Class Notes
surgery while awake is a mere trifle compared to the joy of holding your first born. I have spent most of my time dedicated to music, theater, and dance, and felt very grateful for the chance to start my family at 40!” A Sky Chari (Grealis) ’01 writes, “I am still a musician at heart, and still teaching flute lessons and playing the occasional gig, but I have made a major shift toward a career as a Vegan Lifestyle Coach and Educator. Certified as a coach in 2016, I’ve been building my practice, giving talks, and taking on private clients here in San Francisco. I am also beginning to do more writing at WokeWoman.com, where I discuss sexual politics, dismantling relationship constructs, and all things feminist, as a way to help women discover self-love and empowerment. Visit skychari.com.”
An article by Colin Dickey ’01 was the cover story in the July issue of The New Republic. His book, Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places, is out in paperback from Viking Books. A
on ABC and Dick Wolf’s mini-series, Law & Order: True Crimes, on NBC. She will also appear in the upcoming film written and directed by music artist Sia, alongside Kate Hudson and Leslie Odom Jr. Celeste is making her NYC and Broadway debut this fall in Julie Taymor’s production of M. Butterfly, starring Clive Owen.
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the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Also designing the set for Romeo and Juliet, directed by Dámaso Rodríguez, at Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s 2018 season in the Elizabethan Theatre. Goh Kurosawa ’03 received six nominations with the 2017 Just Plain Folks Awards (one of the largest international music awards in the world), including “Best Instrumental Rock” and “Best Solo Guitar” in both album and song categories. Kris Tiner ’03 accepted a full-time, tenuretrack position as Director of Jazz Studies at Bakersfield College, which began this fall. Tiner has been an adjunct professor at Bakersfield College and CSU Bakersfield since 2004, and has recently been filling in as jazz trumpet instructor in the School of Music at CalArts. He continues to perform and record frequently, having recently appeared on producer/composer Chris Schlarb’s new album, Psychic Temple IV, which debuted at #11 on the Billboard Americana/Folk charts. He is currently working on his fifth duo album with Tennessee guitarist Mike Baggetta, which will be released next year. Salvatore (Sam) Torrisi ’03 reports: “After CalArts, I got an MA in Applied Linguistics at UCLA. Then I got a PhD in Neuroscience there, too, doing research on bipolar disorder. Now I’m into my fourth year as a postdoc at National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland doing research on anxiety.” Ron Yavnieli ’03 writes, “Since 2013, I’ve been producing Gorillaville, a cartoon series I created for DreamWorksTV. You can see them here: tinyurl.com/Gorillaville. I’m also teaching animation for ACME and CSULB.”
Gabby La La (Gabby Lang) ’01 and Siciliana Trevino ’01 collaborated on Snow Angel VR, a 360 music video app for La La’s all-girl psychedelic funk pop band, Snow Angel. Their Kickstarter-funded VR app takes you on a rainbow-fueled trip through four songs from the band’s debut album: Bounce from “Trampoline of Emotion” into “Big Group Hug,” “Fifteen,” and “We Love,” Trevino’s first 360 music video for virtual reality. Efren Delgadillo (Jr) ’03 is designing the set for Lydia R. Diamond’s Smart People, directed by CalArts alum Nataki Garrett at
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Adriana Yugovich ’03 writes, “After working in the entertainment industry for a decade, I became a full-time arts educator in 2013. I teach media arts at Humanitas Academy of Art & Technology (HAAT), a LAUSD pilot high school in East Los Angeles. I also teach comics and zine-making workshops for adults and help organize the annual L.A. Zine Fest. Last summer, I spoke on two panels at San Diego Comic Con, one about comics art education for teens, and the other about the history of women in comics. For news and upcoming workshops, visit drawingclub.la.” B Celeste Den ’04 recently co-starred in Shonda Rhimes’ new show, For the People,
Laura Grant ’04 checks in: “New book. I’m in a lot of books. I can send you them.” Ami Molinelli ’04 released her third album with her Brazilian choro group, “Group Falso Baiano,” this past summer. Depois was released in June and debuted at LACMA as well as other venues around California. Ami is a percussionist/musician and educator living in San Francisco with her husband Lorca Hart ‘92 and young son Leo.
Remembering Tamami Asada ’03: “Tamami Asada, our classmate from the MFA Program in Film and Video, passed away on December 25, 2016 in Japan. The cause of death was heart attack. Tamami was born in Japan and studied Cinema at C SUNY Binghamton in New York. She came to CalArts in September 2001 to pursue a master’s degree in film. In January of 2003, mid-way into her degree program, Tamami returned to Japan to take care of her family. She moved everything from her Ahmanson Hall dorm room into a storage unit in Valencia. Her plan was to return to Los Angeles in the near future, to continue her studies and pursue a career in sitcom writing. If not for her illness, I know that she would be here today and writing for television. Tamami had an exuberance of life that was contagious to everyone around her. She was able to cure a broken heart with just a few words. My heart goes out to Tamami’s family and all those fortunate to have known her.” — Haeyong Moon ’04 C Jason Pinsker ’04 writes, “Since graduating, I’ve worked in creative/makeup effects for film/TV and now teach Media Arts at the high school level.” Tanja Raaste ’04 writes, “Since I left CalArts, I’ve been working as a freelance producer and trainer, and this February, I became the General Manager of ZU-UK, an innovative immersive theatre and technology company known for, among other things, Hotel Medea. I continue to teach my Nordic Nomad (nordicnomad.com) workshops on business skills for performers and artists at drama schools, arts schools, and festivals, and am pulling the material together for a book.” W.S. Cheng ’05 checks in: “I currently work in the Cybersecurity team at Chicago Board Operations Exchange. The Finance Sector