School of Theater Class Notes

Spring 2012

Chad Bauman (MFA Theater '04) will be leaving Arena Stage to take a position as the Associate Director/ Director of Marketing & Membership at the Smithsonian Associates

Darrow Carson (MFA Acting '98) wrote a short film, EMPTY that has been accepted into the Dances With Film Festival

Leilani Drakeford (BFA Acting '06) has been cast as Delia in Lorraine Hanesberry Theatre's production of " Blues for an Alabama Sky" by Pearl Cleage

Rona Edwards (BFA Acting '77) has recently published her book The Complete Filmmaker's Guide to Film Festivals

Eternal Thou recived a great reviwew on Backstage's website. Alums include actors Vonzell Carter (MFA Acting '09), and Jenny Greer (MFA Acting '11). Also Costume Designer Ariel Boroff (Costume Design '10), Scenic Designer Sarah Krainin (MFA Scenic Design '08) , and Lighting Designer Ian Garrett (MFA Lighting Design '08).

Ayana Hampton (MFA Acting '06) Performed in The Morning After Show at the Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles April 12th-14th.

Cody Henderson (BFA Acting '96) premiered his play The Bewildered Herd in April 14th at the Greenway Court Theater.

David Mack (MFA Theater '08) is the Managing Director of Riot/Rebellion performance of the Watts Village Theater Company

Marjam Oskoui (MFA Theater '99) is participating in a group show at the Papillion Institute or Art in Los Angeles called the Be Beautiful Project opening on March 17th.

Beata Pilch (MFA Acting '93) artistic director of the Trap Door Theatre in Chicago has most recently been awarded an artist residency at the Cite des Arts Internationale in Paris for the next  three months.

Condola Rashad (BFA Acting '08) had been nominated for a Tony for Stick Fly

Winter 2012

JP Allen's (Theater '84) film Stephanie's Image was written about by Christine Ziemba. He also has a new feature film Centaur opening theatrically March 23rd in San Fransisco at Landmark's Lumiere Theatre.

Olusola Bamishigbin (MFA Theater '11) appeared on ABC Family's new show Design By Jane in her television debut on February 14th in the episode The Teen Model.

In February, Abica Dubay (BFA Acting '09) will appear in Sarah's War with fellow alumnus Will Green (Acting '09) at Hollywood's Hudson Theater.

Emily Williams Carter (Theater Management '10) reports that she and her husband Vonzell Carter (MFA Acting '09) cofounded a new fight team/production company, Thousand Pounds. Emily is serving as the company's team manager and shares that Thousand Pounds is receiving attention following the release of its short film, Dreamers Fight. The team was recently interviewed by ExtraHype.com.

Vonzell Carter (MFA Acting '09)see Emily Williams Carter.

Will Green - see Abica Dubay.

Jeffrey Hirsch (BFA Theater '74) has been named Frye Art Museum's Deputy Directer, Communications.

John Irving (BFA Acting '02) reports that he and his wife, Nicolle McMillion Irving (Theater '02) have recently launched the Renaissance Center for the Arts in Lancaster, CA.  In addition, the two pastor the Holy Renaissance Movement church. The Irvings, who were married in 2002, now have two sons and twin daughters.

Nicolle McMillion Irving (Theater '02) -- See John Irving.

Glen Miller (Scenic Design '79) reports that he will be included in the CFDA book and exhibition, IMPACT - 50 Years of The Council Of Fashion Designers Of America, which will be available on February 1st.  The exhibition runs from February 10th - April 17 at the Museum at FIT on Seventh Avenue at 27th St. in New York.

Fall 2011

Dalila Ali Rajah (MFA Theater '00) was recently interviewed about life, LGBT, and being gay and black in Hollywood.

Carolyn Almos (MFA 93), Matt Almos (MFA 93), Jon Beauregard (BFA 91) and Albert Dayan (BFA 94) have a writing and performing partnership called Burglars of Hamm. Their latest work, a Center Theatre Group commission, will receive two public readings at the Kirk Douglas Theatre on September 17th at 8 pm and September 18th at 7 pm. The play is called "The Behavior of Broadus" and is loosely based on the life of John Broadus Watson, the father of behaviorism and modern advertising. David O (BFA 91) will be music directing and Michole Briana White (BFA 91) and Hugo Armstrong (BFA 98) are in the cast.

Josh Chambers (MFA Directing 06) is directing “BIG BRO / lil bro”, a world premiere play at Company of Angels Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles. The cast includes another CalArts Alum, Vincent Tula (MFA Acting 07). The set and sound were designed by Jeff Teeter (BFA Scenic Design/Video 06) and lights were designed by Brandon Baker (BFA scheduled for 2010).

The Fifty Year Sword a ghost story by Mark Z. Danielewski was performed on Halloween eve with Christine Marie (MFA Theater '09), Rachel Mestrovich (Theater '10), and Paul Turbiak (MFA Theater '08).

Liz English (Theater '10) and her new theater company A Collection of Shiny Objects, is debuting in the ANT Festival at Ars Nova.

Amy Heebner (BFA Theater '75) preparing for public readings of one of her original scripts in NYC."After the Ph.D." is a contemporary love story about academicians set in New York with some scenes in Europe.The readings will take place on Thursday evening, October 6, 2011, and Friday evening, October 7, 2011, at the Dramatists Guild's Loewe Room in New York City.  Readings start at 7 o'clock on Thursday and 7:30 on Friday.

Emily Jackson (BFA Theater '09) performed in Waiting for Lefty a dpression era play on the steps of City Hall at Occupy LA early in October.

Toussaint Jeanlouis (BFA Acting '10) was nominated for Best Actor in the New Orleans Horror Film Festival

Summer 2011

Lars Jan (MFA Directing '08) has been selected as a TED Fellow

Gabriel Marantz (BFA Theatre '09) and Phil Soltanof will be presenting thier site specific piece SITSTANDWALKLIEDOWN on Friday August 5th at 1:00pm and 4:30pm on Spring Street and the Williamstown Campus in Williamstown, MA as part of the Williamstown Theater Festival.

Tina Tangalakis (BFA Theater '00) is designing for the fabric accessories line Della Los Angeles, known for it's dedication to changing the lives of women and children in Ghana where their line is made

Spring 2011

The company of Cooking Oil, a performance and public dialogue initiative written by Deborah Asiimwe (MFA Writing for Persormance '09, has been invited to present at the Centre by Centre Festival in Kigali, Rwanda this summer following successful performances and panel sessions in Kampala, Uganda in October 2010. Asiimwe was the Overall Winner for the 2010 BBC World Service African Performance Playwriting Competition. Cooking Oil involves three other Theater School alumnae, including director Emily Mendelsohn (MFA Directing '09; see Darius Mannino '06), designer Shannon Scrofano (MFA Scenic Design '06) and producer Miranda Wright (MFA Management '09).

Brandon Baker (BFA '10 Lighting Design) will be designing at the Guggenheim Museum Works & Process Celebration of David Del Tredici. This performance features a new ballet by Tony Nominated Choreographer Lynne Taylor-Corbett. The event takes place March 27th & 28th at the Guggenheim Museum's Peter B. Lewis Theater in New York City.

Vonzell Carter - See Maureen Huskey (MFA '09 Directing).

Check out Leila Ghaznavi's (MFA '10 Acting) mention in Backstage. Her show, Silken Veils,recently toured the Iranian Theatre Festival in New York. She will return to Edinburgh this August to try and repeat her sold out performance this past summer.

Kerry Gibbons (MFA Costume Design ‘10) designed costumes for Red Shark Productions' Macbeth at Wings Theater in NewYork.

E. Martin Gimenez (MFA '09 Sound Design) desgined the sound and projections for The Colored Museum by George C. Wolfe at Pomona College in Claremont.

Dana Gourier (Acting '10) appeared in the second episode of Treme, potraying Det. LeRoy, on HBO.  Also, she will sing the National Anthem at the New Orleans Arena for the AFL VooDoo Game on June 3.

Selected as the winner of the 2010 Yale Drama competition for blu, Virginia (Vicki) Grise's  (MFA '09 Writing for Performance) Rasgos Asiaticos has been selected for a staged reading at 2011 Asuncion.

Maureen Huskey (MFA '09 Directing) will be directing SHOE STORY at Teatre of NOTE. It previews on Thursday, April 14th and runs through Saturday, May 22. Also involves Sound Design by Brian Maier (MFA '09 Sound Design), costumes by Hunter Wells (MFA '10 Costume Design) and fight choreography by Vonzell Carter (MFA '09 Acting)

Toussaint Jean Louis will appear in Urban Theater Movement's production of Jose Rivera's Massacre (Sing to Your Children) from April 8 to May 15.

In March, Jessica Kubzansky (MFA Directing '94) directed a CalArts co-production of Tennessee Williams’ Camino Real with the Boston Court Theater in Pasadena, where she is Artistic Director.

Carla Linton (MFA '10 Lighting Design) is the designer for "Opal" for the Incubator Arts Project

Brian Maier - See Maureen Huskey (MFA '09 Directing).

Darius Mannino (MFA Acting '06) recently returned from Kigali Rwanda, where he was working on a Theater Communications Group/TCG grant to "enhance ongoing relationships with several Rwandan theater artists through the creation of an original, artist-generated work to be performed in both Rwanda and the U.S."  While there, he was able to collaborate on a work with Emily Mendelsohn (MFA Directing '09), who is studying theater on a Fulbright Fellowship.

Sean McGowan (BFA '00 Theater) is starring in Rockstar Entertainment's newest video game L.A. Noire

Emily Mendelson - See Darius Mannino (MFA Acting '06).

Dave Mickey - See James O'Niel (BFA '75 Theater).

Marco Morante's (BFA Design and Production '02) costume designs for Marco Marco were featured in Forbes'.

Laura Mroczkowski (MFA '02 Lighting Design) has been nominated for a Drama Deak Award for her lighting of SPY GARBO.

Cricket S Myers (MFA '03 Sound Design) received a Tony nomination for Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo at the Richard Rogers Theater on Broadway, which opened March 31st.

James O'Neil (BFA '75 Theater) is the writer and director for LONESOME TRAVELER's world premiere at the Rubicon Theatre with Media Design by Dave Mickey (MFA '08 Sound Design).

Kat Ochsner (MFA Acting '04) will appear in Oracle Theater Company's production of Radio Goggles from June 25 - August 6, where she will get to collaborate with fellow Calartian Max Truax (MFA Directing '03), Oracle's Outreach Director. 

Darren Olivero - See Roland Rosencranz (BFA '91 PDAT).

Michael Perlmutter’s (BFA Acting ’81) world premier of My Perfect Alibi was held at the Bell Arts Factory in Ventura, CA March 18-27.

Roland Rosencranz (BFA '91 PDAT) has been working as an art director for CSI Miami and Darren Olivero (BFA '09 PDAT) has been a creative consultant.

David Stears (BFA '00 Theater) is directing the New Works Festival at College of the Canyons

R. Christopher Stokes (MFA Lighting Design '10) designed the lighting for award-winning playright Nick Salamone’s The Sonneteer at the Davidson/Valentini Theater in Santa Monica, CA. He also designed The Crucible at Banshee Theater in Burbank, and Tartuffe at the Actor's Gang in Culver City.

Andre Thompson (MFA Acting'10) appeared in The Red Fern Theater's production of Mapplethorpe Doesn't Live Here Anymore.

Rainbow Underhill (Acting '97) will perform in Brody Condon, Line Up (After Trisha) at LACMA on Thursday, April 28.

Ian Verdun (BFA Acting ‘07) stars in and Adam Flemming (MFA 07 Scenic Painting) designed sets for the critically acclaimed play, Daddy, now playing at the Hudson Mainstage in Hollywood through April 10. 

Hunter Wells - See Maureen Huskey (MFA '09 Directing).

Filmmakers Sarah Louise Wilson (BFA Acting '01) and Mercedes LeAnza are holding free community screenings of their new film, The Accidental Death of Joey by Sue, on April 2 to benefit Los Angeles' Plaza de la Raza.

Elizabeth Yokem (BFA Acting '08) appeared in Native Voices’ world premier of The Frybread Queen March 12-27 at the Wells Fargo Theater/Autry Center in Los Angeles. 

Laura Youngkin (MFA Producing  '10) has joined Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Entertainment, under fellow alumni Michael Jung (MFA Directing '94) and Matt Almos (MFA Directing '93), Laura is focused on the development of Shanghai Disneyland, which will open in 2015.