! For our wedding, I composed and sang an original song while accompanying myself on the ukulele in lieu of spoken vows. I refer to it as “The Vows Song (I Can’t Wait to Marry You)”….
Kate Kendall ’15 updates us: “In 2018 I started Flow Archive, an artistic and scientific collaboration with my geologist father, Jerry Kendall. The work uses the technique of a sand peel to create sculptures as a basis for interpreting the human and geologic events surrounding a body of water. Emerge: Fluvial Tapestries from Hurricane Harvey,…
Vineet Vyas ’14 reports, “A lot has been happening since graduating from CalArts. Most recently I was featured as a tabla soloist at the third annual Los Angeles Tabla Festival in August. It’s always so great to return to LA to perform and meet friends and artists. In 2016 a Fellowship from American Institute for…
Natalya Serebrennikova ’14 sends this photo and caption: Experimental Animation First Year Shorts class 2011. “Quique, Daphne, Bertha, and me.”…
Thomas Marven ’14 writes, “Something happens when they take you to a psych ward—you become a job creator. Other than that, just chillin’ mostly. I rewrote my thesis. It’s an entirely new paper. The initial one was only a germ. Hoping to do another degree somewhere if the money’s right. ’Sup Nate? I want that…
Edda Manriquez ’14 reports, “I founded Les Femmes Underground International Film Festival in 2014 in response to the decline of female role models in cinema. Pictured is a collaboration with Echo Park Film Center for the screening of Fattitude, deconstructing the female body in media.”…
Suzanne Kite ’14 writes, “I am excited to be included in the inaugural 2019 Toronto Biennial with Althea Thauberger, presenting a composition for the HMCS York Shell Ensemble.”…
Allison Keating ’14 tells us: “Wild Art Group is an experimental performance company that I lead. Founded in 2015 and based in Los Angeles, we have created two large-scale theatrical productions, two performance art exhibitions, published an art book, and launched a podcast series. Most recently we created a toy theater performance about joy. Follow…
Caity Schmidt ’13 says, “After years of writing, I’m publishing my first book Hunters, a fantasy novel. The first of four in a series was released in Oct. 2019. It’s the story of Jac who, already having gone on her magical adventure followed by 10 years of denial, wants nothing more than to get home…
Sam Rosenblum ’13 reports, “After CalArts I went into activism, advocacy, and political organizing. I had the distinct honor of working on all sorts of incredible projects in the US and around the world, such as the US Africa Leaders Summit, the Los Angeles Special Olympics World Games, the C40 Cities Climate Summit, the Clinton…
Graham Peck ’13 checks in to say: “Dear CalArtians, I am currently in my last of three years completing my master’s in music therapy at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. This year I am fulfilling hours toward my mental health counseling licensure at the historic Perkins School for the Blind (attended by Helen Keller). I…
Janice Lobo Sapigao ’13 writes, “I’ve published two books of poetry, microchips for millions by Philippine American Writers and Artists, Inc. (2016) and like a solid to a shadow by Timeless, Infinite Light/Nightboat Books (2017). In fall 2019 I began my position as Assistant Professor of English at Skyline College in San Bruno, CA, in…
Desiree Masucci ’13 reports, “While at CalArts, I had the opportunity to open and expand my mind, especially in terms of how I speak about art. I surrounded myself with artists from many different métiers and collaborated with many fine artists, dancers, and film students. We became a family. We called ourselves Alpha Ro Tau…
Haley Warner ’12 writes, “I am going into my seventh season with Ballet Memphis as the shoe manager and wardrobe assistant. I also work with Tennessee Ballet Theater; teach fashion design at Memphis College of Art and the Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering; and have been filling in as a tailor on the upcoming…
Jamie (James) Tatti ’12 tells us: “[I was] excited to return to the Los Angeles area in October following the conclusion of a neurorehabilitation fellowship with the Tampa VA. While in Tampa, I fostered a love for aerial arts that I plan to continue practicing in LA. I’ll be working with the West Los Angeles…
James McElroy (Boone) ’12 reports, “Currently living in Manhattan, I operate Desert Park, a bespoke audio mastering service in Times Square. I’m working with DefJam, RocNation, and Empire at the moment. Known as the youngest top-tier mastering engineer in the world, my work represents close to 1B streams. My credits include Prodigy of Mobb Deep,…
Gina Loveless (Caciolo) ’12 tells us: “My first book, Diary of a 5th Grade Outlaw, was published in September by Andrews McMeel Publishing in partnership with Epic! Originals. In this elementary school adaptation of Robin Hood, fifth grade has just started and Nadia, the school bully, already rules recess with an unfair Playground Tax. Robin…
Daniel Goldenshtein ’12 writes, “I’ve recently worked on several nighttime spectaculars at Universal Studios Hollywood in the magical Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I had the privilege of working with incredibly talented designers, technicians, and engineers to bring to life the four houses in Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle. We brought holiday cheer and joy…
Megan Broughton ’12 reports, “This June I participated in the Arctic Circle Residency for artists, scientists, and educators in Svalbard, Norway, with my coworker Alex Keilty. Alex teaches Environmental Science and I run the Printmaking studio and After School Art Program at The Oxbow School—a visual arts boarding program for juniors and seniors in high…
Cybele Moon ’11 writes, “In the past year I relocated to Philadelphia. I’ve designed costumes for the Drexel University Dance Ensemble Winter and Spring productions as well as Fish Funerals, a new work written and performed by students in the Brind School of Theater at the University of the Arts. Upcoming projects include teaching a…
Natalie Metzger ’11 reports, “This year, I was nominated for the John Cassavetes Award at the Film Independent Spirit Awards for my work on Thunder Road. Greener Grass, a feature film that I produced, had its world premiere at Sundance this year and had its international premiere at the Piazza Grande at the Locarno Film…
Sallie Merkel ’11 sends this update: “The Commons, a public access-style morning talk show for witches and by witches, is available for streaming now on Vimeo. The show was created by Mireya Lucio ’11 and me. Additionally, both Seasons 1 and 2 feature performances by Sola Bamis ’11 and Jenny Greer ’11. This season includes…
Diana Arterian ’11 writes, “My first book of poems Playing Monster: Seiche was published by 1913 Press as the Editors’ Selection of their First Book Prize. It received a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly, and was a Small Press Distribution best seller. I recently reviewed Ariana Reines’s A Sand Book for The New York Times…
Laura Youngkin ’10 checks in: “I recently joined Figure8 as its new Senior Director of Production. I’ll executive produce Figure8’s domestic and global expansion, including new locations of its successful Museum of Ice Cream experience. Previously, I led my own experiential agency and spent five years as a producer at Walt Disney Imagineering.”…
Charles DeWayne (Dorsey Jr) ’10 reports, “Since my time at CalArts, I’ve appeared on Season 4 of America’s Got Talent, have played with the band One Direction on Nickelodeon’s iCarly, and have been the voice of brands such as Buffalo Wild Wings, Honda, and Jack In The Box on both radio and TV. Currently, I’m…
