Expression Fall 2004 by Debra Falzoi

Expression Fa l l 2 0 0 4

THE MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF EMERSON COLLEGE

Bright Lights, Big Studios

Countless lunch meetings, late nights and hard decisions add up to major ﬁlms, say top studio executives

The ‘State’ of Politics

Several New England state lawmakers have something in common: an Emerson degree

Lens Craft

An eye on three Emersonian photographers

Expression

THE MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF EMERSON COLLEGE

Fa l l 2 0 0 4

Memory Lane

Politics on campus

Campus Digest

The Cutler Majestic Theatre receives awards for restoration work

The ‘State’ of Politics

Several New England state lawmakers have something in common: an Emerson degree

Lens Craft

An eye on three Emersonian photographers

Bright Lights, Big Studios

Top ﬁlm executives describe the behind-the-scenes activity that results in major new ﬁlms

Commencement

The 2004 rites in story and photos

Alumni Digest

Alumni Weekend 2004 coverage, Alumni Association board election results, and more

Class Notes

Read the news about your classmates

Proﬁle

Jim Luce ’74 lives for jazz

My Turn

Emerson faculty member and media analyst weighs in on the ‘protest pen’

Alumnus and professional photographer Joanne Ciccarello ’80 spent time in Cambodia in 2002. In this photo, young monks enjoy a quiet afternoon at Phnom Sampeau buddhist temple in Battambang province, Cambodia. The temple was overrun by the Khmer Rouge during their control of Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. Built into a mountain, the temple has become a tourist attraction. (See story in this issue to view more of Ciccarello’s work as well as that of two other professional photographers who are Emersonians.)

Expression Executive Editor David Rosen Editor Rhea Becker Writer Christopher Hennessy

Phnom Sampeau Temple, Cambodia 2 Expression Fall 2004

Design Consultant Charles Dunham Editorial Assistant Catherine Shefﬁeld

Expression is published three times a year (fall, winter and spring) for alumni and friends of Emerson College by the Ofﬁce of Public Affairs (David Rosen, associate Vice President) in conjunction with the Department of Institutional Advancement and the Ofﬁce of Alumni Relations (Barbara Rutberg ’68, director).

Ofﬁce Of Public Affairs public_affairs@emerson.edu (617) 824-8540 fax (617) 824-8916 Ofﬁce Of Alumni Relations alumni@emerson.edu (800) 255-4259 (617) 824-8535 fax (617) 824-7807

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Memory Lane

In This Issue

Cutler Majestic Theatre receives accolades for restoration work

Politics, politics everywhere The campus has experienced its share of political goings-on over the years. Here is a sampling: In 1961 the Emerson College campus was expanded to nine buildings with the purchase of the Fuller House at 150 Beacon St. This house had been built by Governor Eben Draper near the turn of the century, and was for some years after his death used by Governor Alvan T. Fuller. The Governor’s House had been used by Emerson as the college cafeteria, a dormitory, the headquarters for the music department, the site for chapel exercises, and ofﬁce space for a burgeoning administration. The College was at this time [1933] an institution essentially conservative in outlook, both socially and politically. A mock presidential election had been conducted by the College’s Forensic

Union on Nov. 3, 1932. The students were given an opportunity to vote for Franklin D. Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover or Norman Thomas. A majority of the students voted for Hoover, who, ﬁve days later, was defeated by Roosevelt in the national election. William Howland Kenney, a professor of speech who had been one of the triumvirate who bought the College in 1902, once gave private speech instruction to Boston Mayor James Michael Curley. After a period in which the hazing of freshmen by members of the sophomore class took on a rougher complexion, hazing was cleaned up. In the fall of 1968 freshmen were marched up to the legislative parking lot behind the State House, where they scrubbed the parking places assigned to state ofﬁcials. This singular act brought them a visit from Governor John Volpe and Lieutenant Governor Francis Sargent. Volpe praised the freshmen for their work, exclaiming that he was “proud of the young people of today.” Volpe and Sargent were made honorary members of the sophomore class. Excerpts adapted from A Century of Eloquence: The History of Emerson College, 1880-1980 (Alternative Publications, 1982) by John Coffee Jr. and Richard Wentworth ’79

William Howland Kenney, a former president of Emerson, once gave speech lessons to Boston Mayor James Michael Curley.

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Campus Digest

Lunch meetings, dinner meetings, corporate meetings, screenings and more screenings — ah, the life of a ﬁlm studio executive! For our cover story, we’ve spoken to several alumni who work in top positions in the Los Angeles ﬁlm industry, offering you a rare window on their world. If you’re a movie lover, we think you’ll enjoy this story, “Bright Lights, Big Studios,” as it helps to illuminate the behind-the-scenes action that turns mere ideas into million-dollar movies. Did you know that several Emerson alumni are serving as state legislators in posts throughout New England? These busy pols put aside their hectic schedules to speak to us for a feature story on the “ ’State’ of Politics.” Two other alumni involved in national politics also talk shop. One is working as an aide for Sen. John McCain and the other has launched a statewide voting rights organization and even ‘ran’ for president on the Showtime reality show American Candidate. In this issue, we also feature the work of three professional photographers who have Emerson ties. Their work ranges from an exploration of ancient Egyptian locales and objects, to a photodocumentary of a welfare family, to portraits of the lives of several women who live off the land in rural Maine. Enjoy! — Rhea Becker, editor

Expression welcomes short letters to the editor on topics covered in the magazine. The editor will select a representative sample of letters to publish and reserves the right to edit copy for style and length. Send letters to: Editor, Expression, Ofﬁce of Public Affairs, Emerson College, 120 Boylston St., Boston MA 02116-4624; public_affairs@emerson.edu.

The recent restoration of the landmark Cutler Majestic Theatre at the College has won prestigious awards from two national organizations. In addition, Emerson and the architects for the Majestic restoration and the new Tufte Performance and Production Center

“The restoration of the Majestic Theatre is a tremendously successful effort that has increased the vitality of the Boston Theatre District,” said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “Emerson College and the many people involved with this magniﬁcent revival of one of

A detail of the Cutler Majestic Theatre restoration

(Elkus/Manfredi Architects Ltd.) received distinguished achievement awards from the Boston Society of Architects. On Sept. 30, the National Trust for Historic Preservation presented the College with a National Preservation Honor Award at the group’s national conference in Louisville, Ky. Emerson was one of 22 national award winners.

the country’s ﬁnest theaters have gone above and beyond expectations.” On July 24, the Cutler Majestic Theatre received the Outstanding Theatre Restoration Project Award of the League of Historic American Theatres (LHAT) for demonstrating “the highest standards of excellence in its vision, positive impact on its community, and execution of its physical restoration.” Presenting the award, LHAT board member and Immediate Past-President Andrew Tifﬁn said the Majestic is “more than a successfully restored building.

It represents a collaborative project that has ‘transformed community life in Boston.’ ” Built in 1903, the innovative, 1,200-seat Beaux Arts-style Majestic Theatre was one of the ﬁnest playhouses of its time. In the 1950s, however, new ownership converted the Majestic into the Saxon movie theater, with alterations that transformed the lobby and covered much of the Beaux Arts splendor. By 1983, when Emerson College purchased the Majestic, it had fallen into severe physical decline and was slated for demolition. Emerson renovated and restored the building in phases over a 10-year period. After undergoing exterior restoration and partial interior renovation, the theater reopened for college and community use in 1989. It closed in 2003 to enable the full restoration of the interior of the building and the reopening of the balcony level. In the same year, the theater was named in honor of Ted (’51) and Joan Cutler, whose lead gift spurred the second phase of the restoration.

EVVY history to be collected on DVD Are you an EVVY alumnus? The EVVY Awards, Emerson College’s version of the Emmy Awards, is at the center of an ambitious, multi-year project to assemble a DVD focused on the history of the nearly 25-year-old awards show. The goal of the project is to create a full-length DVD that will feature documentary-style historical sequences and retrospective interviews from EVVY alumni. Current EVVY students aim to complete the DVD in time for the 25th anniversary show in two years. Past EVVY participants are urged to contact The EVVY Awards, c/o Emerson College, 120 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02116-4624. For more information, visit the EVVY Awards website at www.EVVY.org/historian. The annual EVVY Awards is written, staffed and produced by Emerson students and presented each May. The show, an eightcamera, live-switch production, using broadcast-quality equipment, is thought to be the nation’s largest studentrun televised production.

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The ‘State’ of

Politics

New England legislators – who happen to be Emerson alumni – talk shop

By Christopher Hennessy

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s the presidential and congressional elections loom, all eyes are on Washington, D.C. But when it comes to the lawmakers who grapple with the issues that affect everyday life, look no further than your state house. State lawmakers control multi-million-dollar budgets and apportion funds for crucial social services.

New Hampshire State Representative Anthony DiFruscia ’62 announces his run for Speaker of the House last summer in Concord.

The toughest decisions

Expression turned to several alumni who are lawmakers in New England to gauge the ‘state’ of politics in the area. Whether it is strengthening ﬁre safety laws after a tragic nightclub ﬁre last year in Rhode Island or grappling with the issue of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, these alumni are shaping the laws that affect millions. Here, they recount legislative battles and stump for the issues that ignite their political fervor.

One of the biggest issues Kathi-Anne Reinstein, MA ’97, has faced in her five years as a Massachusetts State Representative was the controversial samesex marriage amendment proposed by legislators and considered in early 2004 during sessions of a Constitutional Congress. The Congress convened after the state Supreme Judicial Court ruled that preventing gay people from marrying was unconstitutional. Democrat Reinstein, who has served Suffolk District 16 since 1999, says she spent “an agonizing amount of time” considering the issue [see “A Difficult Proposal” on p. 7]. Over the course of several anxiety-filled days she also carefully crafted a statement of her views for the press. And then on the first day of the Constitutional Congress, Reinstein spoke out. “I have an issue with changing the Constitution to limit rights, whether I agree with [the issue] or not,” she said emphatically. In the end, legislators voted to ban gay marriage, legalize civil unions, and make it clear that civil unions would not grant federal benefits to gay couples. The amendment narrowly passed

105-92 but must be passed again in the next legislative session before going to voters on a statewide ballot in 2006. Voting against the amendment was a principled but risky decision, but Reinstein says she had to vote her conscience. “People were coming up to me saying, ‘You’re going to lose your seat over this.’” Their predictions were wrong. Reinstein is running unopposed and thus will be back for a fourth term. Reinstein is also passionate about ﬁghting for issues that directly affect her constituents’ neighborhoods. Many local residents depend on the two racetracks in her district as a main source of employment. “These jobs have helped people get through school, stay in nursing homes, feed their families and pay their mortgages.” But those jobs are threatened, she says, because millions of dollars are going out of the state to casinos like Mohegan Sun in Connecticut (casino gambling is illegal in Massachusetts). Reinstein advocates for legalized gambling as long as slot

machines are placed in the state’s racetracks with significant revenues returned to the state’s coffers for education and public safety. Reinstein also served as co-chair of the subcommittee on fire safety for which she helped write a new bill that calls for the “biggest sweeping reform since the Cocoanut Grove reform in 1942,” she says. (The Cocoanut Grove fire killed 492 people in a Boston nightclub and led to many new fire safety regulations.) The new bill, prompted by a deadly nightclub fire last year in neighboring Rhode Island, will require owners of any bar, nightclub or dance hall holding more than 100 people to install sprinklers, among other measures. It also increases funding for fire departments and fire safety education by $11.5 million. Reinstein also fought for grant funds that could be used for fire service training and overtime – the first time the state has allowed funds to be spent on personnel. “If we can’t find [funds] to help these men and women, what are we doing here?” she asks. For her

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‘Granny D’ for Senate!

work, this year she received an award from the Fire Chiefs’ Association of Massachusetts. Reinstein has also been honored with a Pillar of Justice Award from the Boston Bar Association and Greater Boston Legal Services (for ﬁghting to keep legal aid for low-income residents in the ’04 budget), and a leadership award from the Massachusetts Coalition for Choice (for helping pass the Contraceptives Coverage Bill).

Finding the funds New Hampshire State Representative Anthony DiFruscia ’62 believes that education funding “is the biggest issue hitting the state.” This Republican lawmaker, who is serving his third term, knows the state’s situation, however, is significantly complicated by New Hampshire’s whopping deficit. DiFruscia’s goal is to find the funding to give every child an adequate education. “We may be in a two-hundred- to three-hundred-million-dollar deficit,

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one that we’ve never seen before. We have to come to grips with other methods of ﬁnding money.” DiFruscia is a ranking member of the commerce committee and has been a practicing attorney for 37 years with a law ofﬁce based in Methuen, Mass. Though he is now a Republican, DiFruscia started out as a Democrat, elected for three terms (1967-1972) to the Massachusetts House of Representatives; he was 26. He began his political career just a few years out of Emerson and New England School of Law in Boston. DiFruscia argues New Hampshire lawmakers should consider controversial gambling and lottery options to help get the state out of the red. It’s something he says the citizens want. “We ignore seventy percent of the people who are saying that they’d like to expand the lottery and gambling,” he explains. Bringing the popular lottery game Keno to New Hampshire, for example, could generate $60 million, DiFruscia claims. But the majority of lawmakers have consistently voted to keep Keno and other gambling out of the state. DiFruscia is still hopeful he can shepherd other laws through the legislature that will increase funding

Emerson alumnus and nonagenarian Doris ‘Granny D’ Haddock is running for U.S. Senate from the state of New Hampshire. The 94-year-old attended Emerson from 1928 to 1931. Haddock, a native of Dublin, N.H., is known as a champion for campaignﬁnance reform, for which she walked from Pasadena, Calif., to Washington, D.C. (3,200 miles), in 1999. Several dozen members of Congress walked the ﬁnal miles with her, and then she was met by 2,200 supporters from a variety of reform groups.

Though her campaign faces an uphill battle against incumbent Republican Senator Judd Gregg, the race is expected to narrow with a new addition to her campaign – former Howard Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi, who is serving as a pro bono consultant. Trippi has worked on the presidential campaigns of Edward Kennedy, Walter Mondale, Gary Hart and Richard Gephardt.

The Boston Phoenix calls Haddock “a charismatic woman who gives a mean stump speech.” The paper adds, “[She] inspires protectiveness, reverence, and general delight. Politicians on both sides of the aisle are vulnerable to Haddock’s charms; both Jimmy Carter and John McCain have lauded her as a Great American.”

Doris ‘Granny D’ Haddock, who attended Emerson in the 1920s, is campaigning for a U.S. Senate seat.

A Difﬁcult Proposal

A look at one legislator’s struggle over a same-sex marriage amendment

for education. For example, he hopes legislators will eventually allow slot machines at racetracks, a move that could bring in $100 million alone, he says. While he’s currently looking for funds to ensure adequate schooling for the state’s youth, DiFruscia has been ﬁghting for the rights of young people since his years as a Representative in Massachusetts in the late ’60s, he says. “I completely changed the juvenile law in Massachusetts,” he says, referring to his campaign to shutter “training continued on page 8

In Kathi-Anne Reinstein’s ofﬁce in the Massachusetts State House there hangs a sign that reads: “The hottest place in hell is reserved for those who, in times of moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.” From poet Dante, it’s a quote that Representative Reinstein (MA, ’97) turns to when she must make a difﬁcult decision.

Then, prompted by what she describes as a “hateful” article in a local paper, she gave an impassioned speech to the Congress on its ﬁrst day in session. “Any member of this Commonwealth should be able to marry someone who is their best friend and soul mate if they choose,” she told the assembly. The Boston Phoenix commented that Reinstein was one of the few legislators to tackle the critical argument that is behind the SJC decision: “The right to marriage, without the free choice of a partner, is not a right to marriage at all.”

Beatrice Lanzi, MA ’91, a Rhode Island state senator, serves on the senate labor, ﬁnance and education committees.

This year Reinstein encountered a vote that she knew could deﬁne who she was, her values and beliefs. It came when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled on Nov. 18, 2003, that to prevent gay people from marrying violated the state’s Constitution. Legislators then voted to convene a special Constitutional Congress to debate amending the Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. Reinstein says she so often needed to talk about the complexities of the issue and the anxiety it was causing her that “no one around me wanted to hear me anymore!” So, Reinstein simply bought a notebook to write down her thoughts.

School of Government. Haddock is the author of Granny D: You’re Never Too Old to Raise a Little Hell (Random House, 2003) and Granny D: Walking across America in My Ninetieth Year (Random House, 2001). She received an Emerson honorary degree in 2000. –C.H.

Last year, Haddock launched a voter registration effort directed at America’s working women, which she kicked off with a speech at Harvard’s Kennedy

hard and I care about my people,” she responds. But even her constituents’ views inﬂuence her decision only so much: “It’s not about me and it’s not about them; it’s about what is the right thing to do. “When you’re on the right side of history, [in that moment] it’s never easy. I know I’m on the right side of history.” –C.H.

Reinstein voted against the amendment: it wasn’t right to use the Constitution to limit rights, she asserted. The amendment passed, however, and if approved again by legislators in 2005 and by voters in 2006, it will ban gay marriage though simultaneously legalizing civil unions. Her views have had a cost; some family members are not talking to her, and she revealed in her remarks to the Congress that she’d been “yelled at and sworn at,” facing rumors and namecalling. “Say what you want, I work very Kathi-Anne Reinstein, MA ’97

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‘Party’ Animals

Young alums take on dynamic political work

Two young Emerson graduates are taking the political world by storm.

Lazu trains, organizes and coordinates volunteer “street teams” who take their message to places like “basketball courts, nightclubs, barber shops.” The teams talk to potential voters, collect data and do ‘guerilla marketing’ (e.g., posting ﬂyers on lampposts, handing out CDs). Lazu and her volunteers then go door-to-door. “We give [young voters] basic info on what Republicans haven’t done for them recently.”

One is traveling the country to encourage young people to vote, and ‘ran for president’ on a Showtime reality television series. The other is serving as assistant press secretary to one of the most inﬂuential senators in Congress. Meet Malia Lazu and Crystal Benton.

continued from page 6 schools” or “reform schools” that were plagued by abuse. “It took me nearly four years but I did get them closed by getting rid of the funding. It was a hard ﬁght.” Currently, he is also running for Speaker of the House against an incumbent. His candidacy has drawn support from both sides of the aisle, reports the Pelham-Windham News.

Serving the people ‘It’s the economy, stupid.’ Rhode Island State Senator Beatrice Lanzi, MA ’91, would agree. “Most legislators,” she says, “will tell you the most important issue they deal with is the economy.” And doling out oftentimes limited funds from a complex state budget affects a range of state services, says Lanzi, a Democrat from Cranston who serves on the Senate labor, ﬁnance and education committees. Lanzi notes that one of the greatest challenges every year is “being able to juggle all the various needs of the communities and coming up with a

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Crystal Benton ’04 is assistant press secretary for Sen. John McCain.

Malia Lazu ’99 founded MassVote and was a ﬁnalist on the reality show American Candidate.

budget that’s able to meet these needs as much as possible.” She helps sort out the puzzle, seeking ways to fund everything from a biotech center, to community block grants for municipality enterprise zones, to the RIPAE [Rhode Island Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Elderly] (“for providing prescription drugs to the most needy in our state”). Lanzi, who served as a representative for a decade before winning a seat in the Senate, is also “very interested in issues dealing with working families, whether they be worker compensation laws, safety in the workplace or minimum wage issues.” For example, she wrote and helped pass a workplace violence prevention act that creates protections for employees in the workplace who are victims of stalking or domestic violence. The law enables employers to seek restraining orders on behalf of employees. Before the law was passed, says Lanzi, “there was very little you could do about workplace harassment in the state of Rhode Island.” Lanzi also recalls the horriﬁc nightclub ﬁre that took 100 lives as it swept through the packed Station nightclub in West Warwick in 2003. “I think everyone [in the Senate] knew the seriousness of the issue and wanted to

roll up their sleeves and see what we could do right away to try to ensure that this would never happen again,” she recalls. Lanzi served on the Fire Review Commission, and among her priorities was making the laws consistent and “easy to follow so people would conform to them.” Other bills that Lanzi has helped see to fruition include legislation to allow disabled veterans to take tuitionfree college classes in Rhode Island and the Government Accountability Act, which requires that state agencies provide public access to consultant contracts. Lanzi is also director of labor community services for the United Way of Rhode Island. Rhode Island Monthly cited Lanzi as one of the “legislators who have emerged and made an impression” in the state. She was nationally recognized by Glamour magazine (1999) in its “Women of the Year: Celebrating Female Achievers” issue. The American Council of Young Political Leaders has also honored Lanzi with its alumni award. E

Malia Lazu ’99 is the national field coordinator for the Washington, D.C.based Young Voter Alliance (YVA), a progressive nonprofit organization targeting the youth vote across the country. Lazu is founder and former executive director of MassVote, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to increasing voter and civic participation in Massachusetts. With these credentials, it is little surprise that she was selected as one of 10 cast members to vie for the ‘presidency’ on the reality series American Candidate. Lazu sought “to rally the disenfranchised and push the legislative branch to pass a fair budget,” according to her ‘campaign’ website. She finished second. For the YVA, Lazu is helping to “run a coordinated campaign, really trying to combine all of our resources in New Mexico, Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.” The YVA has determined that these states are important battlegrounds for the 2004 election. YVA’s goal is to “target hard-to-reach voters and students in these states” and encourage them to vote for Democratic candidates.

Young voters, says Lazu, are concerned with “the same issues that everybody is talking about – health care, the war, especially the draft, and jobs,” she says. It’s crucial for Lazu to connect with her population: “We’re making sure that when we talk about health care we don’t just talk about Medicaid and prescriptions.” During the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Boston, Lazu spoke to convention-goers about how to get young people to vote. She participated in the DNC’s Revolutionary Women panel and the Democratic Gain Youth Women panel.

Pat Tillman, a former Arizona State University football star who gave up an NFL career for the military, the press pounded her ofﬁce with calls for commentary from McCain (“He is always looked to on military issues, so everyone wanted to talk to him”). It was up to Benton to make sense out of the clamor. “It was just insane. I couldn’t even answer the phones fast enough.” Benton says it was time well spent, however. “I talked to everyone [in the press] in one day!” One of her biggest challenges? The television morning show appearances she helps arrange for the senator. “That’s a four a.m. wakeup call for me. The Senator gives me a hard time about being groggy, but I’m still on a college schedule.” And when an issue is important for Senator McCain, she must learn as much as she can about it. Last summer when the 9/11 Commission issued its much anticipated report, Benton studied the ﬁndings. “It’s huge,” she remarks of the report. “And whatever the legislators do and don’t do,” she believes, “will go down in history.”

Crystal Benton ’04 went from Emerson directly to Washington, D.C., where –C.H. she works as assistant press secretary to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). For the influential former presidential candidate, Benton sets up media appointments for shows like Meet the Press, writes press releases, speaks “on background” to the press, researches issue areas for McCain staffers, and works to develop strong relationships with reporters and producers. Benton recently helped facilitate a slew of media engagements for McCain during the Republican National Convention held in New York. Her first week on the job, Benton admits, was “a trial by fire.” After the death in Afghanistan of Army Ranger

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p h o t o g r a p h e r s

Joanne Ciccarello ’80

Lauren Shaw

director of Emerson’s photography program Sylvia Holbrook at her farm in New Vineyard, Maine, where she makes 8,000 pounds of butter each year.

LENS

Bonny, hidden by an umbrella, arrives at the cemetery after learning that her abuser has suddenly died.

A n

e y e

o n

e e r t h

showcases the work of

women who live off the

distill a single moment in

three Emersonians – two

land in Maine to scenes

time. Many such moments

alumni and one faculty

of ancient Egyptian relics

can be found in the fol-

member – all of whom

to portraits of a Bostonian

lowing pages as Expression

are professional photogra-

living on welfare.

hotographers aim to

phers. Their unique visions range from portraits of

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Susan Lezon ’80 The granite torso of the statue of Thutmoses III; Karnak Temple, 1st Court (ca. 1479-1425 B.C.)

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Joanne Ciccarello ’80 heads the photojournalism program at New England School of Photography and is an adjunct photojournalism professor at Boston University. She is a member of the National Press Photographers Association, New England Women in Photography and the Society for Photography Educators. Formerly, she was a photo editor at the Christian Science Monitor and the Providence Journal. She is the recipient of a Santa Fe Workshops award.

Susan Lezon ’80 is an assistant professor at Plattsburgh State University of New York, teaching traditional and digital photography in the Art Department. She has an M.F.A. in ﬁne art photography from the University of Massachusetts/ Hampshire College in Amherst. She is also a photo-archivist and conservator for the University of Chicago Oriental Institute’s Epigraphic Survey in Luxor, Egypt.

Joanne Ciccarello ’80 Project: A Woman on Welfare

It began with a group of women photojournalists involved in the National Press Photographers Association who wanted to investigate women’s stories. It was late 1995 and the welfare debate was heating up nationally. We decided to follow one family each and document their lives for a year. Our goal was to give voice to the women who were often viliﬁed in the press but had no opportunity for rebuttal. The exhibit, “Untold Stories: Families Receiving Welfare,” toured for two years through southern New England from galleries to state houses.

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From her days at a shelter for victims of domestic violence, Bonny (pictured above and on facing page) discovered beneﬁcial counseling services. She read inspirational notes every morning to reassure herself (facing page). With the support of loving friends and community activists who championed her recovery, she slowly grew to trust herself and in turn promote her children’s efforts to heal. It is these life skills that Bonny imparts to others in her role as director of Family Outreach and Community Advocacy for the city of Somerville, Mass. However, the violence that her children witnessed remained a source of anguish. In one of our ﬁrst photo sessions together, her son suffered a severe anxiety attack and Bonny rushed him to the emergency room (above). Within one week, Bonny’s life drastically changed. Her abuser had a

heart attack and died. Bonny went to the funeral, overwhelmed by sadness and the knowledge that he could never again hurt her. Days earlier Bonny won a Housing Authority lottery that offered formerly abandoned homes at affordable prices to eligible participants. Bonny rushed to her mother’s favorite bingo hall to tell her the news (facing page). Documentary photography does not come easy to me. Often, it involves getting close to people whose circumstances are difﬁcult. Other people’s struggles get under the skin of my own disappointments. Yet I am continually inspired by people who never give up hope despite the difﬁculties they face. –J.C.

Lauren Shaw is associate professor in visual and media arts at Emerson College, directing the photography program. She received an M.F.A. in photography from Rhode Island School of Design. She is co-founder of New England Women in Photography. She is the recipient of two National Endowment Regional Grants. She was the 2005 recipient of the Excellence in Photographic Teaching Award given by the Santa Fe Center for Photography. Her work has been exhibited widely throughout the United States and is in the collections of the Getty Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Harvard’s Fogg Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Library of Congress.

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Tomb of Ramose, fallen ceiling block. The phrase of the funerary text seen here translates as “...that you may behold the moon...”; Gurna, Nobles Tombs, Western Thebes (ca. 1539-1295 B.C.)

Feet of the goddess Mut Sekhmet; Karnak, Rameses III Temple, 1st Court; Amenhotep III Period (ca. 13901353 B.C.); usurped by Rameses III (ca. 11871156 B.C.)

Lauren Shaw Project: “Maine Women, Living on the Land” My photographs feature Maine women who have lived most of their lives on the land (on this page are images of one of my 10 subjects ). Much of their livelihood has come from the land, either by producing a product or building a community. This project began in 1996 as an attempt to understand the community in which I have spent the last 26 years as a part-time resident. In reaching out to the women of Maine, I began to meet women whose stories seemed to ﬁt my project. I interviewed many

Statue of the goddess Sekhmet; Karnak precinct, Open Air Museum (ca. 1539-1295 B.C.)

women and selected 10 because of their diversity in age, location, landscape and lifestyle. It is my objective to bring to a broader audience these women’s joy and satisfaction that has come from a life lived on and from the land. My project celebrates the tenacity and integrity not only of these 10 women but also those individuals who have lived their lives in a similar fashion. The entire exhibition opens in August 2005 at the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland, Maine. – L.S. E

Susan Lezon ’80 Project: Photographs of Egypt, 1998-2002 For the ancient Egyptians, one of the fundamental elements of existence on earth was a concern for the quality of one’s life after death. Mortuary temples and pyramids, as well as intricately carved and painted tombs, attest to the effort that went into preparing for the afterlife. The evidence of those preparations survives in the ruins of the monuments, texts and statues. These remnants, although extensive, provide only a partial portrait of the pharaohs and their queens, servants, soldiers, gods and goddesses.

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These vestiges of ancient Egypt fascinate me. A fragment of carved stone with an enigmatic hieroglyphic phrase such as “…that you may behold the moon…” is as remarkable to me as any pyramid. As a photographer for the Epigraphic Survey of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, I have had the unique opportunity to live and work in Luxor, Egypt, for the past 20 years. Our work is that of documenting the monuments using photography (and drawing) as a means of preserving them for future generations. It is scientiﬁc and exacting, and begins with a black and white photograph taken using a large-format camera.

For my personal artwork (as shown on this page) I use Holga and Diana cameras. These cameras take 120mm-format ﬁlm and are essentially toys with simple, plastic, two-element lenses. They are the photographic deﬁnition of simplicity. I believe that by working without the assurance of exact technical results that one can achieve using more complex cameras, I have been able to go beyond the camera and into the heart of the image. – S.L.

Sheep breeder Jenny Cirone, of South Addison, Maine, produces wool that is popular with local weavers.

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By Rhea Becker

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Countless lunch meetings, late nights and hard decisions add up to major ﬁlms, say top studio executives

ver wonder who is responsible for selecting the films that fill movie theaters across the country? Perhaps it is one of the Emerson alumni who currently hold top-tier positions in the American film industry. Working as studio executives at major film studios, they wield formidable influence in the selection and preparation of the films that make it to the silver screen. Three of these executives help provide an intimate look at the work it takes to transform mere ideas into film.

Although these executives work for competing studios, remarkably, all three are friends – two of them since their Emerson days. They are: Holly Bario ’89, senior vice president at Universal Pictures, whose credits include ﬁlms like Bruce Almighty, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers; Pamela Abdy ’95, vice president of production for Paramount Pictures, whose upcoming Aeon Flux stars Charlize Theron; and Andrea Giannetti ’89, executive vice president at Columbia Pictures, whose credits include Charlie’s Angels II and the upcoming Da Vinci Code.

“Andrea has been one of my best pals since 1985,” says Bario. “We knew each other from Charlesgate [a former Emerson residence hall], and then we lived together when we moved out to Los Angeles.” Not only are they colleagues, says Bario, but “our families are intertwined.” One day, after enduring a particularly abominable story pitch, Bario at Universal picked up the phone and called her friend Giannetti at Columbia. Bario warned her, “ ‘Get ready for this one.’ Because the [writers]

make the rounds, if I hear something really hilarious, I think, Is Ange [Giannetti] going to hear this? The ﬁrst thing I do is I call and say, ‘If you haven’t heard it, you’re gonna, and make sure your assistant knows to rescue you in 15 minutes!’ That’s where having your friends in the competition is great.” And then there’s Pam Abdy at Paramount, who began her career as an intern at Danny DeVito’s Jersey Films. Bario says, “I was working at Tristar when she was interning at Jersey. I could call her up and say, ‘OK, lady, what’s up with this?’ I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to call her.”

Facing page: Universal Pictures executive Holly Bario ’89 was the studio executive behind Bruce Almighty, starring Jim Carrey. Below: Charlie’s Angels II was an Andrea Giannetti ’89 project. Right: Bario was also responsible for Blue Crush, a popular ‘surfer girl’ movie.

Bright Lights, Big Studios

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Reading and more reading

Nurturing the product Such camaraderie is indispensable in the demanding, high-stakes, high-finance world of the studio executive. Abdy describes her work: “My job is to find or come up with new ideas, either based on existing screenplays, books, articles or meetings with writers and directors – where they pitch ideas for movies – and then bring the [ideas] into the studio and develop them. “When we feel as a [studio] that [the idea or script] is ready to be made into a film and it’s ready to go into production, we’ll hire a director.” Abdy’s work is still not done: “I’m involved in the casting process, the budgeting process, overseeing the production of the film and the post-production of the

ﬁlm. Then I work with the marketing department for the distribution.” The entire process is “all-encompassing,” adds Bario. “We select the product and nurture it along until its release.” Clearly, the ability to juggle an extensive roster of details and a range of projects is key. “You can be shooting one ﬁlm and prepping another,” says Abdy. It’s not unusual for studio executives to simultaneously develop a dozen projects.

Finding a script worthy of production is like finding “a needle in a haystack,” says Bario. So reading screenplays – mountains of them – is a necessity. “If I’m lucky, maybe 15 out of 100 scripts [catch my attention],” says Abdy. “There are scripts that you read and you think, I have to turn that into a movie. Then you find stuff where you really love the writing, but you’re just not sure how you’re going to make it into a movie.” Abdy estimates she has read “thousands” of scripts in her 10 years in the business. “Yeah, it’s crazy,” she says. “That’s all you do – read. And everyone has scripts, including people who aren’t in the film business, like doctors.” Abdy occasionally finds her-

self cornered at parties and subjected to impromptu story pitches. Bario says she reads three scripts per week and another ﬁve on the weekend. Abdy, too, spends “a lot of” her weekend reading. “If all you had to do was the reading, you could manage it,” says Bario. “But it’s also the phone calls, the panic on the producer’s part, the management of it. My job is to oversee it all, but I hear it from everybody. I hear it from the writer, I hear it from the producer, I hear it from the director, and my job is to manage all of that to a successful outcome.” In essence, a studio executive’s work “is about reading, knowing movies, knowing the marketplace and the

my own company and be nonexclusive. It’s nice because they cover all my overhead.”

Ryder’s responsibilities are different from those of a studio executive in that he spends a good deal of time on the sets of the ﬁlms he produces. “I’m on set everyday; I get very involved with the entire process, whether it be working on the shots or handling the actors. Most producers will say that by the time you’re shooting the movie, the producer’s job is done, but I like to be there every minute and get involved with every decision.”

Pam Abdy ’95 shmoozing with actress Lucy Liu (right) and (below right) with Danny DeVito, her former boss at Jersey Films. A still from Garden State (below), a ﬁlm that Abdy produced at Jersey before becoming an executive at Paramount.

The Producer How does a producer’s job differ from that of a studio executive’s? The career of producer Aaron Ryder ’94 provides a perfect illustration. Less than 10 years out of college, Aaron Ryder last year became the head of his own ﬁlm production company in Los Angeles.

Producer Aaron Ryder ’94, whose credits include Memento, Whale Rider and The Mexican, works with many fellow Emerson alumni on his ﬁlm projects.

Before that, he worked at Newmarket Capital Group for a number of years producing films, including the offbeat hits Memento and Donnie Darko, and the feature film The Mexican, starring Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts. Then Ryder cut a deal to create his own company – Raygun Productions – while Newmarket provides the company with funds to acquire and develop material. “[I was able to start Raygun] in large part due to the strong relationship I have with the Newmarket guys. They weren’t producing that many films; they were really focusing on distribution and they allowed me the opportunity to start

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Ryder may be at the top of his game, but it’s far from lonely up there. He is surrounded by a phalanx of other Emerson alumni. “There’s John Crye [’93], who is the head of acquisitions for Newmarket and is a gifted story editor and writer,” says Ryder. “Travis Fickett [’97] has been one of my assistants for years. He’s a gifted writer as well. And I’ve got four different writers, all from Emerson, who are writing scripts for me. When you ﬁnd good, talented people, you keep them close to you.” Ryder’s schedule is as demanding as those of the studio executives (see main story): “I usually get up around 6 and take a walk with my daughter and my dog and do all my calls overseas while I’m walking. I don’t get to the ofﬁce until 8:30 or 9. I work all day, have a lunch and usually have a drinks meeting after work, so I usually get home around 8:30. It’s a pretty long day. I feel like I kind of have to work those hours.”

“There are four things you have to do as a producer,” explains Ryder. “You have to find the material, you have to find the money, you have to put the elements together (hire the writer, the actors, the directors and that sort of thing), and then you have to manage those three things through the process of pre-production, production and postproduction. I go all the way through the film’s entire life.” Producing is an odd job, says Ryder. “Some producers never leave their office. They spend all their time setting up projects and have others go off and shoot them. Other producers spend

a lot of time developing material. Still others spend a lot of time working on the ﬁnancing of the movies. And then you’ve got some producers who are more production-savvy.

Currently, Ryder is working on 10 projects. “Ideally, I don’t think it’s responsible for a producer to complete more than two ﬁlms a year. That’s my goal.”

“I always feel that you should be a bit of an all-arounder. You have to understand every part of it, whether it be the ﬁnancing or the story structure or the shooting of it. I might be a different breed, but I tend to be involved in all the stages.”

His taste in films runs to “things that are a little more intelligent and high brow. I think Memento is a very different film from Whale Rider, for instance, and that’s very different from Donnie Darko and that’s very different from The Mexican.” He recently finished a movie called The Moguls. “I’m incredibly excited about it,” he says. “It’s somewhere between The Full Monty and It’s a Wonderful Life.” It is expected to be released in spring 2005.

Phone calls are a necessary evil. “I log something like 6,000 minutes on my cell phone each month. That’s the average. It’s ridiculous. It’s horrible.” However, he says, “I think the times that I get most stressed out are when things aren’t going on. If the phone’s not ringing, then something’s not right.” His script reading time is, thankfully, limited. “I’m fortunate to have a great team who will sift through the majority of stuff. The ﬁrst six years of my career I did nothing but read scripts, and I feel fortunate I’m in a position now where I don’t have to read quite as many.”

Echoing the sentiments of Universal Pictures’ Holly Bario, Ryder says, “Once you have a kid everything falls into perspective. If there is an ideology that I subscribe to it is, if you work hard enough and you’re really good at your job, you can’t really go that wrong.”

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Overscheduled Putting movies together involves a nearly endless daily barrage of meetings and phone calls. “Lord, I get to the ofﬁce at 8:30 and then I go all day until 7:30,” says Abdy. “And after work I generally go to a meeting, a screening or something else, and that will last until about 10:30. Then I go home and I usually read a script, which will last until about 12:30. Then I go to bed.” Bario’s schedule is achingly similar: “I’m here from 9 to 7, ﬁve days a week. Most of the day is made up of meetings – lunch meetings, occasionally a dinner meeting, story meetings, corporate meetings. There are dailies [screenings] to go to, set visits. It’s a lot to manage.” When it comes to evening hours, however, Bario guards them jealously – especially now that she has children. “On the weekends, you just have to create your own boundaries,” she says.

On a scale of 1 to 10, stress levels for Abdy and Bario hover right around the top. “You’re not curing cancer, for sure,” says Bario, “but there’s a lot of stress because there’s a lot at stake. It’s a lot of competition in a very intense environment.” “At the end of the day, I can only do what I can do,” says Bario. “I can only counsel and advise and support the movies I believe in. When you’re a younger executive and you want to appease everybody and get noticed and get ahead, it can really make you crazy. As I got older and had children, I became less of a killer. I just want to make good movies, I want to work with good people. And the rest of it – the parties, the agents, the managers, the have-youbeen-seen-at-such-and-such – I don’t care.” She asserts: “Don’t invite me to parties; I won’t go.”

But the anxiety is often worth it because, one day, the ﬁlms that the studio executives have shepherded through the process ﬁnally see the light of day. “When you’re making movies you have to get all the stars to align at one moment in time, to have everyone say ‘yes’ at the same time,” says Abdy. “It can be complicated, but it’s very rewarding when it comes together.” E

Giannetti was responsible for Tim Burton’s Big Fish, a magical and poignant ﬁlm about a father’s legacy to his son. © Big Fish 2003 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.; All Rights Reserved. Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

trends,” says Bario. “It’s about staying on top of things and knowing what people want to see.” Bario feels that Bruce Almighty, a 2003 release featuring Jim Carrey, Morgan Freeman and Jennifer Aniston, was successful because “it hit a nerve – what would you do if you were God, in the broadest sense. I think it had some sort of emotional [resonance] for our culture.” So, what kind of ideas appeal to the studio execs? For Abdy, no matter the genre, she searches for “delicious writing.” Bario, on the other hand, wants to “tell stories that will either inspire, make people laugh or scare them. All the stuff in between, I don’t care about.” Many movie ideas come from face-to-face meetings with writers. “I heard a real doozy last week,” says Bario. “Very legitimate people, people who have movie credits, people who have representation, will come in and say I have this movie about a man who is advised sexually by his cat. And I’m thinking, ‘Are you kidding me?’ I’m sitting there and I have to put on a face of professionalism, but I’m ready to climb out of my chair.”

Opening night

Columbia Pictures executive Andrea Giannetti ’89

Selected Filmography Holly Bario ’89 Universal Pictures

Pamela Abdy ’95 Paramount Pictures

Andrea Giannetti ’89 Columbia Pictures

Aaron Ryder ’94 Executive producer

Bruce Almighty, starring Jim Carrey, Morgan Freeman and Jennifer Aniston

Upcoming: Aeon Flux, starring Charlize Theron

Big Fish, starring Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney and Jessica Lange

Donnie Darko, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Jena Malone

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, starring Nicholas Cage, Penelope Cruz and John Hurt

Jersey Films: Man on the Moon (associate producer), starring Jim Carrey and Courtney Love

2 Fast 2 Furious, starring Paul Walker, Eva Mendes and Tyrese

Jersey Films: Caveman’s Valentine (co-producer), starring Samuel L. Jackson

Blue Crush, starring Kate Bosworth

Jersey Films: How High (executive producer)

Once Upon a Time in Mexico, starring Johnny Depp, Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek A Knight’s Tale, starring Heath Ledger Saving Silverman, starring Jason Biggs and Amanda Peet

Upcoming: Skeleton Key

Memento, starring Guy Pearce and Carrie-Anne Moss The Mexican, starring Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and James Gandolﬁni Wrong Turn, starring Eliza Dushku and Jeremy Sisto Upcoming: The Moguls, starring Jeff Bridges, and Bluesman

Upcoming: The Da Vinci Code Universal’s Bario was responsible for 2 Fast 2 Furious, a high-octane action ﬁlm about fast cars.

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Universal Pictures executive Holly Bario ’89

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Commencement 2004

Political commentator David Gergen

Graduation rites spell new beginning for 1,100 Cool breezes greeted the Emerson graduates, parents, friends and faculty who gathered to celebrate the College’s 124th Commencement last spring. Emerson presented nearly 1,100 baccalaureate and graduate degrees during back-to-back ceremonies on May 17 at the Wang Center for the Performing Arts in Boston. President Jacqueline Liebergott presided over both ceremonies. During Undergraduate Commencement, the College also presented honorary degrees to Yahoo! chairman and CEO Terry S. Semel, who delivered the undergraduate address; Congressman Michael E. Capuano (D-Mass.); and William C. Van Faasen, chairman and

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chief executive ofﬁcer of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. David Gergen, political commentator and an advisor to four U.S. presidents, spoke at the Graduate Commencement ceremony and also received an honorary degree, along with noted author Gish Jen. Graduates gave standing ovations to the Emerson faculty, as well as family and friends, and cheered at various high points during the undergraduate morning ceremony. Both events included warm words of praise and offerings of wisdom from administrators and distinguished guest speakers. In her remarks to the graduates, President Liebergott reminded the audience that May 17 marked the 50th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which “estab-

lished equal rights to public education for African-American citizens.” Liebergott also noted that gay and lesbian couples in Massachusetts made history that day as the ﬁrst such couples in the U.S. to be granted the right to marry. Both remarks brought thunderous applause from the audience. With these historymaking events in mind, and in the face of a new world marked by 9/11 and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Liebergott remarked that “the need for timely, accurate, responsible and culturally sensitive reporting of news and information has never been greater.” She also noted art and entertainment’s “potential to unite people of divergent backgrounds and beliefs.”

Author Gish Jen during dress rehearsal.

Yahoo! Chair and CEO Terry Semel

Maita Soukup, the undergraduate valedictorian, who earned her degree in political communication as an honors student, delivered the student address. Graduate student rites Later in the day, at the graduate ceremony, Commencement speaker Gergen talked about the power of great oratory, adding that “words and poetry and art have opened up human minds” and enabled “new ways of seeing.” Daniella Quinones, graduating with a master of arts degree in global marketing and advertising, gave the student address for the graduate ceremony. A catered reception took place on Boston Common after both ceremonies, offering students and their families a chance to take pictures, reminisce and meet faculty mentors.

Undergraduate speaker Maita Soukup

Graduate speaker Daniella Quinones

President Jacqueline Liebergott

Families of graduates celebrate the day.

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Alumni Digest Los Angeles

Three elected to Alumni Association board of directors

The Los Angeles Young Alumni group hosted its second annual fundraising Yard Sale in Sherman Oaks, Calif. At near right, a bird’s-eye view of the event. At far right, John Cassella ’98 shows computer equipment to a potential customer. Los Angeles-area alumni who are interested in participating in future activities can ﬁnd more information at www. emersonlaalumni.com.

Alyce Myatt ’74, Amy Frankel-Kleeberg ’85 and Travis Small ’97 are newly elected members of the Alumni Association Board of Directors. They join 21 other board members and will serve three-year terms. The Board works to further the mission of Emerson College by fostering alumni involvement. This year, the Alumni Board continues its work in the areas of: admissions, career services, development, student and young alumni initiatives, and regional chapter events. The other directors are: Sandra Goldfarb ’78, president; Peter Loge ’87, vice president; Robert Friend ’79, treasurer; Sybil Tonkonogy ’58, secretary; Gary Grossman ’70 (past president); Jim Aleski ’97; Dennis Blader ’75, MSSp ’79; Peter Brenner ’67; Chapin Cutler ’70; Steve Farrier ’75; Seth GrahameSmith ’98; Jane Guterman ’73; Cedric Harmon ’88; Deborah Komarow ’85; April Kreyssig ’93; Rod Lindheim ’93; Diane Purdy-Theriault ’55; Jon Satriale ’94; Robert Tull ’50; Brie Williams, MA ’99; and Madeline Yusna ’76.

Calling all WECB alums!

New York City More than 50 alumni attended a powerhouse performance of A Raisin in the Sun in New York City in June. Acting coach

WECB alumni, circa 1985-1987, have put together a listenable/viewable website for all to share (http://home. comcast.net/~wecb640/ ) and are seeking donations of any photos, airchecks, shows, playlists, etc. Donations of Comcast memory storage and/or monetary funds to keep the project going are also welcome. Please contact Greg Weremey at gmweremey@comcast.net.

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Susan Batson ’64 hosted the evening with a special Q&A session with Sean Combs (P. Diddy), who starred in the play.

Susan Batson ’64 and Sean Combs are surrounded by Emerson well-wishers in New York City.

Alyce Myatt ’74 Alyce Myatt is a multimedia consultant for independent media organizations and the philanthropic community, now working chieﬂy with Media Works and OneWorld.net. Her clients have included the Heinz Endowments, Simon & Schuster, WGBH, the Canadian Broadcasting Company and Emerson College. Myatt has also worked extensively in television; her clients included the Smithsonian Institution, Nickelodeon and ABC’s 20/20. She has worked extensively for PBS, serving as both vice president of programming and director of children’s programming. Myatt serves as a board director or advisor to the Center for Rural Strategies, the Center for Social Media at American University, the Flaherty Seminar, mediarights.org, and the National Alliance of Media Arts and Culture. Amy Frankel ’85 Amy Frankel ’85 is a sales and marketing executive with 20 years of experience in the consumer package goods industry and has worked for prestigious companies such as A.C. Nielsen Co., CitiCorp, ConAgra Foods and GlaxoSmithKline. She has served as vice president for client implementation for

IRI in Chicago. Frankel is currently working on her project management certification from the University of Chicago. In 1997, she received her M.B.A. from the Braniff Graduate School of Management at the University of Dallas. She is also active in several nonprofit civic and religious organizations and hopes to start an Emerson alumni chapter in the Chicago area. Frankel is married to Evan Kleeberg and they have a 15-month-old son, Max. Travis Small ’97 Travis Small ’97 is an account manager at Captains of Industry Advertising and Marketing Communications. Small is responsible for managing several of COI’s key accounts. Since joining COI in March 2004 he has developed a standard of excellence in client services. He began his career with Irma S. Mann, Strategic Marketing Inc., before moving clientside, serving as marketing communications manager for HarvardNet Inc. Small is also active in politics and has worked on both statewide and national elections. In his free time, he enjoys film and travel.

Travis Small ’97

Amy Frankel ’85

Alyce Myatt ’74

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Save the Date! Alumni Weekend 2005 June 3-5, 2005

Alumni Weekend 2004 includes special tributes, awards, performances A record 600-plus alumni and friends from as far away as Japan and Germany returned to campus June 11-13 for Alumni Weekend 2004. The theme of this year’s festivities was “Celebrating Milestones,” which was especially ﬁtting for the more than 150 alumni in attendance to celebrate the 35th anniversary of EBONI and the 10th anniversary of the Health Communication Program.

Other milestones marked the weekend as well. The Walt Littleﬁeld distinguished speaker series was introduced at a reception attended by the retired professor and his family, as well as many friends and alumni. Emerson’s newest building, the Tufte Performance and Production Center, was the site of reunion class lunches as well as a comprehensive makeup workshop given by Bobbi Brown ’74, recognized makeup artist and entrepreneur.

Faculty members at the ﬁnal event of Alumni Weekend, the Faculty-Alumni Brunch.

Ted Cutler ’51, Gloria Ferrer ’74 and Robert Moss ’74

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The late Spalding Gray ’65, a renowned performance artist, was remembered Friday night with a poignant memorial that included performances by faculty and alumni as well as a visual montage of his work. A special collection of his poems written while he was a student at Emerson was presented to his wife and family.

The Alumni Achievement Awards took place Saturday night at the Boston Museum of Science. The late Elma Lewis ’43, a prominent educator and community activist in Boston’s AfricanAmerican community, was memorialized through video and spoken word presentations introduced by acting coach Susan Batson ’64. Current students led tours of the new Emerson campus, and more than 200

The 2004 Alumni Award recipients ﬂank President Jacqueline Liebergott (center): Bill Miller ’74, Maxine Baker ’73, Alex Tse ’98, Liebergott, John Coffee, Chuck Willis ’79 and Randy Barbato ’82.

From the Class of ’69 are (from left) Judy Vile, Jan Jacobs Greenhawt, Joan Kates and Elayne Kessler

Performing at the Salute to Elma Lewis ’43 were Dorothy Mains Prince ’70 and Tashnyka Bowden Tran ’91.

alumni marveled at the new digital television studios, library and journalism/marketing suites, as well as the grandeur of the recently refurbished Cutler Majestic Theatre. Bill White ’69 of Washington, D.C., commented, “The Emerson Reunion Weekend was absolutely

spectacular and thoroughly enjoyable. It was so wonderful to be reunited with EBONI members as well as my classmates from the Class of ’69. The tribute to Spalding Gray was moving and beautifully done. The tribute to Elma Lewis was equally moving, and I so enjoyed Susan Batson and the performance by Dorothy Prince. I had a ball! Just spectacular! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

EBONI’s panel on Emerson diversity included Michael Brown, assistant professor; William Smith, executive director, Center for Diversity in the Communication Industries; President Liebergott; moderator Pam Cross ’75, WCVB/Boston news anchor; Doug Holloway ’76, executive vice president of network distribution, USA Networks; and Ronald Ludman, dean of students.

Members of the Class of 1994 enjoy themselves at the Museum of Science.

Among those attending the celebration of EBONI’s 35th Anniversary were Jennifer Cover Payne ’71, Ruth Wright Newkirk ’73, Philip Robinson ’73, Maxine Baker ’73, Lorraine Lee ’72 and Carla Gouraige ’71.

Margie Graham Larson ’59, Gayle Carson ’59, Leo Nickole ’49, Andrew Guthrie ’59 and Dorothy Geotis MacLean ’59.

Classes with years ending in ‘0’ and ‘5’ will be celebrating their reunions.

President Liebergott thanks Debra JervayPendergrass ’73 and Jennifer Cover Payne ’71, MS ’73, for their success in bringing alumni back to campus to celebrate the 35th anniversary of EBONI.

Nadene White, Steve Ruzensky and Bob Gatti, all from the Class of ’64.

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Class Notes 1934

1954

Richard Coogan was awarded the ‘Hero of the Heart’ award by the McKinley Children’s Center in San Dimas, Calif., for his outstanding contributions to the Southern California community. Richard’s monthly golf tournament has raised more than $12,000 for abused children at the Center. Richard still does some singing gigs and misses Emerson.

John Adams ’54, MA ’56, continues music oversight for Thirteen/WNET programs for PBS. John has been involved in music programming nationally for both radio and television since joining National Educational Television (NET) in 1961. For his work with the NET/WNET library and Thirteen/WNET, John has received a number of Emmy Outstanding Craft awards and numerous NAEB Graphic and Design Awards for music supervision.

1950 Mary Geddes Avery and Joan Steen Silberschlag had a joint 75th birthday party in 2003 in Vista, Calif. Friends and relatives came from all over. Mary writes, “The air was ﬁlled with fond memories of our Emerson days.” Mary is active in The Sweet Adeline Quartet, which was on hand, and Joan is active in theater in Phoenix. They’re in touch with Dottie Ahles Neagle and Candy Courtney Gasser, and have begun to put their heads together about a 55th Class reunion. Nanette Andre Clark, of Chesterﬁeld, Mass., continues to write. Her newest book is Gladys Leslie Brown: Then and Now, the life story of a woman who “made a big difference in her career with the national chapter of the YWCA, as a worldwide traveler, in her family connections and most importantly in her devotion to promoting racial equality.”

Minerva Bugen Auerbach ’34 resides in a nursing home in Duncansville, Pa. She fondly remembers her years at Emerson. In 1993 she returned to the College to attend the graduation of her granddaughter, Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer, and receive an 80th birthday gift of a seat in the Cutler Majestic Theatre. Minerva enjoys reminiscing with Gabrielle about Emerson.

1956 John Nadeau continues to record three or four books a year for the visually impaired at Washington Talking Book and Braille Library. He also writes a column for seniors that appears in suburban weeklies in the Seattle area. John and his wife enjoy Seattle, especially when they attend performances by their daughter Louise, who is a principal dancer with the Paciﬁc Northwest Ballet.

1957 A “Great Woman of the 21st Century Award” was bestowed upon Nanette O’Neill Landeira by the Governing Board of Editors of the American Biographical Institute in 2004. The ABI writes, “This award is reserved for women whose accomplishments and inﬂuence are the result of superior dedication and professional integrity.”

1958

1960

June August Zorn’s play, Coming to Life, which premiered in Southern California in March 2004, has taken on a life of its own. The next scheduled production is in Detroit at the Detroit Repertory Theatre, opening Nov. 4 and running through New Year’s Eve. June says she is also in discussions with Delvena Theater in Boston and Soundstage in St. Louis.

Kirsti Nilsen recently retired. She taught in the graduate program in Library and Information Science at the University of Western Ontario since 1997. Kirsti received her doctorate in LIS from the University of Toronto.

1966 Some may remember Carl Buck ’66, MS ’69, from his days as a graduate teaching assistant and baseball coach at Emerson. He went on to play semi-pro ball and coach in Maryland in the ’70s. He now works for Peterson’s College Guides as vice president for ﬁnancial aid services. He

recently wrote The College Financial Aid Answer Book. He would love to hear from classmates at Carl.Buck@thomson. com.

1968 Iris Jacobson Burnett has attended every Democratic National Convention since the 1980 confab in New York, where she was in charge of security. Fittingly titled, her recently published book, Schlepper (Xlibris), is a semiautobiographical tale of campaigns and conventions. In the novel, Iris’ alter ego works for a generic political party and has an affair with a Secret Service agent. Dallas Mayr (a.k.a. Jack Ketchum) has won two Bram Stoker Awards from the Horror Writers Association this year, one for Best Long Fiction for the novella Closing Time, and one for Best Collection for Peaceable Kingdom.

1969 Glenn Alterman has two more books to add to his long list of published works: Promoting Your Acting Career: A Step by Step Guide to Opening Doors (Allworth Press) and Two Minutes and Under, Volume 3: Original Monologues for Actors

(Smith and Kraus). Glenn writes all the original monologues for his books. Elayne Kessler works for the New York City Board of Education and is a teacher of the deaf. She also sings with a children’s show called Jr. Jam. Upon graduation Kathryn Kigner worked as a speech therapist in Avon, Mass. She later decided to go back to school to study elementary education at UW/Madison, Wis. She became a secondgrade teacher at the Poynette Schools, where she has taught for 32 years. She has been ﬁlmed for Teachers Tackle Thinking and was named the Area Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year.

1971

1974

Hal Kneller has been appointed to the position of manager of Public Radio Initiatives for the Harris Corporation’s Broadcast Communication Division. He is responsible for working with public radio industry groups such as National Public Radio, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Public Telecommunications Funding Program.

Ellen Plotkin is married and lives in Wheeling, Ill. She works as an account manager for LifeSource Blood Services. Corinne (Klump) Trabucco lives in Gloucester, Mass., and is a certiﬁed teacher of the Alexander Technique in Gloucester, Maynard and Wenham. She is active in the American Society for the Alexander Technique. Corinne reports that she has also returned to choreography, for the Gloucester Stage Company. She has one son, who is 28.

1970 The creative works of Bart Lee Fischbach were displayed at the M.I.T. Museum in Cambridge, Mass. Bart is the project developer for the Museum’s education department. These projects include solar-powered devices created mainly from recycled materials. Gary Grossman has published a political thriller called Executive Actions (I Books), which is being distributed by Simon & Schuster.

Julie Goell ’74 directed By The Willow (above) at the Puppet Showplace Theatre in Brookline, Mass. The puppet production was adapted from a Rumanian folktale.

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1983

Prentiss Gray ’78 has started writing a column for the Gannett News Service. “Daddy Chronicles” runs in 20 newspapers in seven states. The column relates his day-to-day experiences as a single father after the death of his wife, Melissa McCollom ’77, two years ago. Classmates and other Emersonians may write to: Lonedad@optonline.net.

1975 After 23 years as a director/producer at WTNH-TV, Dennis Blader ’75, MSSp ’79, now holds the position of adjunct associate professor at Quinnipiac University and practitioner-in-residence at the University of New Haven. Dennis has also started a media consulting business, Bayshore Media. Rudy Nadilo has formed a joint venture with Bob Callahan, a relocation industry veteran, along with SunTrust Bank & Mortgage and Mobility Services International (a 25-year-old relocation ﬁrm) to create MyReloCenter, a company designed to provide corporate-grade relocation services to all companies and their employees.

1976 Susan Flashman has been elected to the Examining Board of Local 26, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. She is the ﬁrst woman ofﬁcer of this local,

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representing more than 6,000 members in the Washington, D.C., area. She is also president of the NECA/IBEW-DC Toastmasters Club.

1979 Gloria Ferrer has written a musical skit, Mourning by Mourning, which will be performed during the next Gullah Festival, which is held on Hilton Head Island, S.C., each winter.

Frank Gorrell has been elected to public ofﬁce in Groveland, Mass. He will serve three years on the Board of Assessors. This privilege, Frank says, comes only a year after he left an appointed position on the town’s ﬁnance board. This spring Frank coached his older son’s lacrosse team and his younger son’s T-ball team.

1984 Since 1989 Mary Ellen Gordon has been working as a travel agent. Prior to that she had been an actress. Recently she returned to school for a degree in digital media communications. Andy Nebel and his wife recently celebrated nine years of marriage. They also have a daughter, 4. Andy is working at Burson-Marsteller as a creative director and senior producer in the advertising and creative area. He has been working with the U.S.

Treasury on the launch of the new $20 and $50 bills as well as on promoting education initiatives for lung and prostate cancer drugs, diabetes and more. Friends can write to Andy_Nebel@marsteller.com. Holly Harnish Weinstock is a speech language pathologist with her own practice. She is married to Scott Weinstock, also a 1984 grad, and they have a daughter, Hope, 7.

1985 Larry J. Laffer has a new company, FreeFi Networks LLC. Based in Santa Monica, Calif., FreeFi is a service that will create a new market for advertising on public Wi-Fi systems. “We’re seeing a perfect storm of sorts,” says Larry, “with a huge increase in Hotspot deployment and huge decrease in the cost of Wi-Fi-enabled devices from PCs to PDAs.” Julie Mermelstein has been working as a health educator for the past two years, teach-

1980 Tracy Connor was married in June 2003 to Ron Golec of Chicago. Emersonians Clare Luce, Fresca Schmertz and Vincent Elizabeth Barnett ’79 attended the festivities in the Midwest, and Jeff Trenner and Ron Solomon attended the West Coast reception. Tracy is acting and writing in L.A.

1982 Joseph Fernandez has become president of the Woodworkers Guild of Upper New Jersey. He lives with his wife, Renata.

ing drug prevention/awareness to students in the U.S. and abroad. Last year she went to Malaysia, Taiwan, China, Japan, France and the Netherlands.

1986 Greg Weremey and other WECB alumni (circa 1985-87) have collaborated in putting together a listenable/viewable website for all to share and are seeking donations of Comcast memory storage and/or funds to keep it growing as well as any photos, airchecks, shows, playlists, etc. Greg is at gmweremey@comcast.net. Karen Windsor is co-director at Foster Parrots Ltd., a nonproﬁt parrot rescue and sanctuary organization in Rockland, Mass. The organization cares for more than 260 unwanted companion parrots.

1987 Paula (Modano) Lubas and her husband, Paul, have had a son, Christopher Henry Lubas, born March 14. Paula is a marketing communications manager for HP Financial Services in Murray Hill, N.J.

1988

John Laughlin ’80 with congressional candidate Nick Clooney (father of actor George Clooney). Laughlin has been named national political director for the Building & Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO. John, working out of Washington, D.C., is coordinating political operations for 15 international construction unions targeting the presidential election as well as U.S. congressional races across the country. Friends can send e-mail to: jsldc35@aol.com.

Rob Roberge’s novel, More Than They Could Chew, a noir comedy, will be released Feb. 1, 2005, by Dark Alley Books (an imprint of Harper Collins). Rob teaches ﬁction writing at the UCLA Extension Writers program, where he was named Instructor of the Year in 2003. A short movie he wrote, directed and edited, Honest Pete, has screened at

Paula Otero, MA ’97, has joined Hill, Holliday Hispanic as management supervisor in the agency’s Miami ofﬁce. She will oversee account management on CVS/pharmacy. Paula was most recently senior account executive at The Bravo Group, where she worked on campaigns for AT&T and Lucky Dog Phone Co.

various festivals in the Southwest. Friends can write to robroberge@hotmail.com. James Simon has been nominated for a Tony Award for co-producing the Broadway musical Bells Are Ringing (Best Revival of a Musical) in 2000. He is currently executive producer of the romantic comedy A Tale of Two Pizzas. He is associate producer for the new Broadway musical Brooklyn, and he is about to be the lead producer of a musical, The It Girl, which will open in February. He also says he’s still single, but looking.

1989 Dorothea DeFeo was recently given the Senior Citizen of the Year award by the Easton Lions Club for her volunteer work in a kindergarten classroom for the Parkview School in North Easton, Mass. Dorothea has been volunteering once a week for the past 10 years, serving as a mentor for the computer writing program. Larry Potash and his wife, Lisa, are the proud parents of a baby girl, Kaylin Sierra, born July 8. This year also marks Larry’s 10th year at WGN-TV in Chicago, where he anchors from 5:30-9 a.m. and continues investigative and special project reporting for the evening news. Christine Renee Vela is living in South Huntington, Long Island. She married Joseph Vela in 1999, and has a son, Joseph Vincent Jr., 3. She works from home for Trade Directory

Angela Easterling ’98 is a country singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles. She recently completed a new CD. She is also an actress, a member of SAG and Actors’ Equity, and can be seen playing guitar and percussion as one of Hilary Duff ’s music-school classmates in the upcoming movie Raise Your Voice.

Solutions. Since graduating, Christine has worked for various audio and music-industry publishing companies. She can be reached at Christine_ vela@hotmail.com.

1991 Marcia Bianchi-Valdez was married Sept. 20, 2003, to Jorge Valdez. Fellow Emersonian Paul Featherstein ’90 attended the wedding. Marcia works as a marketing executive at the Gibbs School in Rhode Island and was recently awarded a company trip to Cancun. Amy Bollenbacher has been living in Los Angeles for more than six years. She is married to Tracy Perry. They welcomed

daughter Holland Elizabeth Perry on May 1. Amy has appeared on Family Affair and The Shield. She says she still misses living in Boston. Stephanie (Friedman) Cambria and her husband, Paul, announce the birth of their second son, Ryan Spencer, born Jan. 21. He joins his 3-year-old brother, Shane Patrick. Stephanie would love to catch up with old friends: stephaniecambria@aol.com. Andrew Jackson’s feature ﬁlm The Discontents recently played the 7th annual Dances with Films Festival in Los Angeles. Jackson directed and co-wrote the ﬁlm, and starred alongside

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In Memoriam

1926 Mary Gertrude Anderson of Barrington, R.I. 1935 Norma Andrew Hall of North Branford, Conn. 1944 Irene Hill Marinke of Bar Harbor, Maine 1948 Lucy Clark Winant of Marblehead, Mass. 1950 Eugene Wood of Adamsville, R.I. 1953 Eugene Roche of Los Angeles, Calif. 1963 Paul Dahill of Hingham, Mass. 1967 Lance Crocker of Gorham, Maine 1968 Mitchell A. Stachowicz Jr. of Westerly, R.I. 1989 Lauren Palmer Clark of Dallas, Texas 1991 Mark Ciolko of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 1991 John Keegan III of Dorchester, Mass. 2000 Susanna Adams of Needham, Mass. Isabel Sanford (honorary degree recipient) Robert H. Downey Jr. (former associate dean of academic affairs)

fellow Emerson alumnus David Lee Russek. He and fellow Phi Alpha Tau brothers have been getting together once a month at Barney’s Beanery in West Hollywood. Andrew can be reached at andrewgjackson@hotmail. com. Steave Kantarowski has been promoted to technical director of nuclear medicine at Phoenix Heart Cardiology Center, where he is also chief nuclear medicine technologist. To get in touch, write to: Mitochondria@mindspring. com.

1992 A book manuscript, Greenhouse: A Memoir, by Jean Harper, MFA’92, has been awarded the Mid-List Press First Series Award for Creative Nonﬁction. Jean says the book will

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Jon “Satch” Satriale has gone “Old School.” He has joined the staff of Emerson as technology manager for the Journalism and Marketing departments. He brings a wealth of experience from the broadcast and interactive industries, most recently with NY1 News, Time Warner’s 24-hour news channel in New York City. Jon can be reached at jon@satch.tv.

Mighty McPilgrim Productions, a ﬁlm and theater group comprised of Emersonians, except for one member, say they’re taking the world by storm – well, Los Angeles and Utah, anyway. Andrew Wollman ’99, Jakob White, Nicole Charbonneau’ 99 and Ryan Gantz (who attended Emerson) have been performing sketch comedy together since their debut in September 2003 at Theatre West in Los Angeles.

be brought out by a “very good Midwestern publisher.” The book recounts her experiences working in the rose growing industry in Richmond, Ind.

years. Jeff and his wife, Jennifer, have a son, Benjamin, 3, who is “the light of our lives.” Emerson friends can reach Jeff at jbrody1@yahoo.com.

Marj Kleinman has launched the TIME for Kids Homework Helper website with TIME Inc. Interactive and AOL and a teaser site for Wannado City, a new theme park, with Funny Garbage, a design shop in SoHo. Marj says if anyone’s interested in collaborating on media projects for kids, give a shout: MarjK@nyc.rr.com.

Jon Chaisson is still living in central Massachusetts and working for the Yankee Candle Co. When he’s not at work he’s writing science ﬁction and fantasy novels. Jon also writes freelance articles on the writing life for Vision, an ezine. Emersonians can contact Jon at joncwriter@yahoo.com.

Mike Massaro is covering NASCAR for ESPN in Bristol, Conn. He can be seen on ESPN News, SportsCenter and heard on ESPN Radio.

1993 Jeff Brody, MA ’93, won an NBA Championship ring in 2003 with the San Antonio Spurs, where he has worked as director of Internet and news media for the past four

Ben Salter is producer of The Simple Life with Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie on Fox Television.

1994 Emily Cummins is producing Mad Money starring Diane Keaton. She is head of feature ﬁlms for Goldie Hawn’s production company, Cosmic Entertainment.

Dawn Lambertsen-Kelly is on the writing staff of ABC’s new drama, Lost, starring Matthew Fox.

Maryanne Galvin’s fourth documentary, The Pursuit of Pleasure, had its world premiere at the Boston International Film Festival in June, where it won the Indie Spec Special Recognition Award.

Paul Pedersen is assistant professor of sport management at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Fla. He has co-authored a book, Bobby Bowden: Win by Win (Arcadia, 2003). Paul lives with his wife, Jennifer, and their three children.

Mary Saliba, MFA ’94, was recently named editor of the weekly Granite State News based in Wolfeboro, N.H. Prior to her appointment she had been writing for the Meredith News in Meredith, N.H. and the New York Daily News for six years.

Tripp Whetsell is a freelance writer, specializing in entertainment, for the Daily News in New York. Tony Zizza is vice president of the nonproﬁt group Parents for Label and Drug Free Education, which is dedicated to ﬁnding alternatives to prescribing antidepressants and psychotropic drugs for children.

1995 After teaching in elementary schools in Massachusetts, Maine and North Carolina, Christina DeJohn is returning to school to pursue her love of writing in the M.F.A. program in creative writing this fall at North Carolina State University. She says she loves Raleigh. Long-lost Emerson friends as well as Sigma Pi Theta sisters can write to cdejohn29@earthlink.net. Brett Moss and his wife, Mimi, welcomed their daughter, Ella Rose Moss, to the world on June 30. Living in Charlestown, Mass., Brett is working as a global account manager for Savvis Communications in Boston. Brett can be reached at brett@brettmoss.com.

Charles Alpert ’99, former Emerson information technology (IT) network systems manager, recently left Boston to seek a position with Microsoft Corp. in Redmond, Wash. After a three-day drive across the country with Daniel Chace ’03, an Emerson IT network systems technician, Charles arrived in Washington to ﬁnd an e-mail waiting about a possible contract position with Microsoft Game Studios. The following Tuesday he accepted the position and is currently working as a lab test engineer.

1996

Diane Applegate, MA ’99, has been appointed director of corporations/ foundation relations for Merrimack College in Andover, Mass. Diane received her bachelor’s degree in political science from Merrimack and is also president of the college’s Alumni Council.

Stefan Beittel celebrated his eighth year as owner/operator of Digital Media Kitchen, a worldwide brokerage ﬁrm, reseller and rental facility for non-linear video editing systems and digital VTRs. Stefan lives in Gainesville, Va., with his wife, Patricia. Shernice Lazare has been selected as a Fulbright Teacher Exchange recipient. She and her husband of four years will move to the United Kingdom, where she will teach and study, and her husband will continue to pursue his acting career. Cynthia A. Suopis has just been appointed to the full-time faculty at Bay Path College in Massachusetts as a professor of communications. She has taught communications courses at Clark University, UMass-Amherst, American International College, Lesley University and Greenﬁeld Community College. Keith Wagner, MFA ’96, and Julie Wolf, MFA ’99, have had a son, Benjamin Asher WolfWagner, born May 11. Keith and Julie say their daughter, Rachel, 3, is delighted with her new role as big sister.

1997 Candace R. Chevaillier ’97, MA ’98, is living in Seattle and married Joseph D. Whittiker in June. Candace is a commercial real estate investment specialist in Bellevue, Wash. Anthony Miller has self-published his children’s book, A Good Place To Hide (illustrated by Brian Smith). The book already has a cult following in the Orlando, Fla., area. To contact Anthony, visit www. agoodplacetohide.com.

Katherine Romano married Christopher Pierpont on the island of St. John on June 1, 2004. She is associate editor of Teaching K-8 magazine and can be reached at Kate@TeachingK-8.com.

1998 Jacob Rosenberg has just had a book published. Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5 Studio Techniques (Adobe Press) is a complete resource guide and training tool for Adobe Premier Pro users. The book debuted on Amazon at No. 18 in sales for computer books and No. 599 in sales for all books.

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Ann Webb ’00 and Charles Stuart were married Aug. 23, 2003, in Brookline, Mass. The couple celebrated with fellow alumni (clockwise from top left): Rob Hunter ’00, Megan Callahan ’00, Brian Klebash ’00, Tim MacArthur ’00, Colleen Bradley ’01 and Robb Webb ’04.

1999

2001

Tyler Peterson received his master’s degree in writing from Boston University in 2001. For the past three years he has lived in Brooklyn and worked in Manhattan at Hartford Life. This past August he moved to Iowa City to attend the University of Iowa’s Writing Workshop.

Katherine Bergeron, of Worcester, Mass., is employed by Adecco. She is a video producer for Indiana Productions, NYC, and an administrative assistant for Apple Digital Printing (NYC) and St. Gobain (Worcester).

2000

Susannah Winﬁeld just returned from spending eight months in South Africa, where she gave horseback safaris and worked with young children in a township. Her most memorable experience was coming face to face with eight lions on a narrow road at night, and guiding terriﬁed horses past towering, curious giraffes.

April Thibeault has her own public relations ﬁrm in New York City called AMT Public Relations Inc. Most of her clients have been in either the food/wine business or classical/jazz industry. April says she loves what she does, and she often comes across other Emerson alums in Manhattan. April can be reached at april@amtpublicrelations.com.

2003

Where Are You And What are You Doing Please use the form below to submit news that you would like to share with your fellow Emersonians. Or, if you prefer, e-mail your news to Barbara_Rutberg@emerson.edu; 1-800-255-4259; fax: 1-617-824-7807. New job? Recently engaged or married? New baby? Moving? Recently ran into an old classmate? Received an award? Let us know. Visit www.emerson.edu/alumni to submit Class Notes, stay connected to other alums and more.

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Expression 2004 College, Ofﬁce of Alumni Relations, 120 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02116-4624 Mail34 to: Class Notes, Fall Emerson

Profile All that Jazz Jim Luce ’74 brings jazz in all its forms to a wider audience For one young student, Boston in the early 1970s was the crucible in which a burning passion for jazz was born. Whenever he had a free evening, Jim Luce ’74 found himself wending his way to Copley Square, where thenpopular jazz venues Paul’s Mall and The Jazz Workshop sat cheek by jowl. Here, he soaked in a musical genre that was completely new to him; soon, he would find himself an avid fan. “Every week, the giants of jazz would show up at these joints,” he recalled. “Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Sonny Rollins – they were at their prime.” Today, Luce’s passion for jazz is evidenced by his work as a producer of New York’s Caramoor Jazz Festival, as an announcer on premier jazz radio station WBGO-FM (Newark), and as president of The Luce Group, a radio production company that produces special documentary projects for public radio. Luce produced The Miles Davis 75th Anniversary Special for National Public Radio’s Jazz Profiles. Aired on more than 200 stations in 2001, it won a prestigious Peabody Award. In addition, Luce is responsible for the definitive centennial tributes to jazz legends Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Count Basie, the last of which was aired over the summer on National Public Radio and other networks worldwide. For the Ellington project, for example, Luce traveled the world to interview experts and scour archival tape collections and oral history material. The finished series – 13 one-hour

shows, plus 60 3-minute modules – included interviews, music, historical information and commentary. Luce creates these programs because his own “enjoyment of jazz is deepened by sharing the history.” As a student at Emerson, Luce deejayed at WECB and WERS as well as WCIB-FM in his hometown of Falmouth, Mass. Soon after graduating, he presented his ﬁrst jazz concert – in Emmanuel Church on Newbury Street. Later, Luce moved to New York City and immersed himself in the scene there. “I saw the sun rise every day – I was in jazz clubs from 10 at night until 5 in the morning.” For more than 10 years, Luce has produced the Caramoor Jazz Festival at the Caramoor estate in Katonah, N.Y. – 40 miles north of Manhattan. “The setting is just perfect for musicians, and audiences are very receptive.” said Luce. He has also produced concerts at Lincoln Center and Town Hall in New York City. “There’s nothing like listen-

ing to music live,” he said. “It’s an entirely different and more gratifying experience.” Luce marked his 30th Emerson College reunion this year. His experience at the College taught him “how to pursue a creative life. I was surrounded at Emerson by people who were very committed and passionate, and I learned from them,” he said. Luce regards his work in jazz and jazz radio as “a labor of love.” His “core essence is that I’m a radio guy and a jazz guy. Sometimes presenting jazz is a solitary path, but by following my heart, good things have happened – and continue to happen,” he said. “I have just been nominated for the Edward R. Murrow Award and my NPR series recently aired worldwide.” –Rhea Becker

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My Turn The Descent of Dissent Media analyst and faculty member Jeffrey Seglin weighs in on the Democratic National Convention’s ‘protest pen’ While the Democratic National Convention was remarkable for its collegiality, most of the noise surrounding the event concerned the creation of a “protest pen” down the street from Boston’s Fleet Center, where the convention took place in July. Protestors were meant to be conﬁned to the pen, which was situated beneath a piece of what was left of the

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old Central Artery. It was covered with mesh, surrounded in some parts by razor wire, and watched over by armed security guards. The protest pen drew few regular protestors – mostly a group of dedicated pro-life/anti-abortion protestors who held handmade signs and used chalk to write on streets, signs and anything else chalk would adhere to. Even the protestors were a decidedly low-key group and no single issue – besides the general agreement that corralling protestors into a pen was a silly move at best and unconstitutional at worst – united the group. It wasn’t surprising, then, that handfuls of protestors milled around other parts of town rather than endure the pen. Copley Plaza, for instance, had its daily share of politics, with exhibits including the multitude of pairs of ﬁeld boots to represent American soldiers who had died in Iraq, and a pile of thousands of shoes to represent Iraqi citizens who had been killed. This area of town was also given over to fringe groups such as The Backbone Campaign, whose oversized 3-D displays looked like an advertisement for a chiropractor’s ofﬁce, and the “Bush on Mars 2004” people, who were raising money to send the president into outer space. On the third day of convention week, I ran into two guys selling $15 T-shirts for their “Do You Feel Safer?” and “Asses of Evil” efforts. Their best customers, one of them said, were delegates from the convention. So, I asked him why they were not over at the Fleet Center. “We were told you couldn’t get close to it,” he said. I mentioned that I had been greeted by protestors and T-shirt salespeople every

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

night when I was leaving the Fleet. He seemed genuinely surprised. Most of the time, the large area on Boston Common that had been set aside for protest groups lay empty except for a first aid tent and a flotilla of satellite trucks from news organizations. On Sunday when I passed the State House on Beacon Hill, its gates were locked and it was surrounded by police wearing riot gear. When no major skirmishes at the State House materialized, the battalion was removed a few days later, replaced by four unhelmeted police leaning on a gate with a handwritten sign reading, “State House Closed.” There was one march of protestors in which an American flag was burned, and police officers, looking as nervous as any of the protestors, did some restraining. Three arrests were made during this encounter. In all, rather than the 3,000 arrests predicted, just five people were arrested during the week. One evening as I was leaving the Fleet Center, I saw the two Asses of Evil guys right outside hawking T-shirts to the crowd. “Hey,” one of them called out when he recognized me. “You were right. This is a great location. We’re going to break even!” Jeffrey L. Seglin is an associate professor and director of the graduate program in writing, literature and publishing at Emerson College. He writes a weekly New York Times syndicated column on ethics called “The Right Thing.”

Alumnus and professional photographer Joanne Ciccarello ’80 spent time in Cambodia in 2002. This photo was shot at Angkor Wat, a complex of 27 temples that dates from the 10th through 12th centuries. Many temples have been overtaken by the baobab trees that have enveloped and partially destroyed many buildings. Rebuilding efforts continue through international support. (See story in this issue to view more of Ciccarello’s work as well as that of two other professional photographers who are Emersonians.)

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Photo by Lauren Shaw

Lauren Shaw, associate professor of visual and media arts and director of Emerson’s photography program, has spent many years photographing women who ‘live on the land’ in Maine. Here, Jenny Cirone of South Addison, Maine, tends her chickens. See story inside for more photographs by Shaw and other Emersonians who work in photography.

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