CalArts Theater 2009-2011

SCHOOL OF

THEATER 2009–2011

DEAN’S INTRODUCTION ERIK EHN

The CalArts School of Theater stands as one of the most forward-looking theater training programs in the United States, dedicated to the development of new voices and new forms. We offer professional training in an environment optimized for educating the whole person and prepare full-fledged theater artists to enter and transform the field.

The school has two branches: Programs in Performance include courses of study in acting, directing, and writing for performance; Programs in Design and Production comprise scene, costume, lighting and sound design, technical direction, and management. The Programs in Design and Production also provide graduate-level specializations in producing, production management, scene painting and video for performance. An additional specialization in puppetry is housed at the school’s Center for Puppetry and the Arts.

ALL OF THESE DISCIPLINES INTERACT CONTINUOUSLY AS THE SCHOOL PRESENTS AN EXTENSIVE SERIES OF PRODUCTIONS EACH YEAR: full-scale works staged in connection with the curriculum, groundbreaking new projects developed and produced in collaboration with internationally renowned artists and institutions, and an annual, student-driven New Works Festival.

Our five theater spaces—the architecturally unique Walt Disney Modular Theater and four black-box theaters—often run productions simultaneously. We also make use of other on- and off-campus sites and venues, both conventional and unconventional.

CALARTS OFFERS STUDENTS AN EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE THAT IS:

EXPERIMENTAL INTERDISCIPLINARY INTERNATIONAL DIVERSE EXPERIMENTAL: Experiment is experience; production is at the heart of learning as students work side by side with faculty, who serve as both instructors and artistic mentors. In rehearsals, workshops and performances, the ideas and techniques engaged in the classroom are tested and joined in force through practical applications and immersive learning environments designed to promote collaboration.

INTERDISCIPLINARY: We push students to excellence in their métier and then urge them to reach across boundaries.

INTERNATIONAL: The school advocates a global understanding of theater. We foster the development of the distinct personal voice, and charge that voice to know and declare its place in society at large. We support academic and cultural exchanges and tour shows internationally. We encourage the braiding of the academic with the world beyond our walls through the Community Arts Partnership, which links our students and faculty with youth in the local community, and the Center for New Performance, which allows students to work in an apprentice model with professional artists from around the globe.

DIVERSE: Diversity—social, cultural, ethnic, aesthetic, economic—is crucial. The promise of the future is best realized by those who can recognize the opportunities inherent in diversity, make choices, and create new and elegant connections.

IN THIS SPIRIT, OUR TRAINING ENCOURAGES OPEN IMAGINATIONS, AVAILABILITY TO INSPIRATION AND COLLABORATION, AND THE CONTEMPLATIVE ABILITY TO BE AND DO, TO THINK AND FEEL, IN AN OPEN AND SEARCHING MANNER, ALL THE WHILE MAINTAINING A SURE CENTER.

Scenes from Beelzebub Sonata, by S.I. Witkiewicz.

Directed by Lars Jan. Scenery: Mike Zimmerman and Jan; costumes: Vanessa Porter; video and lighting: Pablo Molina; sound: Chuek Wa Yuen LEFT: Mary Loveless and Eddie Lopez INSET, TOP : Jesse Saler (LEFT) and Jesse Bonnell

SCHOOL OF

THEATER

Taylor Clearman and Sonny Valicenti in My End, the MFA thesis play by Joy Tomasko. Directed by guest artist Jennifer Harvey. Scenery: Ken MacKenzie; costumes: Leah Piehl; lighting: Jesse Prince; sound: David Rogge

Scenes from Beelzebub Sonata, by S.I. Witkiewicz.

Directed by Lars Jan. Scenery: Mike Zimmerman and Jan; costumes: Vanessa Porter; video and lighting: Pablo Molina; sound: Chuek Wa Yuen LEFT: Mary Loveless and Eddie Lopez INSET, TOP : Jesse Saler (LEFT) and Jesse Bonnell

The information contained in this publication is subject to change. For the most up-to-date information about CalArts and the School of Theater, see calarts.edu.

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INTRODUCTION, Erik Ehn SCHOOL OF THEATER AT A GLANCE PROGRAMS FACULTY SPECIAL RESOURCES FACILITIES VISITING ARTISTS

54 ALUMNI 56 APPLICATIONS

SCHOOL OF THEATER AT A GLANCE EMPHASIS ON INDEPENDENT VISION The CalArts School of Theater supports and extends the work of emerging theater artists from multiple disciplines. The school cultivates independent artistic and intellectual vision, preparing artists to enter and transform a rapidly evolving field.

PRODUCTION EXPERIENCE

A FACULTY OF ACCOMPLISHED WORKING ARTISTS The school’s faculty features leading professional theater artists in every area of practice. Each member of the faculty is committed to fostering the development of the next generation of theater artists.

COLLABORATIVE AND INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECTS

Production is at the heart of learning at CalArts. The school is a vibrant and prolific producing entity, presenting an extensive array of curricular projects, innovative collaborations with noted artists and institutions, and studentorganized productions—including the annual New Works Festival.

CENTER FOR NEW PERFORMANCE (CNP) The institute-wide professional producing arm of CalArts provides a framework for the creation of adventurous new theater, music, dance and interdisciplinary works—projects that challenge and redefine the boundaries of contemporary performance. The CNP links CalArts with the broader professional community, and allows students to work collegially with artists from around the world. CNP productions are staged at REDCAT and other national and international venues.

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CalArts encourages cross-pollination in the arts. In addition to collaborations within the School of Theater, students may work with a wide spectrum of artists—writers, musicians, composers, choreographers, filmmakers, video artists, animators, graphic designers and painters—from other CalArts schools.

CENTER FOR PUPPETRY AND THE ARTS Housed in the School of Theater, the Scenes from Sonata, by S.I. Witkiewicz. center is Beelzebub an interdisciplinary laboratory Directed Lars Jan. Scenery: Mike Zimmerman and for thebystudy and exploration of puppets Jan; costumes: Vanessa Porter; video and lighting: and performing objects in theater, film, Pablo Molina; sound: Chuek Wa Yuen dance art.and The center LEFT : Maryand Loveless Eddie Lopezallows students INSET, TOP : Jesse Saler (LEFT) Jesse Bonnell to incorporate the useand of performing

objects into their theatrical vocabularies, or to concentrate on work with puppets and other performing objects.

PERSONAL ATTENTION AND MENTORING The school’s relatively small size allows for a low student-faculty ratio (8:1), small classes and one-to-one mentoring. Every student works closely with his or her mentor, a faculty member who serves as that student’s artistic advisor.

EXCEPTIONAL PEER GROUP CalArts attracts some of the most talented, daring and motivated young artists and designers at work today—a collection of fresh voices who, as a group, represent one of the most creative student populations in American arts education.

PROFESSIONAL CONNECTIONS As active professionals, the members of the faculty are in close contact with a diverse mix of noted practitioners at theater companies and stage, film and television productions—nationally and internationally. As a result, faculty members are in a unique position to connect students with observerships and internships to enhance their educational experience.

INTERNATIONAL REACH As a reflection of CalArts’ longtime commitment to aesthetic and cultural diversity and global understanding in the arts, the School of Theater maintains a series of international exchange programs and affiliations. CalArts companies tour shows at prestigious international venues—including the Edinburgh Fringe Festival each year—and regularly collaborate with colleagues abroad. The school also hosts the annual Arts in the One World conference, an international gathering of artists, schools and institutions.

COMMUNITY ARTS PARTNERSHIP (CAP) ROY AND EDNA DISNEY/CALARTS THEATER (REDCAT) REDCAT is CalArts’ downtown Los Angeles center for the presentation of innovative performing, visual and media arts. REDCAT offers special opportunities for select School of Theater students, both as a performance venue for selected productions and as a forum for acquiring professional experience in design, production and management. In addition to theater productions, REDCAT’s eclectic programming allows all CalArts students to experience a wide range of experimental work by a mix of emerging artists and internationally renowned practitioners.

An award-winning, nationally recognized program, CAP links CalArts with the diverse communities of Los Angeles County through free after-school and school-based arts programs for youth. This program provides CalArts theater students the opportunity to teach, to hone their artistic abilities, and to help to redefine the role of artists, arts education, and the arts in society.

calarts.edu/theater 9

JIE FLOWERS From Los Angeles

BFA SOUND DESIGN PROGRAM

“

It’s required that every BFA in our school—actors, scenic and sound designers, and technicians—all take a class called ‘The Theater’ with dean Erik Ehn. When I first came to CalArts I had preconceived notions about the differences between, say, artists—who are so ‘out there’ and energetic—and technicians, who are more chilled and laid back. When the class began, all the technicians sat on one side of the room, and the actors sat over on the other. But as it progressed Erik acknowledged everyone in the class. So, instead of saying, ‘In this part of the semester I’m going to address acting; and in this part I’m going to do tech,’ he molded it all into one. He talked about the art of theater itself, about how all the parts relate to each other, and he enticed everyone to the ‘middle.’ If you to come to the middle, you get it all. We learned that

THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE IN EXPRESSION BETWEEN A MONOLOGUE OR SOUNDSCAPE OR A LIGHTING PLOT. THEY HAVE TO BE THE SAME EXACT EXPRESSION, THE SAME EXACT ENERGY, THE SAME EXACT UNDERSTANDING. “You won’t get much out of CalArts if you don’t collaborate.

If you sit in your room, you’ll do a couple of shows; but that’s what you did in high school. Here it’s a mini-city; it’s an empire of artists, all trying to realize their dreams. The faculty has really opened up my mind to see that there is no idea too crazy. I took an architectural styles class. You’re a sound designer; but you’re learning about architecture to understand how buildings and surfaces affect sound. The point is that you may have to change your original design to work with all the other elements of a production to create successful sound design.

“The meaning of a mentor at CalArts is immeasurable.

My mentor is sound designer Jon Gottleib. When the fires were Scenes from Beelzebub Sonata, by S.I. Witkiewicz. burning up here last October, I—and all the BFAs—received Directed by Lars Jan. Scenery: Mike Zimmerman and personal calls from Jon asking, ‘Do you need a ride? you Jan; Would costumes: Vanessa Porter; video and lighting: Pablo Molina; sound: Chuek Wa Yuen like to come stay at my home?’ Now, high school counselors, or LEFT: Mary Loveless and Eddie Lopez counselors anywhere else, might check up on youINSET, or direct youSaler to (LEFT) and Jesse Bonnell TOP : Jesse a shelter; but the first day the school was closed, even if it wasn’t necessary, Jon said, ‘Do you want to stay at my house?’ That shows the dedication. When I got that call, I understood what it meant to have a mentor.

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”

Scenes from My End, the thesis play by Joy Tomasko of the MFA Writing for Performance Program. Directed by guest artist Jennifer Harvey. Scenery: Ken MacKenzie; costumes: Leah Piehl; lighting: Jesse Prince; sound: David Rogge ABOVE : Taylor Clearman and Sonny Valicenti ABOVE RIGHT: Clearman with Sebastian Stenhoj RIGHT: Condola Rashad and Ren Bell OPPOSITE : Taylor Clearman

Scenes from Book of Tink, written by Erik Ehn. Director and composer: Josh Chambers. Scenery: Ken MacKenzie; costumes: Soo Jin Lee; lighting: John T. Eckert; sound: Vikram Kirby; video: Adam Flemming and Patrick Kennelly ABOVE : Danielle Jones and Eddie Lopez OPPOSITE, TOP : Danielle Jones OPPOSITE, INSET: Ali Ahn

Two scenes from The Seagull, by Anton Chekhov. Directed by Kyung Taek Oh. Scenery: Sarah Krainin; costumes: Hana Lani Lee; lighting: Porsche McGovern; sound: Yun Oh ABOVE : Lisa Louttit (LEFT) and Abica Dubay INSET, FROM LEFT: Alejandra Bursik-Cervantes, Michael McIntyre and Lawrence McEvoy

PROGRAMS PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS ARE INVITED TO APPLY TO ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:

PROGRAMS IN PERFORMANCE:

• ACTING PROGRAM (BFA, MFA) • DIRECTING PROGRAM (MFA) • WRITING FOR PERFORMANCE PROGRAM (MFA)

with a specialization available in:

PUPPETRY—CENTER FOR PUPPETRY AND THE ARTS (BFA, MFA LEVELS)

PROGRAMS IN DESIGN AND PRODUCTION: • SCENE DESIGN PROGRAM (BFA, MFA)

with specializations available in:

PUPPETRY—CENTER FOR PUPPETRY AND THE ARTS (BFA, MFA LEVELS) SCENE PAINTING (MFA LEVEL) VIDEO FOR PERFORMANCE (MFA LEVEL)

• COSTUME DESIGN PROGRAM (BFA, MFA) • LIGHTING DESIGN PROGRAM (BFA, MFA) • SOUND DESIGN PROGRAM (BFA, MFA) • TECHNICAL DIRECTION PROGRAM (BFA, MFA) • MANAGEMENT PROGRAM (BFA, MFA)

with specializations available in:

Le Petit Macabre, a puppet theater work directed, designed and performed by Caitlin Lainoff

PRODUCING (MFA LEVEL) PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT (MFA LEVEL) STAGE MANAGEMENT (BFA, MFA LEVELS)

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Coursework for these programs is drawn from more than 130 classes offered by the School of Theater each semester. BFA programs require students to complete a minimum of 120 semester units—including a series of liberal arts/general education classes—while candidates for the MFA degree must complete at least 60 units. All students may also take electives offered by the CalArts Schools of Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video and Music.

To graduate, students must fulfill all program and course requirements and pass faculty reviews of their artistic and academic progress—once in mid-residency and again prior to graduation.

See detailed program requirements and current course listings at calarts.edu/courses.

CRITICAL STUDIES UNDERGRADUATE REQUIREMENTS Candidates for the BFA degree must complete at least 46 Critical Studies semester units as part of the overall 120 units needed for graduation. This amounts to an average of three Critical Studies classes per semester and represents nearly 40 percent of each BFA student’s course load over four years. Classes in theater history can fulfill a portion of this requirement.

To see more detailed information about the Critical Studies Undergraduate Requirements, go to calarts.edu/undergrad.

Book of Tink, written by Erik Ehn and directed

by Josh Chambers

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Two scenes from The Seagull, by Anton Chekhov. Directed by Kyung Taek Oh. Scenery: Sarah Krainin; costumes: Hana Lani Lee; lighting: Porsche McGovern; sound: Yun Oh ABOVE : Lisa Louttit (LEFT) and Abica Dubay INSET, FROM LEFT: Alejandra Bursik-Cervantes, Michael McIntyre and Lawrence McEvoy

PROGRAMS IN

PERFORMANCE

Le Petit Macabre, a puppet theater work directed, designed and performed by Caitlin Lainoff

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ACTING PROGRAM BFA, MFA

The Acting Program at CalArts, headed by acclaimed actor Marissa Chibas, offers classically centered training with an eye toward the future, designed for preparing young artists for the performance challenges of the 21st century.

THE AIM OF THIS PROGRAM IS TO GUIDE STUDENTS IN BECOMING VERSATILE, WELL-ROUNDED THEATER ARTISTS WHO HAVE THE SKILLS TO CHART THEIR OWN CREATIVE AND PROFESSIONAL PATHS. Accordingly, the program seeks talented performers who are engaged with their imaginations, guided by their passions, and compelled to speak their stories.

Reflecting the rapidly evolving landscape of contemporary performance practice, the Acting Program has moved beyond the training structures used for preparing actors for repertory theater companies. Instead, the actor of the 21st century needs to be highly versatile, able to work in any number of forms, styles and settings. This actor must be technologically literate, have a strong command of body, voice and speech, and be equally adept in theater, film, television and emerging media.

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Two scenes from The Seagull, by Anton Chekhov. Directed by Kyung Taek Oh. Scenery: Sarah Krainin; costumes: Hana Lani Lee; lighting: Porsche McGovern; sound: Yun Oh ABOVE : Lisa Louttit (LEFT) and Abica Dubay INSET, FROM LEFT: Alejandra Bursik-Cervantes, Michael McIntyre and Lawrence McEvoy

The Acting Program provides comprehensive training for sophisticated actors and theater artists who make strong connections between the physical and the mental. Students in this program learn how to analyze texts, understand acting methodologies, and develop their bodies, voices, emotions and minds as instruments for performance. They also come to appreciate the value of hard work, self-discipline and accountability. In addition to coursework, acting students hone their skills by performing in studio projects, student-directed scenes and plays, and full productions directed by faculty, student directors and guest artists.

The four-year BFA curriculum centers on acting studios and courses in voice, speech, movement and theatrical production. First-year students focus on expanding their technique, imagination and artistry. Following the first year, acting studios are progressively combined to create a larger pool of collaborators and a heightened sense of community.

It also strives to question commonly held assumptions about theater while exploring new possibilities. During the first year of the MFA program, students take courses in speech, voice and movement, and clarify and refine acting techniques and personal aesthetics. In the second year, the emphasis is on classical texts, Shakespeare and other style work, while the third and final year is devoted to performance.

Additional coursework can include seminars in play analysis, history of the avant-garde, contemporary drama and other topics.

During the final year in residence in both the BFA and MFA programs, students enroll in Acting Studio for the Camera, an intensive class, and also sharpen their auditioning skills. The final semester culminates with a showcase production in which graduating students perform for professionals in the theater and film industries.

The three-year MFA Acting Program is designed for advanced student actors who are adventuresome, imaginative, and highly motivated. The admissions process is very competitive. The program’s curriculum focuses on all facets of each actor’s art and technique.

Le Petit Macabre, a puppet theater work directed, designed and performed by Caitlin Lainoff

OPPOSITE, TOP: Travis Preston, director of Programs

in Performance and head of Directing OPPOSITE, LEFT: Marissa Chibas (CENTER), head of Acting RIGHT: Taylor Clearman and Ren Bell in My End, by Joy Tomasko

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DIRECTING PROGRAM MFA

DEDICATED TO ARTISTIC EXPERIMENTATION, THIS RIGOROUS THREE-YEAR MFA PROGRAM ENABLES TALENTED DIRECTORS TO FORMULATE THEIR PERSONAL VISION FOR THE THEATER AND REDEFINE THE BOUNDARIES OF PERFORMANCE. Under the leadership of internationally celebrated director Travis Preston, the mission of the Directing Program is to identify and nurture directors who can have a seminal impact on the future of the American theater.

To that end, we foster the development of powerful individual visions in an environment of continuous artistic experimentation. This program is specifically designed to respond to the needs and artistic interests of each student, who, in turn, is expected to put forth an ambitious vision for innovative, cutting-edge theater.

With a clear and abiding emphasis on practical experience, students in this program are directing as frequently as possible—in classes, studios, labs and productions at one of the school’s five theaters. The program comprehensively addresses the full spectrum of the dramatic canon while it also recognizes the growing importance of work generated by directors. Additionally, students participate extensively in the Acting Program as well as in the Programs in Design and Production. They are further encouraged to take classes offered by other CalArts schools. Many MFA candidates engage in interdisciplinary collaborations with students throughout CalArts, while others take advantage of our many internship opportunities.

Two students are accepted into the program each year, with significant directing experience a prerequisite for admission. This course of study culminates with a thesis project.

To apply to any of the programs offered by the CalArts School of Theater, go to calarts.edu/apply.

All application, audition and portfolio instructions are listed on the CalArts application web page.

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Two scenes from The Seagull, by Anton Chekhov. Directed by Kyung Taek Oh. Scenery: Sarah Krainin; costumes: Hana Lani Lee; lighting: Porsche McGovern; sound: Yun Oh ABOVE : Lisa Louttit (LEFT) and Abica Dubay INSET, FROM LEFT: Alejandra Bursik-Cervantes, Michael McIntyre and Lawrence McEvoy

WRITING FOR PERFORMANCE PROGRAM MFA

Launched by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks and now headed by acclaimed multidisciplinary artist Carl Hancock Rux, this MFA program facilitates the development of unique and original voices in playwriting and other forms of writing intended for performance.

THE CURRICULUM EXTENDS TRADITIONAL NOTIONS OF PLAY- AND SCREENWRITING INTO UNCONVENTIONAL MEANS OF GENERATING TEXTS. It encourages an evolutionary sense of theater as a tool for social critique and activism, and embraces new collaborative ventures. This challenging program accepts two students each year. Applicants must show significant prior experience in theater.

The curriculum revolves around intensive writing classes in which students work closely with the head of the program and with their peers and collaborators to develop texts for both stage and screen. During the three-year residency, each student is expected to develop a significant body of work—including at least six plays. Additional coursework consists of classes in voice and movement and in literature and theater history— ranging from the Greeks to contemporary writers.

Students in this program also work with visiting artists, and survey and analyze theater productions throughout the Los Angeles area.

Le Petit Macabre, a puppet theater work directed, designed and performed by Caitlin Lainoff

RIGHT: Evan Cleaver and Liz Yoakem in Las Meninas, written by

Lynn Nottage and directed by Nataki Garrett INSET: Carl Hancock Rux, head of Writing for Performance

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PERFORMANCE/SCENE DESIGN SPECIALIZATION IN PUPPETRY— CENTER FOR PUPPETRY AND THE ARTS BFA, MFA LEVELS

THE SPECIALIZATION IN PUPPETRY ALLOWS STUDENTS TO INCORPORATE THE USES OF PERFORMING OBJECTS INTO THEIR THEATRICAL VOCABULARY, OR TO CONCENTRATE ON WORK INVOLVING PUPPETS AND PERFORMING OBJECTS. Directed by award-winning filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist Janie Geiser, the Center for Puppetry and the Arts provides a multidisciplinary framework for this course of study, rooted in theater but also increasingly connected with the use of new technologies and creative strategies in video, installation, computer art, and other hybrid forms.

The curriculum of this specialization, or supplemental course of study, focuses on the full range of skills needed by artists who work with puppets and performing objects. It offers courses that cover the history of puppetry, a wide variety of construction techniques and formal approaches—both traditional and

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contemporary—to direction, design and choreography. These are supplemented by lectures, classes and workshop productions led by internationally renowned visiting artists.

While this specialization is available to students in all three Programs in Performance who are already in residence at CalArts—at both the BFA and MFA levels—all first-year BFA and MFA applicants, as well as transfer applicants, are required to apply to the Scene Design Program (see page 29) if they expressly wish to pursue studies in puppetry.

Two scenes from The Seagull, by Anton Chekhov. Directed by Kyung Taek Oh. Scenery: Sarah Krainin; costumes: Hana Lani Lee; lighting: Porsche McGovern; sound: Yun Oh ABOVE : Lisa Louttit (LEFT) and Abica Dubay INSET, FROM LEFT: Alejandra Bursik-Cervantes, Michael McIntyre and Lawrence McEvoy

Le Petit Macabre, a puppet theater work directed, designed and performed by Caitlin Lainoff

Two scenes from Beyond the Horizon, by Eugene O’Neill.

Directed by Chi-wang Yang. Scenery: Sarah Krainin; costumes: Jamie Bresnan; lighting: Rebecca M.K. Makus; sound: Nathan Ruyle ABOVE, FROM LEFT: Esme Allen, Paul Turbiak and Christopher Young INSET, FROM LEFT: Ren Bell, Sonny Valicenti and Julia Paskin

PROGRAMS IN

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION

The School of Theater teams up each year with The Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts for a full production of an opera at the Walt Disney Modular on campus. Jean-Philippe Rameau’s comédie lyrique Platée was the work staged in 2008. Director: Rafael Lopez Barrantes. Scenery: Kit Stolen; costumes: Colin Wilkes; lighting: Chris Stokes; sound: Daniel Barsky and Mohit Kakkar

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Guided by the visionary leadership of a team of nationally and internationally acclaimed theater professionals, the Programs in Design and Production offer rigorous professional training in the arts of

scene design, costume design, lighting design, sound design, technical direction, and management.

Specializations, or supplemental courses of study, are available in producing, production management, stage management, puppetry, scene painting, and video for performance.

This family of multidisciplinary programs has strong connections to the CalArts Schools of Art, Dance, Film/Video, and Music, and encourages upperdivision undergraduates and graduate students, in particular, to take advantage of the resources available at those schools.

Curricula for the Programs in Design and Production consist of classroom studies and hands-on studio and production work. Faculty mentors help to guide the artistic and technical progress of every student through a sequence of increasingly challenging production assignments.

Two scenes 28from Beyond the Horizon, by Eugene O’Neill.

Directed by Chi-wang Yang. Scenery: Sarah Krainin; costumes: Jamie Bresnan; lighting: Rebecca M.K. Makus; sound: Nathan Ruyle ABOVE, FROM LEFT: Esme Allen, Paul Turbiak and Christopher Young INSET, FROM LEFT: Ren Bell, Sonny Valicenti and Julia Paskin

BFA students are required to complete a common set of foundation courses that cover aesthetics, theory, history, literature, graphics, technology and crafts. Upperdivision undergraduates work with their mentors to create training programs tailored to each student’s individual needs and interests. BFA students may also obtain the permission of the faculty to explore a wide range of design and production skills and techniques instead of concentrating on a single specialty.

and Stage Management, which are open to both undergraduate and graduate applicants, the remaining specializations are available only to students applying to the appropriate MFA programs.

At the end of each academic year, the School of Theater invites theater professionals to view student portfolios.

In addition, graduating MFA design students are regularly invited to attend Ming Cho Lee’s annual “Clam Bake” portfolio review in New York.

The school’s longstanding associations with the Los All MFA programs take Angeles entertainment three years to complete. The industry and the New York curriculum for each program is highly individualized, with theater community provide the core requirements serving internship opportunities and help to establish valuable as a framework for further contacts for employment after studies customized to meet graduation. The Programs in each student’s goals and Design and Production also ambitions. have a working relationship with the USC School of Students in several of the Cinematic Arts.

Programs in Design and Production may also pursue supplemental specializations in conjunction with their main curricula. Besides the Specializations in Puppetry

SCENE DESIGN PROGRAM

The School of Theater teams up each year with The Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts for a full production of an opera at the Walt Disney Modular on campus. Jean-Philippe Rameau’s comédie lyrique Platée was the work staged in 2008. Director: Rafael Lopez Barrantes. Scenery: Kit Stolen; costumes: Colin Wilkes; lighting: Chris Stokes; sound: Daniel Barsky and Mohit Kakkar

BFA, MFA

FOCUSING ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE NEEDED FOR PROFESSIONAL SCENE DESIGNERS, THIS PROGRAM IS BASED ON THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE DESIGNER’S MULTIFACETED CONTRIBUTION TO A PRODUCTION INVOLVES MUCH MORE THAN PROVIDING A VISUAL BACKGROUND. Under the leadership of scenic designer Christopher Barreca, whose teaching is informed by his active design practice in international, regional and Broadway venues, the curriculum explores all aspects of live performance as a collaborative process, giving special attention to the shaping of artistic vision, aesthetic sophistication, critical thinking and craft. Since scene designers are visual artists who work in theater, the program is closely allied with other visual arts programs at CalArts, as well as programs in dance, performance art, and film and video.

PERFORMANCE/SCENE DESIGN SPECIALIZATION IN PUPPETRY—CENTER FOR PUPPETRY AND THE ARTS BFA, MFA LEVELS Headed by award-winning filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist Janie Geiser, the Specialization in Puppetry allows students to incorporate the uses of performing objects into their theatrical vocabulary, and to explore hybrid forms and new creative strategies in work involving puppets and performing objects.

This supplemental course of study is available to resident BFA and MFA students in

all School of Theater programs—the Programs in Performance as well as the Programs in Design and Production. However, all first-year BFA, first-year MFA, and transfer applicants are required to apply to the Scene Design Program if they expressly wish to pursue studies in puppetry.

To learn about the curriculum of this specialization, see page 24.

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SCENE DESIGN SPECIALIZATION IN SCENE PAINTING MFA LEVEL ONLY

SCENE DESIGN SPECIALIZATION IN VIDEO FOR PERFORMANCE MFA LEVEL ONLY

Available to applicants to the MFA Scene Design Program, this specialization is under the supervision of scenic artist Mary Heilman, who maintains deep connections to the professional community. The rigorous curriculum combines scene painting coursework with the direct application of new techniques and materials, as well as traditional processes, on a wide range of School of Theater productions.

The training is supported by coursework in design, figure and perspective drawing, lighting, scenery and prop construction, play analysis, and theater history.

This specialization is offered to applicants to the MFA Scene Design Program but also open to students in the school’s other graduate design programs. Faculty members Bob and Colleen Bonniol (MODE Studios) lead a course of study that explores the aesthetics and practice of using video both as a “character” in a live performance and as scenery—as one element of the overall presentation but also as an art form in its own right.

Today’s rapidly evolving video technology has now made it possible for artists to realize new creative possibilities for video in live performance. At the same time, performers have begun to use video as an extension of their own ideas, not simply as an extension of the performance design.

Designed to meet the emerging needs of this burgeoning professional field, the curriculum in this specialization focuses on training students to master the full spectrum of languages, aesthetics and unique technological processes of video in the context of all performance disciplines.

TOP : Ellen McCartney, head of Design, head of Costume

Design and holder of the Robert Corrigan Chair, with Christopher Barreca, head of Scene Design TOP RIGHT: Carol Bixler, director of Programs in Design and Production and head of Producing OPPOSITE : Costume Design faculty Martha Ferrara

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Two scenes from Beyond the Horizon, by Eugene O’Neill.

Directed by Chi-wang Yang. Scenery: Sarah Krainin; costumes: Jamie Bresnan; lighting: Rebecca M.K. Makus; sound: Nathan Ruyle ABOVE, FROM LEFT: Esme Allen, Paul Turbiak and Christopher Young INSET, FROM LEFT: Ren Bell, Sonny Valicenti and Julia Paskin

The School of Theater teams up each year with The Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts for a full production of an opera at the Walt Disney Modular on campus. Jean-Philippe Rameau’s comédie lyrique Platée was the work staged in 2008. Director: Rafael Lopez Barrantes. Scenery: Kit Stolen; costumes: Colin Wilkes; lighting: Chris Stokes; sound: Daniel Barsky and Mohit Kakkar

COSTUME DESIGN PROGRAM BFA, MFA

The Costume Design Program led by designer Ellen McCartney, the school’s Robert Corrigan Chair in Theater, enables students to develop a unique aesthetic voice and acquire the skills necessary for professional work.

STUDENTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO BREAK WITH TRADITIONAL NOTIONS OF COSTUME DESIGN AND THINK INSTEAD IN TERMS OF GARMENTS THAT EXPAND OR OTHERWISE RESHAPE THE PHYSICAL SPACE OF PERFORMERS. The program focuses on the application of contemporary arts philosophies to the medium of design and takes a global approach to exploring modes of dress and adornment, including the relationship between new media and the body from the perspective of art, architecture and science. Foundation studies cover the history of clothing, text analysis, construction, new technologies, management, and graphic skills.

The curriculum emphasizes critical thinking and the designer’s contribution to the collaborative process. In addition to theatrical work, students take part in other collaborative projects throughout CalArts such as film and video works, dance performances, and installations.

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LIGHTING DESIGN PROGRAM BFA, MFA Committed to both artistry and new technology, the Lighting Design Program provides professional training in the craft of lighting design for theater. It also enables students to broaden their experience with additional projects in film, video, dance and art.

HEADED BY TONY AWARD-WINNING LIGHTING DESIGNER DON HOLDER, THE CURRICULUM COVERS TEXT ANALYSIS, GRAPHIC SKILLS AND THE USE OF SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT, INCLUDING COMPUTERBASED TECHNOLOGIES. Numerous production assignments help students to refine their skills and build substantial portfolios of their work.

SOUND DESIGN PROGRAM BFA, MFA DIRECTED BY SOUND DESIGNER JON GOTTLIEB, THE SOUND DESIGN PROGRAM IS DEVOTED TO A RAPIDLY EVOLVING FIELD THAT INTEGRATES AESTHETIC CONCERNS WITH SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES AND NEW TECHNOLOGICAL TOOLS. The program can stretch as far as each student’s energy and imagination allows.

Although the curriculum is rooted in text-based theatrical training, sound designers take part in additional projects in experimental theater, multimedia and interactive design

Two scenes 32from Beyond the Horizon, by Eugene O’Neill.

Directed by Chi-wang Yang. Scenery: Sarah Krainin; costumes: Jamie Bresnan; lighting: Rebecca M.K. Makus; sound: Nathan Ruyle ABOVE, FROM LEFT: Esme Allen, Paul Turbiak and Christopher Young INSET, FROM LEFT: Ren Bell, Sonny Valicenti and Julia Paskin

and production, concert sound reinforcement, performance art, animation, and live-action film and video. Accordingly, students are strongly urged to utilize all the resources, both artistic and technological, available across the entire CalArts community.

The School of Theater teams up each year with The Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts for a full production of an opera at the Walt Disney Modular on campus. Jean-Philippe Rameau’s comédie lyrique Platée was the work staged in 2008. Director: Rafael Lopez Barrantes. Scenery: Kit Stolen; costumes: Colin Wilkes; lighting: Chris Stokes; sound: Daniel Barsky and Mohit Kakkar

TECHNICAL DIRECTION PROGRAM BFA, MFA Designed to strike a balance between technology, management and aesthetics, the Technical Direction Program, under the leadership of Michael Darling, provides professional training for those students who wish to contribute to theatrical productions in both technical and artistic areas.

THE COURSEWORK IN THIS PROGRAM COVERS HISTORY, LITERATURE, GRAPHICS, CRAFTS, CONSTRUCTION, PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES, AND MANAGEMENT. Students in this program also investigate the uses of computers and other digital technologies in the performing arts.

33

MANAGEMENT PROGRAM BFA, MFA THE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM PROVIDES EACH STUDENT WITH A WELL-ROUNDED AND EXTENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF AESTHETIC ISSUES IN THEATER AS WELL AS THE SKILLS IN ORGANIZATION, COMMUNICATION AND PROBLEM-SOLVING NEEDED FOR THE CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF A GIVEN PRODUCTION. MANAGEMENT SPECIALIZATION IN PRODUCING MFA LEVEL ONLY

MANAGEMENT SPECIALIZATION IN PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT MFA LEVEL ONLY

Headed by producer Carol Bixler, this graduatelevel specialization trains a new generation of producers who have highly developed aesthetics; who can recognize and champion original and important work and envision models for its performance; and who can invent new ways for supporting such work. Placing as much emphasis on artistic issues and theory as on practical business applications and concerns, the core curriculum features seminars in areas such as intellectual property, marketing, public relations, budgeting, fundraising, and textual analysis.

Student producers participate in productions presented by both the School of Theater and the Center for New Performance.

Production manager Gary Kechely heads the Specialization in Production Management, which focuses on the development of skills necessary for managing people, resources and time in a variety of creative environments, where leadership and versatility must be combined with a broad knowledge of design and production issues. The graduate-level curriculum includes studies of management styles and structures, labor relations, and production processes in both live performance and film/video.

To apply to any of the programs offered by the CalArts School of Theater, go to calarts.edu/apply.

All application, audition and portfolio instructions are listed on the CalArts application web page.

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Two scenes from Beyond the Horizon, by Eugene O’Neill.

Directed by Chi-wang Yang. Scenery: Sarah Krainin; costumes: Jamie Bresnan; lighting: Rebecca M.K. Makus; sound: Nathan Ruyle ABOVE, FROM LEFT: Esme Allen, Paul Turbiak and Christopher Young INSET, FROM LEFT: Ren Bell, Sonny Valicenti and Julia Paskin

MANAGEMENT SPECIALIZATION IN STAGE MANAGEMENT BFA, MFA LEVELS The curriculum, under the direction of Stephanie Young, initially emphasizes stage management for theater, and eventually widens its scope to encompass other arts and performance disciplines. Advanced studies include courses covering management styles, theatrical unions, and special topics related to stage management.

The School of Theater teams up each year with The Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts for a full production of an opera at the Walt Disney Modular on campus. Jean-Philippe Rameau’s comédie lyrique Platée was the work staged in 2008. Director: Rafael Lopez Barrantes. Scenery: Kit Stolen; costumes: Colin Wilkes; lighting: Chris Stokes; sound: Daniel Barsky and Mohit Kakkar

QADRIYYAH SHAMSID-DEEN From Washington, D.C.

MFA MANAGEMENT SPECIALIZATION IN PRODUCING

“

The transition to CalArts was a complete culture shock for me, which was surprising because I’ve moved around a lot—including attending high school in China. However, I’d never gone to an art school before. If you’re a grounded person, you’re ‘good to go,’ and I felt like I was very grounded.

But there are 50,000 different ways to move throughout this space. By the second semester I understood, ‘This is what I’m interested in; this is what I want to do, this is where I want to go; and these are the people I want to work with.’ Everyone here is very open, and you have to be ready for that.

I don’t think I was prepared to deal with that on a daily basis—it made me question myself a lot. Once I found my place, it felt like a new life began.

“Why study producing at the graduate level? I came to CalArts to learn how to function in society as a director, artist and producer.

MUCH OF WHAT A DIRECTOR DOES IS PRODUCING HIS OR HER OWN WORK, AND THERE ARE FUNDAMENTALS REQUIRED TO DO THAT SUCCESSFULLY, THAT YOU’RE NOT GOING TO GET AT THE UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL WHERE YOU’RE FOCUSING ON LEARNING YOUR CRAFT. “So, the early part of the program is learning these fundamentals: how to create and manage a production budget, writing contracts, learning design vocabularies, cultural policy, public relations—or even simple things—like how to prepare a résumé or portfolio, or, how to represent another artist. Your job as a producer is to uphold the project you’re working on from both the artistic and managerial (or business) perspectives. You’re working with all aspects of the production—direction, lighting and costume design—trying to help solve problems and keep the production moving forward.

“I think a producer has to be something of a know-it-all. That may not sound like a good thing, but producers have to be able to step into any situation—like dealing with a director who insists that he or she’s got to have 5,000 gorillas running around on stage.

There’s an art to listening to someone like that, understanding their language and needs, and leading a team that can formulate a solution—knowing that we can’t have the gorillas, but maybe we can get robotic bears and three bunnies...

”

THIS PAGE : Two faculty performances at

REDCAT: ABOVE AND INSET: Marissa Chibas in a solo

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tour de force entitled Daughter of a Cuban Revolutionary, presented by the Center for New Performance 37 in Asphalt, LEFT: Carl Hancock Rux performs a stage adaptation of his debut novel.

FACULTY

FACULTY Phil Allen sound design

Camilo Alvarez structures

Lisa Aust speech

Dwight Bacquie voice, speech

Christopher Barreca Head of Scene Design

Craig Belknap

Erik Ehn

acting

Dean

Travis Preston

Director of Programs in Design and Production, Head of Producing

Director of Programs in Performance, Head of Directing

Marissa Chibas

Carl Hancock Rux

Head of Acting

Head of Writing for Performance

Lap-Chi Chu

Director, Center for Puppetry and the Arts

Leslie Tamaribuchi

sound design

Jon Gottlieb

Stephanie Young

Assistant Dean of Enrollment Management, Head of Sound Design

Assistant Dean, General Manager, Head of Management

Janie Geiser

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Fran Bennett

Carol Bixler

Associate Dean

voice

Paul Berkolds singing for actors

Bob and Colleen Bonniol video for performance lighting design

Drew Dalzell Michael Darling Head of Technical Direction

Michael Donaldson law of producing

Heather Ehlers movement

Ellen McCartney

Martha Ferrara

Robert Corrigan Chair in Theater, Head of Design, Head of Costume Design

costume design

Malik Gaines theater history

PRODUCTION STAFF

Anne Garcia-Romero

Lewis Palter

theater history

acting

Nataki Garrett

Mary Lou Rosato

acting

acting

Kevin Goold

John Sherwood

sound design

design technology

Mary Heilman

Susan Simpson

Head of Scenic Art

puppetry

Mona Heinze

Michael C. Smith

dramaturgy

scene and properties design

Donald S. Holder

Susan Solt

Head of Lighting Design

film producing

Mirjana Jokovic

Jeremiah Thies

Scene Shop Manager

acting

technical direction, video engineering

Christy Willits

Gary Kechely Head of Production Management

Mira Kingsley movement

Lewis Klahr directing, screenwriting

Edgar Landa fight choreography

Rafael Lopez-Barrantes voice

Babette Markus

Tanya Lee Head Draper

Nancy Lupo Staff Properties Artisan

Karen Potter Costume Shop Manager

Jeremiah Thies Associate Technical Director

Ben White

Business and Company Manager

Sherry Tschernisch T’ai Chi Ch’uan

Marvin Tunney movement

Denise Woods voice, speech

Heidi Yudis voice

Paul Zelevansky theater history

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF Gloria Arriaga Bookkeeper

Barbara Edwards Administrative Assistant

Heather Lawson Administrative Secretary

Alexander Technique

James T. McDermott stage management

Pablo Molina video for performance

THIS PAGE : Two faculty performances at

REDCAT: ABOVE AND INSET: Marissa Chibas in a solo

tour de force entitled Daughter of a Cuban Revolutionary, presented by the Center for New Performance 39 in Asphalt, LEFT: Carl Hancock Rux performs a stage adaptation of his debut novel.

SPECIAL RESOURCES

Trombonist Mike Svoboda (CENTER) leads a 30-piece iteration of the CalArts New Century Players in a performance of Sandeep Bhagwati’s Vineland Stelae, presented at REDCAT by the Center for New Performance. The staging of this work was directed

by Chi-wang Yang.

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CENTER FOR NEW PERFORMANCE (CNP)

CENTER FOR PUPPETRY AND THE ARTS

The Center for New Performance is the professional producing arm of CalArts, established to provide a unique artist- and project-driven framework for the development and realization of innovative theater, music, dance and interdisciplinary projects.

Extending the forward-looking work carried out at CalArts into a direct dialogue with professional communities at the local, national and international levels, the CNP offers an alternative model for the support of emerging voices and directions in the performing arts. It also enables CalArts students to work shoulder to shoulder with celebrated artists and acquire a level of experience that goes beyond the curriculum at each CalArts school.

The CNP has featured internationally renowned guest artists such as directors Robert Cantarella and Chen Shi-Zheng, composers Vinny Golia and Stephin Merritt, and actor Stephen Dillane, among others. Recent productions have included the world premieres of What to Wear, an opera written and directed by avant-garde theater icon Richard Foreman and scored by composer Michael Gordon; Daughter of a Cuban Revolutionary, a family autobiography created and performed by Marissa Chibas and directed by Mira Kingsley; and Vineland Stelae, a full-evening structured improvisation for 30 musicians conceived by composer Sandeep Bhagwati and staged by director Chi-wang Yang. Among the slate of upcoming CNP projects is the world premiere of Smoke, Lillies, and Jade, written by Carl Hancock Rux and directed by Nataki Garrett.

The CNP represents an integral part of the School of Theater’s commitment to provide a home for alternative theater and cross-disciplinary work on CalArts’ Valencia campus, at REDCAT, and at other national and international venues.

The Center for Puppetry and the Arts was established in 1998 to allow CalArts students to explore contemporary puppetry and performing objects. Housed in the School of Theater, this one-of-a-kind laboratory offers a framework for practical training, artistic innovation, aesthetic inquiry and interdisciplinary investigation. In keeping with the evolution of puppetry through the integration of different art forms, the center strives to combine puppet theater with the use of new technologies and emerging forms and practices that cut across traditional boundaries.

Since its founding, the Center for Puppetry and the Arts has hosted an array of distinguished visiting artists, including Roman Paska, Lee Breuer, Basil Twist, Jane Henson, Paul Zaloom, Larry Reed, Michael Sommers, Peter Schumann, Ken Jacobs and Dan Hurlin. The center has also presented numerous productions on campus and, more recently, at REDCAT in downtown Los Angeles, all featuring student performers, designers, managers and technicians.

CENTER FOR INTEGRATED MEDIA Integrated Media (IM) is a supplemental concentration offered by many MFA programs at CalArts and supported by the Center for Integrated Media. Advanced theater artists who wish to combine their creative work with an exploration of digital and interactive technologies are invited to apply to any of the MFA Programs in Design and Production and ask to be considered for the IM concentration.

For more information, go to calarts.edu/cim or see the Center for Integrated Media brochure.

THIS PAGE : Two faculty performances at

REDCAT: ABOVE AND INSET: Marissa Chibas in a solo

tour de force entitled Daughter of a Cuban Revolutionary, presented by the Center for New Performance LEFT: Carl Hancock Rux performs in Asphalt, 41 novel. a stage adaptation of his debut

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS The School of Theater features exchange programs with the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow and the Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School in Wellington. These programs are available to select students in the Acting Program during their third year of study. The school also offers exchange opportunities with Ecole Supérieure Nationale des Arts de la Marionette (the National High School of Puppetry Arts) in CharlevilleMezieres, France.

In addition, the school supports student and alumni participation in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland, where a CalArts company—traveling under the banner of CalArts Ensemble Theater—has presented a program of new projects each summer since 2004.

The Rwanda Exchange supports students, faculty and guest artists in a cultural exchange examining the causes and consequences of the Rwandan genocide and investigating cultural practices that promote understanding and peace-building. In conjunction with the Rwanda Exchange, the School of Theater hosts the annual Arts in the One World conference, an international gathering of artists, schools and institutions that focuses on a range of questions involving art, cultural identity, activism, public policy, and social justice. This conference is co-presented with the Interdisciplinary Genocide Study Center in Kigali, Rwanda. The 2008 edition of Arts in the One World featured, among many others, artists from the Belarus Free Theatre.

NEW WORKS FESTIVAL Each spring, School of Theater students organize and stage the New Works Festival, a showcase that focuses on experimental, studentgenerated theater and performance practice.

Pieces, varying in form and length, are presented at venues both conventional and unconventional across the CalArts campus.

SUNDANCE THEATRE LABORATORY INTERNSHIPS The school has established an internship for graduate directors and managers with the Sundance Theatre Laboratory in Park City, Utah.

INTERNSHIPS IN DESIGN, PRODUCTION AND MANAGEMENT The School of Theater places select graduate students in technical design, stage management and producing programs in professional semester-long internships. Recent internship positions have been in New York, Belgium, Hong Kong and Singapore.

TOP : The School of Theater’s annual New Works Festival OPPOSITE : Super Vision, by The Builders Association and

dbox, at REDCAT

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ROY AND EDNA DISNEY/CALARTS THEATER (REDCAT) Housed inside the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall complex in downtown Los Angeles, REDCAT is a unique platform for the presentation of experimental and interdisciplinary work in the performing, visual and media arts. The programming at REDCAT features productions by the Center for New Performance (CNP) and other leading international performing companies. Qualified student and alumni performers and designers regularly take part in CNP productions at REDCAT. In addition, many of the artists who present work at REDCAT also come to CalArts as visiting artists to conduct workshops and meet with students.

COMMUNITY ARTS PARTNERSHIP (CAP) CalArts’ award-winning Community Arts Partnership collaborates with community art centers and public schools throughout Los Angeles County to provide free college-level arts education to middle and high school students.

Many School of Theater students teach CAP workshops and classes and take part in the design and production of CAP theater works.

CAP affords CalArts students the opportunity to share their knowledge and abilities with young artists, work directly with faculty artists to create innovative pedagogical approaches, and test and refine ideas about interdisciplinary art practice. CalArts students involved in CAP gain valuable teaching experience and benefit from real-world engagement with diverse Los Angeles communities.

THIS PAGE : Two faculty performances at

REDCAT: ABOVE AND INSET: Marissa Chibas in a solo

tour de force entitled Daughter of a Cuban Revolutionary, presented by the Center for New Performance 43 in Asphalt, LEFT: Carl Hancock Rux performs a stage adaptation of his debut novel.

FACILITIES

44

ON-CAMPUS THEATER AND PERFORMANCE SPACES

ROY AND EDNA DISNEY/CALARTS THEATER (REDCAT)

CalArts’ main performance space is the Walt Disney Modular Theater. A vast black box, this facility’s variable architecture supports an unlimited range of stage and seating configurations. This space accommodates not only theater productions but also music and dance projects.

Besides the Walt Disney Modular Theater, the School of Theater features three smaller black boxes and a cabaret-style space.

Students in the Programs in Design and Production also take part in designing and staging productions in CalArts’ other performance spaces: The Sharon Disney Lund Dance Theater, The Wild Beast, the Roy O. Disney Music Hall, the Main Gallery, the various studios and sound stages of the School of Film/Video, and an assortment of non-traditional venues.

REDCAT’s comprehensively outfitted performance space can be transformed into several different configurations, from thrust and end stage to in-the-round, while adaptable seating can accommodate an audience of 250.

The theater features superb acoustics, with moveable panels that can be adjusted according to the requirements of each performance. The space is also equipped with 35mm, 16mm and digital projection systems.

SHOPS AND LABS The School of Theater operates a series of shops and labs to support the curricula of the Programs in Design and Production as well as the extensive slate of productions each year. These facilities include a scene/painting shop, a costume shop, a prop shop, a sound studio, a lighting lab, a computer lab, and costume, property and scenery storage facilities.

THIS PAGE : Two faculty performances at

REDCAT: ABOVE AND INSET: Marissa Chibas in a solo

tour de force entitled Daughter of a Cuban Revolutionary, presented by the Center for New Performance LEFT: Carl Hancock Rux performs in Asphalt, a stage adaptation of his debut novel.

Scenes from Las Meninas, by Lynn Nottage. Directed by Nataki Garrett.

Scenery: Caitlin Lainoff; costumes: Kate-eloise Mallor; lighting: Harrison Lippman; sound: David Mickey ABOVE : Briana Venskus (STANDING) and Condola Rashad INSET, RIGHT: Liz Yoakem and Evan Cleaver OPPOSITE : Condola Rashad

Scenes from the Center for New Performance’s world-premiere production of What to Wear, a post-rock opera written and directed by avant-garde theater icon Richard Foreman and scored by composer Michael Gordon, co-founder of the Bang on a Can Festival. What to Wear was staged at REDCAT in downtown Los Angeles.

LIZ YOAKEM From Oceanside, California

BFA ACTING PROGRAM

“

I grew up on the West Coast and was thinking about schools on the East Coast—I didn’t really know anything about CalArts. But I came and visited, and got hooked. The big hook was the people—the incoming students and the ones already here—it was a very welcoming vibe.

“The Acting Program here gives you so many tools to choose from. You get to figure out who you are, and, at the same time, butt up against your aesthetic personality—instead of having one put on you. We’re exposed to exercises and techniques from many methods, rather than just one particular method. This forces you to consider your own approach to the work. It’s like a dancer who knows classical technique, building off that to learn jazz and modern. I feel like CalArts gave me that foundation, and once I began to know myself, it gave me confidence to face whatever new situations may come up on stage or in a film. We’re capable of so much more than we know, and it’s important to open up these options.

IT’S AMAZING WHAT CAN COME OUT OF A GESTURE. IT COMES FROM AND ORIGINATES FROM YOU; IT HAS TO COME FROM YOU. JUST FEELING THAT YOU DON’T HAVE TO START IN A LOGICAL PLACE; THAT YOU CAN START IN A VERY VISCERAL, PHYSICAL PLACE AS A PERSON, CAN INFORM WHATEVER YOU’RE DOING. “I guess that what makes an artist is not just being able to be thrown around, doing whatever someone else says, but also saying, ‘This is what’s important to me,’ and being brave enough to put that out there. CalArts is great if you are open to exploring your individuality as an artist and as a person.

It’s more than just saying, ‘I’m an actor’ or ‘I’m a musician’; it’s about saying, ‘I’m an artist in a community of artists.’

”

Scenes from the 2008 Arts in the One World Conference hosted by the School of Theater ABOVE : Belarus Free Theatre TOP RIGHT: A movement workshop INSET, ABOVE : A performance entitled Buried in the Body of Remembrance, by Secos y Mojados

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VISITING ARTISTS To ensure that students have the opportunity to examine the widest possible cross-section of practices, the school regularly invites eminent visiting artists from around the world to supplement the expertise of regular faculty.

Some guests also serve as visiting faculty members who spend one or more semesters at CalArts. In recent years, visiting artists have included:

Jules Aaron

Robert Cantarella

actor

director

Kevin Adams

Ana Cappelluto

lighting designer

designer

Nicole Arbusto

Laurie Carlos

casting director

writer, director and performer

Byron Bacon properties designer

Gina Belafonte actor

Belarus Free Theatre Visiting writer and director Daniel Alexander Jones

Robert Blacker dramaturg

David Bridel mask and movement coach

Susan Brown casting director

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Bridget Carpenter writer

Chen Shi-Zheng director

Tammy Cody-Boutcher stage manager

Karin Coonrod director

Gordon Davidson director and artistic director

Bart DeLorenzo

Peter Howard

John Malpede

David Schweizer

director

actor

actor and activist

director

Stephen Dillane

Dan Hurlin

Art Manke

Michele Shay

actor

puppet artist and director

director and artistic director

actor and director

designer and artistic director

Sandy Huse

Lynn Manning

movement artist

properties designer

Doug Fitch

Naomi Iizuka

actor, director and playwright

designer

playwright

Kate Edmunds

Five Lesbian Brothers Robert Israel performance collective

designer

Peter Flaherty

Gregory Itzin

video designer

actor

Richard Foreman

Ken Jacobs

writer and director

puppet artist

Tamar Fortgang

Lynn Jeffries

actor and producer

puppet artist

Brian Freeman

Julie Jensen

playwright and performance artist

playwright

Susan Denison Geller designer

Grupo Cultural Yuyachkani theater collective

Handspring Puppet Company Kamilla Harkless scenic artist

Jennifer Harvey director

Wendall Harrington designer

Philip Himberg artistic director

Liz Himelstein dialect coach

Michael Hooker designer

Cynthia Hopkins writer and performer

Daniel Alexander Jones

Debi Manwiller casting director

Stan Margulies

Stew composer and playwright

Mary Ellen Strom

film producer

video and performance artist

Oliver Mayer

Mark Sussman

playwright

puppet artist

Heather McKlarty

Alice Tuan

properties designer

playwright

Dijana Milosevic

Basil Twist

director

designer and puppet artist

Ken Nintzel director

Chris Parry

writer and director

designer

York Kennedy

Victoria Paul

designer

production designer

Nancy Keystone

Carole Payette

director

scenic artist

Lisa Kron

Adina Porter

performance artist

actor

Jessica Kubzansky

Everett Quinton

director

actor and director

Jim LeBrecht

Dunya Ramicova

designer

designer

Elizabeth LeCompte

Larry Reed

director

puppet artist

Ming Cho Lee

Jose Rivera

designer

playwright

Roberta Levitow

Diane Rodriguez

director

actor and director

Corey Madden

Peter Schumann

producer and director

Hannah Sim

Lenka Udovicki director

Kate Valk actor

Roberto Varea director

Shay Wafer managing director

Matt Wilder director

Saul Williams performance poet

Charlayne Woodard actor

The Wooster Scenes Groupfrom the 2008 Arts in the One

World Conference hosted by the School theater collective

of Theater ABOVE : Belarus Free Theatre TOP RIGHT: A movement workshop playwright INSET, ABOVE : A performance entitled Buried in the Body of Remembrance, by Secos y Mojados Claudia Zelevansky

Chay Yew

director

writer, puppet artist and director

53

ALUMNI Alumni of the School of Theater include: PROGRAMS IN PERFORMANCE Matt August (MFA 97)

Nataki Garrett (MFA 02)

Debi Manwiller (BFA 83)

director (Baby Taj at TheatreWorks)

artistic director of Blank the Dog Productions, NEA/Theatre Communications Group Fellow

casting director

Elaine Avila (MFA 04) Robert Hartung Endowed Chair of Dramatic Writing, University of New Mexico

Cameron Bancroft (BFA 90)

Golden Globe-winning actor (The Truman Show, The Hours), director (Pollock)

screen actor (24)

David Hasselhoff (73)

Jesse Borrego (84)

actor and executive producer (Baywatch)

screen actor (Con Air, 24)

Shaughn Bucholtz (BFA 02) screen actor (Scrubs)

Don Cheadle (BFA 86) Golden Globe-winning actor (Hotel Rwanda, Crash)

Chi-wang Yang (TheaterIntegrated Media MFA 07)

director (Vineland Stelae), digital artist, and co-founder of Cloud Eye Control

Jennifer Elise Cox (BFA 91) screen actor (10 Items or Less, Six Feet Under)

Mandy Freund (BFA 00) stage and screen actor (Doubt at the Pasadena Playhouse, Popular)

54

Ed Harris (BFA 75)

Bill Irwin (72) MacArthur Fellowship-winning vaudeville artist, actor, director and playwright

Jessica Kubzansky (MFA 94)

Beata Pilch (MFA 93) artistic director of Trap Door Theatre

Paul Reubens (73) actor, creator of Pee-wee’s Playhouse

Amy Rogers (MFA 94) television writer (Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends)

Katey Sagal (72) actor (Married with Children, Futurama)

Catherine Sullivan (BFA 92)

co-artistic director of The Theatre @ Boston Court

Alpert Award-winning director and video artist

Alan Loayza (BFA 00)

Michole Briana White (91)

stage and screen actor (Peach Blossom Fan, Gilmore Girls)

stage and screen actor (100 Centre Street)

Katherine Noon (MFA 90)

Simbi Kali Williams (BFA 93)

co-founder of the Edge of the World Theater Festival

Terence McFarland (MFA 03) executive director of L.A. Stage Alliance

screen actor (We Were Soldiers, 3rd Rock from the Sun)

PROGRAMS IN DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Kevin Adams (MFA 86)

Jeff Kleeman (BFA 87)

Darcy Scanlin (MFA 00)

Tony and OBIE Award-winning lighting and scene designer (The 39 Steps, Spring Awakening)

technical director of Los Angeles Opera

scene designer, NEA/Theatre Communications Group Fellow

Garth Belcon (BFA 94)

Peter Ksander (MFA 01)

Niki Spruill (MFA 05)

producer (Whiteboys)

scene designer, NEA/Theatre Communications Group Fellow

management fellow, New York Theatre Workshop

Martyn Bookwalter (MFA 77)

Etta Lilienthal (BFA 97, MFA 99)

Leon Rothenberg (MFA 02)

stage and television lighting designer, Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Lifetime Achievement Award winner

scene designer, NEA/Theatre Communications Group Fellow

sound designer (Cirque du Soleil’s Kà)

Brian Lilienthal (MFA 03)

Justin Townsend (MFA 03)

sound designer and engineer

resident lighting designer, Trinity Rep, Ovation Award winner

scene, lighting and sound designer, cofounder of TENT, USITT Rising Star Award winner

Ian Garrett (MFA 08)

Jamie McElhinney (MFA 03)

Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt

Richard A. Sherwood Award-winning producer and lighting designer

technical director, The Builders Association

(BFA 01)

Barbara Inglehart (MFA 86)

costume designer (Denver Center Theatre Company, the Cincinnati Playhouse)

Kevin Dunayer (MFA 90)

costume designer, co-author of Shopping L.A.: The Insider’s Sourcebook for Film & Fashion

Ashley York Kennedy (BFA 86) lighting designer

David Mickelsen (MFA 83)

production coordinator, Center Theatre Group

Don Miller (MFA 72) feature film producer (White Men Can’t Jump, Blaze)

Laura Mroczkowski (MFA 02) assistant production manager, New York Theatre Workshop

Allain Rochel (MFA 01) producing director, Celebration Theatre

Scenes from the 2008 Arts in the One World Conference hosted by the School of Theater ABOVE : Belarus Free Theatre TOP RIGHT: A movement workshop INSET, ABOVE : A performance entitled Buried in the Body of Remembrance, by Secos y Mojados

55

APPLICATIONS

To apply to the CalArts School of Theater, go to calarts.edu/apply.

All application, audition and portfolio instructions are listed on the CalArts application web page.

Marsian DeLellis (RIGHT), in an inflatables workshop offered by the Scene Design Program

56

MEMBERSHIPS The School of Theater at California Institute of the Arts is a member of the University/Resident Theatre Association (U/RTA). The Center for New Performance (CNP) at CalArts is a member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG) and L.A. Stage Alliance.

Scenes from the 2008 Arts in the One World Conference hosted by the School of Theater ABOVE : Belarus Free Theatre TOP RIGHT: A movement workshop INSET, ABOVE : A performance entitled Buried in the Body of Remembrance, by Secos y Mojados

Scenes from As Far As Thought Can Reach, by George Bernard Shaw. Directed by Lars Jan. Scenery: Juliana de Abreu; costumes: Rachel Weir; lighting: Michael Gend; sound: Nathan Ruyle; video: Sarah Marie Ibrahim ABOVE : Vonzell Carter OPPOSITE : Will Green and Lindsay Rosenboom

Scenes from Beginner, by Erik Ehn. Directed by Emily Mendelsohn.

Scenery: Yun-Chu Chou; costumes: Rachel Weir; lighting: Porsche McGovern. Composer, sound designer and music director: Josh Senik ABOVE, FROM LEFT: Alanna Blair, Ema Bell and Marcus Pontello OPPOSITE, TOP : Anne Yatco INSET: Christopher Young and Julia Paskin