USC Visions & Voices 2020-2021

TH ANN UAL VI SION S AND VOIC E S

M U LTIME DIA KIC KOFF

Sunday, Aug ust , p.m. PS T

LIVE VIA ZOOM FREE AND OPEN TO ALL!

Kick off the academic year and th sea son of Visions and Voices with a dynamic evening of live per formances in music, dance, spoken word, and comedy. Presented a s par t of the USC Welcome Experience, this special event will amplif y the role of the ar ts in social change and inspire hope, resilience, and joy. At tendees will also be invited to join the ar tists on-screen and “backstage” for an epic post-show dance par t y!

For more inf ormation, plea se visit our website or cont ac t us at visionsandvoice s@usc edu.

RUBEN SALAZAR: MAN IN THE MIDDLE

Screening and Discussion with Director PHILLIP RODRIGUEZ

Monday, Augus t 31, 2020, at 7 p.m. P T Live Webc as t Admis sion is free.

RS VP at visionsandvoices .usc .edu

Ruben Salazar: Man in the Middle is a film that examines the life, death, and trans formation of Ruben Salazar from a mains tream, middle - of-the -road repor ter to a suppor ter and primar y chronicler of the radic al Chic ano movement of the late 1960s. Held as a precursor to nex t spring’s per formance of Inflammator y Literature: The Legac y of Americ an Journalis t Ruben Salazar, this screening will be introduced by direc tor Phillip Rodriguez, who will also answer ques tions af ter ward

Related Event:

Inflammatory Literature: The Legacy of American Journalist Ruben Salazar

Wednesday, March 3, 2021, at 4 p.m. P T Loc ation TBD

Presented by USC V isions and Voices: The A r t s and Humani ties Ini tiative

Organized by O liver Mayer (Dr amatic A r t s), Bar bar a Robinson (USC Libr ar ies), and C ar los Par r a (His tor y) C o - sponsored by the USC

A nnenberg School for C ommunic ation and Jour nalism, USC Dor nsife C ollege, the USC Libr ar ies, the USC School of Dr amatic A r t s, and L a C A SA For more infor mation, please visi t our websi te or cont ac t us at visions andvoices @usc edu

visionsandvoices.usc.edu

University of Southern California

Sweet and Salty

A Conversation

with Asian American Women Chefs

Tuesday, September 1, 2020, at 5 p.m. PT

Live via Zoom

Admission is free. RSVP at visionsandvoices.usc.edu

Join a wide-ranging food conversation and cooking demonstration with chefs CECILIA LEUNG, ISA FABRO, and SONOKO SAKAI, moderated by journalist JEAN TRINH. Following a mouthwatering and fascinating discussion about the cross-cultural aspects of culinary culture and impact of cooking on identity and memory, Chef Cecilia will teach you how to whip up delicious homemade wontons.

Presented by USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative. Organized by the USC Pacific Asia Museum. Co-sponsored by Asian Pacific American Student Services. For more information, please visit our website or contact us at visionsandvoices @ usc.edu. visionsandvoices.usc.edu | University of Southern California

PHOTO: RICK POON

Arianna Huffing ton

USC introduces THRIVE, a series of dialogues on wellbeing featuring distinguished guests inter viewed by USC Dean of Religious and Spiritual Life Varun Soni. In this unprecedented time of strug gle and isolation, these power ful conversations will provide critical oppor tunities for the USC communit y to feel connected, inspired, and empowered.

The inaugural event features Arianna Huffing ton, founder and CEO of Thrive Global, founder of The Huffington Post, and author of books. In her most recent works, The Sleep Revolution and Thrive, Huffing ton examines the transformative power of sleep and our need to redefine success through wellbeing, wisdom, wonder, and giving.

International Bestselling Author and Founder and CEO of Thrive Global

Maps,

and Locating the Poetic

Admission is free.

RSVP at visionsandvoices.usc.edu

Dana Gioia

Robin Coste Lewis

David St. John

Hongo

J. Rodriguez

Gail Wronsky

POLITICS and POLICIES Fighting for the Health and Well-Being of Children at the Border

A Lecture by Colleen Kra , MD, MBA

Wednesday, September 30, 2020

12 p.m. PT

Live via Zoom

Admission is free.

RSVP at visionsandvoices.usc.edu

Colleen Kra is clinical professor of pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, a ending physician at Children’sHospitalLosAngeles,andpastpresidentofthe AmericanAcademyofPediatrics.Knownforheradvocacy for humane treatment of migrant children at the border, Kra will discuss the science of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), ghting for the rights and health of children throughout the world, and mobilizing advocates across the political spectrum.

Presented by USC Visions and Voices: e Arts and Humanities Initiative. Organized by Pamela Scha (Medical Education, Family Medicine, and Pediatrics), Alexander Capron (Law and Medicine), So a Gruskin (Preventive Medicine and Law), Ron Ben-Ari (Internal Medicine), and Erika Wright (Medical Education and English). Co-sponsored by Keck School of Medicine’s HEAL Program (Humanities, Ethics/Economics, Art, and the Law), USC Pacific Center for Health Policy and Ethics, USC Institute on Inequalities in Global Health, and La CASA

For more information, please visit our website or contact us at visionsandvoices@usc.edu.

Author

FORESIGHT IS 2020

Racial Justice and the Arts

Sunday, October 11, through Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Live via Zoom | Admission is free. | RSVP at visionsandvoices.usc.edu

Over four evenings of performance and discussion, USC faculty, students, alumni, and guests from Los Angeles and beyond will ask: How can we chart a new path to empower BIPOC voices and thought across the university? What does a nation free of institutional racism look like, and how can the arts provide a vehicle for reaching it?

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

(all times are PT):

THE INTERSECTION: WOKE BLACK FOLK A PERFORMANCE BY FUNMILOLA FAGBAMILA

Sunday, October 11, at 5 p.m.

Scholar, activist, playwright, artist, and one of the original organizers of Black Lives Matter Funmilola Fagbamila will perform her acclaimed one-woman stage play about the complexities of Black political identity.

NEW LEADERS NOW: ARTISTS ADVANCING RACIAL JUSTICE

Monday, October 12, at 5 p.m.

On Indigenous People’s Day, join a conversation with USC students and recent graduates who are making work that advances racial justice and challenges patriarchal systems of exploitation.

ARTS, ACTIVISM, AND THE ACADEMY: ADDRESSING RACISM WITHIN HIGHER EDUCATION

Tuesday, October 13, at 7 p.m.

USC professors and USC Annenberg fellows will discuss the role that cultural and educational institutions can play in advancing racial equity within and beyond their own walls.

RACIAL RADICAL: GENERATING NEW “WOKE” WORDS

Wednesday, October 14, at 6:30 p.m.

This unique multimedia event invites USC students and the larger community to join forces with Milwaukee visual and spoken word artists to recognize familiar but so-far-unnamed racial experiences and brainstorm new vocabulary around them.

Presented by USC Arts in Action and USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative, in partnership with the Annenberg Innovation Lab; USC Race, Arts, and Place; the Institute for Theatre and Social Change at the USC School of Dramatic Arts; and the USC Fisher Museum of Art.

MAR K HAMILL A Conversation with

Tuesday, October , p.m. PT Live via Zoom

Admis sion is free.

RSVP at visionsandvoices.usc.edu

Prolific actor, pop culture icon, and social media master Mark Hamill is known around the world as Luke Sk y walker in the Star Wars films. Following a welcome by USC President Carol L. Folt, Hamill will join USC Annenberg dean Willow Bay for a conversation about his storied career in movies, television, and theatre; his unique experiences and place in fandom; the impor tance of pursuing one’s passions and dreams; and finding his voice on Twit ter, where he is encouraging nearly million followers to vote in the November election.

USC AMPLIFIED is a new, campuswide speaker series presented in par tnership with USC Visions and Voices that highlight s diverse perspec tives from some of today ’s mos t enga ging and dynamic figures in enter tainment, busines s, politic s, spor t s, science, the ar t s, and beyond

Lisa Ling Award-Winning Journalist and Television Personalit y

In a candid conversation hos ted by USC Dean of Religious and Spiritual Life Varun Soni, journalis t, television personalit y, and author Lisa Ling will discuss courage and wellbeing in these uniquely s tress f ul times.

Ling is the executive producer and hos t of CNN’s This Is Life with Lisa Ling. The award-winning journalis t is the former hos t of Our America with Lisa Ling on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Net work and former co-hos t of ABC ’s The View. In 2014 , President Obama named Ling to the Commission on White House Fellows.

Performance artist, comedian, and elected representative of Koreatown in Los Angeles, Kristina Wong mashes up campaign rallies, church revivals, and solo theatre shows to uncover the history of voting, what it means to run for local office, and the impact artists can have on democracy. Originally built to tour alongside the rallies leading up to the 2020 presidential election, Kristina Wong for Public Office is now being broadcast live from her home to yours.

The performance will be followed by an online “Meet & Greet” with Kristina!

KRISTINA WONG FOR PUBLIC OFFICE

LIVE FROM HER HOME!

A Performance by Kristina Wong

A Visions and Voices Signature Event

Friday, October 23, 2020, at 5:30 p.m. PT

Live via Zoom

Admission is free.

RSVP at visionsandvoices.usc.edu

visionsandvoices.usc.edu

Photo: Annie Lesser

Kristina Wong for Public Office has been supported by a 2019 Center Theatre Group Sherwood Award and a 2018 City of Los Angeles Career Artist (COLA) Fellowship.

Presented by USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative. Co-sponsored by Asian Pacific American Student Services. For more information, please visit our website or contact us at visionsandvoices@usc.edu.

Sameer Gadhia

Lead Singer of Young the Giant

Join Varun Soni, USC Dean of Religious and Spiritual Life, and Sameer Gadhia, lead singer and co-founder of indie rock band Young the Giant, for an inspiring conversation about the impor tance of creativit y in the time of COVID.

L auded a s “one of the great contemporar y rock voices” by The New York Times, Gadhia ha s been present on alternative radio char t s for 10 years. He al so hos t s Point of Origin, a SiriusXM show featuring ar tis t s of color in an effor t to fos ter a divergent narrative for the alternative music scene.

An Evening with

OF PUBLIC ENEMY

Thursday

NOVEMBER 5

6 P.M. PT

20 20 LIVE via Zoom Admission is FREE RSVP at visionsandvoices.usc.edu

Chuck D is the leader and co-founder of the legendary rap group Public Enemy, author of two critically acclaimed books, a political activist, publisher, radio host, and producer. In a powerful conversation with USC Annenberg professor Allissa V. Richardson, he will share his experiences, observations, and advice, addressing music, race, technology, and more.

USC AMPLIFIED is a new speaker series featuring some of today’s most engaging and dynamic figures in entertainment, business, politics, sports, science, the arts, and beyond.

VISIONSANDVOICES.USC.EDU

Photos: Travis Shinn

LIVE ARTISTS LIVE DESPAIR/REPAIR

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, AND

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2020

Presented Online

Admission is free.

RSVP at visionsandvoices.usc.edu

Live Artists Live III: Despair/Repair will showcase performance as a poignant reflection and powerful rebuttal to the world’s challenges. The wide-ranging program will include durational pieces by internationally acclaimed artists Linda Montano and Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook ; special performances by Kareem Khubchandani ’s drag alter ego LaWhore Vagistan, Danielle Abrams with Mary Ellen Strom, Xavier Cha, Pavithra Prasad, and Yan Xing; and more.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

(subject to change):

All times are PT.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6

12–7 p.m.: Performance by Linda Montano

7 p.m.: Welcome

7:30 p.m.: Performance by Kareem Khubchandani

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7

11 a.m: Linda Montano in conversation with USC professor Amelia Jones

12 p.m.: Performance by Xavier Cha

1–2 p.m.: Break

2 p.m.: Performance by Danielle Abrams and Mary Ellen Strom, followed by a conversation with USC professor Patty Chang

3:30 p.m.: Performance by Yan Xing

4:30 p.m.: Performance by Pavithra Prasad

5:15 p.m.: Danielle Abrams, Kareem Khubchandani, and Pavithra Prasad in conversation

6 p.m.: Performance by Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook, followed by conversation

7 p.m.: Closing Remarks

Presented by USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative. Organized by Patty Chang, Andy Campbell, and the USC Roski School of Art and Design. Co-sponsored by Asian Pacific American Student Services. For more information, please visit our website or contact us at visionsandvoices@usc.edu or (213) 740-0483.

PHOTO: SHELDAN COLLINS

PHOTO: TIM CORREIRA

PHOTO: TIMUR CIVAN

Valarie Kaur

Civil Right s Ac tivist and Award-Winning Filmmaker

Renowned Sikh ac tivis t, filmmaker, civil right s law yer, and author Valarie Kaur will join USC Dean of Religious and Spiritual Life Varun Soni for a conversation on the revolutionar y power of love.

Kaur burs t into American consciousness in the wake of the 2016 elec tion when her Watch Night Ser vice address went viral with more than 30 million views worldwide. She now leads the Revolutionar y Love Projec t, inspiring people to prac tice the ethic of love and fight racism, nationalism, and hate.

Warrior Bards

Veterans Exploring Ancient Drama

Friday, November 13, 2020, at 7 p.m. PT Online via Zoom

Admission is free.

RSVP at visionsandvoices.usc.edu

Join Los Angeles veterans and USC faculty and students for a special evening of performance and conversation that will make connections between classical literature and contemporary America, and explore the injustices and stigmas that veterans face while preparing for, engaging in, and coming home from war.

artsinaction.usc.edu | visionsandvoices.usc.edu

Photo: Gina Clyne

Presented by Arts in Action, part of USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative. Organized by William Thalmann, Vincent Farenga, and Lucas Herchenroeder (Classics); Michael Bodie (Cinematic Arts); and Paula Cizmar (Dramatic Arts), in partnership with the Los Angeles Veterans Collaborative.

BEHIND BARS

Life and Death for Inmates in the Age of

COVID-19

A LECTURE BY Homer Venters, MD, MPH

Thursday, January 14, 2021 • 4 p.m. PT

Live via Zoom

Admission is free.

RSVP at visionsandvoices.usc.edu

As COVID-19 sweeps across the country, it causes preventable infections and deaths among incarcerated people and prison staff alike. Dr. Homer Venters, the former Chief Medical Officer for New York City’s jails and author of Life and Death in Rikers Island, will discuss the coronavirus tragedy and his efforts to improve prison healthcare, promote decarceration, and advocate for human rights.

Presented by USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative. Organized by Pamela Schaff (Medical Education, Family Medicine, and Pediatrics), Alexander Capron (Law and Medicine), Sofia Gruskin (Preventive Medicine and Law), Ron Ben-Ari (Internal Medicine), and Erika Wright (Medical Education and English). Co-sponsored by Keck School of Medicine’s HEAL Program (Humanities, Ethics/Economics, Art, and the Law), USC Pacific Center for Health Policy and Ethics, and USC Institute on Inequalities in Global Health.

For more information, please visit our website or contact us at visionsandvoices@usc.edu.

visionsandvoices.usc.edu

"AN ENGROSSING, SMARTLY CONTEXTUAL LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF

DISCLOSURE

A SCREENING AND DISCUSSION ON TRANS LIVES (ON AND OFF SCREEN)

RELATED EVENT

Trans Language: Words and Bodies A Creative Writing Workshop Friday,

“A concert of voice, body, and musical and visual scores that collectively draw a map of Black parenthood and American justice.” —New York Times

THE JUST

A Visions and Voices Signature Event

AND THE BLIND

Tuesday, February 9, 2021 5:30 p.m. PT

Live via Zoom

Followed by a Q&A with the Artists Admission is free.

RSVP at visionsandvoices.usc.edu

Artfully and powerfully combining live performance, short films, and honest conversation, spoken-word artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph, composer Daniel Bernard Roumain, and street-dance pioneer Drew Dollaz present an intensely personal and important exploration of racial profiling, the prison-industrial complex, and parenthood from the perspective of fathers of Black and Brown sons. Now adapted to an online event, their skillful illumination of the unseen and under-heard experiences of incarcerated youth and their families in America is as intimate as it is essential.

For more information, please visit our website or contact us at visionsandvoices@usc.edu.

visionsandvoices.usc.edu • University of Southern California

Photo: Fadi Kheir

A Visions and Voices Signature Event

Tuesday, February 16, 2021

6 p.m. PT

Live via Zoom

Admission is free.

RSVP at visionsandvoices.usc.edu

The original embodiment of LA Hip-Hop and cultural icon ICE-T will discuss his life in the arts and on the streets with JODY ARMOUR, the Roy P. Crocker Professor of Law at USC.

As rap music’s original gangster, Ice-T wrote iconic songs and released a string of groundbreaking West Coast rap records. As an actor, Ice-T landed memorable roles in such movies as New Jack City and Ricochet while building a flourishing television career, and is currently starring in his twentieth season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Ice-T has also directed, produced, and hosted films and TV shows, and is the author of several books, including Ice: A Memoir of Gangster Life and Redemption-from South Central to Hollywood

vision s and voices.usc.edu

University of Southern California

Photo: Steve Vaccariello

For more information, please visit our website or contact us at visionsandvoices@usc.edu.

visionsandvoices.usc.edu

University of Southern California

A Reading and Conversation with TJAWANGWA DEMA

Thursday, February 25, 2021, at 12 p.m. PT Live via Zoom

Admission is free.

RSVP at visionsandvoices.usc.edu

Internationally acclaimed Motswana poet TJ Dema is the author of the prize-winning collections The Careless Seamstress and Mandible. Foregrounding inquiry as a poetic practice, Dema explores ecopoetry, gender, race, disobedience, labor, mythology, and empathy. Reflecting on her life in Botswana, the United States, and England, she will perform work from throughout her career.

Related Event: Eco-Stories: Poetry, Sci-Fi, and Storytelling Workshops with TJAWANGWA DEMA and KIRK SIDES

Friday, February 26, 2021

10 a.m. and 12 p.m. PT

TJ Dema and groundbreaking scholar Kirk Sides will work with USC students to explore how planetary and climate change a ect modes of knowledge production, storytelling, and aesthetic practice.

PHOTO: PETRA ROLINEC

Presented by USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative. Organized by Indra N. Mukhopadhyay (Writing Program). Co-sponsored by the Pan-African Student Association.

A Reading and Conversation with Poet

KEVIN YOUNG

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2021, AT 3 P.M. PT LIVE VIA ZOOM

Admission is free. Reservations not required. Get the Zoom link at visionsand voices.usc.edu

Join us for an inspiring afternoon with Kevin Young, award-winning poet, author, director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, and poetry editor of The New Yorker. In this special event, Young will read from his poetry and discuss his work with USC professor Robin Coste Lewis, recipient of the National Book Award in poetry for Voyage of the Sable Venus, and USC President Carol L. Folt

The director of the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture from 2016–2020, Young is the author of 13 acclaimed books of poetry and prose, editor of nine other distinguished volumes, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was named a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets in 2020.

“Kevin Young is one of the most important poets of his generation.”—Washington Post

“Keeping up with him is like trying to keep up with Bob Dylan or Prince in their primes. Even the bootlegs have bootlegs.”—New York Times

visionsand voices.usc.edu

University of Southern California

Fran Lebowitz: a strong-willed, grumpy, verbose, brilliant woman, who is eager to give her invariably cutting take on anything and everything.

—The New Yorker

TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2021

5 P.M. PT

LIVE VIA ZOOM

Admission is free. RSVP at visionsandvoices.usc.edu

sarcastic, wry, wisecracking, and wickedly entertaining.

Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

THE LEGACY OF AMERICAN JOURNALIST

Inflammatory Literature Rubén Salazar

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

4 p.m. PT

Live via Zoom

Admission is free.

RSVP at visionsandvoices.usc.edu

Ruben Salazar (1928–1970) was among the first to write about the Chicano movement in the 1960s and was killed while covering the Chicano Moratorium March in 1970. Presented on Salazar’s birthday, an evening of theatre, music, and conversation will honor the pioneering reporter. The event will include a short play written by USC professor OLIVER MAYER (Blade to the Heat), directed by USC lecturer EDGAR LANDA , and featuring CHASTITY DOTSON (Young Valiant), MARLENE FORTE (Knives Out, Fear the Walking Dead ), MATTHEW LILLARD (Good Girls, Bosch), Culture Clash co-founder HERBERT SIGÜENZA (Coco), and DAVID ZAYAS (Dexter, Gotham). Music will be performed by ELLAS featuring former members of the Grammy-nominated Trio Ellas. A conversation with the actors and USC professors ELDA MARÍA ROMÁN and ROBERTO SURO will follow.

Presented by USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative. Organized by Oliver Mayer (Dramatic Arts), Barbara Robinson (USC Libraries), and Carlos Parra (History). Co-sponsored by the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, USC Dornsife College, the USC Libraries, the USC School of Dramatic Arts, and La CASA. For more information, please visit our website or contact us at visionsandvoices@usc.edu.

visionsandvoices.usc.edu

University of Southern California

OLIVER MAYER

EDGAR LANDA

CHASTITY DOTSON

MATTHEW LILLARD

DAVID ZAYAS

MARLENE FORTE

HERBERT SIGÜENZA

ELLAS

LIVEWIRE

A STIMULATING NIGHT OF NEUROTECHNOLOGY

FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 2021

4 P.M. PT

LIVE VIA ZOOM ADMISSION IS FREE.

RSVP AT VISIONSANDVOICES.USC.EDU

Livewire is a virtual entertainment event that combines neuroscience, neuroethics, and interactive media for participatory technology design. After a series of lightning talks on the technical, clinical, and ethical implications of emerging brain technologies, attendees will break into small groups to experience and reflect on Brainstorm: a social neurotechnology platform for coupling minds across geographic, cultural, and social boundaries. Speakers will include neuroscience and neuroethics pioneers USC professor Dong Song, University of Washington professor Eran Klein, and University of British Columbia professor Judy Illes.

VISIONSANDVOICES.USC.EDU

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Presented by USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative. Produced by the Brains@Play Initiative, including USC student Garrett Flynn, the Neurogenesis Working Group at Ahmanson Lab, and USC faculty Dong Song (Biomedical Engineering), Marientina Gotsis (Interactive Media & Games), and Curtis Fletcher (USC Libraries and Ahmanson Lab). Co-sponsored by USC Sidney Harman Academy for Polymathic Study, OpenBCI, Alterea, and Athenoe.

DONG SONG ERAN KLEIN JUDY ILLES

Photo: Robyn Von Swank

INFECTING RIGHTS Kate Gilmore

CLOWNING, COMEDY, AND WELLNESS WORKSHOPS

Friday, March 12, 2021, at 11 a.m. PT

Tuesday, March 23, 2021, at 11 a.m. PT

Wednesday, April 7, 2021, at 11 a.m. PT

Thursday, April 22, 2021, at 11 a.m. PT

Friday, April 30, 2021, at 11 a.m. PT

Live via Zoom

Admission is free and open to USC students, faculty, and sta only. RSVP at visionsandvoices.usc.edu

Join us on Wellness Days for “Make Me Laugh!,” a series of workshops guided by USC School of Dramatic Arts professor, head of comedy, and supervisor of the medical clowning program Zach Steel . Through improv-based exercises, spontaneous game play, and other activities, he will use laughter and clowning to improve our emotional and physical wellness in a historic moment of separation and stress, and attempt the impossible: To actually have fun on Zoom.

USC students, faculty, and staff are welcome to attend and be present without any pressure to participate.

THE POWER AND PLEASURE OF PODCASTING The Return of Radio Fiction

Thursday, March , , at p.m. PT Friday, March , , at a.m. PT Live via Zoom | Admission is free. RSVP at visionsandvoices.usc.edu

Building on our 2019 program that explored the rising interest in podcasts, “The Power and Pleasure of Podcasting 2” showcases the revival of the radio drama. The two-day event will feature live performances from cast members of the horror series Video Palace and the superhero/psychology program The Bright Sessions and inspired conversations with actors and academics about the state of the medium and the role of genres in today’s industry.

SCHEDULE

THURSDAY MARCH

5 – 6 p.m. Live performances featuring the casts of Video Palace and The Bright Sessions

6: 15 –7 p.m. Conversations with the cast and producers, including audience Q&A

FRIDAY MARCH

10 –11 a.m. The Historical Roots and Current State of Audio Fiction

Featuring Radio Drama Revival host Elena Fernández Collins, Jack Benny and the Golden Age of Radio Comedy author Kathy Fuller-Seeley, and Theater of the Mind: Imagination, Aesthetics, and Radio Drama author Neil Verma. Moderated by Henry Jenkins.

11:30 a.m.– World-Building and Genre Fiction in the Contemporary Podcast Industry

12:30 p.m.

VISIONSANDVOICES USC EDU

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Featuring Mike Monello (Video Palace), Lauren Shippen (The Bright Sessions), and others TBA. Moderated by Colin Maclay.

Comedian, Actor, and Correspondent on the Daily Show

Saturday, March 20, 2021

5 p.m. PT

Live via Zoom

Admission is free. RSVP at visionsandvoices.usc.edu

Comedian and actor Ronny Chieng will discuss his life, career, and unique worldview as an international artist with USC School of Dramatic Arts professor Anita Dashiell-Sparks. Chieng is a correspondent on the Daily Show with Trevor Noah, was one of the stars of Crazy Rich Asians, and has appeared on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, the New York Times, and GQ. He has also co-written and starred in his own sitcom, Ronny Chieng: International Student, and released the Netflix Stand Up Comedy Special, Asian Comedian Destroys America!

Nothing Lower Than I

M O V E M E N T

Daughters of the Movement

Mon., Mar. 29, 2021, at 5 p.m. PT

Live via Zoom

Admission is free.

RSVP at visionsandvoices.usc.edu

The Daughters of the Movement are legacy holders—a remarkable group of women who sat at the feet of those who were on the frontlines of the Civil Rights Movement. They carry the oral history, cultural values, and wisdom passed down to them by revolutionary leaders who turned the tide of American history. In an inspiring live conversation moderated by Kim Tabari, organizational development director of the USC Equity Research Institute, this multigenerational sisterhood will share their stories in order to empower and activate future generations.

GINA BELAFONTE Daughter of Julie and Harry Belafonte

SUZANNE KAY Daughter of Diahann Carroll

STACY LYNCH Daughter of Bill Lynch

ILYASAH SHABAZZ

Daughter of Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz

DOMINIQUE SHARPTON-BRIGHT Daughter of Reverend Al Sharpton

KEISHA SUTTON-JAMES Granddaughter of Percy Sutton

HASNA MUHAMMAD Daughter of Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee

MASTERS of the CURRENTS

A Conversation with the Creators and Cast

Wednesday, April 7, 2021, at 5 p.m. PT Live via Zoom

Admission is free.

RSVP at visionsandvoices.usc.edu

Masters of the Currents is the first nationally touring play about Micronesians in the U.S. Join us for excerpts of the groundbreaking show, followed by an inspiring conversation with creators Leilani Chan and Ova Saopeng and the multigenerational actors that played a key role in its development. In a conversation with Marie-Reine Velez, Visions and Voices production and marketing specialist and co-founder of the Asian American theatre collective Artists at Play, they will discuss how communitybased story collection and social justice practices were used to craft the theatrical journey, address issues facing the Micronesian community in Hawai’i, and share the impact the play has had on their lives.

Leilani Chan Ova Saopeng

As the waters of our planet rise, what can we learn from the descendants of the original ocean navigators of the Pacific?

“FEMINIST POP HEROES, FRESHLY MINTED AUTHORS…”

NEW YORK TIMES

TEGANTEGAN SARASARA A ND

THURSDAY APR. 8 2021

6 P.M. PT LIVE VIA ZOOM

Admission is free. RSVP at visionsandvoices.usc.edu

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Since 1999, Tegan and Sara Quin have released nine studio albums and played almost every bar, club, theater, arena, and festival stage during their evolution from indie rock sensations to bona fide pop stars on a mission to alter the mainstream. In an intimate and inspiring live conversation, the pop music duo and twin sisters Tegan and Sara will discuss their experiences and growth as Grammy-nominated artists; authors of the New York Times bestselling memoir, High School; and LGBTQ activists with USC professor Karen Tongson.

Visions and Voices will provide a limited number of FREE audiobooks of Tegan and Sara’s High School to USC students! Details provided at the event.

Photo: Trevor Brady

MED O Y C

FRIDAY APRIL – SUNDAY APRIL CINEMA USC EDU/COMEDYFESTIVAL

Common Ground Common Ground

WATER, LAND, SANCTUARY

April 2021

Live via Zoom

Admission is free. RSVP at visionsandvoices.usc.edu

Common Ground is an original series of events that showcases Los Angeles artists and organizers who are deconstructing and reimagining America’s relationship to itself—the interplay between the nation and the actual landmass on which it depends. Featuring intersecting themes of water, land, and sanctuary, each Common Ground event is specifically created by community partners who will address immigration, environmental justice, displacement, and collective ownership through collective art making, performances, and conversations with USC scholars.

Water

Activist Dance Theater by CONTRA-TIEMPO

Monday, April 12, at 6 p.m. PT

The premiere of somos agua: a collective honoring of our mama agua, a dance film by CONTRA-TIEMPO in collaboration with their community, will be followed by a discussion exploring the intersection of water, art making, and equitable urban planning with CONTRA-TIEMPO’s founding artistic director Ana Maria Alvarez, USC School of Architecture professor Esther Margulies, and LitLabs director Jacqueline Barrios

Land A Songwriting and Digital Art Workshop by Community Power Collective

Tuesday, April 20, at 6 p.m. PT

Drawing from Community Power Collective’s arts activism with workers, musicians, and youth in Boyle Heights and centering on the relationship between land and power, participants will be guided through a process of collective songwriting and creating digital art by musicians Quetzal Flores and Martha Gonzalez and USC graduate student, historian, and artist Yesenia Hunter

Sanctuary

A Live Performance by Solidarity for Sanctuary

Thursday, April 29, at 7 p.m. PT

An ensemble of musicians led by Solidarity for Sanctuary executive director and Annenberg Lab fellow Doris Muñoz will pay tribute to club spaces that nurture Black and Brown art. Following the live performance, Muñoz and USC Thornton School of Music instructor Jazmín Morales will discuss the relationship between community, physical safety, and creativity.

A SCREENING AND CONVERSATION

Celebrate the release of three documentary shorts produced by Razorcake magazine about first-generation East L.A. punk bands,. Excerpts will be screened followed by an explosive panel featuring Eastside Punks director JIMMY ALVARADO and musicians TRACY “SKULL” GARCIA (THEE UNDERTAKERS), TERESA COVARRUBIAS (THE BRAT), and JACK RIVERA (STAINS), who played storied L.A. punk venues such as The Vex and the Hong Kong Café alongside such influential bands as The Plugz, X, and Black Flag. The conversation will be moderated by DINO EVERETT, archivist for Eastside Punks and the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

PHOTO

HARRY SHUM JR .

In Conversation with

VIET THANH NGUYEN

AN ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER HERITAGE MONTH EVENT

SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2021, AT 5 P.M. PT LIVE VIA ZOOM

ADMISSION IS FREE.

RSVP AT VISIONSANDVOICES.USC.EDU

Actor and dancer HARRY SHUM JR. is best known for his roles as Mike Chang in Glee and Magnus Bane in Shadowhunters. His credits include Crazy Rich Asians, All My Life, and viral web shorts for Wong Fu Productions, and he has danced on tour and in videos with Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey, and Destiny’s Child. Following a welcome by USC PRESIDENT CAROL L. FOLT, Shum will join USC professor VIET THANH NGUYEN for a wide-ranging conversation about his career in entertainment, advocacy work for children and against racism, Asian Americans in the performing arts, the importance of generational storytelling, and more.

VISIONSANDVOICES.USC.EDU UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Photo: Emily Sandifer

ASIAN AMERICAN ARTS, CULTURE, AND PLACE

“California Dreaming brings together works by an impressive intergenerational group of Asian American scholars, artists, performers, and writers.”

—Tina Takemoto, California College of the Arts

THURSDAY, MAY 27, 2021, AT 5 P.M. PT LIVE VIA ZOOM

Admission is free.

RSVP at visionsandvoices.usc.edu

California Dreaming: Movement and Place in the Asian American Imaginary is a multi-genre collection of works by Asian American artists based in California. Co-editors CHRISTINE BACAREZA BALANCE and LUCY BURNS will facilitate an extraordinary panel featuring several of the book’s contributors: novelist KAREN TEI YAMASHITA, poet MAI DER VANG, playwright PRINCE GOMOLVILAS, and scholars

WENDY CHENG, LAN DUONG, and NAYAN SHAH. Highlighting creative processes, they will explore the rendering of California as both a specific locale and an identity marker that moves, linking its culture, labor, and economy with Asia Pacific, the Americas, and the world.

EXUBERANT ARCHITECTURE

Exploring Late Modernism through the Lens of Wayne Thom

Wednesday, June 2, 2021

6 p.m. PT

Live via Zoom

Admission is free.

RSVP at visionsandvoices.usc.edu

Architectural photographer Wayne Thom’s iconic images not only capture the cool glamour of 1960s and ’70s West Coast late modernism but help to define the era. The USC Libraries celebrate the release of Wayne Thom: Photographing the Late Modern with a talk by author Emily Bills, followed by a conversation with Bills, Docomomo’s Katie Horak, and USC architecture professor Trudi Sandmeier. Wayne Thom, whose archive is housed at the USC Libraries, will join the Q&A.

visionsandvoices.usc.edu

University of Southern California

Wayne Thom, Anaheim Arena, Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, Calif., 1969

“An activist. An author. A scholar. An abolitionist. A legend.” —