Volume 18, 2 | October 7. 2019
Week 2 NEWSLETTER
Department News
Week 2 - Oct 7 - Oct 11, 2019
Professor Jennifer Chang is highlighted in American Theatre's Roll Call Spotlight on '6 Theatre Workers You Should Know' in American Theatre.

Professor Naomi Iizuka on Professor Chang's work on new plays during the annual Wagner New Play Festival said, “Jen has this gift for asking the right questions, intuiting the shape of a nascent piece of writing, and building the ecosystem of the play with actors and designers in this very singular, inspiring way.”


MFA Lightning Designer Mextly Couzin design for Las Mujeres del Mar can be seen (and appreciated) now through October 14th at Playwrights Arena at Atwater Village Theatre , in Los Angeles on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays.

Be sure to come out and support UC San Diego's up and coming talent pool.

For more information click on the LA Times story linked below.

Professor Richard Robichaux, Eva Barnes & Ursula Meyer and the first year Actors went to see Bill Irwin in On Beckett (for which the department's own Professor Lora Powell is the Production Stage Manager) at Center Theatre Group in LA this past weekend. After Irwin's one man show the group was able to participate in a Question and Answer session with the noted actor and clown.

Pictured left to right

Natalia Quintero-Riestra, Jada Owens, Jordan Smith, Lois Shih, Grayson Heyl, Noah Israel, Henry Greenberg, Noah Keeling 
Happening Around Campus
October is National Arts and Humanities Month — join in the celebration by submitting your creative project for a chance to win an iPad!

In celebration, the UC San Diego​ Division of Arts and Humanities is proud to sponsor our third annual Student Contest.

No matter where your creative talents lay, all  UC San Diego  students are encouraged to submit creative project promoting the division’s mission: “An Education for the Common Good.”

What type of projects are being accepted? How about a 500-word essay, a creative poem, or a painting, drawing, design or photograph... or even a video performance piece, but keep it to three minutes tops!

Submission guidelines are at the link below.

UC San Diego Strives for Active Shooter Preparedness .

As part of an ongoing initiative UC San Diego has released a Active Shooter Preparedness video created by students of the California State University System. The primarily animated video is intended to encourage the staff and students of UC San Diego to consider the possibility of an Active Shooter incident on campus, the video can be viewed along with additional information about the initiative in the below linked San Diego Union-Tribune story.

In Memoriam
Sad news. MFA acting alumnus  Andrew (Andy) Weems passed away this week.

Andy graduated UC San Diego Theatre & Dance in 1989 – and was an outstanding MFA actor and alum who immediately lit up the national scene on the regional theatre circuit.

Andy was superb in STRINDBERG SONATA in the Weiss Theatre on our campus that year – directed by leading America experimental artist Anne Bogart.
The next year Andy followed Anne to Trinity Rep in Rhode Island when Anne was appointed Artistic Director of that company.

Andy’s brother David Weems wrote,
”A brilliant actor, his career took him all over the world.  He performed in London and Vienna.  He won a Macarthur grant to travel back to his beloved  Nepal and wrote a beautiful piece about his experience - Namaste Man - which he got to perform in at least 2 places.  
He was a gifted writer and story teller.  He loved to tell a good story.  He was prone to embellishment for effect, but that made for better stories.
He was a fiercely loyal friend and brother who was a stabilizing influence in the lives of many people - including my own.  He made the effort to see people.  He made the call when it had been too long.
He was, simply, the best at anything he tried to do”

Condolences to Andy’s family, friends and loved ones.
Updates
If you have news to share please send it to us at tanddnews@ucsd.edu and we'll post in subsequent newsletters. Photos are encouraged.
Faculty, alumni and staff Attend Opening night at South Coast Rep
Happy Opening Night at South Coast Rep , 10/14/19, of The Canadians, written by Adam Block, Directed by Jaime Castañeda. The play stars MFA acting alumni  Kyle T. Hester  and  Corey Brill .

Pictured : Professor & Acting MFA alumna Eva Barnes, Corey Brill, MFA Acting alumna Joy Osmanski, Professor & MFA Acting alumna  Jennifer Chang , Professor  Ursula Meyer , MFA Acting alumnus Kyle T. Hester, MFA Acting alumnus  Irungu Mutu  & Mark Maltby.

For information about attending a performance of The Canadians click the link below.

Phd Alumna Aimee Zygmonski was recently named the Executive Director for the Association for Theatre in Higher Education and the American Society for Theatre Research .

An advocate for the field of theatre and performance in higher education, ATHE serves as an intellectual and artistic center for producing new knowledge about theatre and performance-related disciplines, cultivating vital alliances with other scholarly and creative disciplines, linking with professional and community-based theatres, and promoting access and equity.

The American Society for Theatre Research ( ASTR ) is a U.S.-based professional organization that fosters scholarship on worldwide theatre and performance, both historical and contemporary.
Celebrate Halloween a little early with MFA Costume Design Alumna.

Alumna Danae Iris McQueen is costume designer for the Pasadena Playhouse production of Little Shop of Horrors directed by Mike Donahue (Playing until October 20).

For a sneak peak of the show, click the link below for a clip from The Late Late Show With James Corden

If you missed Strange Loop's run at Playwrights Horizon you can catch MFA acting alumnus John-Andrew Morrison sing 'Periodically' from the show in this video.

For more information or to watch the Video, click the link below.


Have news to share?
Send it to us at tanddnews@ucsd.edu and we'll pass it along for you. Photos are encouraged.
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Sincerely, UC San Diego Theatre & Dance