Professor L.M. Bogad has been awarded a grant from the Creative Work Fund. The
grants are given to Greater Bay Area artists collaborating with
nonprofit organizations to develop new works of theater,
traditional art, dance, poetry, arts activism and more.
A quartet consisting of two theatre and dance alumni and two
current undergraduate students worked behind the scenes at
California Shakespeare Theater this summer on the company’s
production of Lear, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s
classic tragedy by Marcus Gardley. The students were
supported by Steven Schmidt, lecturer in theatre and dance,
and technical director for Cal Shakes.
Poetry by doctoral student Diego Martínez-Campos (M.F.A, dramatic
arts, ‘20) has been selected to be part of Catalyst New
Music, an innovative music collaboration, along with the work of
14 other artists across the U.S.A.
Katherine Halls (B.A. theatre and dance and English, ‘20) is
currently rehearsing in Belgium with a TIE (Theatre in Education)
theatre company called Emerald Isle Theatre Company.
Olivia Caserta (B.A., theatre and dance, ‘22) is appearing as a
contestant in Hulu’s new baking competition series, Best
in Dough. Caserta is featured in episode 4 “College
Kids.”
Professor Margaret Laurena Kemp, Department of Theatre and Dance
chair, is pleased to announced two guest artists and presenters
for DRA 199: Theatre for Social Change and Social Justice in fall
quarter.
Ranked: The Musical, which was developed in part at UC
Davis through Catalyst Theatre/Ground and Field Theatre Festival,
is the subject of a documentary film My So-Called High School
Rank, produced by HBO. The film was recently presented at
DOC5 Film Fest in Menlo Park, CA, and is making the rounds at
numerous festivals this fall including the
Woodstock Film Festival.
The Department of Theatre and Dance has selected the Granada
Artists-in-Residence for 2022-2023. Erika Chong Shuch will be
the fall quarter guest artist and David Adam Moore and
Victoria “Vita”
Tzykun will be the joint guest artists for winter 2023.
Tom Munn, professor emeritus of theatre and dance, died on June
24 at 78. He was a pillar of the UC Davis Department of Theatre
and Dance, where he co-created the M.F.A. program in theatre,
design. An acclaimed designer in the San Francisco Bay Area, he
designed lighting and scenery for the San Francisco Opera for
nearly a quarter century.
Chris Oca (B.A. dramatic art, ’04) has been named production
manager at the Robert and
Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, just ahead of
the building’s 20th-anniversary season. He has worked in various
technical roles for the parent presenting program since the
building’s opening.
Jordan Brownlee (B.A., cinema and digital media ‘20) is
a cast member for the New York premiere of Jim Henson’s
Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas which plays at the
New Victory Theatre Dec. 10- Jan. 2.
An online KQED article has selected Performing
Truth: Works of Radical Memory for Times of Social
Amnesia by Professor L.M. Bogad as an “essential new
book by a radical performing artist.” The piece
by Nicole Gluckstern goes on to say “Bogad’s book offers a
variety of road-tested activist artist tactics to create moments
of creative protest and inspire radical consciousness.”
The Department of Theatre and Dance production of The Bluest
Eye will be presented at the Chicago International Puppet
Theater Festival in January 2022. The show was originally
performed at UC Davis in spring 2018.
Professor Mindy Cooper is the chair of the Ann
Reinking Scholarship Program which honors the late
actress/dancer/choreographer. The program presented its first
scholarship at a fundraising event in New York on Nov. 8.
Ian Wallace, lecturer in scenic design, is the scenic designer
and co-director of photography for A Midsummer Night’s Dream
which running weekends through Nov. 21. The Falcon’s Eye
production is performed in person at Folsom Lake College or is
available through a live stream.
A number of alumni appear in The Thanksgiving Play, a
production which marks the debut of the Davis Repertory
Theatre on Nov. 13 and 14 at 2 p.m. in the Village
Homes Amphitheatre, 2655 Portage Bay East in Davis.
Emile Rappaport (B.A., theatre and dance, ‘19) currently
works in video production for Zach King Team which
specializes in making short, high concept videos that are shared
onto Tik Tok, Instagram, and YouTube. The team is currently
seeking Los Angeles based crew for a variety of positions.
Professor Mindy Cooper is collaborating with pianist Lara Downes on Tomorrow I
May Be Far Away which includes an appearance by
Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Rita Dove.
The in-person performance is Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. (EST) at Sixth & I in Washington, DC.
Alumna and lecturer in Theatre and Dance Michele Apriña Leavy
(MFA dramatic art, ’94) has returned to in-person learning at UC
Davis, which includes her course for the Global Study Program in
Continuing and Professional Education |
International. Leavy’s positive perspective is spotlighted
in an article about the return to in-person instruction on the
program’s website.
The Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of
California, Davis is dedicated to integrating consent-based
practices into all classroom, studio and production environments.
The 180 Series of courses provide exciting practical instruction
and participation in all aspects of theatrical and dance
production. Whether you are exploring these courses as a
Theatre & Dance Major, Minor, or are simply an interested
non-affiliated student, you will find passionate people working
to create art and tell stories on stage. We invite you to
join us at this link.
Emile Rappaport (B.A., theatre and dance, ‘19) works in
video production for the Los Angeles based Zach
King Team which specializes in making short, high
concept videos that are shared onto Tik Tok, Instagram, and
YouTube, though Rappaport originally arrived in L.A. to
pursue an acting career.
