Issue 12
Winter/Spring
Roberta Griffith (Chouinard 60) tells us, “I received an invitation to participate in an exhibition celebrating women in Philadelphia. The letter read in part, ‘As you probably know, 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote in the US. To celebrate the exact anniversary in August, The Clay Studio will mount…
Karen Laurence (Diamond) (Chouinard 63) writes, “Last spring, we gifted our entire collection of our Great Aunt Nelbert Murphy Chouinard to The Pasadena Museum of History from ‘the Family of Nelbert M. Chouinard.’ Our gift includes five of her own artworks, family photos, clothing, and more. Last spring, her work hung in the Pasadena Museum…
Dennis Busch (Chouinard 65) reminisces, “After a great introductory meeting with Mrs. Chouinard in late 1961, I had a feeling of accomplishment way before I accomplished anything in the art field. Chouinard was a fabulous experience. I majored in advertising communication, and my most inspirational instructors were Lou Danziger (design) and Ed Reep (painting). Both…
Ken Graning (Chouinard 66) says,“Recently, my wife and I were visiting the San Francisco Bay Area, and I came upon a vista that is unique to the Northern California area. One day on a road trip, as we entered Marin County after crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, I observed an area of rolling verdant hills…
David Evans (McMullen) writes, “Just copyrighted my storyboard ‘Stars and Stripes,’ created at Chouinard during my sophomore year (www.davidevansgraphics.com/web_flash_design). And I will be setting up a crowdfunding account to hopefully produce it at the CalArts Animation Department.”…
Dennis C. Brown (Music BFA 71) reports, “In 2016, after completing 14 seasons of Two and a Half Men and six seasons of Mike and Molly, I began to get the itch to retire. Upon realizing that I had scored at least one TV series each year since the inception of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles…
Drew Cottril (Chouinard 71) had a one-man show at the Roxie Remley Center for Fine Arts in Bulloch County, Georgia, from December 2019 – March 2020. The show consisted of 30 recent paintings (portraits, landscape) and pen and ink drawings….
Barry Schrader (Music MFA 71) and Wadada Leo Smith released a limited-edition CD single of Pacific Light and Water/Wu Xing—Cycle of Destruction. This is what Smith calls an “overlay” composition, combining works of two composers to create a new work. Merging Smith’s live performance of his piece Pacific Light and Water with Schrader’s electronic composition…
Scott Siedman (Art BFA 71) notes, “I’ve been an illustrator at The Washington Post and had solo exhibits—Sacred Porn at the Catherine Clark Gallery, Bert Green Fine Art, and Robert Berman Gallery. I was the production designer for Southside, a feature film. Creator of Neverwuz Productions Facebook … memorabilia for events that never happened and…
William Stout (Chouinard 71) reports, “After the success of my huge career retrospective book (Fantastic Worlds: The Art of William Stout), I’m putting together individual volumes on each chapter that will be roughly the same size as Fantastic Worlds (about 300 pages). The first two will be about my comic book work, then the third…
John Collins (Art MFA 72) writes, “From one of my poems: ‘Temperance Union Temperance Union please take my leave from meetings steeped in pain, the members left some time ago. The roar of crowds and hands that clasped are all that now remain, and that I will forgo as though I could retrieve the words…
Myron Emery (Film/Video MFA 72) writes, “A digital restoration of God with a Green Face, a documentary featuring Kathakali dance, directed by Bruce Ward and myself, was screened on Jan. 20, 2020, in Kerala, India, its cultural home state. The Hindu epic tale Ramayana, a 1970 documentary, was screened for the first time before many…
Leonard (Lenny) Horowitz (Art BFA 72) reports, “I am still proudly representing the CalArts community. As always, the direction is for beauty and happiness for people’s healthiness.”…
Jon Barlow Hudson (Art BFA 71, MFA 72) checks in, “My current commission is a large-scale stainless-steel sculpture for outside the H.Q. Brown Library on the campus of Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio.”…
Donald Beagle (Critical Studies 72) writes in to tell us, “I am pleased to announce the publication of my third collection of poems, Driving Into the Dreamtime. As described on Amazon, the book ‘is a richly-textured assemblage of poems, a number of which have won prizes and awards, while others have appeared in various journals and anthologies.’”…
Richard Cohen (Art BFA 73, Film/Video MFA 73) catches us up: “I am finishing the documentary, Keeps Me from Falling, a Filmmaker’s Hotel Memoir. Before his death, F.X. Feeney (Film/Video BFA 76) and I were turning out the final pages on a screenplay based on our years at CalArts. In 2016, Metro State Hospital showed…
Cameron Grant (Music BFA 73) reports, “Winding down now after almost 50 years of professional performances. Solo pianist, rehearsal pianist, and orchestra pianist at New York City Ballet for going on 35 years. Spending half my time in Arizona with my grandkids and the other half working in New York. It’s been a good run….
Edward Rollin (Music BFA 73) has co-starred in the short film “Customers” written by Louise Devery….
Rachel Youdelman (Art BFA 73) writes, “A review of my bookworks appears in the Book Club of California Quarterly, fall 2019, by Tony White, associate chief librarian, Thomas J. Watson Library, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.”…
Larry Crost (Crow) (Art BFA 74) is a registered art therapist and founder of Art for Community Service for underserved communities in Long Island, New York, and Chicago….
Gary Kaskel (Film/Video BFA 74) says, “I’m busy adapting the 2015 biographical novel, Monster and Miracles: Henry Bergh’s America into a multipart drama for streaming (learn more at GaryKaskel.com).”…
Robert Glenn Ketchum (Art MFA 74) reports, “From March 7 – July 26, the Booth Museum of Western Art hosts Robert Glenn Ketchum & Eliot Porter: On Seeing Color, the second-largest exhibit of my career, including 61 prints from my seven Aperture books. I have also begun new digital work, a series called One World….
Denman Maroney (Music MFA 74) tells us, “To mark my 70th year of life, I made two solo piano albums: Solo@70 comprising 38 pieces, half previously recorded and half not, and Hyperpiano Studies in which I play the keys with one hand and the strings with the other using bars and slides of metal, plastic,…
Devo Cutler-Rubenstein (Film/Video BFA 75) is still making films and is slated to direct a documentary in Scotland on landscape, painting, and healing with the Scottish painter Rose Strang….
Mary Ann Kellogg (Dance BFA 75) and Tony Whitman (Film/Video BFA 76) celebrated 45 years together. Tony retired in 2018 as a key grip and now has time to devote to his art of photography and sculpture. Mary Ann is still choreographing for film and TV. Her latest work can be seen on Will and…
John Mabry (Art BFA 75) reports, “After receiving a full scholarship to the Art School in 1969–70 with Stephen Von Huene as my mentor, I opened a ceramics and housewares studio and sold various forms, lamps, vases, and objects made with natural materials to Bullock’s, Broadway, May Company, Hudson Bay Company, Robinson’s, Disneyland Resorts and…
Carson Kievman (Music BFA 75, MFA 76) notes: “TESLA (multidisciplinary opera): Nikola Tesla was an immigrant from Serbo-Croatia, whose transformative ideas challenged staid society, inherited wealth, and power structures of the Gilded Age. It brings to life the revolutionary race with Thomas Edison to fuel a new era of electricity, and the portentous aftermath. From…
Gar LaSalle (Film/Video MFA 76) says, “Screening our documentary Palliative about pediatric end-of-life issues at Harvard and Massachusetts General. Completed the pilot and second episode screenplays and am heading to LA to pitch, with Barbara Halperin (Theater BFA 76) at Gersh, a TV series based on my books The Widow Walk Saga. I am continuing…
John Musker (Film/Video BFA 76) notes, “With Disney partner, Ron Clements, as well as Henry Selick (Film/Video MFA 77), we were presented with the Winsor McCay Award for lifetime achievement at the ASIFA Annie Award Ceremony on Jan. 25.”…
Gregg Barbanell (Film/Video BFA 77) writes, “I am honored to have been a part of the sound editing team that won a 2020 MPSE Golden Reel Award for El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. This was my 11th career Golden Reel Award.”…
Roger Holzberg (Theater BFA 78) reports, “As creative director for Island of Dreams, a large oceanarium project in China, I completed prototyping a series of attractions with free swimming animatronic marine animals. My personal dream is that this initiative will help end the capture of marine mammals for entertainment and education purposes and begin a…
Allan Trautman (Theater MFA 78) says, “I was the lead animatronic puppeteer for the title character in Earth to Ned. The show follows Ned, a blue-skinned alien, and his lieutenant Cornelius, who were sent to scout Earth for an eventual invasion. However, during their visit, Ned and Cornelius became obsessed with pop culture and now…
Bear Thomas Woodson (Music BFA 78) checks in: “There are fewer than 10 composers alive, worldwide, who have written 10 concerti. I just started my 10th recently. 1) ‘Piano Concerto No. 1, for Piano Left-Hand Only, and Orchestra’ (1998, 3 mvts., 29 min.) 2) ‘Concerto for [French] Horn and Orchestra’ (1999, 16 min.). Karen McGale did the…
Martina Young, Ph.D. (Dance BFA 78) writes, “Dance artist and scholar of comparative myth, I am a guest artist/lecturer for the northern Nevada senior community of Revel Rancharrah. In February, I discussed and analyzed the iconic emblems and characteristics of deities of love, grace, and beauty: the Greek Aphrodite, Yoruba Oshun, and Hindu Saraswati. In…
Beth Brody (Myra Greenblatt) (Dance MFA 79) reports, “After receiving my MFA in dance, I studied further for an MFA in poetry from the Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa. I taught ballet and modern dance for 30 years. I performed in my own and others’ pieces, based in Minneapolis. I received choreography fellowships from the MICA/McKnight…
Cary Gries (Art BFA 79) says, “I just completed the illustrations for a spoken word poet. The job came to me through CalArts alum Michael R. Garcia (Art BFA 79). Visit royruth.com to learn more.”…
Anna Rubin (Music BFA 75, MFA 82) writes, “I retired in 2018 from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where I had taught composition and electronic music for several years. Recent projects include the premiere of a commissioned work from the Washington International Chorus and For the Love of Bees for actor Pamela Fields and…
Laurie Raskin (Art BFA 74, MFA 83) checks in: “I am currently pursuing my passion of making art. I have representation in Brussels, Paris, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. I recently had my second solo show in Paris and am currently featured in That Layered Look 2 at Tufenkian Fine Arts. In 2017, there was…
Dana Berman Duff (Art BFA 81) writes, “REDCAT will be screening an evening of Dana Berman Duff’s short films on May 11, 2020.”…
Emily Hay (Music MFA 81) checks in: “I live in the mountains near Ojai, Calif., with my two dogs. I play experimental, improvised, and ‘outside’ music in several ensembles. And I continue to work as a paralegal for Rimon Law, representing major rock stars, bands, composers, etc.”…
Gary Schwartz (Film/Video MFA 81) reports, “My film, Spencer’s Slight Imperfect Peep Show AKA Micro-Burlesque, has been selected for this year’s Ann Arbor Film Festival.”…
Steve Bilow (Music BFA 82) notes, “I have just published an issue of the Society for Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) Motion Imaging Journal, which I guest edited on the topic of artificial intelligence and machine learning in media and entertainment. I will be presenting an SMPTE Webinar on that topic in May.”…
Amy Knoles (Music BFA 82) sends us an update: “Last January I went to Jakarta to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Sacred Rhythm Festival. I was a participant in the original UNESCO-sanctioned festival, which, at that time, featured more than 1,000 percussionists in the lineup. This January the Sacred Rhythm: Reborn Unison (SRRU) was…
Molly Lyons (Matthiesen) (Theater MFA 83) says, “I recently relocated to Tucson, Ariz., from Chicago and directed Lanford Wilson’s Angels Fall for Winding Road Theater, which ran to full houses from February to March.”…
Karen Atkinson (Art MFA 84) notes,“Getting Your Sh*t Together/GYST, founded by Karen Atkinson in 2005, has launched new software for visual artists. While GYST has been providing software to artists since 2000, this new version is cloud- or browser-based. GYST also provides over 400 pages of free resources, deadlines, GYST Radio Archive, ‘How The Art…
Jamie Bishton (Dance BFA 84) says, “I recently joined the board of directors of the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City, reuniting with my long-term mentor, boss, and friend Mikhail Baryshnikov to further our mission as a gathering space for artists from all disciplines. I continue to serve on the Board of Councilors of the…
Juri Koll (Art BFA 84) reports, “The Venice Institute of Contemporary Art (ViCA) has opened a new gallery at the Bendix Building in DTLA. We are planning a CalArts alumni show at the end of 2020.”…
Cindy Pepper (Dance BFA 84) checks in: “I will be a presenter at the ART from The Tart National Convention in New Orleans. I represent Young Audiences of Northern California. I will also be the choreographer for Chuck Prophet’s new Rock video!”…
Jeff Perry (Music MFA 84) updates us: “In fall 2019, I concluded a two-year term as editor of Music Theory Online, one of the oldest online peer-reviewed journals in any field. My work for cello and piano, ‘Funeral Games,’ recently received its premiere at Louisiana State University, where I’ve been a member of the music…
Sarah Schneiderman (Art MFA 84) says, “The Ely Center for Contemporary Art’s show Witchy includes two of my political portraits: Role-model for Women’s Empowerment? (45’s Advisor and First Daughter Ivanka Trump) and Torturer in Chief (45’s Director of the Central Intelligence Agency #2 – Gina Haspel). This show ran March 1 – April 19, 2020….
Kiki Ebsen (Music BFA 85) says, “Upon graduation, I parlayed my skills together with what I learned at CalArts into my first touring job as an off-stage keyboardist and MIDI programmer for the rock group Chicago. This led to a 30-year stint as a touring sideman, singing and playing piano for dozens of acts, including…
Jay (Scott) Hackleman (Music BFA 85) checks in: “Thanks to Ravi Shankar’s sponsorship, I lived in India for about a year on a grant from the American Institute of Indian Studies to apprentice with a master musical instrument maker. Since then, I’ve been busy repairing and building Indian classical instruments as well as commissions for…
Georgi Ann Coquereau-Kimi (Art MFA 86) updates us: “My recent publication Gas Station Bathrooms I Slept In, a bibliography with accompanying photos and illustration works, is aimed to empower others—youth, who might have or might be experiencing similar searing situations—and demonstrate how estrangement can be diverted to individualism that becomes a freedom to think and…
Ramsey Avery (Theater MFA 87) tells us about “Two ‘pinch me, is this really happening?’ projects: This summer, the design I did for Disney California Adventure’s Avengers Campus will be opening. I designed the new land, as well as a new attraction and several other facilities. I also worked on the design for the new…
Joleen Belle (Music BFA 87) says, “I have been writing songs for artists in film and television. I have won an Emmy for a song in an animated short in 2019 written for Kelly Clarkson, Lea Michele, Tori Kelly, Selena Gomez, and various other pop artists. I have written four television theme songs and have…
Theresa Chavez (Art BFA 85, MFA 87) says, “I’m currently collaborating with two other CalArtians on Adobe Punk, an original theaterwork (www.aboutpd.org/adobe-punk). I am co-writing/co-directing with Gabriel Garza, my son, whose idea the project is based on. Joining us are Sage Lewis (Music MFA 07) and Dorothy Hoover (Theater MFA 12) as music director and…
Peter Duschenes (Theater MFA 88) reports: “Three decades ago, this past January, a 40-foot monster interrupted a concert given by the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and threatened to destroy music forever. In a battle involving puppets, masks, actors, and 60 musicians, the monster and the audience ‘duked’ it out to see which would triumph: noise or music….
Sindy Fredrick (Art BFA 88) says, “After working at various ad agencies all over Los Angeles for the past 30 years, I became a marketing manager for my son’s band Undecided Future (my guitarist son, also attended CalArts). We are releasing one new song per month in 2020. I’m so proud to be working for…
Sarah Vogwill (Art MFA 90) says, “I’ve set aside my art practice to become actively engaged with the international environmental activist movement, Extinction Rebellion. After hosting Hudson Valley Intentional Community meetups for two years, I’ve shifted to facing the crisis head-on with direct action organizing. An early joiner, I’m now coordinator of the XR graphics…
Caschia Jones (Dance BFA 90) writes, “I recently relocated near CalArts, so I’m looking forward to attending many events!”…
Charly Bloomquist (Art BFA 90, MFA 92) checks in: “I have been teaching darkroom photography since 1994 and digital photography since 2007 at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington.” …
A. Laura Brody (Theater MFA 92) says, “I am curating Opulent Mobility 2020 at UCPLA’s Washington Reid Gallery. This group exhibit is seeking art that reimagines disability as opulent and powerful. The deadline for submissions is June 30, and the show will run November 2020 – January 2021. More about the show at www.opulentmobility.com.”…
Matt Levine (Music BFA 92) reports, “I created ‘Tone Pool,’ a sound healing app for iOS and Android: www.uval.com. I released Circadian, a tonal meditation album: www.mattlevinemusic.com. I teach at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.”…
Yvonne Papanek (Dance BFA 93) writes, “I’m working in LA. Commuting. So, I use that time for ‘creating,’ ‘thinking,’ ‘transitioning,’ ‘cycles.’ My class note is regarding the creative process as it relates to ‘liberation.’ Dancing gives the body/mind an avenue of expression that is fresh, genuine, real, and healing in a wholesome kind of way….
Mellissa Tong (Music MFA 93) tells us: “Two of the compilation books that I’m a part of became best sellers on Amazon last October. It was incredibly exciting to have both come out in the same month. The first book is about 100 influential entrepreneurs in the US and how they overcame their biggest obstacles….
Dustin Boyer (Music BFA 94) says, “Hello, CalArtians! Over the last 14 years I have had the pleasure of touring, playing guitar, and recording with John Cale (co-founder of the Velvet Underground, producer, and solo artist). It’s been a wild ride since graduation with multiple projects, including Descanso and The Dusty Meadows Band. I will…
Dana Lawton (McCue) (Dance BFA 94) reports, “I am the artistic director of Dana Lawton Dances (DLD), founded in 2007, in addition to being a tenured faculty member at Saint Mary’s College in the Performing Arts Department, a faculty member at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, and co-director of the Enchanted Ridge Dance Retreat. DLD’s home season…
Volker Langhoff (Film/Video MFA 96) says, “Last year I came back home after having spent two years as a resident artist and full-time professor at the Seoul Institute of the Arts in South Korea working with CalArtian Yoo Tay (Film/Video, Theater MFA 96). I’ve had the fortune of traveling to 50 countries so far. But Korea…
Megumi Nakai (Art BFA 97) reports, “I have taken the pre-first class exam for kimono by the Japanese Dress Association in Kyoto, as well as a culinary license specializing in Japanese culinary, and an International Sake Sommelier license from Sake Service Institute International. I am currently training myself to become a Master Sake Sommelier and…
David Weinberg (Critical Studies, Theater BFA 97) writes, “I moved to London in 2003 to complete an MA at RADA, and I 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/internationally…
Markus Engel (Film/Video, Theater MFA 98) says, “I am shooting a 90-minute movie for the ORF (Austrian Broadcasting Association) in June 2020 in Tyrol, Austria.”…
Joy Gregory (Critical Studies MFA 99) reports: “I’ve been really enjoying the opportunity to engage with voters in Palmdale and Valencia while campaigning for Christy Smith who is running for Congress in CalArts’ congressional district, CA-25. Professionally, I’m working on a screenplay based on the life of Connie Lawn, a freelance reporter and White House…
Juliana von Haubrich (Theater MFA 99) checks in: “I’m still doing the work and grateful to have it. This past year was particularly wonderful. I designed a show called Ann that was produced at The Arena Stage in Washington, DC. That show went on to Dallas Theatre Center and will be coming to Laguna Playhouse…
Etta Lilienthal (Theater BFA 97, MFA 99) writes, “I had an amazing event opportunity with the CalArts Office of Alumnx and Family Engagement at my art installation/exhibition, Silfurá, hosted by MITHUN. I met new friends and reconnected with Lindsey Yost. Thanks to all who made it happen.”…
Paul Wehby (Art BFA 99) says, “I will be participating as an artist in The Other Art Fair, Dallas in May. If you’re in the area, please stop by.”…
Jim Santi Owen (Music BFA 92, MFA 05) reports, “After graduating in 2005, I returned to the San Francisco Bay Area where I continue my study of North Indian tabla with CalArts faculty member, Maestro Swapan Chaudhuri. I currently serve on the faculty of the California Jazz Conservatory, Dominican University, and the Ali Akbar College…
Daren Burns (Music BFA 97, MFA 08) says, “Besides teaching music in Beijing for the past three years, a double quartet +1 recording I made at NRG Studios with CalArts alumni Woody Aplanalp (Music BFA 95, MFA 99), Motoko Honda (Music MFA 02), Trevor Anderies (Music BFA 08, MFA 16), Brian Walsh (Music BFA 06, MFA 08),…
Ismael de Anda III (Art MFA 00) reports on two exhibitions: Alptraum (nightmare), Jan. 18 – March 14, 2020, is a wandering exhibition of 2D works by 200-plus artists, from 21-plus countries. Originally conceived and organized by Marcus Sendlinger (Germany) in 2010, the 17th iteration of Alptraum was co-curated by the Torrance Art Museum (TAM). TAM…
Robert Jacobson (Music MFA 00) says, “My first book, Space Is Open for Business: The Industry That Can Transform Humanity, will be released in spring 2020. Some of my research might surprise you, and it includes a section on arts and culture. There’s free content available at spaceisopneforbusiness.com. I would be grateful for any support…
Dana Marterella (Critical Studies MFA 00) teaches at Glendale College. She is currently writing her dissertation on culture and politics at UCLA….
Bob Bellerue (Music MFA 03) checks in: “I’m an experimental musician, audio engineer, festival curator/producer, educator, and dad in Ridgewood, Queens, NYC. I’ve dug my heels, head, and heart into heavy avant-garde/noise/experimental sound art since the early 2000s, and have kept up the pace as I enter my 50s. I work with multidimensional feedback systems,…
Carole Kim (Film/Video MFA 03) notes, “My site-specific multimedia performance, The seed will search … is featured in Jacki Apple’s article, ‘Performance in the Face of Climate Crisis: Poetics vs. Polemics,’ in PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art, vol. 42, issue 1, Jan. 2020, p. 59–63.”…
Ami Molinelli (Music MFA 03) says, “I released an album, Historia do Choro, with Duo Violão plus 1. It was awarded ‘Best of the Bay Area Jazz Albums’ for 2019, and they are touring this project through October 2020.”…
Tim Stutts (Music BFA 03) writes, “I’ve been working on the user experience team at spatial computing company, Magic Leap, since summer of 2016. My team continues to design new features for our ML1 product. I do a lot of work around input and operating systems and am responsible for LED and haptic patterns.”…
Salvatore (Sam) Torrisi (Music MFA 03) reports, “I got an MFA in composition/new media in 2003. I went on to earn an MA in applied linguistics and then a Ph.D. in neuroscience at UCLA. My postdoctoral work was accomplished at the National Institute of Mental Health in Maryland, and I am currently a research scientist…
Damon Zick (Music MFA 03) says, “My world chamber jazz ensemble Quarteto Nuevo was awarded a Jazz Road Tours Grant from South Arts to support our spring tour to Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. Jazz Road is an artist-centric touring and residency grants program to spread jazz throughout the country, strengthen work opportunities and compensation for…
Maile Costa Colbert (Film/Video MFA 04) says, “Hi! Wanted to let you all know the great news: Pacho Velez (Film/Video MFA 10) co-directed The American Sector, a new feature documentary that will be premiering and in competition at Berlinale 2020. The film was made with Courtney Stevens, and I designed the sound.” More on the film:…
Haeyong Moon (Film/Video MFA 04) checks in to say: “I completed my first feature-length documentary, Broadway Treasures, in the fall of 2019. It’s a film about the historic theaters in downtown Los Angeles and the community of people who have been taking care of the theaters for decades. The film was screened in New York…
Tanja Raaste (Theater MFA 04) says, “I’m living in South London, working as a producer for the Fourth Monkey Ensemble, currently producing a new touring show, In the Shadow of Walls. It begins in 1961 Berlin where the wall is going up, and it follows the stories of three women, who are dealing with new…
Shaun Fillion (Theater MFA 05) says, “I was scheduled to present at SXSW Innovation Festival on Compassionate Lighting for the Future Urban Night. I also look forward to stargazing with my 6-month-old son, Orion.”…
Zak Kyes (Art BFA 05) has been elected a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI), a professional body comprising the world’s leading designers. Established by Cassandre in 1952, the AGI is an association of 556 graphic designers appointed by invitation from across the globe. Notable members include Bruno Munari, Herbet Bayer, Wim Crouwel, Adrian…
W.S. Cheng (Film/Video MFA 05) says, “I was invited by my former colleagues at the Kansas City Chiefs to travel to Miami and experience Super Bowl LIV. The Chiefs won, and they are the world champions. Go, Chiefs!”…
Trish Hausmann (Theater MFA 05) reports, “After almost 15 years as the house manager, I am now the production manager for the Indiana University Department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance. I will continue teaching my entertainment management courses and add in teaching stage management as well. I also continue to stage manage for the…
Badger Koon (Theater MFA 05) writes, “I am living in Silver Lake, California, and recently graduated from the Upright Citizens Brigade improv program. I am also acting and producing and currently co-producing a web series called Mr. Hustle.”…
Emery Martin (Film/Video BFA 06) says, “For the fifth consecutive year, the creative duo of Emery C. Martin and Kerstin L. Hovland (Film/Video MFA 12), aka Electronic Countermeasures, worked with LACMA and PRODJECT to design the animated projected backdrops for the LACMA ART+FILM Gala 2019. This year the projections expanded to not only be the…
Zachary Morris (Music BFA 06) checks in: “My new band, The Bronze Medal Hopefuls, just released its first animated video single, and the rest of the EP will be released in the spring. We are excited about this project as we explore original compositions inspired by funk, ’70s comic books, and hero and heroines of…
Min Son (Art BFA 06) says, “The last year has been really exciting for me! I’ve transitioned into business consulting, where CalArts conceptual art studies have been an advantage. I am a partner at Refinery Consulting, a new design thinking consulting firm based in Louisville, Kentucky. I’ve also started taking a leadership role in the…
Danielle Ash (Film/Video MFA 08) writes, “Since my thesis film Pickles for Nickels, I have been happy to create animated cardboard films for Sesame Street. And now, after more than three years in production, my latest film, The Girl with the Rivet Gun, is out in festivals with the Black Maria Film Festival, AMDOCS, and…
Joe Milazzo (Critical Studies MFA 08) writes, “I have two chapbooks coming out in 2020: @p_roblem_s (Reality Beach) and homeopathy for the singularity (The Magnetic Field). More information about each title may be found at magnificentfield.com/news/2020/1/24/pre-order-forthcoming-titles-for-2020 and at realitybeach.org/the-press.”…
Zjana Muraro (Dance BFA 08) reports, “Since graduating I’ve had the amazing pleasure to perform some wonderful work. I’ve danced alongside Shaggy, Chaka Kahn, and Jamalia. I’ve worked with band Sonic Youth, director Harmonie Korine and interdisciplinary artist Scott Snibbe. I’ve also performed the work of Vertigo and Roy Assaf in Israel. Along the way,…
Rebecca Levy (Dance MFA 10) writes, “In October 2019, I performed with CalArts alumnx Hector Machado (Theater BFA 10) in Allied Bodies at the Miami Dade County Auditorium. The show was a shared concert with my company, Jacksonville Dance Theatre, and Pioneer Winter Collective of Miami. We look forward to performing together again in 2020.”…
Natalie Metzger (Dance MFA 11) says, “I’m producing a new movie called Werewolves Within, starring Sam Richardson for Ubisoft’s new film studio. Greener Grass, which I produced and which premiered at Sundance, was nominated for a Spirit Award. I’m also currently in post-production on Jim Cummings’ newest film The Beta Test.”…
Clifford Pun (Art MFA 11) reports that Donna Brown (Art MFA 11) and Chris Velasco (Art BFA 10) presented The Fellowship: Subverting the Imagined Family Portrait in Photography at the 2019 Society for Photographic Education Chapter Conference “All-Inclusive: Photography for Social Justice” at Santa Clara University on Nov. 2, 2019….
John Warren (Film/Video MFA 12) notes: “My short experimental video, ‘Hot Pursuit,’ premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival.”…
Amanda K Cole (Washko) (Theater MFA 13) says, “I just wrapped up my third consecutive season as the resident intimacy choreographer at Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland, Oregon. Recent credits also include movement and intimacy direction at Portland Center Stage for Macbeth. I continue working as a movement director and choreographer, advocating for safe, sustainable,…
Janice Lobo Sapigao (Critical Studies MFA 13) notes, “I am the 2020/21 Poet Laureate of Santa Clara County.”…
Alexis Macnab (Theater MFA 13) writes, “I’ve been blessed to have collaborations with CalArtians both personal and professional. This year’s highlights in art and life include directing the premiere of Amanda Jane Shank’s (Theater MFA 13) The Fasting Girls at Z Below in San Francisco, directing the CalArts CNP performance installation of Virginia Grise’s (Theater MFA…
Braden Diotte (Music MFA 14) says, “I’m happy to report that my 2013 work General Manifest has been recorded and was released as an album on Dec. 31, 2019. The inspiration behind General Manifest came two-fold. Aesthetically, I wanted to create a piece to pay tribute to the fleeting music that I’ve witnessed emanating from…
Lionel Williams (Art BFA 14) notes, “A new work, titled Azure, collages over 25 paintings by James McCarthy, Sergio Macedo, Tokyo Aoyoma, Brian Cooper, Carlos Ochagavia, Roger Dean, Tuco Amalfi, Kay Nielsen, Adrian Kenyon, Dustin Yellin, Jordan Speer, Henry Hudson, Gilbert Williams, Mario Martinez, Luke Schroeder, Jonathen Solter, Ton Harin, Remedios Varo, Marty Morales, Kate…
Wheesung Baek (Film/Video 16) says, “CalArts changed not only the technology but also the way I looked at the world with art. I was happy to spend the best year and a half of my life at the world’s best animation school! Professors Andrew Park, my mentor; Leo Hobaica; Steve Brown, who was the professor…
Diana Cioffari-MacPhee (Music MFA 16) checks in: “By day, I am a program associate in the Alumnx & Family Engagement Office at CalArts. Outside of my work at the Institute, I am a vocalist, composer, multi-instrumentalist, voice actress, actress, educator, writer, and collaborator who continues to work on narrative projects.”…
Sara Martin (Film/Video BFA 16) reports, “I am currently working at Stoopid Buddy Stoodios as a post production coordinator on Justin Roiland’s new show Gloop World, Marvel’s Hulu Show M.O.D.O.K., and many other unannounced productions that are slated to premiere on Hulu, Quibi, and other streaming platforms. I am also an assistant editor for Buddy…
Sarah Melnick (Van Sciver) (Music MFA 16) says, “Keeping busy and loving every minute as the Alumnx & Family Engagement assistant director for CalArts. I also run my own freelance company, Songbird, as a songwriter, composer, arranger, vocalist, harpist, ukulele player, pianist, sound designer, and audio/music engineer for screen, stage, and studio productions. For anyone…
Davy Sumner (Music MFA 16) writes, “In December 2019, I ‘punched it’ around the galaxy as a sound editor and mixer on an update of Disney Imagineering’s Star Tours attraction at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, coinciding with the release of the film Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. On a more earthly note, I…
Caleb Veazey (Music MFA 16) reports, “Life has been a whirlwind since graduating with many opportunities and struggles. I released my first record in 2018 titled Wander and Moral with CalArts alumni Trevor Anderies-Roitstein (Music MFA 16), Yvette Holzwarth (Music MFA 16), and Ben Finley (Music MFA 16). Last summer I was invited to perform…
Oscar Corona (Art BFA 17) writes, “Hola! Just surviving and pushing forward, same old same old. Remember: It’s a dog-eat-dog world. You sink or swim—choose one. Play to your strengths. Make art for art’s sake. If it doesn’t hurt, it’s not worth it. That’s the _________ way. I challenge you to take a risk, be…
Dionna Daniel (Theater BFA 17) reports, “I am now the artistic associate of the Pasadena Playhouse, the official state theater of California!”…
Sam Gurry (Film/Video MFA 18) says, “I was lucky enough to create the animation for Catherine Opie’s Rhetorical Landscapes show, which opened at Regen Projects last February.”…
Janessa Grace Boom (Film/Video BFA 19) notes,“Since graduating from CalArts, I have gone on to costume design for the first feature I’ve ever worked on, Lisa and Liza, which is being directed by Liat Benezra (Film/Video BFA 20) and Shianne Yang (Film/Video BFA 20). I also have been signed with a modeling agency called Contra…
Noel Chang (Brandon) (Music MFA 19) writes, “BERNIE SANDERS FOR PRESIDENT 2020.”…
Karina Majewski (Fathi) (Theater MFA 19) says, “After graduation, I married James Majewski (Theater MFA 19) at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Newhall last June. In November we moved to New York City, and in April we welcomed our first child. (A boy!)”…
