Expression Spring 2002 by Debra Falzoi

Expression SPRING 2002

THE MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF EMERSON COLLEGE

The

Miracle of

From all walks of theater life. Young actor on the rise Nathan Gehan ’99 (left) and Stewart F. Lane, co-producer of the Broadway hit Thoroughly Modern Millie, flank Bonnie Comley, MA ’94 (left), of the Millie production team, and Elizabeth Elkins ’89, who is starring in Off-Broadway’s Fool For Love. They gather at New York City’s Great White Way.

Theater

LAUNCHING NEW WORKS BROADWAY’S BOOM IN REVIVALS THE ACTOR’S LOT

E V V Y AWA R D S W O W T H E H O U S E

The 21st annual EVVY Awards had Emersonians starry-eyed this spring. Emersonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s version of the Emmy awards, the evening show at the Emerson Majestic Theatre included the presentation of some 34 EVVYs for outstanding student work. The elaborately staged production, complete with dance numbers and comedy sketches, was broadcast live, using eight cameras, on the Emerson Channel. Below left: Linda Corradina, executive producer for Oxygen Media; below right: Boston broadcasters Randy Price and David Brudnoy; bottom: student hosts Steve Basilone, Sarah Donovan and Mike Garrity.

CONTENTS SPRING 2002

Expression

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

For alumni and friends of Emerson College

CAMPUS DIGEST Three ‘legends’ retire from the faculty this year, new trustees are elected to the Board, the Los Angeles Center sports a large, new exterior sign and more

E X EC U T I V E E D I TO R D AV I D R O S E N E D I TO R R H E A B EC K E R

INNOVATORS OF EMERSON Groundbreakers, trailblazers and moguls who have gone where few have gone before. Here, they tell how they scaled the heights

WRITER C H R I STO P H E R H E N N ESSY D E S I G N C O N S U LTA N T

PA G E 8

RONN CAMPISI

14 E D I TO R I A L A S S I S TA N T

ROLL CREDITS! What are gaffers, best boys and grips, anyway? Industry alums reveal the answers

J ESS I CA N A D E AU

THE MIRACLE OF THEATER It takes a herculean effort to bring a new work to the stage. Explore the world of theater from new work to the boom in Broadway revivals to the lives of struggling actors

24 ALUMNI DIGEST Cover photograph by Joshua Paul 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 (Jeanne Brodeur ’72, vice president) 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

A look at the new officers of the Executive Committee of the Alumni Association’s Board of Directors, and photos from events held around the country

PA G E 1 4

28 CLASS NOTES 33 PROFILES Meet a man who tutors the biggest child actors of the day, a perfumer with a Midas touch, and a Vermont TV producer whose specialty is farming

36 MY TURN Grad student Erika Hahn has her father to thank for her budding career in television

PA G E 3 3

PA G E 3 4

letters

IN THIS ISSUE

Timely story on journalism’s dangers read with interest your article “Media Under Pressure” in the recent edition of Expression. I wanted to share with you how much I enjoyed the article. I have made copies of the piece for students in my “Special Topics” course, which currently highlights media concerns post-Sept. 11. In addition, I have given copies of the story to our journalism professors, who I know will savor every word of the analysis. I could not help but think about the timeliness of the story as we reflect on the horror of Daniel Pearl’s murder in Pakistan. Please know that your efforts will be part of our class discussions and continued analyses in the Department of Communication at the College of Saint Elizabeth. Marjorie Feinstein ’72 West Orange, N.J.

nother first-class edition of Expression. I am so proud to be an alumna! Caren M. Block, MA ’85 Stoneham, Mass.

s a journalist and public relations officer for nearly 30 years, I am proud to see the evolution of the former Beacon magazine into a first-class alumni publication now called Expression. In particular, I enjoyed the article “Lawyers of Emerson,” which featured the careers of several graduates who have made their marks in the communication/broadcast industry as well as in private practice as attorneys. What better way to use the powerful communication skills that have been Emerson’s specialty since its inception. For alums who do not get to Boston often, the short piece on the groundbreaking of the new 11-story Tufte Center is indeed a milestone for all who have passed through Emerson’s doors. Emerson has clearly set a firm founda-

EXPRESSION SPRING 2002

Hey, kids, let’s put on a show! — except, these days, it’s more difficult than ever to launch a new work for the theater. From New York’s Broadway stage to regiontion at its new location on the Common al venues across the country, and thus established the facility and city theater professionals face long presence needed to serve the faculty, odds but determinedly push forstaff and students. ward, creating culture as they I look forward to receiving my copy produce new plays. Our cover of Expression, because it keeps me story takes a look at this world — well informed about the programs, including the launch of new people and progress at Emerson. Excelworks, the boom in revivals and lent feature stories, coupled with qualiadaptations on Broadway, and ty photographs and artwork, make Exwhat life is like for actors as they pression enjoyable to try to establish their caExpression welcomes short read. My congratulareers. letters to the editor on toptions to your staff What makes an “innoics covered in the magazine. and all those who vator”? We hand-picked The editor will select a rephave a hand in prosix special alumni who resentative sample of letters to publish and reserves the ducing such an excelhave made their marks right to edit copy for style lent product. as innovators in their reand length. Send letters to: Tom Bauer ’68 spective fields — televiEditor, Expression, Office of Pemberton, N.J. sion, business, literaPublic Affairs, Emerson Colture, communication lege, 120 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02116-4624. sciences and theater. Learn about the personhank you for sharing the wonal characteristics, creativity and derful talent of the seven poets energy it took to scale the featured in the winter edition of heights of their professions. Expression. While Emerson has gained Do you ever read the credits national recognition for attracting a dythat come up at the end of a film namic community of poets, the nearby or TV show and wonder what all city of Cambridge has long been identithose people with the esoteric tified as an international haven for poets. tles actually do—gaffer, grip, film This spring, the Cambridge Arts Counloader? Wonder no more. We will cil with support from the Cambridge define the jobs that help make Center for Adult Education was able to Hollywood film and television tap into this trend and launch a new run, through talks with Emerson Performance Poetry component at the alums who perform those jobs 24th Cambridge River Festival. Last every day. year, a group of Emerson young alumni In our Profiles section, you’ll supported the event through communimeet a modern-day alchemist ty service by volunteering to carry out a who creates personalized pernumber of important tasks on the day fumes, a man with a one-of-aof the event. kind occupation: teaching science I appreciate the many benefits ofto child actors on location, and a fered to Emerson alumni, not the least veritable institution in Vermont of which includes access to valuable television. volunteers like the Emerson Young And don’t forget to check the Alumni group and the updates and Class Notes for news on your stories shared in Expression. classmates! Mary Ann Cicala ’99 Rhea Becker, editor

Belmont, Mass.

campus digest Three ‘legends’ retire from faculty Brigham, Littlefield and Stonie step down

hree longtime faculty members, with an aggregate of more than 100 years of teaching at Emerson, retired this year. They are: professors Joan Brigham (art history), Henry Stonie (sociology) and Walter Littlefield (political communication). Following are brief biographies of each. JOAN BRIGHAM

In 1971, Joan Brigham entered her first Emerson classroom to teach courses on modern art. She retires as a professor of visual and media arts, and says she “will carry with me the students and my friends on the faculty. I’ll miss the daily contact.” Brigham’s memories include helping to found the College’s Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies. Brigham’s own work as an artist has brought her much recognition through the years. Her unusual medium— steam—is a prominent element of her public art installations. “For a long time, I was the only person doing it,” she says. In the Boston area, she has two works on permanent view, the Tanner Fountain at Harvard University (1985) and the Galaxy Fountain in Kendall Square, Cambridge (1990). Her public art has been on view in New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Seattle as well as in Europe. Brigham has accepted an appointment as a visiting scholar at M.I.T.’s Center for Advanced Visual Studies, where she will write a book on the Center.

Over 100 years at the College

WALTER LITTLEFIELD

A specialist in propaganda and politics in the mass media, Associate Professor Walter Littlefield spent nearly 40 years teaching at the College. Among the

courses he taught are Propaganda; Politics and the Mass Media; Argumentation; and Propaganda and Public Opinion. Littlefield was internship director for the Department of Communication for the past 15 years. He also directed the Communication Industries Management Program in 1997-98 and was co-director of the program in Communication, Politics and Law since 1980. “I have enjoyed the Emerson students and sustain friendships with many of them after they leave,” says Littlefield. In addition, he will always remember “the wonderful teachers I’ve had the opportunity to work with.” He is looking forward to devoting more time to his avocation: the Boston Lamplight Puppet Theatre, which brings puppet shows to public schools around Massachusetts. He and his wife, Marcia Littlefield, a former part-time speech instructor at Emerson, share the work, writing the scripts, building the sets, making the puppets and performing the shows. He and his wife will also continue to do consulting work, teaching communication skills for a longtime client, the School Transportation Association of Massachusetts. “There are still a lot of things I want to do,” says Littlefield with enthusiasm. HENRY STONIE

Henry Stonie began teaching at the College in 1956. He was chair of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences from 1978 to 1980 and from 1988 to 1998. Among the courses he taught are Principles of Sociology; The Family; Sociological Theory; Communities and Race Relations; Sociology of Religion; and Organizational Behavior. Stonie led the religious activities office for three years and was founding president of the American Association of University Professors. “I spent my life here, and there have been so many different eras,” he re-

Joan Brigham Stonie (left) and Walter Littlefield TOP:

ABOVE: Henry

calls. “It’s a different Emerson today.” His son and wife both have degrees from Emerson, thus the College “was a centerpiece in our lives.” Stonie looks forward to big changes in his lifestyle. “There’s too much to do out there,” he says. Stonie will be traveling with his wife to their second home on Waikiki and working in Lithuania in teacher training programs. Stonie got his first taste of teaching there while on sabbatical at Vytautas Magnus Universitetas. Stonie is also a Unitarian minister, and has served as minister at Union Chapel-Interdenominational Church in North Hampton, N.H., for the past two decades. SPRING 2002

EXPRESSION

campus digest

Accreditation visit slated n evaluation team selected by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), one of eight regional accrediting bodies in the United States, will visit the Emerson campus Nov. 3-6 as part of the Collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 10-year reaccreditation review. The team will be chaired by William Adams, president of Colby College in Maine, and is expected to include faculty members and administrators from seven other schools. They will meet with administrators, deans and faculty members and review a comprehensive self-study of Emerson that will be finalized this summer. Based on the evaluation committeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recommendation, NEASC will decide on the accreditation status of the College and

A report will be posted online

cite any areas that need improvement. More than 75 faculty, students and staff have participated in the selfstudy process, which is overseen by a steering committee of faculty members and administrators chaired by Dorothy Aram, vice president for academic affairs, and Mickey Zemon, executive director of the Library. The participants were divided into 11 self-study committees that correspond to the 11 accreditation standards the College must meet (see list below). In the fall of 2001, the committees prepared preliminary reports. These were posted on a special website (http://cafe.emerson.edu/selfstudy/) and discussed at two open forums. In March, the steering committee re-

2002 Commencement Exercises held in May More than 1,100 undergraduate and graduate degrees were awarded to students at the 2002 Commencement Exercises, held in May at the Wang Center for the Performing Arts in Boston.

Ed Eskandarian 4

EXPRESSION SPRING 2002

Sherry Lansing, chairman and chief executive officer of Paramount Pictures Motion Picture Group and one of the most influential women in the entertainment industry, spoke at the undergraduate ceremony. Ed Eskandarian, chairman and CEO of Arnold Worldwide Partners in Boston, an international advertising network, spoke at the graduate ceremony. Lansing and Eskandarian received honorary degrees along with Boston Globe

reporter Walter Robinson and theater entrepreneur Gerald Schoenfeld, chairman of the Shubert Organization. The fall issue of Expression will contain full Commencement 2002 coverage.

Sherry Lansing

turned the reports to the self-study committees with comments and recommendations. These committees submitted drafts late in April, and the steering committee reviewed the documents in May. The Board of Trustees has followed the progress of the self-study and is expected to approve a final draft of the report over the summer. This report will be posted on the self-study website, and an open meeting for all members of the Emerson community will be held early in August. When the report is published, the committee will welcome feedback from community members, including alumni and friends, via the website. Steering Committee members are Dorothy Aram (co-chair), Cynthia Bartlett, David Bogen, Kathleen Donohue, Rob Sabal, Michael Weiler, Trustee Larry Rasky, Mickey Zemon (co-chair). Self-study Committee chairs are Mission and Purpose, Maureen Shea; Planning and Evaluation, Stuart Sigman; Organization and Governance, Mary Harkins; Programs and Instruction, David Bogen; Faculty, Michael Weiler; Student Services, Ronald Ludman; Physical Resources, Robert Silverman; Financial Resources, Robert Silverman; Public Disclosure, Suzanne Swope; Integrity, Jeffrey Seglin.

campus digest

New trustees elected to board Media executive Peter H. Smyth and inventor/businesswoman Sheryl Levy ’68 have been elected to the Emerson College Board of Trustees. Smyth is president and chief operating officer of Greater Media Inc. (GMI), a national broadcast conglomerate that manages 18 stations, including five in Boston (WMJX, WKLB, WTKK, WROR and WBOS). He is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. Levy is a partner in Richard C. Levy Associates, which specializes in the invention, development and licensing of toys, games and juvenile products. While her primary corporate responsibilities are finance and investment, she has co-invented or contributed creatively to many of the company’s bestselling games, including Wayne’s World, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus. She holds a bachelor’s degree in speech therapy from Emerson.

Kathleen Turner makes return visit Stage and film actress Kathleen Turner impressed an audience of more than 100 during a casual but informative hour-long Q&A session last winter. Turner, who holds a 1990 Emerson honorary degree, described theater as “a real communal experience.” Her visit was similar to a session she held with students here in the fall of 2000. Chair of Performing Arts Maureen Shea presented Turner with a hooded Emerson sweatshirt as a token of appreciation and to accompany her Emerson master’s hood.

Our name in lights New sign dedicated at the College’s Los Angeles Center The Los Angeles Center sports a new sign.

very day, approximately 12,000 cars speed past Emerson College’s campus on the West Coast—known as the Los Angeles Center. But few realize it because there has never been a sign or any other markings to reveal the creative work that goes on inside. That all changed this past winter, when a 42-foot-long illuminated sign reading “Emerson College” was unveiled in a formal ceremony as part of an entire weekend of special activities held in Los Angeles in March. When Jim Lane, executive director of the Los Angeles Center, arrived at the

Los Angeles Center two years ago, he noted “the glaring absence of a sign, so I put it very high on the priority list for the Center.” His dream came to fruition when the sign was recently purchased with funds supplied by an anonymous donor. The sign is expected to bring a great deal of “graphic visibility to the College because Los Angeles is a car culture,” says Lane, “and since the Los Angeles Center is near the Warner Brothers, NBC and ABC studios, drivers who come by freeway must pass our building to get to these studios.”

STUDENTS WIN 15 PRIZES IN ASSOCIATED PRESS COMPETITION IN BROADCAST JOURNALISM

Student broadcast news media at Emerson garnered a record 15 prizes in the 2002 Associated Press Broadcasters Awards for Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The awards were presented this past spring. Nine awards, including college news station of the year, went to WEBN. Five went to WERS-FM and one to Emerson Independent Video (EIV). Several of the awards recognized exceptional coverage of events and issues related to the Sept. 11 attacks. Others were in categories ranging from sports to special events to enterprise reporting. “This is a marvelous achievement for Emerson and especially for the students who have worked so hard to earn these coveted awards,” said Associate Professor of Journalism Marsha Della-Giustina. “We always do well in this competition, but 15 awards is certainly a record.”

SPRING 2002

EXPRESSION

campus digest

Emersonians score big with Super Bowl coverage An Emerson student films a reveler in New Orleans during Super Bowl weekend 2002 coverage.

hile new englanders everywhere celebrated the Patriots’ surprise Super Bowl win this past winter, intrepid Emerson journalists were working hard to provide special on-site coverage of the historic game for the Emerson community. The students gained valuable experience in the process. The students trekked cross-country to New Orleans to cover pre-game festivities, the competition itself and the ensuing celebrations. Students in Boston covered the city’s own parade of champions, which cut through Emerson’s campus on its way to a City Hall Plaza rally. The students compiled audio reports for WERS-FM (88.9) and numerous

video reports as well. The video footage was used to create a special broadcast for Emerson’s own WEBN-TV as well as local cable channels. Student reporters not only covered the game but also filed stories about the National Guard’s presence at the game, security searches and even scalpers. Reporters talked with players and coaches from both teams and snagged interviews with Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart, pre-game musical performer Mary J. Blige, and “Hall of Fame”-er Bill Kelley. While the students were still reporting from New Orleans, the technology manager for the School of Communication, Michelle Johnson, was making these reports available on the web.

THINK GLOBALLY, SPEAK LOCALLY Advertising CEO Joseph Cronin came to campus

in March to deliver the 2002 Irma S. Mann Distinguished Lecture. The Saatchi & Saatchi vice chairman spoke about his experiences in global advertising and addressed the future and challenges of worldwide marketing and advertising. Each year, a noted marketing communications professional is selected to deliver the lecture and receive the Irma S. Mann Award. The lecture series is endowed by Mann (’67, ’92 Hon.), former member and chairperson emerita of the Emerson Board of Trustees. Mann is founder and former chair of Irma S. Mann Strategic Marketing Inc. and currently chair of Irma, Inc.

EXPRESSION SPRING 2002

Second annual student film festival held in Los Angeles New student films were screened at the College’s Second Annual Festival of Film, held in March 2002 in Los Angeles. Directors of the films were Elza Kephart ’98, Fouad Mahfuz ’00, Stu Silverman ’99, Eric Torvi ’98 and Andrew van den Houton ’02. The festival was curated by Jim Lane, executive director of Emerson’s Los Angeles Center. “The word-of-mouth about the festival has created a buzz,” said Lane. “We had a lot of submissions this year, and it’s become competitive.” The festival was part of a weekend of activities called “Away in L.A.,” which was designed by the College’s Office of Alumni Relations to provide an opportunity for current students and faculty in Los Angeles to mix with Californiabased alumni. The weekend included the dedication of a new sign for the building in which the Los Angeles Center is housed (see story on page 5) and a visit to the set of the popular television show Friends, where co-producer Kevin Bright ’76 greeted alums and gave a talk.

A scene from The Still Point, a student film by Eric Torvi ’98.

campus digest

Stained glass windows enjoy a second act The Emerson Majestic Theatre’s adornments are being meticulously restored verlooking a big dig construction site in Boston, the light-filled factory-studio of Lyn Hovey Studio Inc. is filled with pieces of stained glass of every dimension and shape. They sit atop expansive wooden work tables and come from works-inprogress: windows of cathedrals, synagogues, schools, and other institutions—waiting to be disassembled, cleaned, restored and reassembled. From beneath one of these tables a worker pulls out a large horizontal wooden board, and there it is: one of the Emerson Majestic Theatre’s cobalt-blue stained glass windows, measuring some 3 feet across—in pieces, but shaped as if it were on display. The studio, which has specialized in the creation and restoration of stained glass windows for the past 30 years, has been commissioned to restore the Majestic Theatre’s stained glass as part of a $10 million project to restore the Theatre, which is expected to be completed in the spring of 2003. Some of the studio’s past work includes the restoration of 1895 and 1898 Tiffany windows for two Massachusetts churches. Work on the Emerson windows began in the summer of 2001 when Project Manager Tom Barber of Lyn Hovey Studio made a site visit to the Majestic. What he found was four sets of windows, nearly 100 years old, in “horrible” shape, he said in a recent interview. “There was buckling, bowing and breaking,” he said. When the Majestic was constructed as an opera house in 1903, stained glass was a common feature in American architecture. As the neighborhood declined and the use of the building changed—it was once a movie theater

4 sets of windows ...100 years old

in the 1980s, and it was completely shuttered for several years—many sections of the large-scale decorative stained glass windows fell into disrepair. Pieces were broken or lost. During the site visit, Barber photographed the windows, which came in varying shapes, designs and locations on the façade of the building. Then each one was carefully removed and trucked to the waterfront studio in South Boston, where the work would take place. Once the stained glass arrives at the studio, it is cleaned, the old lead is removed (or “unzipped”) along with the old putty, the glass is repaired or replaced, and the pieces are releaded, reputtied and soldered. The studio employs a negative-air exhaust system to handle harmful lead dust. Many of the Majestic windows were

Workers remove stained glass windows from the façade of the Emerson Majestic Theatre.

ABOVE:

A section of stained glass awaits restoration.

BELOW:

constructed using opalescent glass— a milky, opaque look popular in turnof-the-century American stained glass. When the studio could not find matching replacement glass among its own stock, the material was ordered from an Indiana-based firm called Kokomo Opalescent Glass Co., which is the world’s oldest manufacturer of the product. “You try to salvage broken glass if it’s special,” said Brian Roche, marketing manager for Lyn Hovey Studio. “If you need to replace it, you shouldn’t make a random choice.” Top-of-the-line products and centuries’-old techniques are employed in the restoration. “One of the first things that can fail in a window is the putty,” said Barber. “We use a linseed oil-based putty,” he said, kneading a small ball of black putty. “There is nothing today that is any better.” The entire stained glass project is expected to be completed this summer, when the windows will be transported back to the Theatre and re-installed, ready for the next 100 years. — Rhea Becker SPRING 2002

EXPRESSION

innovators

of Emerson

Six trailblazing alums and how they electrified and transformed their professions

A LETTER FROM RICHARD C. LEVY ‘68

you can almost feel it in the air. It’s an electricity. We live in America, and nowhere else in the world do people have more freedom to innovate, be different and be themselves. Inventive people are individuals who do not wait for opportunity; instead, they overcome resistance and hunt for change. They dare to be unique and refuse to trade incentive for Richard C. (Ricardo) Levy ’68 is a toy and game insecurity. ventor and marketer who Innovation is about tackling problems and learning from has licensed more than 125 failure, for there can be no success without failure. It is products and holds more about making mistakes, the by-product of experimenta- than 50 patents and tradetion. It is about having absolute, unshakable trust in your- marks. His products, which include the toy Furself and your ideas. It is about fun and the joy of creating by, and games based upon something original. the best-selling books Emerson has a proud heritage of ingenious people who, Chicken Soup For The discontent with the status quo, have the courage to meet Soul and Men Are From Mars, Women Are From hardships head-on, introduce change to the skeptical, and Venus, have generated cross a threshold of discovery. more than $1 billion in reThe six alumni profiled here have made their respec- tail sales. He is the author tive marks in television, business, literature, communi- of The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Cashing In On cation disorders and theater. Each person took the raw ma- Your Inventions (Alpha terials of ambition, dedication, vision, and something that Books, 2001). eludes definition, and saw their dreams materialize. Read their words and discover the keys to their unique powers of creativity and imagination. Some people say, “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.” My mantra is, “If it’s not broken, break it!”

EXPRESSION SPRING 2002

Susan Batson ’64

COACHING GURU

‘I HAVE A TERRIFIC LOVE FOR ACTING. IT MAKES ME A LITTLE FEARLESS...’

new people. I have to really get down and find what they need, their method. It keeps me studying new talent.

hen nicole kidman won a 2002 GoldQ: Can anyone, with coaching, be an actor? SUSAN en Globe for her starring role in Moulin A: In my book, no, not everyone can act. BATSON ’64 Rouge, she thanked Susan Batson ’64 When Spike Lee wanted to cast a real basketfrom the podium. Who is Susan Batson and ball player in his film He Got Game, we audihow has she come to be linked with some of the film world’s tioned all around the country, the New York Knicks, L.A., biggest names: Juliette Binoche, Tom Cruise, Madonna, Jenand so on. We finally found Ray Allen of the Milwaukee nifer Lopez and many others? She is a top New York CityBucks. The difference that made us determine that he was based acting coach, teaching at her Black Nexxus studio in capable of acting was that he had an immediate vulnerabiliSoho, which provides equal opty. I worked with him, and he really surprised everybody. He portunity to a range of actors, was even nominated for an MTV new arrival award. You can from the well-established to the feed a lot of people, but very few people will digest it. fledgling. As a child growing up Q: When you work with actors, what kinds of problems in the Roxbury neighborhood of most frequently come up? Boston, Batson began acting with A: There’s a block—emotional or psychological—that a children’s theater company at leaves the actor’s instrument limited. They can’t completely the age of 8. Upon graduating express rage or they can’t be vulnerable. Those are the two from Emerson College, she set ends of the spectrum. out for the Big Apple that very Q: You act only occasionally now. Do you miss it? evening to launch her acting caA: I’m afraid that the coaching satiated me very early on. reer. She landed a role in the hit I never liked the business or trusted it. musical Hair. Although she has Q: What drives you? received plaudits for her own actA: My mother [Ruth Batson, prominent civil rights activist ing (an Obie Award, and New in Massachusetts] was the first this and the first that, a list of York and Los Angeles Drama Critics awards), the moment ‘firsts.’ And you can’t get much stronger than my mother. she tried her hand at coaching to earn money after a divorce, We were always told as children that we had to make a conshe discovered her true passion — and her clients might say tribution to black life and so on. From very young, we had her true gift. Batson was recently the subject of major prothis responsibility. It’s a big imprinting on your psyche. files in The New Yorker and The Hollywood Reporter. Babson was recognized with an Alumni Achievement Award from Bobbi Brown ’79 Emerson this year. MAKEUP MOGUL Q: What acting method do you teach?

A: There’s a lot of thievery [laughs]. Lee Strasberg, Harold Courman, Herbert Bergoff and Uta Hagen were my primary teachers. What I did was learn from them and then created my own process. That is the process that I share. No two actors are alike. You first encourage an actor to examine their own instrument to see what tools they have and what tools they need. Q: Where do you get the confidence to work with some of the big names you’ve worked with?

A: I have a passion and a love for the work. And I have a terrific love for acting. It makes me a little fearless, and I’m slightly arrogant about it. When I come into the room, I don’t care who you are, you better love it. Q: Will you work with anyone who comes through the doors of your studio?

A: I work with people who’ve never had any training, and that keeps me very honest. I have to find answers for these

rawing on a lifelong fascination with makeup, Bobbi Brown ’79 was innovative from the start: she fashioned her very own major in theatrical makeup at Emerson College. After graduation, she moved to New York and began to work as a freelance makeup artist. When she discovered that she couldn’t find the shades she needed, she invented her own. Professional models began borrowing the lipsticks Brown had created, and in 1991 she found herself introducing her own product line. She and a business partner set up a small display table in New York City’s Bergdorf Goodman store SPRING 2002 EXPRESSION

‘FROM MY GRANDFATHER I LEARNED THE VIRTUE OF HARD WORK...’

with a modest 100 tubes of Bobbi Brown lipA: Alicia Silverstone, Lauryn Hill, Brooke stick. All 100 were sold by the end of the first Shields, Sarah Jessica Parker, Minnie Driver. day, and Bobbi Brown Essentials was born. The Q: Where did you get your confidence and company was purchased by Estee Lauder in drive to go the distance? BOBBI 1995. Brown remains CEO of Bobbi Brown A: My family has always been the biggest BROWN ’79 Professional Cosmetics. Today, she is credited inspiration. From my grandfather I learned the with popularizing ‘natural-looking’ makeup. virtue of hard work and from my parents I Just a few of the notable faces she has made up are Brooke learned the value of taking chances. My husband and three Shields, Christie Brinkley, Susan Sarandon and Andie Macsons are my secret to staying Zen. They’ve helped me find a Dowell. She has written three books on makeup, including balance between work and home, constantly teach me Bobbi Brown Beauty: The Ultimate Beauty Resource, and is patience and love, and have helped me prioritize what’s beauty editor for NBC’s Today show. She has been profiled important. in Women’s Wear Daily, People, Vogue and Elle. Thomas Lux ’70 Q: You created a major in theatrical makeup at Emerson. How did this background figure into your ultimate career path?

POETIC POWERHOUSE

A: My love for makeup goes back even further than my college days at Emerson. It all started when I was 5 years old and discovered my mom’s drawer of makeup. I still remember watching all her beauty rituals, like when she applied her white eye shadow and pale lips.

Q: What prompted you to take your ambition to the next level?

A: After years of working as a makeup artist in New York, I had trouble finding the exact shades and textures to naturally enhance a woman’s face and skin tone. I decided to take my favorite, hand-mixed shades to a chemist and had him turn my creations into actual lipsticks. When I realized how big the demand was for natural-looking makeup, I extended my product line to a full range of products. Q: You’re a pioneer in the cosmetics field. How do you maintain your products’ distinctive characteristics?

A: My philosophy has always been that makeup should help a woman look and feel like herself, only prettier and more confident—and that’s something that defines everything I do. All of the products and colors in my makeup line are designed to make makeup quick and easy for women. Q: Your business was bought by Estee Lauder Co. and you’ve stayed on as CEO. What is your role currently?

A: My day-to-day involves everything from meeting with advertising and creative; brainstorming new products and shades with product development; doing press interviews; to creating makeup looks for magazine covers and editorial shoots. Q: How involved are you in developing new products? New shades?

A: I’m just as involved in the creation of new products and shades as I was when I first started my line over 10 years ago. Q: Who are some of the public figures who use your line of beauty products? 10

EXPRESSION SPRING 2002

homas lux “may be one of the poets on whom the future of the genre depends,” believes award-winning writer Sven Birkerts. If so, the future is in good hands. As one of the most individual artists in poetry today, Lux’s clarity of voice and message serve as a powerful dictum for modern verse. He is equally brilliant whether writing about maraschino cherries or the brutality of the human race or even the blank page itself: A hard task—the blank so creamy, a cold and perfect snowfield upon which a human, it’s only human, wants to leave his inky black and awkward marks.

As a student at Emerson in the late ’60s, Lux published a chapbook during his senior year at Emerson, and his first full-length book was published two years later. He would also become one of Emerson’s first poets-in-residence (19721973), and one of the first editors for Ploughshares, a role he’s thrice performed. Lux has been publishing innovative verse for more than 30 years. His most recent book is The Street of Clocks (Houghton Mifflin, 2001). His work has received recognition such as the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award and he has been awarded three National Endowment for the Arts grants and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He’s taught at Sarah Lawrence College and the Warren Wilson low-residency M.F.A. Program for Writers in Asheville, N.C. After 27 years at Sarah Lawrence directing its M.F.A. program in poetry, Lux will become the Bourne Pro-

fessor of Poetry this fall at Georgia Institute of Technology. Q: How do you keep your work innovative, fresh, evolving?

‘POETRY CAN MAKE US A LITTLE BIT MORE HUMAN, ... A LITTLE BIT MORE Max Mutchnick ’87 ALIVE.’ TELEVISION TRAILBLAZER

THOMAS A: By continuing to work, study and practice hat if the secret to life were as simLUX ’70 the craft, and to read everything I possibly can. ple as just being oneself? According to I read everything, including huge amounts of Max Mutchnick, that’s the best place to history and nonfiction. I also read, of course, poetry and start. Growing up in Los Angeles, an alum of Beverly Hills books about poets and poetry. And it all informs my work. High School and, of course, Emerson College, Mutchnick I think poets should look at the world and consider the has always been surrounded by creativity. But it was his world, quarrel with it or praise it. That’s where history is; mother, with her motto, “Nobody knows anything,” that that’s where the world is—in history. taught him that he was smart, capable and as right as anyone else. Armed with unstoppable self-confidence, MutchQ: You’ve been called a “powerful advocate” for the relenick went on to make entertainment history when he co-crevance of poetry in American culture. Do you use your poetated (with David Kohan) Will & Grace, the first show ever to ry as a medium of persuasion on this score? be created with a gay character in a lead role. Even more A: I don’t consciously use poetry as a medium of persuaamazingly, the show premiered on the heels of the cancellasion. But I believe that poetry can make us a little bit more tion of the Ellen DeGeneres Show shortly after her character human, a little bit less alone, a little bit more alive. I don’t announced she was gay. Legendary television director James look upon poetry as a kind of luxury; I look at it as a kind of Burrows credits Mutchnick and Kohan with “the genius of necessity, along the lines of bread and air. the show”—it’s “not about a gay guy and a straight girl, but Q: Are your riskier poems more successful, and if so, a show about humanity and a show that makes you laugh.” why? In its fourth season, Will & Grace A: Risk is something one is always supposed to be doing is regarded as “the biggest comeas an artist. But sometimes when one believes one is taking dy hit of the last four years,” acrisks, one is really just making mistakes. I hope one learns cording to NBC Entertainment from one’s mistakes. And every artist has many more misPresident Jeff Zucker. Among takes than they do successes. I would say my more successmany awards garnered over the ful poems are actually more accessible. But I want all of my past four years, the show won poems to be accessible. I want to be understood by dogs and three Emmys in 2000, including cats, if possible. Outstanding Comedy Series. Q: Did certain Emerson professors drive you to push your

verse further?

A: I was incredibly lucky—being at the right place at the right time at Emerson. Noel Peyrouton, an English composition teacher, was very encouraging to me, as was James Randall [founder of the Emerson College writing program], who also became my first publisher. Most importantly, my junior year, when Emerson first started hiring poets and fiction writers, there was Helen Chasin. It was probably the biggest break I ever had, to have a really good, tough workshop teacher who was a poet herself. (She had just won the Yale Younger Poets Prize.) I wouldn’t have found that anywhere else at that time. I am really grateful for my years at Emerson. Q: What does it take to create a memorable poem?

A: Sweat, work, trial and error. Thirty or 40 drafts. There’s nothing glamorous or magical about it. It’s a process and a great deal of work. And the idea, of course, is to end up with something that is supposed to sound completely spontaneous and fluid, but in order to do that I, at least, have to sweat blood.

Q: Will & Grace came at a treacherous time for gay lead characters. Looking back to your personal history, where do you think you got the guts to introduce two new major gay characters (Will and Jack) at such a culturally sensitive time?

A: My father died when I was very young. As a result, my mother had one goal in her life—that her children should be comfortable, because they’d just experienced something that was wholly uncomfortable. From that comfort came a confidence that whatever I did and whatever I said was okay. I’m ultimately going to be Max Mutchnick, whether I’m walking into the Oval Office or into Debra Messing’s [the actress who plays Grace] dressing room or my family’s dining room. I was really encouraged to be everything that I felt I needed or wanted to be. And then I ended up at Emerson, which does this remarkable job of making people feel good about who they are. When I left Emerson, I was really ready to take on the world. SPRING 2002 EXPRESSION

Q: You and David Kohan were the head writers for the first 98 episodes of Will & Grace. How much direct impact do you want to have on the shows you produce?

A: I am involved with everything from the stock of the film it’s shot on to the buttons on Eric McCormick’s [Will] suit coat. There’s nothing that happens that I’m not aware of.

‘WE GOT THE SHOW ON THE AIR BECAUSE WE DIDN’T WORRY ABOUT THE ROADBLOCKS.’ MAX MUTCHNICK ’87

Q: Is your new show, Good Morning, Miami, going to break any new ground for you?

A: I’m going to try to do both jobs, producer and writer, at once. It’s going to be on Thursdays at 9:30, after Will & Grace. So, if I can keep that show as fresh and exciting as Will & Grace, I’ll have broken plenty of new ground because I’ll have NBC viewers laughing for an hour. Q: It’s against all odds to turn a pilot into a hit show, and the odds are even greater when the show’s content is potentially controversial. How did you maintain your drive to see Will & Grace realized?

A: We got the show on the air because we didn’t worry about the roadblocks that were facing us: the fall of the Ellen DeGeneres Show, the fact that gay characters historically were not successful on network television. But the drive was our comfort in who we were and knowing that it was funny to us. We are what we are. And I think that’s the lesson for everybody. You don’t have to pound your chest or speak through a megaphone. You just have to look someone in the eye and have a very strong sense of self. Bonnie Singer ‘87, ‘88, ‘97

LITERACY LEADER

r. bonnie singer spends her days immersed in “the next frontier in the field,” an aspect of the communication-disorders world in which few others work: developing the writing and literacy skills of students who have speech-language and learning problems. She has crisscrossed the country to spread the word, consulting with public school systems in the development and implementation of new methods of written language intervention, conducting teacher training sessions, and delivering papers on the topic at conferences nationwide. Among the cities she has consulted in are New York, Seattle, Detroit and Rochester. She teaches an innovative technique called POWER, which she developed with Anthony Bashir, disability services coordinator at Emerson College. Teachers use this strategy to teach the process of writing compositions, and students use it as they write. She also trains teachers in the use of ‘Thinking Maps’, graphic tools that support cognition and learning. When she is not on the road, she spends time doing assessments and interventions, working one-on-one with

EXPRESSION SPRING 2002

young clients in her Newton, Mass., office. Finally, she has distinguished herself in another, completely different, way: She is the first person ever to receive all three of her communication sciences and disorders degrees from Emerson College—bachelor’s (1987), master’s (’88) and doctoral (’97).

Q: You are a speech pathologist, yet you specialize in literacy. How did this come about?

A: The field had been focused, by and large, on working with students on listening, speaking and producing language. Over the last 10 years, the field has shifted quite a bit in that there is a much greater interest in reading and literacy. But the area of writing is still very young. I would say I am one of a handful of people who are very entrenched in figuring out why students with language disorders and learning disabilities have difficulty writing and what to do about it. I owe it to my doctoral advisor, Dorothy Aram [currently vice president of academic affairs at Emerson], who steered me in the direction of writing. It was the next frontier in the field. Q: Could you describe your typical client?

A: I work with students from first grade through college. They are kids who have attention deficit disorders, nonverbal learning disabilities, or language disorders and who have difficulty with reading, writing or some aspect of learning. Q: What are some of the writing problems you see most frequently?

A: The majority of students that I work with have trouble with organization. They don’t know how to organize their thoughts or an essay, or how to approach an assignment and have it come out in a way that meets the demands of the assignment. Grammar is another common problem. Some kids don’t know how to write a grammatically intact sentence. So even though they have a lot to say, they are not able to get their meaning across. Some students have predominantly reading-based issues. Usually if you have a reading issue, writing is even harder for you. Some kids are completely stumped in the face of a writing assignment. They have no strategies and no insight into the process of how to make it happen. Q: When you were 18 you already knew you were going into the field of communication disorders?

‘I NEVER OUTLINE WHAT I THINK I’M GOING TO SAY, [WHICH GIVES IT] ITS RARE, RAW EDGE.’

me, at the end of one of my long speeches, to A: Actually, the reason I came to Emerson is stop and just look the audience in the eye. So that I wanted to be a vocal performance major. there we were! Same level, same lights. That I was in a theater troupe in high school with a was very strong for me—the power I picked deaf student. This was a traveling company and SPALDING GRAY up from being able to silently look from face we spent a lot of time in cars and he taught me ’65 to face and command that focus. And then the sign language. I was really eager to figure out internal voice began to whisper, “What if the how to break that barrier and did. Then when I next line you said was yours and not Sam Shepard’s? What read a description of communication disorders in the Emerwould it be?” That provoked me. son catalogue, I thought, ‘That is so cool.’ I realized that you could actually do that for a living, and it was clear that this Q: The monologues you perform are incredibly personal— was what I wanted to do. it’s just you on a stage with a chair, maybe a desk and a miQ: Where do you get your drive and energy?

A: I just came this way [laughs]. I feel very fortunate that I love what I do and I can’t imagine doing anything else. Spalding Gray ’65

PEERLESS PERFORMER

nyone who has ever witnessed a live performance by monologuist Spalding Gray will never forget his intensely personal, penetrating monologues, delivered with a trademark breathlessness while seated incongruously behind a desk. His work is anxiety-ridden, quirky, touching, hilarious. In 1982, Gray’s innovative style sparked a movement in American theater, paving the way for the performance artists and monologuists of the 1980s and ’90s, and creating an art form to reckon with. Gray’s solo work began with Swimming to Cambodia, a piece about his experiences working on location as a bit actor in the film The Killing Fields. The show, which won an Obie Award in 1984, is one of almost two dozen works created by Gray, many of which have been collected in book form, including Gray’s Anatomy, A Personal History of the American Theater, and Monster in a Box. Other works have been made into films, including Swimming to Cambodia (1987; director Jonathan Demme) and Gray’s Anatomy (1996; director Steven Soderbergh). Gray, who once called himself a “poetic reporter,” has received a Guggenheim Fellowship as well as grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Rockefeller Foundation. In the early 1970s, Gray cofounded the award-winning Wooster Group, an experimental theater troupe in New York’s Soho that continues to showcase innovative performances. Q: How did you make the transition from straight acting to monologues?

A: The original energy source for that moment was during Sam Shepard’s The Tooth of Crime. We did the New York premiere [1974] and I played the lead, Hoss. The audience was standing around like they were at a golf match; there were no fixed seats—it was environmental theater. The director, Richard Schechner, asked

crophone. Where did you find the confidence to pursue the genre of solo performance when few, if any, other performers were doing it successfully?

A: I found the confidence when I was collaborating with the Wooster Group. In 1977, we did an autobiographical piece based on my life, but it was a group piece. In that piece, Rumstick Road, I would step forward and say to the audience, “My name is ‘Spud’ Spalding Gray.” And this was a very strong, liberating event for me. It’s one thing to look at a fellow actor, and it’s another thing to look directly at the audience and tear away that fourth wall and receive all the direct energy from an audience. But what I want to tell you is that the confidence came from the Wooster Group, who were my first cheerleaders. Q: Is audience response important to you?

A: I never do any pre-writing before I sit in front of an audience. I just outline what I think I’m going to say, and then I just flounder my way through [which gives the piece] its rare, raw edge. And the audience can sense that. It’s almost like improv, but whereas improv tends to go out further and further, my ambition or desire is to draw in closer and closer. Q: Were your Emerson acting days meaningful to you later in life?

A: Absolutely. Emerson was a very good school for me because it was small, and I was feeling very inadequate. I hadn’t done a lot of theater. My sophomore year I got the lead in He Who Got Slapped, and that was invaluable. I did all the acting I could do. All of that was important because other performance artists don’t have that acting background. I’m an actor; I’m playing myself. Concept by Christopher Hennessy. Story written by Christopher Hennessy and Rhea Becker. SPRING 2002 EXPRESSION

Roll credits! HOLLYWOOD’S UNSUNG TECHNICIANS REVEALED

ade to black. You’re sitting in your local cineplex, basking in that warm after-movie glow, when the film credits scroll past like a secret code: “Grips?” “Gaffers?” “Best Boys?” You’ve probably asked yourself countless times, Who are these people, what roles do they play in making celluloid, and why the funny names? In the following story, we asked a few of Hollywood’s unheralded technicians to reveal the secrets behind their work and explain the parts they play in creating the film and television images that we all love.

GAFFER

WORST PART OF JOB:

BILL KLAYER ’77

RÉSUMÉ: Includes

New York City “I’m the chief lighting technician, in charge of setting up the lights on the set. I go to locations ahead of time and figure out how we’re going to light the sets. One day this past season, we were on the 34th floor of an office building that was lit by fluorescent light and I had to figure out how to balance it with the sunlight.” CURRENT JOB: Law & Order (NBC) – his 11th season OK, SO WHAT’S A ‘BEST BOY’?: “A first assistant, as in Best Boy Electric.” BEST PART OF JOB: “The job remains the same, but every day is different. And you go to places the public

never gets to see.” “The hours.” Basketball Diaries (1995)

LOCATION:

WHAT I DO:

EXPRESSION SPRING 2002

BOOM OPERATOR KEN BEAUCHENE ’69 Los Angeles “I capture dialogue. The boom microphone is basically a microphone attached to a long pole and held overhead. I must be able to hold the mike above the action, keeping the shadows out, and swinging from actor to actor to catch the lines.” CURRENT JOB: The District (CBS) PHYSICAL DEMANDS: “Most scenes are under 3 to 4 LOCATION:

WHAT I DO:

ELECTRICAL EXPERT. A "gaffer," which literally means "old man," is the chief electrician responsible for lighting on a film or television set.

minutes, so it’s not that difficult.” CHALLENGES: “If the actors improvise, I end up moving the mike at the wrong time.” BEST PART OF JOB: “I call it the best seat in the house. You see the actors, you hear the actors.” PERKS: “Meeting Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis and John Travolta.” WHEN ACTORS REFUSE TO STAY STILL: “I worked on The West Wing and there would be six mikes out at a time: four lavaliers and two booms, and they’re always walking down the hall!” RÉSUMÉ: Includes Lois and Clark (ABC), Roswell (WB); Bonfires of the Vanities (1990), A Night at the Roxbury (1998), Halloween H2O (1998)

I L L U S T R A T I O N B Y A D A M M A C C A U LY

FILM LOADER MIKE GENTILE ’93 Los Angeles “I order and maintain film stock and I load it into film magazines using a portable darkroom on a camera truck. When the film is exposed, I send it to the lab for processing. In addition, I assist the camera crew however I can, changing lenses and filters, slating [a slate is a board that indicates the scene numbers and takes] the camera.” CHALLENGES: “Long hours, hard physical labor. You’re frequently carrying a lot of camera gear around under undesirable and sometimes stressful conditions, including rain, smoke, heat/cold, etc. Also, employment can be LOCATION:

WHAT I DO:

SPRING 2002 EXPRESSION

sporadic and unpredictable.” REALITY CHECK: “The industry, overall, isn’t as glamorous as people think. It’s an unglamorous job punctuated with moments of glamour.” BEST PART OF JOB: “There are those moments that make it all worthwhile: when you get to work with a famous actor or when you capture that major stunt on film or that tear in the actor’s eye.” THE GLORY: “For American Beauty, I worked as second unit second assistant cameraman. The second unit does pickup shots that the first unit doesn’t have time to do: a hand pouring a glass of wine, a car passing by, etc. I feel honored to have played a tiny role in the creation of a film that will forever be recognized as an Academy Award winner.” RÉSUMÉ: Includes Contact (1997)

SCRIPT SUPERVISOR KELLY ‘EVIL EYE’ CRONIN, MA ’96 Boston the editor on set. In pre-production, if a character appears early in the script and the writer forgets to bring them back in, I point that out. In pre-production I also do a continuity breakdown. Basically, I make sure the movie can be put together seamlessly. I watch continuity in wardrobe, hair and makeup, dialogue and props. I keep notes on, for instance, how long a scene runs to make sure we don’t have a four-hourlong film when we’re done, I keep track of lenses used, filters, settings on the camera. I take Polaroid pictures of the sets. I place the eye lines—where actors look when they’re looking off camera. We may shoot a scene with an actress running and sweating through the streets, and three weeks later we shoot the scene that comes right after, and I have to make sure if she had matted hair, she has that in the later scene. It’s surprising how much a director needs a script supervisor.” CHALLENGES: “If you shoot a scene in eight different ways over two days, it can’t look different. The takes must be done exactly the same way, but generally the actors don’t do it the same way. I notice that the more seasoned actors do it, but the younger ones…They say, ‘Oh, I really do have to hold the cigarette in my right hand?’ Every film has continuity flaws. That’s why you work on a team. One person can’t do it all.” BEST PART OF JOB: “The director relies on me. I like that a lot. I work with every single department. I can be creative.” RÉSUMÉ: Includes What’s the Worst That Could Happen? (2001); Session 9 (2001) LOCATION:

WHAT I DO: “I’m

EXPRESSION SPRING 2002

SCRIPT SUPERVISOR KIM RAMOS ’89 Los Angeles “I record the director’s comments on each shot. On the set my job is to make sure the continuity is working. I watch which glass was used, I see if a person had a pink shirt, not a blue one. We absorb every aspect of filmmaking. I’m so involved in the script. It all comes down to the script supervisor because we have the notes.” BEST PART OF JOB: “The diversity of the projects. Meeting such different people. I’ve traveled all over the world with my job.” CHALLENGES: “It’s not an exact science. It takes years and years to become a great script supervisor, and I’ve been doing it for 10 years. We take every precaution and we hope mistakes don’t happen, but everyone likes to point out continuity errors in finished films. And the hours are hard. It’s not a conventional lifestyle.” RÉSUMÉ: Includes commercials for Budweiser, Got Milk?, McDonald’s, Mercedes Benz LOCATION:

WHAT I DO:

CAMERA ASSISTANT DOUG JOHNSON ’95 Los Angeles “There are a lot of responsibilities. I take care of the lenses and make sure all the camera gear is there and organized. I keep track of the amount of film available for use and what is left in the camera before a scene is shot, so we don’t run out in the middle. I hold the slate in front of the camera and take notes on each scene and take.” CHALLENGES: “If you mess up, the film could be out of focus or the director of photography could expose the film at the wrong exposure.” BEST PART OF JOB: “I love the creative teamwork involved in it. You’re all working toward the same goal. And I love setting up for each shot, finally shooting it and then ripping it down and setting up for another one.” RÉSUMÉ: Includes American History X (1998); Goosed (1999) LOCATION:

WHAT I DO:

DOLLY GRIP MILES STRASSNER ’74 New York City “The camera and camera operator are often mounted on a small vehicle. I move that, tracking the speed and movement of the actors. It has more to do

LOCATION:

WHAT I DO:

‘For a low-budget feature I had to find a telephone booth from the 1960s. We finally found it but it was too expensive, so the scenes were cut from the film.’ — Amy Whitten, MA ’92, prop and wardrobe stylist with timing than anything else.” (Grips, in general, adjust the scenery, lights, cranes and dollies on sets.) CURRENT JOB: Law & Order (NBC)—his 9th season BEST PART OF JOB: “I love what I do. You’re helping make the frame that the director will use. I help create that vision.” CHALLENGES: “No one ever does the same thing the same way twice. We do four to five takes on average.” DETAILS, DETAILS: “We shoot the show at Chelsea Pier. We spend eight days per episode: four days in and around Manhattan and four days on the set.” RÉSUMÉ: Includes Malcolm X (1992), Scent of a Woman (1992)

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR MICHELLE PARVIN ’92 LOCATION: Los

Angeles The Practice (ABC)—her 4th season WHAT I DO: “It’s like being a stage manager. I give information to the crew and cast. I make a daily list of what we will be shooting, I must be sure everyone is in the right costumes, I note if there is a hair change, who’s in the scene, the crew call times, all the elements needed on the set, etc. On the set, I’m always thinking three to four shots ahead. There are constant distractions, but the key is to keep things moving. It’s all-encompassing.” BEST PART OF JOB: “I wake up, and every day is different. You work in all different locations you wouldn’t get a chance to work in. And it has a nice energy to it.” BEST ANECDOTE: “Lara Flynn Boyle has two dogs. If she brings in a dog, I’ll take it for a walk to help things keep going.” RÉSUMÉ: Includes ER (NBC), Mad about You (NBC); Halloween H2O (1998), The Deep End of the Ocean (1999)

vation Army and other thrift shops. I work with furniture, objects and clothing. If you’re on location, you tend to work with what’s there, enhancing things with what you bring in. I may take measurements for curtains on the set, and so on. I’m always lugging things around.” BIGGEST CHALLENGE: “For a low-budget feature I had to find a telephone booth from the 1960s. We finally found it but it was too expensive, so the scenes were cut from the film.” BEST PART OF JOB: “Being based in the Boston area, the projects in this part of the world tend to be short, intense bursts ranging from a few days to a week or so, and then it’s over. Every job is different. I like the behind-the-scenes nature of it. I get to see things that ‘civilians’ don’t. I like the team or ‘family’ aspect of doing a film.” RÉSUMÉ: Includes commercials for Lotus Corp., BB Kids; Easy Listening (2002), a Slamdance Festival entry

CURRENT JOB:

PROP AND WARDROBE STYLIST AMY WHITTEN, MA ’92 Boston “Through research and my own sense of things, I go out into the world to find the objects that help the director’s vision come true. There aren’t many prop shops in Boston, so I ‘power shop’ for a living. I also rent things from local businesses and go to the Sal-

LOCATION:

WHAT I DO:

SCENIC STORAGE MANAGER LESLIE (RICKERT) PENNICK ’80 LOCATION:

Los Angeles

CURRENT JOB: Columbia

Tristar Television at Sony Stu-

dios “I track sets for television programs. That means that I take photos of scenery used on television and manage a database of the images so that producers and art directors can see what sets we have and refurbish them. For example, for Mad About You, which is off the air now, their sets may be reused for a new show. For The King of Queens, when the character Carrie’s office goes offstage, if after two or three episodes you need to bring it back, it is easy to locate and the art director can set it up as it was before or redesign it.” GOOD REASON TO RECYCLE SETS: “I was amazed at how much television scenery in the industry is not reused but is thrown away instead. We ask our producers and art directors to consider reusing sets. You could spend a lot of money to build a set and you see it for 30 seconds.” RÉSUMÉ: Includes Mad About You (NBC), Family Law (CBS), The Guardian (CBS) n WHAT I DO:

Interviews by Rhea Becker SPRING 2002 EXPRESSION

The

miracle of theater

S O M E T I M E S A N E W W O R K’ S J O U R N E Y T O T H E S TA G E TA K E S O N E P I C P R O P O R T I O N S

n the beginning there is the word. Lots of words, in fact, comprising the dialogue, the scenes and the acts that ultimately make up a new work for the stage. The magic and miracle of theater is not just the exhilaration that audience members feel as the curtains go up. The magic and miracle of theater is that new work is ever launched at all. With few producers willing to take the financial risk of showcasing new playwrights, and many theatergoers feeling positively queasy about spending top dollar to see ‘untested’ plays, new work has some formidable foes. Yet it is the life-blood of any theater scene. So how in the world do new shows ever find their audiences? Prolific playwright and award-winning Boston-based actor John Kuntz ’90 knows all about getting new work on stage. After all, at the tender age of 34 he has already authored nine plays and seen all C H R I S T O P H E R H E N N E S SY nine produced. “Sometimes you need a theater to nurture you, sometimes you need an angel,” says Kuntz. By ‘angel’ he means those artistic directors who champion and nurture playwrights in whom they see extraordinary potential and talent. Even though Kuntz has won three Elliot Norton Awards (including Best Fringe Production for his original one-man show Freaks! in 1998 and for writing and starring in Sing Me to Sleep in 1999), each of Kuntz’s new-work launches has been fraught with challenges. “Artistic directors are really wary about producing new plays,” he says. Theater is an expensive art form and an unproven writer is risky business, he says. “We need more people who are willing to take a chance on young playwrights.” Nationally speaking, with few exceptions, “we don’t have an American version of [England’s] Royal Court Theatre that’s solidly committed to new writing,” declares Stanley Richardson, playwright and adjunct professor at Emerson.

EXPRESSION SPRING 2002

FROM ALL WALKS OF THEATER LIFE. Sharing a moment in New York City’s famed Times Square are (from center clockwise) Elizabeth Elkins ’89, star of Off-Broadway’s Fool for Love; young New York City actor Nathan Gehan ’99; and producer Stewart Lane and Bonnie Comley, MA ‘94, from the production team that launched the Tony-winning Best Musical Thoroughly Modern Millie.

The goal of producing new work, then, has fallen to the estimated 1,100 not-for-profit theaters that span the country. These regional centers of development often serve as the first link in a chain of production that keeps American theater alive and growing. American Theatre magazine notes that many of those 1,000+ theaters are committed to new plays, workshops and staged readings of new work. The magazine points out that since 1973 (with one exception) every Pulitzer Prize for drama has gone to works developed in the not-for-profit sector. In fact, the 2002 award went to Suzan-Lori Parks for Topdog/Underdog, a play that began at the Public Theater (OffBroadway) written by a playwright nurtured by the not-forprofit sector. “The truth is, interesting work is happening everywhere,” says Melia Bensussen, Emerson assistant professor and producing director for the College’s production arm, Emerson Stage. “[But] If we want our national culture to change and be elevated, we’ve got to invest in the new voices,” she urges. Bensussen, who won an Obie Award (the Off-Broadway version of the Tony) in 1999 for her direction of The Turn of the Screw, specializes in directing the work of new playwrights and knows that the costs of producing theater and the scene’s relative lack of subsidization make new work inher-

P H OTO G RA P H BY J OS H UA PAU L

ently difficult to produce. She is, however, equally aware of the necessity that new work find audiences. Many theater professionals point to a particular regional theater that stands out in its commitment to new work: The Actors Theater of Louisville (Ky.) and its Humana Festival, which has been called “the center of the theater world” by Time magazine. The Festival has produced more than 300 plays since 1976. But this kind of attention to new work is unusual. Michael Bush, MA ’79, who spent 23 years working at New York’s Manhattan Theatre Club, which has a reputation for producing exciting new work Off-Broadway, is now taking the reins at Charlotte Repertory Theatre in Charlotte, N.C. Bush recognizes the role of regional theater as a pipeline to larger venues. He plans to ensure the Charlotte Rep’s new play festival will really service the playwrights who participate. “I want the playwright to feel that his or her play was better for having been at the festival,” says Bush. Bush explains that the Charlotte Festival will focus on the process—taking the play from the page to the stage. Production is where the learning process can take off, many theater artists believe. Richardson adds, “[Playwrights] need to work, they need to write a script that’s actually going to be cast, that’s going to have actors and directors poking at them, saying, ‘Why don’t we change this?’” Richardson has had a hand in creating venues for new work in the New England area by founding a writers’ theater (the now-defunct New Voices) as well as the Clauder Competition for new playwrights in New England, now directed by Emerson adjunct playwriting professor Betsy Carpenter. A contest or a grant can mean an instant audience for new work. In 1996, playwright-director Carol Korty, Emerson professor emerita, and composer Scott Wheeler, Emerson associate professor, entered their play Baba Yaga and the Black Sunflower in the Kennedy Center New Vision, New Voices program. They won a spot in the program’s line-up of new shows, and the play was later produced at the Emerson Majestic Theatre under the auspices of the program. Korty

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points out that such programs are “invaluable for the writer, for plays still being ‘shaken down.’” Not only can the playwright observe audience reactions, but any time a play is produced, interest from producers and artistic directors can be generated, she says. But even with these support systems, the obstacles don’t stop there. Playwright-actor Kuntz jokingly calls his original plays “flowers that bloom for three weeks and never again.” He is referring to a phenomenon that playwrights often face: even if a play is produced in a major venue, often no one is willing to stage it again. The pervading sentiment is: if it’s not a premiere and if it’s not from a recognizable name, who’s going to come see it? AND THEN THERE WERE LIGHTS…

But some new works do make it to the heart of the American theater scene: Broadway and off-Broadway, where new

works are staged with varying frequency. Some of the works even taste great success. When Robbie McCauley, Emerson associate professor and actor-director-playwright, wrote Sally’s Rape, a play that weaves together African-American slave narratives while telling the story of two Sallys (McCauley’s great-great grandmother and Thomas Jefferson’s slave Sally Hemings), she admits she had few illusions that the play would draw attention. But critics and audiences were touched by the work, and McCauley won the 1992 Best Play Obie Award. The experience taught her that playwrights can “be true to a vision,” that they can experiment and still succeed in finding an audience. Still, those who pursue a career in the production of new work—playwrights, directors and actors—face obstacles of high unemployment rates and salaries that are shockingly low.

EVERYTHING’S COMING UP REVIVALS!

Broadway’s spring 2002 season is belting out a tune about our faith in old favorites. Half of the new season’s shows aren’t technically ‘new’: audiences have had a whopping 14 revivals to choose from — a 25% increase over last season. Nearly all the big-budget shows are either revivals or adaptations. And that’s not counting the Off-Broadway ‘re-dos’. This year’s Broadway revivals include Oklahoma! (starring Emerson alum Andrea Martin ’69), The Elephant Man, The Crucible, Into the Woods, Hedda Gabler and shows from Noel Coward and George Bernard Shaw. And still running from previous seasons are Cabaret, Chicago and 42nd Street. Furthermore, many of the revivals are star-driven, with ticketselling names like Liam Neeson and Laura Linney (both starring in The Crucible). A recent New York Times headline spells it out: “If It’s a Musical, It Was a Movie.” Adaptations include the new musical Thoroughly Modern Millie (from a production team that includes co-producer Stewart Lane and Bonnie Comley, MA ’94) and the star-studded stage adaptation of The Graduate. Mega-hits The Producers and The Lion King and the long-running The Full Monty are a few of the carry-overs from previous seasons. But, of course, audiences expect a lot from million-dollar-budget shows, so 20

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rary perspective on the material, to breathe new life into old favorites, or to offer stories to a new generation. Revivals are often shows that “deserve a new look,” because the show suddenly has a new relevance to the current culture that it Soon after Thoroughly Modern Millie opened this past might not have had a spring, the show won the Tony Award for Best Musical. generation ago, explains The producing team behind the show includes co-producer Michael Bush, MA ’79, Stewart Lane and Bonnie Comley, MA ’94. who now leads the Charlotte Repertory sometimes the old has to be made new Theatre in North Carolina. Consider the again. For example, the big-budget Thorcultural echo of Oklahoma!’s return — as oughly Modern Millie, based on the 1967 a writer from the New York Times puts it movie about a flapper coming of age in — “We are again at war, against the same the Roaring Twenties, boasts a dozen kind of enemy as in 1943: solipsistic, new original songs. Lane and Comley invastly intolerant and gunning to restore fused the story with “a strong sense of Stone Age values. Oklahoma! reminds us style and theatricality.” “We’re not trywhy we fight. It’s about the people, the ing to recreate the movie on stage,” exland.” plains two-time Tony Award winner Lane. Some revivals represent “timeless, Their strategy paid off when the show universal” work, says Bush. Theater prowon the Tony for Best Musical. Even fessionals and audiences alike can’t help Oklahoma!, the granddaddy of the modbut be attracted to a “work that is alern American musical, needed something ready revered,” he explains. “We don’t do new: what’s being billed as a more marevivals of bad shows,” laughs Bush, who ture and “much darker” production. worked for 11 years as associate artistic Revivals also offer a chance for thedirector at the Manhattan Theatre Club, ater artists to take a fresh, contempowhere he spent a quarter-century influ-

“I lose money every time I direct,” says director Bensussen. “By and large, I pay babysitters more than I get paid to direct.” When Bensussen directed a production of All in the Timing, by David Ives, at Primary Stages (Off-Broadway), she was paid a mere $2,000 for six weeks of on-site work and three to four months of pre-production work such as design meetings and casting. Actors often share this experience (see accompanying article). And yet even with such prospects, “The talent is there and it’s very exciting when you see fresh, talented people,” says Charles Rosen ’68, president of New York City’s Charles Rosen Casting. What’s also encouraging is that the number of college acting programs continues to grow. But actors act simply because they must—“not because they have any illusions that they’re going to ‘make it,’” says Rhea Gaisner, head of the Acting Department at Emerson. Emerson artist-in-residence Sarah Hickler, a performer,

director and movement and improvisation expert, points out that Emerson graduates are “very creative about envisioning their lives in theater.” This may be tied to a general trend Hickler sees: more and more actors are seeking greater control over their careers, leading them to direct, produce or write. Playwright Richardson believes playwrights, directors and actors should, in fact, take control of their art: “Make your own theater—and lo and behold—after 15 years you’ve got a career at some level.” This cross-fertilization is not only a positive step for many young actors, giving them control and a wider base of experience, but it might also be seen as energizing the theater scene in general. FEEDING THE MASSES

Theater professionals roundly agree that new work almost always aims to move from smaller audiences to larger audiences, for example, from regional showplaces to the presti-

Elizabeth Elkins ’89 in Fool for Love at Off-Broadway’s 29th Street Rep. encing the New York theater scene. The revival, with its proven track record, can also “provide an opportunity to train the next generation of theater artists with the most challenging works,” explains Grafton Nunes, Emerson’s Dean of the School of the Arts and former supervisor of Columbia University’s theater producing and management track. The current popularity of revivals and adaptations is not entirely surprising given the tumultuous economy and the general post-9/11 desire to “embrace the recognizable,” as Variety puts it. Those behind and starring in revivals say the shows offer audiences comfort and safety — in other words, little risk and the

MICHAEL LEPOER TRENCH

Andrea Martin ’69 plays Aunt Eller in the Broadway musical Oklahoma!

knowledge the show will meet certain expectations. For producers the revival also means less financial risk. Speaking of the recognizable, producer Lane notes that much of the material being used on Broadway can be traced back to the culture of the ’60s and early ’70s — a trend he believes may be tied to the “graying of America.” The trend can be seen in shows like mega-hit Mamma Mia! (based on ABBA’s hit music), say Lane and Comley. “There’s a certain comfort we get from familiar music,” for example, says Lane. These ideas help explain why revivals are booming, why producers see success in the old, and why audiences flock to the “new” old productions. But what do actors see? Tony Award winner Andrea Martin ’69, who plays Aunt Eller in Oklahoma!, says she was determined to be a part of the reconceptualized production, even enduring an audition process that stretched out over nearly four months. Aunt Eller is the “voice of wisdom,” a pivotal part in this new production, Martin reports. Due to the popular appeal the show has enjoyed as a classic of the American musical theater, Martin also relishes the opportunity to “reach as many people as I do nightly.” Even the Off-Broadway playhouses that usually seek out new work can be

found staging a revival here and there. At the 29th Street Rep, Elizabeth Elkins ’89 is starring in this year’s revival of Sam Shepard’s Fool For Love, about former lovers who reunite at a seedy motel at the edge of the Mojave Desert. For Elkins, the show offered exactly what she looks for: a role that was “enticing, intense, with a great emotional range.” While Elkins is most often attracted to new work, many actors look to revivals for that role they’ve always wanted to play. Sometimes, however, even the power of the familiar begins to wheeze and sputter. Just as the revival business is booming, the theater world also witnessed the end of an era. In January 2002 the longest running musical in history, The Fantasticks, closed after 42 years. And yet, even now, perhaps somewhere a young producer or director is awaiting her turn to make it new again. SPRING 2002 EXPRESSION

gious houses of New York City. And Broadway, to be specific, is the dream destination for many shows. “Broadway is the center of American theater, the hub, the Valhalla, it is the place where all shows want to travel,” says two-time Tony Award-winning producer Stewart Lane. Even so, new work faces a daunting path as it creeps closer and closer to the Great White Way—because Broadway, with its big-budget shows and fickle audiences, faces its own obstacles, a fact evidenced by the surge in revivals on Broadway (see accompanying article). And yet where there’s a will— and deep pockets—there’s a way. “How do you make a small fortune in the theater? Start with a large one,” quips Lane, quoting the running joke on Broadway. Producer Lane and wife Bonnie Comley, MA ’94, are part of the team behind the new Tony-winning Broadway musical Thoroughly Modern Millie. Multi-million-dollar shows like Millie not only require major launch capital, but they can cost up to half a million dollars a week to keep them running, explain Lane and Comley. “If you don’t sell tickets, you’re in trouble,” Comley adds. In addition to the cost of rent, checks must be cut for advertising, box office and house personnel, and, of course, talent. Even with positive reviews, a show can prove too expensive to keep open, the producers explain. “Broadway as a business should have folded years ago, but there are a lot of people who think there should be Broadway theater,” Comley says. Charlotte Rep’s Bush agrees, adding, “There are still adventurous producers out there who produce plays because they believe in them.” For Bush, this is a clear sign of “an incredibly healthy industry.” Theater visionaries are often those who don’t expect any commercial rewards, but rather they support work they view as important. Bush speaks from experience: he and his colleagues at the Manhattan Theatre Club first produced the Pulitzer Prizewinning play Proof, now en route to becoming one of the most successful shows produced on Broadway, he says. They championed the new play (by David Auburn) “because we believed in it artistically.” Casting director Rosen agrees. He worked on The Last Session, because “at that time there were no musicals about AIDS and that [issue] was very important to me.” The show was produced in 1997 at New York City’s off-off-Broadway Currican Theatre and later moved to OffBroadway’s 47th Street Theatre. The attention both to artistic goals and personal vision is perhaps what keeps Broadway’s riches from drying up, despite the risks. “Broadway’s making more money than it ever did,” claims Bush. In late spring 2002, tallies showed a weekly gross total of more than $15 million, for example, and in March 2002 a weekly gross of $12.2 million registered at an incredible 16 percent increase over that same week last year. At that time, despite the post-9/11 economic slump all of Broadway’s theaters, except one, had been booked. Most signs point to an American theater scene that miraculously insists on marching forward, whatever the obstacles. Its vitality may lie in a potent mix of new work and venerable tradition, giving audiences the excitement, challenge and entertainment they have come to expect from live theater. n 22

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THE ACTOR’S LOT

The trials and tribulations of life as a working thespian Years of “cattle calls,” weeks of callbacks, an interminable list of odd jobs to pay the bills — this is the real life many actors experience. “Paying your dues” is a veritable rite of passage for actors. “Talent rarely has much to do with who succeeds in this business,” says Brad Lemack ’77, author of The Business of Acting (Ingenuity Press, 2002). For an actor who wants to get ahead, “career-building skills trump talent,” he says. A typical route for the young theatrical actor might include summer stock, regional theater, a move to New York City, the search for an agent, and perhaps, some day, the big Broadway break. Of course, most never make it that far, and instead slowly scale a daunting ladder. Working actors seem to agree everyone should set their own realistic goals and avoid rigid timelines for success. Nathan Gehan’s recipe: put ego aside and pursue a career “full force and you’ll get somewhere.” Gehan ’99 appeared in the pre-Broadway production of Moby Dick at the New Repertory Theatre in Greater Boston before he moved to New York, where’s he’s always in search of the next gig. “You have to be open to every experience,” says Nicole Johndrow ’99, who is currently part of the North American tour of Cats. Johndrow says touring can mean “your whole life is in two suitcases,” but, for her, the experience is well worth it. Lemack, who teaches the Business of Acting and other courses at Emerson’s Los Angeles Center, urges a budding thespian to think of him- or herself as a business, which means creating a business plan. Equity actor Deb Martin ’95 agrees: “You need to know as much about the business as an investor knows about where his money is going.” Actor’s Equity is the union of American theatrical actors and stage managers. While being business-savvy is a must, Lemack adds that actors shouldn’t focus on finding representation — a manager or an agent — too early in their career but instead should build their résumés with acting classes, TV commercials, and as many acting gigs as possible. Jeffry Gray ’95, a New York City actor-turned-Broadway-event-planner, agrees that everyday life for actors is intertwined with the work of becoming a professional thespian: “You spend 95% of your time pursuing work and maybe 5% actually performing.” For Heather Brown ’92, who appeared in 1998 in The Life on Broadway, “One hundred percent of my time was dedicated to the business.” Brown worked three part-time jobs while “juggling all of them to allow me to be free for audi-

David Beris ’80

is as important for an actor as it is tions,” she says. Balele Shoka ’99 for an Olympic athlete. She’s curShe’s now pursuing a rently studying with David Mamet’s speech pathology graduate Atlantic Theater Company in an “indegree while acting occaNIcole Johndrow ’99 tense” two-year prosionally in commercials and fessional program. corporate films. Voice lessons are A big chunk of pursuing important as well, acwork is auditioning, of tors say, even for course, which can be “a non-musical theater whole other life,” says performers. At one Gehan. Actors must stand in point, Gray was takline for entire mornings for Deb Martin ’95 ing lessons every two an audition that might take weeks, which cost two minutes, for exfrom $40 to $100 for ample. This can a 50-minute session. mean lots of frusHeather Brown ’92 And the vocal cords tration, says aren’t the only thing that need a workout. Johndrow insists Johndrow. “You get that staying healthy is essential. Physically demanding one shot — to sing roles means it’s daily workouts or else risk “just dying on maybe 16 bars of stage.” music” before they “The harshest reality I learned about the business is call “Next!” that good looks sell tickets,” declares Gray. Charles Rosen, Of course, finding gainful employment is a must for ac’68 president of tors. According to Actor’s Equity statistics, fewer than 15 Charles Rosen Castpercent of its dues-paying members actually worked during ing in New York City, any given week during 2000. Mid-range earnings for profesurges young actors Jeffry Gray ’95 sional actors in 2000 was less than $10,000. Off-Broadway to view an audition actors receive salaries that are half that much or less. “not as an event” but as a “multi-layered process: Listen Gainful employment in between gigs is a must, too. Beris and react to what the director, producer or casting director suggests that non-acting theater jobs — he’s often busy as is asking.” a stage manager — keep him afloat between acting gigs but A bevy of other tasks keeps an actor busy. Every day also greatly increase his networking options. For former acBalele Shoka ’99 reads magazines such as Variety, Daily Variety-Gotham and Backstage East, as well as surfs webtor Gray, income came from “a combination of performing sites like Playbill.com. Gray adds, “Backstage is vital begigs, survival jobs and odd jobs that most people wouldn’t cause it lists most of the open and Equity casting calls” and dream existed.” He was once even paid to laugh and apAmerican Theatre is the place to learn about the regional plaud, with the hopes that others would join in, at a failing theater scene, says Martin. David Beris ’80, an Equity actor Broadway show. for 17 years, checks the Equity online casting bulletin board The rejection, dearth of work and long hours lead many several times a day. to leave the business. So what fuels the staying power of And actors get nowhere without a professional headshot those who tread on? Passion. For 14-year veteran Elizabeth and résumé. The headshot is “the first and sometimes only Elkins ’89 (currently starring Off-Broadway in Sam Shepimpression you’ll get to make on a casting director” so pay ard’s Fool for Love at the 29th Street Rep), the acting life for a high-quality shot, Gray suggests. is like “an addiction — it keeps us going. I’ve been giving this Shoka also trains with special classes, as do most acup for the past 10 years, and then something always haptors, whenever he’s able. His classes vary from improvisapens to draw me back in.” tion to yoga to scene study. Martin says constant training —C.H. SPRING 2002 EXPRESSION

alumni digest Meet your Reps! New officers elected to Alumni Association’s Exec Committee this june, six new officers will take their places on the Executive Committee of Emerson’s Alumni Association Board of Directors. They bring diverse work and life experiences to their new roles and have crafted careers that reflect skills honed at Emerson. Like all Board members, the Executive Committee serves in a volunteer capacity. Anyone who has spent two years or more studying at Emerson College is part of the Alumni Association, which currently boasts some 18,000 alumni/members. The new officers are as follows:

ROBERT FRIEND ’79, TREASURER

obert currently serves as executive director of Young Audiences of Connecticut, one of 35 state chapters of Young Audiences Inc., the largest non-profit, educational arts organization in the country. He is also founder/president of Strategic Entertainment Group, a media, marketing, sales and technology solutions consulting firm for the performing arts, and an adjunct lecturer at the Brooklyn College Department of Theatre’s Graduate Arts Management Program. Earlier in his career, Robert led marketing and sales initiatives at two nationally renowned regional theaters, La Jolla Playhouse in La Jolla, Calif., and Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, and served as vice president of sales/marketing for HILL Arts & Entertainment Systems, now Tickets.com. As director of institutional advancement

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for the Garde Arts Center—a newly restored 1926 movie palace in New London, Conn.—he helped increase the organization’s presence in the community and enhanced its annual fundraising activities by more than 25%.

SANDRA GOLDFARB ’78, PRESIDENT

andi established an independent consulting practice in 1996 following her 13-year tenure as head of communications at New England Aquarium. She provides marketing, strategic planning, media relations and writing/editing services to corporate and non-profit clients, including Boston’s Museum of Science, the National Park Service, Weller/Grossman Productions and Zipcar, an innovative car-sharing firm she helped launch in June 2000. During the early 1980s, Sandi created media relations campaigns, public affairs programs and

special events for advertising agency Arnold Worldwide. Other experience includes work with Robert Landau Associates—a New York-based marketing firm—for clients such as Burger King and Miller Beer, and managing media and community relations for the Office for Children, a state advocacy agency. From 1994 through 1997 Sandi chaired the Boston Advertising Club’s Foundation Advisory Board Communications Committee.

GARY GROSSMAN ’70, PAST PRESIDENT

any remember Gary as a popular faculty member during the mid-1970s. The author of two books on television history, Gary has produced prime-time specials and series for all the major broadcast networks. His nine-year-old firm, Weller/ Grossman Productions, is the leader in reality, service, informa-

alumni digest

tional, documentary and entertainment television, with the production of more than 4,300 shows. Networks airing W/G programming include NBC, Food Network, A&E, The History Channel, HGTV, USA Network, Sci Fi Channel, Discovery, Discovery Health, TLC, The National Geographic Channel, Fine Living, ESPN, Court TV, The History Channel International, Biography Channel and DIY. Their work has garnered virtually every important honor in the television industry, including the coveted Governor’s Emmy Award.

PETER LOGE ’87, VICE PRESIDENT

s director of the Campaign for Criminal Justice Reform at The Justice Project, Peter is working for death penalty and criminal justice reform at the federal and state levels. Peter has worked in both the House and Senate, most notably as deputy to the chief of staff for Sen. Edward Kennedy and chief of staff for Rep. Brad Sherman. His career has included stints with the Concord Coalition, as well as work as a reporter and a political consultant. Peter was on the faculty of Clemson University and has taught and lectured at numerous colleges and universities around the country. He has published and presented scholarly papers in several academic disciplines, is an award-winning artist, an occasional political satirist on National Public Radio, an advisor to the U.S. Soccer Foundation and is president of the Board of Directors for the DC SCORES, an after-school soccer and literacy program in Washington.

GLENN MEEHAN ’83, REPRESENTATIVE TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

lenn is the co-creator of Paramount Television’s Hot Ticket, a weekly movie review program starring renowned film critic Leonard Maltin. Hot Ticket is seen in 190 markets throughout the country and has been renewed for a second sea-

son. Before spending two years as a development executive at Paramount, Glenn was managing editor for Entertainment Tonight. He joined the top entertainment/news magazine soon after graduation and served as a segment producer on ET for five years. Glenn’s career also includes the world of talk shows, where he helped launch the NBC cable network, “America’s Talking” (now MSNBC). He also worked as senior producer for successful CNBC prime-time talk shows, overseeing Rivera Live, Grodin and America After Hours. Meehan currently lives in Los Angeles, where he has launched his own production company, Marble Faun Entertainment. While at Emerson, Glenn and fellow Alum Martie Cook created the EVVY Awards, which just marked its 21st anniversary.

SYBIL TONKONOGY ’58, SECRETARY

or a quarter-century, Sybil has been one of the most highly regarded communications consultants in the Boston area. Her work focuses on interpersonal communications, presentation skills, voice and articulation and media training for corporate and private clients, including Fidelity Investments, Pilgrim Healthcare and the Girl Scouts of America. She has appeared before a wide range of organizations, including the Publicity Club of Boston, the Cambridge Adult Education Board and Toastmasters Association Inc. Sybil is known to a loyal radio audience as host of “1550 Today,” which is broadcast on WNTN, a Newton, Mass.-based station. Her show features talks with authors, lively discussions of the Boston arts and entertainment scene, examinations of health and lifestyle issues, restaurant reviews and current events. She has interviewed national political figures such as President Jimmy Carter and wellknown entertainers such as Eartha Kitt. In addition to her work with the Alumni Board, Sybil served as president of the New England Alumni Club Chapter for four years.

A letter from your president Dear Fellow Alumni/ae, I want to tell you a few more things about the new Executive Committee members that can’t be found in their official biographies. In addition to his expertise in the arts, entertainment and technology, Robert Friend brings a keen intellect and tremendous insight to the board. He is hard working, energetic and a true collaborator. As an Emerson graduate, former faculty member and active alum, Gary Grossman offers a unique perspective. His warm, open manner and creative approach to problem solving make him a valuable resource to students, graduates and faculty alike. Peter Loge freely shares his experience as a teacher, his political savvy and his sense of humor. And since, as he constantly reminds me, he is much closer in age to current students than I, he possesses a real understanding of the demands of campus life. Glenn Meehan is one of Emerson’s most dedicated ambassadors, with a genuine interest in student productions. His willingness to mentor students and assist those new to the job market exemplifies the way that Board members can make a real difference. Sybil Tonkonogy’s commitment to Emerson and the Alumni Board is unparalleled. Her common-sense approach keeps us all in line, while her enthusiasm for the College, its faculty, students and programs keeps us focused. I look forward to serving you in the coming years in the company of this fine group. Sandi Goldfarb ‘78

SPRING 2002

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alumni digest

Los Angeles “AWAY IN L.A.” WEEKEND Many exciting alumni events were held in Los Angeles in March, including the second annual juried student film program, the Festival of Film; the dedication of a new, 42-foot-long exterior sign at the Los Angeles Center; and a visit to the set of the hit television show Friends, where co-producer Kevin Bright ’76 met with the visiting alums.

Mike Doto ’97, Iris Dubinsky ’98, Tara Etienne ’02 and Azeem Robinson ’98 at the L.A. festival.

SIGN DEDICATION Attending a reception to celebrate the dedication were (from left): President Jacqueline Liebergott, Lisa Sanders Harwin ’74 and College Trustee Marillyn Zacharis.

Among those who attended the film festival were (from left): Aaron Barrocas ’00, Bethel Nathan ’00, Daniel Gutierrez ’00, Erika Giomnez ’99 and Jon Gursha ’01.

The student filmmakers are joined by Jim Lane, executive director of the Los Angeles Center. Top row (from left): Jim Lane, Stu Silverman ’99, Fouad Mahfuz ’00; seated: Eric Torvi ’98, Elza Kephart ’98, Andrew van den Houton ’02, producer Antti Rantanen ’01 and actress Medina Mahfuz ’01.

Grafton Nunes, Dean of Emerson’s School of the Arts; Kate Boutilier ’81; and Amy Sullivan Berkeley, of the College’s Office of Institutional Advancement, at the festival.

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alumni digest

On the ‘Friends’ Set

Alums and others gather on the set of Friends, where co-producer Kevin Bright ’76 spoke to the group about the creation and production of the hit show.

New York

A panel of young alumni returned to campus for “Where Are They Now,” an event in which they spoke about how Emerson helped them get to where they are today. From left, Hadley Klein ’05, Sara Jane Keskula ’03 and Katie McGrath ’03 join panelist Mary Ann Cicala ’99 at “Where Are They Now.” Other panelists were: Travis Small ’97, marketing communications specialist with Hosting.com; Jared Bowen ’98, field producer for Greater Boston; Jason Kelliher ’98, human resources manager at Structure; Mary Ann Cicala ’99, community arts administrator for the Cambridge Arts Council; and Danielle Reddy ’00, a firstyear law student at Suffolk Law School.

This spring saw a special New York event for alumni. A private reception was held following a performance of Tony-winning Thoroughly Modern Millie, with co-producer Stewart Lane along with Bonnie Comley, MA 94. Alumni and College officials had an opportunity to mix with the producers and cast of the show.

A N I TA S H E V E T T

Boston

The New York chapter of the Alumni Association elected new officers and board members this past winter. They are (standing, from left): Tripp Whetsell ’94, Elaine Kessler ’69, Peter Mones ’83, Frank Gelman (VP) ’79, Lee Addiss ’46; Jon Satriale (president) ’94 and Guy Helson ’94; (front, kneeling): Cynthia Crane ’57 and Jane Greenberg ’79.

Craig Smith ’82 and Barbara Segal Rutberg ’68, director of Alumni Relations for the College, on the set of Friends.

class notes Expression welcomes Class Notes submissions. We reserve the right to edit copy and regret that we may have to withhold some items due to space limitations. Send news items and nonreturnable photos to Barbara Rutberg, Office of Alumni Relations, 120 Boylston St., Boston, MA 021164624 or e-mail Barbara_ Rutberg@emerson.edu. Please include information on how we can contact you.

1953 50th Reunion

and his wife, Shirley, recently appeared on the big screen. They answered a casting call for extras to be in crowd scenes in the film Ocean’s 11. It was a long wait to find out if they “made it past the cutting room floor.” Tim and Shirley spotted themselves in a brief scene at the racetrack, sharing the screen with Brad Pitt and Carl Reiner. TIM LANGENHAHN

1956 Actress MIMI COZZENS ’56 appeared in a production of The

Last of Mrs. Lincoln in summer 2001 at the El Portal Center for the Arts in North Hollywood. She appeared with DOROTHY CONSTANTINE ’59.

1957 DEMETRA DALAPAS TIMS and her husband have been asked to serve on the committee for the 2002 Universal Round Dance Council, a major national dance convention to be held in Joplin, Mo. They participate in many dance events around the country. Demetra is a retired schoolteacher, a master certified handwriting analyst, a member of Sweet Adelines International, currently singing in the Tucson Goodtime Chorus and in a barbershop quartet, Options.

1961 retired after 30 years as director of audiology at Ear, Nose and Throat Associates in Norristown, Pa. She moved to Cape May, N.J., and plans to provide clinical services and consultation to ear, nose and throat practices in South Jersey. She also plans to take long walks on

ROBERTA (BINDER) AUNGST

the beach and catch up on reading and needlework. PHILIP A. WEINER, president of Weiner Broadcasting Inc., was recently recognized by Radio Ink, a national radio industry magazine, as one of the “Five Best Small-Market Operators” in the United States and Canada. Weiner Broadcasting owns WUPE-FM and WUHN-AM radio of Pittsfield, Mass. Both stations were chosen two years in succession as the “Massachusetts Radio Stations of the Year” by the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association.

1963 40th Reunion

is a nature writer, nature science educator and speech and language specialist. Her most recent children’s book is Backyard Pets: Activities for Exploring Wildlife Close to Home (John Wiley and Sons). She has authored many other children’s books, including The Truth About Sharks, The Giant Panda and The Adventures of a Tarantula (all in Barron’s “Young Readers Series”). CAROL AMATO

ROBERTA LYONS KONEN ’56 has been involved in theater for the past 25 years. She is currently directing Rumors for a community theater group in Green Valley, Ariz. Before that, she directed and appeared in a dinner theater presentation of Bermuda Avenue Triangle. In November, she and her husband, who designs and builds all of her sets, will be traveling to their old hometown of Fort Walton Beach, Fla. They have been hired to do a dinner theater presentation and will get to work with cast and crew they used to work with when they had their own traveling theater company.

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RHONDA BRISCOEFAULKNER ’75 recently received a doctor of audiology degree from the University of Florida.

1969 ELLEN (RESNIKOFF) CARR’s daughter was married in August 2001, with many Emerson alums attending. RANDY (KALIKOW) KETIVE was named Realtor of the Year 2002 for the entire state of New Jersey. She was chosen from among 80,000 licensees in the state. Her company, Classic Realty Group, has offices in Fort Lee, Englewood and Tenafly, N.J.

1970 New York University’s Bobst Library has just purchased an archival collection from MARK HALL AMITIN documenting 35 years of his work in theater and film for its research collection. A ceremony is planned for fall 2002. Earlier archives were purchased by and are housed at the Shields Library at University of California, Davis.

1972 A documentary produced by BARRY SCHNEIER was aired nationally on PBS this spring. Stonewalk tells the story of a group of individuals who in

class notes

1999 advocated for a memorial to be placed in Arlington National Cemetery for civilian casualties of all wars. In order to get their message across, they had a one-ton memorial stone inscribed with “Unknown Civilians Killed in War” and walked it 500 miles over 33 days from Massachusetts to Washington, D.C. Schneier has set up a small independent film company, Progressive Productions, for the purpose of making films on peace and social justice.

1973 30th Reunion ALAN SHILLER is the recipient of this year’s Excellence in Teaching award for Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville. Alan feels “honored and humbled to be chosen for this award. It all goes back to the wonderful foundation I received at Emerson.”

1975 and his wife, Serin, and dog, Spikey, recently moved back to Hong Kong, where he is in charge of information technology for Warner Bros. film, home video, TV and consumer products divisions STEVE SCHECHTER

throughout the Asia Pacific region. He is very happy to be back in Asia and putting his skills to work at an entertainment company, “the best one in the world.” Emerson friends passing through can reach him at steve. schechter@warnerbros.com. SALLY

DHRUVA’

LAURA (CERVONE) MCDOWELL ’90 was married to Matthew McDowell on July 21, 2001. They met during a community theater production of The Music Man for Weston Friendly Society. The wedding took place in Andover, Mass. Bridesmaids in attendance included Emersonians NICOLE MARQUIS ’90, SAMANTHA (RUTHERFORD) SULLIVAN ’89 and JENNIFER (JONES) ROONEY ’89. Laura is currently manager of media relations and company spokesperson for the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls stores nationwide.

graduated in 2001 from West Virginia University with her Ed.D. in curriculum and instruction, with emphases in creative arts and gifted and early childhood education. Her dissertation was on “Portraits of the Songwriting Process in Elementary Classrooms.” She is a faculty member at Frostburg State University in Maryland. Sally is also a singer-songwriter. She would love to hear from Emersonians of her era: sstephenson @frostburg. edu. STEPHENSON

1 976 The Boston/New England chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences presented AT&T 3’s

JOHN AHLIN, former Emerson faculty member and counselor for men (pictured), with wife MARJORIE WHITING ’58, was honored during his recent 80th birthday celebration in Machias, Maine. Emerson Professor HENRY STONIE and his wife, MARY JO STONIE ’60, attended the party.

weekly entertainment magazine Chowdah with an Emmy Award at its 25th Annual Boston/New England Emmy Awards. Co-produced by MADELINE YUSNA, who is AT&T 3’s manager and executive producer of entertainment, the show captures the sights and sounds of New England.

1977 JOHN GLYNN’s publication, Com-

mentary and Reference Survey: a guide to the most important commentaries, references and monographs on the Bible, will be published this August by Kregel Publications (Grand Rapids, Mich.), one of the country’s leading religious publishing houses. John would like to thank his former Emerson instructor Jean Kilbourne for inspiring him to pursue his writing career.

1978 25th Reunion STEPHEN FARRELL appeared

in a production of South Pacific in February at the Camille Lightner Playhouse in Brownsville, Texas.

1980

eighth year as a freelance writer and marketing consultant to software and technology companies across North America. He has helped companies such as Getronics, MatrixOne, PictureTel, SolidWorks and Surfware with the development of marketing materials. Jim is a member of the Society of Professional Consultants.

1982 JULIA HINDEN BARDEN is a spokesperson for AT&T Broadband, and is currently navigat-

ERIC ALEXANDER ’78 was recently named chief operating officer of Wall Street Access, a New York Stock Exchange Member firm offering services to institutions and retail investors.

JIM PANAGAS recently began his

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ing her way through the upcoming merger with Comcast. She is also raising three “hopefully” Emerson-bound sons, ages 7, 12 and 16. She continues her advocacy work on behalf of her Latino brethren and recently hosted Virginia’s governor in her home for a Hispanic community reception. LISA JOY BURICK is the proud new mother of Alexander. She is hoping to see everyone at the next big reunion. IRIS

GREENBERG

SOLOMON

married Emerson sweetheart Ron Solomon and they started their own company, Swingset Press, which publishes diaries, phone directories and other products for children and pets. They have two “energetic and charismatic” sons, Jacob and Ethan, ages 10 and 7.

band, Peter Majewski, are thrilled to announce the birth of their daughter, Grace, on Feb. 22, 2001. All three are enjoying living in Los Angeles. RACHELLE

ROMBERG

TUBER

and her husband, Douglas Tuber, welcomed their first child, a son, Max Tuber, on Feb. 10, 2002.

1988 15th Reunion

now has a daughter, Grace Carolyne. RENEE KLUCZNIK

1989 of Hopkinton, Mass., gave birth to twin boys, Paul Jr. and Patrick. She works at Concord Communications as a senior software technical writer producing user documentation.

DIANNE WEISS

1984

1990

gave birth to her second child, Julia Elena, on June 23, 2001.

BERT

After graduating, WILLIAM LAMlived and worked as an English teacher in Budapest. He then received his master’s degree in English literature 1987 from the Claremont Graduate KIRSTEN CARBONE and her husSchool. After that, he joined BRENDA BRIEN ’90 attended the Peace Corps, the inauguration ceremony of the spending two new president of Roger Williams years in Poland University in Bristol, R.I., in fall and another two 2001 as representative of Emerson in Madagascar. College in place of President Since returning Jacqueline Liebergott. Brien works to the U.S. he for Hodess Building Co. in North has been pursuAttleborough, Mass., as production ing his Ph.D. in coordinator and serves as a memcomparative edber-at-large ucation at Coon the lumbia UniverExecutive sity. In June Board of the 2001 he marEmerson ried Cheryl deCollege Jong and has Alumni New since changed England his last name to Chapter. deJong-Lambert. CAROL KAMERSCHEN

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MOLLY BECK ‘94 and JAMES C. FERGUSON ‘93 were married on Dec. 31, 2001, in Oxnard, Calif. Their wedding was an alumni-studded event, including the father of the bride, PAUL R. BECK ’69; the brother of the bride, JOEL BECK ‘98; readers DREW DAYWALT ‘93 and MARICHELLE (INONOG) DAYWALT ‘93; and ushers PAUL HUNGERFORD ‘93, BRANDON KRUSE ‘93, and TIM STEPICH ‘87. In true Emersonian fashion, Molly and James asked friends and family to put on an “after-dinner show,” which included alumni DAVID SCHNEIDER ‘92, JASON DOBIN ‘93, DAN O’BRIEN ‘95, Paul Beck, Joel Beck, JOHN CRYE ‘93, Paul Hungerford, Brandon Kruse, MIKE D’ALONZO ’93, DEB MARTIN ‘95 and Molly and James. Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson are residing in North Hollywood and can be reached at james_and_molly@hotmail.com.

1991 is teaching fifth grade in Arlington, Mass. Her husband, MICHAEL ’91, teaches third grade in Medford, Mass. CHRISTOPHER BIGELOW is using his Emerson College education to help spice up the Mormon culture. Inspired by The Onion, he started a satirical Mormon news website called The Sugar Beet, which has logged nearly 10,000 unique hits. He also publishes an alternative Mormon literary quarterly called Irreantum, a printed magazine with a circulation of 500. He works as a marketing copywriter for a multinational nutrition company and lives with his wife, Ann, and three children in Provo, Utah. ELLEN STONE is working toward elementary schoolteacher certification at Bridgewater State College in the post-baccalaureate professional education program. Meanwhile, she MARIA AMATO

performed in an original comedy called The MOMologues at the ICA Theatre in Boston last spring.

1992 BARBARA SIROIS DOYLE and

husband Alex of Lee, N.H., have had their first child, a son, Finn deVeer, on March 7, 2002. Prior to Finn’s birth, Barbara was an educational program coordinator for the President’s Commissions on the Status of Women, the Status of People of Color and GLBT Issues at the University of New Hampshire. Barbara was awarded the President’s Award of Excellence for outstanding dedication and service to the university community in 2001. TIM GOOD has accepted a new position as assistant professor in the Theater Program at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind. Last October, Tim’s wife, Caroline, gave birth to Charlie, who was warmly wel-

class notes

1993 10th Reunion MARINA (FULLER) GIORDANO gave

birth to a second child, Antonio David Giordano, on Jan. 8, 2002. Marina also won a New England Emmy Award in 2001 for Live Directing. ANDREW MILLER and his wife, Donna, had their first child, Matthew, in February 2001. Andrew is a copywriter at J. Walter Thompson in New York. He can be reached at andrew.miller@jwtworks.com. JEFF MULQUEEN and his band The Naked Sams recently won Best Rock and Roll Band in the first annual Altar Native’s Worldwide Music Awards. The band competed in the category against bands from New York City, Los Angeles and London. CHRISTOPHER SMALLEY, MA, completed his first featurelength screenplay, Diversionary Tactics, and will be submitting it to the Austin and the Sundance screenplay festivals in mid-2002. He also finished

voice-over work on a soon-tobe-released documentary CityLab Academy and is writing a short screenplay for an Emerson graduate student film.

1994 NICOLE AMATO is completing her second year at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine. MOLLY BECK and JAMES FERGUSON ’93 were married this past New Year’s Eve in Southern California. There were 35 to 40 Emersonians in attendance. AMI (GOURWITZ) BURNS and her husband CRAIG BURNS ’94 welcomed their second son, Joshua Liam, born at home on Jan. 5, 2002. He joins big brother Justin Ryan, 3 years old. Ami left her full-time position as associate producer for the PBS television series ZOOM to spend more time with her boys and focus on her business Birth Talk. Birth Talk offers independent childbirth classes, choices in childbirth workshops and birth doula services throughout the Boston area.

BILL FIALA ‘95 and TIBOR SZAKALY ‘86 entered their work in the Boston Underground Film Festival. Nougat is an animated short film that utilizes the voice talents of other Emerson graduates. Nougat was the runner-up winner in the “Best Animation” category. Nougat also screened in March at the South By Southwest Festival, Austin, Texas, where it tied for “Best Midnight Short.” RICIA CHANSKY, MA, professor at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., is co-author of the 3rd edition of the Newcomer’s Handbook for Washington, D.C. The book includes more than 200 pages of advice, including information on finding a home, choosing schools and child care, and getting around the area.

1995 BRIDGET CONNOLE WEST and husband KEN WEST ’94 announce the birth of their first child, Emma Anne West, on March 11, 2001. Ken just started his

tenth year at WZLX Radio in Boston (100.7 FM), where he works as morning show producer and assistant music director. Bridget has taken a leave of absence from her third-grade teaching job in Shrewsbury, Mass., to be home with Emma. HEATHER MACAYEAL HARDY

gave birth to a baby boy, Zachary, in May 2001. Heather, who lives in Needham, Mass., resigned her position at Thayer Academy to spend her days with Zack. She writes: “Life is very good!” KAREN RUSSELL, MA, of Old Forge, N.Y., gave birth to Caitlin

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. New job? Recently engaged or married? New baby? Moving? Recently ran into an old classmate? Received an award? Let us know. NAME

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

comed by sisters Keri Lynn and Lauren and brother Jonathan. RICHARD PEZZUOLO, assistant professor of communications at Kansas Wesleyan University, has been named chair of the newly formed Department of Communications. As a volunteer and member of the board of directors for Salina, Kans., Community Access Television, he uses the facility to teach students about television production. BELINDA SLOCUMB and Robert Brown welcomed their first baby, Marcus Allan Brown, on July 17, 2001. Belinda is now a stay-at-home mom (a job she really loves) and is working on writing and photography in the “much warmer” climate of Georgia.

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class notes

Rose on June 19, 2001. JEFFREY WAGNER ’95 is getting married in July to Mary Ann Burke. Fellow Emersonian DESTIN RADDER ’96 will be best man. Jeff is currently working as a freelance director of photography and editor and runs a small production company called Galactic Pictures. Look for Jeff’s new short film The Opponent: A Case for Perpetual Motion in the 2003 festivals. KATE WORTHINGTON is engaged to Brian Poitras and will be married in July 2002 in Boston. Friends can reach her at katellen@rcn.com.

1996 MARY KELLY BONE recently received her doctor of audiology degree and now lives in Montgomery, Ala. DAVID RICHWINE of York, Pa., now has a daughter, Lily Jane.

JAY LEIBOWITZ is starring in a Sports Illustrated commercial that’s been receiving heavy airplay on ESPN, TNT, TBS and other outlets. Jay not only starred in the commercial, he also created the concept around the character that he plays, “SI Guy.” Jay is also currently in pre-production for a movie that he wrote and will be directing, producing and co-starring in and he is also at work on a revival of the musical Carnival at the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival. Since his days at WERS, BEN SPARKS moved to New York and landed a job with WNEW. He is currently producer of the nationally syndicated Opie and Anthony Show, aired in 22 markets and locally in Boston on WBCN.

1998

1999 has been promoted to weekend anchor at WBBH in Fort Myers, Fla. OLEN STEINHAUER, MFA, will have his first novel, The Bridge of Sighs, published by St. Martin’s Press in winter 2003.

GLENN JONES

2000 was selected as a corps member of Teach for America, a national service corps that places graduates in two-year teaching positions at disadvantaged schools. She began teaching drama at I.S. 90, a New York City school last September. TIFFANY (CORSO) CONLON married Joseph Conlon on July 14, 2001. She is director of alumni relations at Bishop Feehan High School in Attleborough, Mass. ROB HUNTER is working at ANNA BARBER

RODNEY SNELL ’97 is the new student activities coordinator at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, N.J.

WSKY-FM, where he produces the morning talk show The Bob Rose Show and hosts his own weekend sports show called Big Time Sports. He lives in Gainesville, Fla.

5th Reunion

1997

MICHELE DEXTER just completed

PETE ALPERN is working as a sports reporter for The Dickinson Press in Dickinson, N.D., where he covers local prep and college sports. He also writes a regular column. Friends can reach him at palpern@thedickinsonpress.com. BROOKE KAPLAN ’97 recently moved to Las Vegas to accept an American Sign Language interpreting position with a private agency. She would love to hear from classmates and any other Emersonians that may be in the area. Her e-mail is BJKOPHELIA@aol.com.

her master’s at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. SKIP PERHAM is a vice president at Clarke & Company, New England’s largest independent public relations firm. He previously worked at Jackson & Company and joined Clarke after the merger of the two firms. Skip manages public relations activities for the Boston Beer Company, the makers of Samuel Adams Boston Lager, and Sprint PCS in New England. Skip can be reached at sperham@clarkeco.com. Actresses MIMI COZZENS ’56 (right) and DOROTHY CONSTANTINE ’59 appeared in The Last of Mrs. Lincoln in 2001 at the El Portal Center for the Arts in North Hollywood.

EXPRESSION SPRING 2002

IN MEMORIAM 1929 MAE E. BROWN of Indian Orchard, Mass. 1931 MARY BELL HOLTZCLAW of Virginia Beach, Va. 1931 FREDA WINETT of Brookline, Mass. 1932 GERTRUDE GASTON of Mount Pleasant, S.C. 1941 FLORA WING CHAMPLIN of Albion, Maine 1942 LEVI SALONEN of Norwood, Mass. 1944 LEE KLEIN LINTEN of New York City 1951 ANTHONY R. GRASSIA of Winchester, Mass. 1952 ARTHUR DAWSON of Hagerstown, Md. 1957, 1958 (MA) ROBERT SWIFT HANDY of West

Palm Beach, Fla. 1958 KAREN DOW CLAIN of Conway, N.H. 1965 HOWARD RATNER of Framingham, Mass. 1963 CAROLE GALE KADITZ BRUNONE of Tolland,

Conn. 1966 GORDON W. HERBSTER of Onancock, Va. 1966 ARNOLD HOWARD of Cambridge, Mass. 1977 PAMELA BROOKES of Topsfield, Mass. 1977 MELISSA GRAY of Morris Township, N.J. 1984 BEN GOLDEN of New City, New York 1995, MFA GREGORY L. WILLIAMS of Arlington,

Mass. 1995 JASON E. YOUNG of Warwick, R.I.

profiles T U R N I N G S TA R S I N TO S TA R P U P I L S ‘Science Bob’ Pflugfelder ’89 is science teacher to Hollywood’s young elite in him relished The imagine driving to work in a blue Physics of Sound. ambulance-turned-science-lab. Imagine As Science Bob, your place of work is populated with Pflugfelder also has robots, vampires and strangers in colworked with America orful and crazy costumes. Imagine disOnline as a cyber-tutor in secting frogs one minute and watching their “Homework Help” Steven Spielberg direct a film the next. chat rooms, visits schools Welcome to Bob Pflugfelder’s life. to perform special For the past six years, Pflugfelder demonstrations, and has has been science teacher to the stars, his own Website, teaching child actors right on the sets www.Sciencebob.com. of their shows and films. A fan of sciAmong other features, ence since he was just 6 years old, “Scithe site offers directions ence Bob,” as he’s called, has been a for trying experiments at regular on studio sets since his days at home and has ideas and Emerson, where he earned a B.S. in telhelp for science fair projevision production in 1989. So ects, he explains. The site Pflugfelder combined the two passions, receives 1,000 hits a day, and the resulting marriage has turned and kids from all over the into a rewarding caIT’S GRATIFYING TO HEAR A STUDENT ASK world—Seattle to Singapore, reer teaching some DIRECTOR STEVEN SPIELBERG, ‘IS THAT THE Boston to Taiwan—e-mail Sciof the industry’s LAST TAKE? SCIENCE BOB IS HERE.’ ence Bob a few hundred quesbrightest new talent. tions per week. ments with bubbling chemicals. His students have included OscarScience Bob would also like to purPflugfelder’s students also enjoy disnominated Haley Joel Osment (whom sue the “ultimate mix of teaching and secting squid, frogs and crayfish. he taught during the filming of Spieltelevision”—his own science show in Pflugfelder explains that he tailors berg’s A.I.); Jonathan Lipnicki (Jerry the tradition of Bill Nye and Mr. Wizclasses to each student. For example, Maguire), and currently youngsters ard. He’s looking into the idea, but he’s teenage actress Michelle Trachtenberg from TV shows like 7th Heaven, Everystill searching for a producing team (from the hit show Buffy the Vampire body Loves Raymond, Grounded for Life, Once and Again and Malcolm in the Mid- Slayer) is currently learning physics; the with whom he’ll have the right chemistry. dle, where he teaches Emmy-nominated two perform experiments by rolling For now, Pflugfelder is content marbles down ramps, examining the Frankie Muniz. working behind the scenes with his motion of pendulums, and studying Pflugfelder is known for engaging students (he reports he’s never expericentripetal force by swinging weights students with a “dramatic,” hands-on enced the stereotypical spoiled child on a string over her head. teaching style. Even with a mobile lab star). “Child actors tend to be very creWhile at Emerson, Pflugfelder was stocked with fun experiments that ative and like doing hands-on activities, as inquisitive as his own students are serves as a classroom, Science Bob more than typical kids,” he explains. now. “Emerson was like a big, collegeknows kids want excitement. “Can we Happily, his students see science class level sand box,” he quips. The “open” blow something up?” they ask. “So, we as a welcome break from work, and it’s find ways to safely blow things up every atmosphere of the College, where stugratifying, he says, to hear a student ask dents could dabble in many different now and then to keep their interest godirector Steven Spielberg, “Is that the areas, attracted the burgeoning sciening.” His students see science in action last take? Science Bob is here.” tist. He enjoyed classes like Drama as a as they blast off rockets, create giant — Christopher Hennessy Learning Medium but the “science geek” electrical charges, and conduct experiSPRING 2002

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SCENTS OF A WOMAN Sarah Horowitz ’92 creates fragrance ‘fingerprints’ with some art and some science sarah horowitz ’92 is in love—with her unusual vocation. At an oceanside studio in Malibu, Calif., Horowitz meets clients one-onone, and gets to know them by asking a series of carefully planned questions. After 90 minutes and a bit of alchemy, she presents the individual with a bottle of custom-designed perfume. Horowitz’s work has attracted a great deal of attention, resulting in coverage in the national media, including Women’s Wear Daily, Marie Claire, The New York Times, and Rosie. Her company, Creative Scentualization Inc., specializes not only in the creation of custom-designed scents but it also has a product line of 10 pre-blended scents called Perfect Perfumes, and a private label branch, creating small-distribution fragrances to be marketed under labels other than her own. Philosophically speaking, “perfume has always been associated with something higher than yourself,” she says. Scientifically speaking, “your olfactory nerve is directly linked to your limbic system, which holds your memory,” she says. “It’s like a time machine, so when you sniff something, there’s a primal reaction.” So how did a young woman who once had her heart set on acting become a purveyor of fine perfumes? It all started when Horowitz, an Emerson freshman newly arrived from Woodbury, N.Y., decided to venture out and explore the neighborhood. “I was new to Boston, so, of course, I went shopping on Newbury Street,” she recalls. She wandered into a perfume store that was set up “just like an 18thcentury apothecary,” where customers could have perfumes custom blended. “A guy came up to me and said, ‘May I anoint you?’” Instantly, Horowitz knew she’d “fallen in love with perfumery like I’d never loved anything before,” she says. “I missed my next class.” She worked at the perfume store throughout her college career, and at 34

EXPRESSION SPRING 2002

‘TO MAKE A FRAGRANCE THAT REPRESENTS WHO A PERSON IS, YOU NEED TO KNOW THEM: WHAT SCENTS DID YOUR MOTHER WEAR? WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TIME OF DAY?,’ SHE ASKS. the same time began signing up for philosophy and religion courses. Upon graduation, she bought the business with a partner and the pair operated the store for two years. Horowitz sold her half of the business and moved to California to launch her own company. The centerpiece of her work is the “Fragrance Journey,” a session in which she meets with an individual and delves into his or her psyche (“almost like therapy”) in order to create—on the spot—a custom-designed scent. “To make a fragrance that represents who a person is, you need to know them,” she says. Her questions include: “What scents did your mother wear?” “What textures feel best against your skin?” and “What is your favorite time of day?” She wryly admits, “It’s a way to ask those kinds of questions without being a bartender.” As Horowitz uncovers a client’s tastes and emotional landscape, she

pulls bottles from her fragrance organ—a desk-like piece of furniture that holds some 240 oils imported from India, Egypt and Indonesia and other locales. She asks her client to sniff each one, blending essences along the way and moving closer and closer to a final product. At the end of the session, the client leaves with a quarter-ounce bottle, which can last up to a year. The service starts at $295 and refills cost between $25 and $120. Horowitz estimates that she meets with some 200 clients a year and has some 1,800 personalized scents on file. “It’s a labor of love,” she says. Her favorite essences include sandalwood, vanilla and gardenia, as well as euphoric blood orange and exotic bergamot. Horowitz wears her own creations and “feels naked without a scent,” something she hopes many others feel as well. — Rhea Becker

profiles

FA R M E R S ’ F R I E N D Lyn Jarvis ’61 has been the voice of Vermont agriculture for three decades although he hasn’t tended a crop in his life, Lyn Jarvis ’61 knows more about farming than you can shake a stick at. Growing up amid “a couple of” cows and some chickens in rural Andover, Vt., and studying television production as an undergraduate at Emerson College, Jarvis ’61 is producer and co-host of Across the Fence, a home and farm show produced by the University of Vermont Extension that is regarded as the longest-running locally produced telecast in the United States. Jarvis joined the show in 1975, when the program was still being filmed live and in black and white. Today, after nearly three decades and some 7,000 programs, Jarvis is an institution in Vermont television. When he recently announced that he was stepping down in June 2002, the news of his retirement rippled all across the Green Mountain State. “I was getting my hair cut the other day and a woman said to me, ‘I just heard you were retiring,” says Jarvis. “At the Laundromat, someone else came up to me and asked about my retirement.” Across the Fence airs on WCAX-TV, Vermont’s CBS affiliate station, on weekdays at 12:10 p.m. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that life pauses each day for the 16-minute broadcast: according to Nielsen ratings, some 80,000 viewers in the U.S. and Canada watch the program daily. Vermonters have been eating up the show since its debut in 1955. After all, the topics it covers are interesting, useful and positively ‘down-home’, including a visit to the 7th annual Hook Rug Exhibit in Shelburne; easy and economical meals for senior citizens; 4-H camping opportunities; a ‘how-to’ on starting seedlings indoors; and a live telecast of the governor of Vermont tapping a maple tree in Essex Junction. Although the number of farms in Vermont has greatly declined over the

PRODUCER LYN JARVIS IS GREETED BY FANS AT ‘LYN JARVIS DAY’ AT THE VERMONT FARM SHOW HELD EARLIER THIS YEAR years, farming remains a basic part of the show, whether it is “dairy, maple sugaring or backyard gardening,” says Jarvis. And he deeply admires the folks who make their living in agriculture. “In every case, farmers are hospitable and hard-working,” he says. “And people in agriculture have been underappreciated and undervalued. Their lives depend on the weather and the seeds they buy. It’s a difficult life. So it’s a good feeling to work with them and get their stories out.” Jarvis estimates he has visited about a third of the state’s farms over the years. Jarvis himself does get off the farm once in while. He has traveled to Russia and China to work with other agricultural communicators and exchange information. Before his career with Across the Fence, Jarvis was a producer for Vermont Public Television, where he worked on shows like Vermont Daily Almanac and Vermont Cracker Barrel and created specials such as Snowflake Bent-

ley and Home of Calvin Coolidge. Jarvis’ work has been recognized with an agricultural communications award as ‘outstanding communicator in electronic media.’ When he arrived on the Emerson campus as an undergraduate some 40 years ago, Jarvis was “coming from a small rural town. It was a huge adjustment for me. The transition was difficult.” He fondly recalls several of the people who helped ease him into college life: faculty members Kenneth Crannell, “Mrs. Mitchell,” George Quenzel and Stuart Postle. In his retirement Jarvis will be farming a quarter-acre of land in South Hero, Vt., an island community on Lake Champlain. “It’s all weeds, and the neighbors have been complaining.” But, says Jarvis with enthusiasm, “I’m going to clear it and plant fruit trees and perennials,” using all he has learned over the years from his work with the farmers of Vermont. — Rhea Becker SPRING 2002

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my turn

In My Father’s Footsteps Grad student Erika Hahn ’03 follows a career path whose seeds were sown when she was just a child by erika hahn

’m well on my way to a career in documentary television thanks to Emerson College. I see myself on the cutting edge at National Geographic Explorer or The Discovery Channel, visiting far-off lands and bringing back award-winning video to America. Papa would be proud. Although he died 30 years ago, my father lives on in my family. He was a real character, a man of many talents: oceanographer, photographer, cinematographer, science writer, journal editor, world traveler, worldclass yachtsman and teacher. He spent much of his life plying the briny deep of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. Many of his talents live on in me, but it took a long time to figure this out. I graduated from college in the ’80s and spent my twenties wandering aimlessly around Europe and the U.S. Back home, I took assorted jobs just for the money—hardly an existence to crow about at a high school reunion. Now in my thirties, life is starting to take on a new direction. I don’t know if you subscribe to the nature vs. nurture theory, but my father’s ability to look through a camera lens and capture images that still captivate 30 years later is in me. It began clawing its way out five years ago. In 1998 I began to take photos at film festivals. That led to a photographer gig at Imagine magazine in Boston. My love of image-making then led me to take video classes at a public access TV station in the town where I lived. I spent countless hours in the editing suite. When I decided that I wanted a ca36

EXPRESSION SPRING 2002

reer in television production, everyone I met insisted that a master’s degree from Emerson was just the thing I needed. I was admitted to the graduate program, and since the fall of 2001, my classes have trained me not only to make technically superb television, but to understand the theory below the surface. This summer I plan to attend Emerson’s Prague Program, which consists of a month-long stay at the FAMU film school in the Czech Republic. As a Europhile, I can’t wait to discover a more European approach to film and video producing. My aunt told me years ago that she was sure that had my father lived he would have excelled in television. Receiving my Emerson degree is going to allow me to pursue something he was only just beginning to explore. Captur-

ing real life and reproducing it for others to learn from and enjoy is something I love doing, just like my father did before me. So, I’m following in his footsteps. Completing a path he might have tread? Perhaps. I see myself a year from now revealing the wonders of the world via television. Everything in his professional life he did intensely, and I’m proud to say I’m definitely a chip off the old block. Erika Hahn ’03 is a graduate student in visual and media arts at Emerson College studying television production with a concentration in documentary.

Remembering Emerson College For more than a century, Emerson

my life—from a rural Maine upbringing to

College has helped talented young

discovering my communication skills in

people find their voices, broaden their

Boston,” says Charles Rosen ’68, president

horizons and pursue successful

of the Manhattan casting firm that bears his

careers. By including bequests to

name. He and his domestic partner, David

Emerson in their wills, alumni and

Panzer, president of a travel agency in

friends are helping to assure that the

Harrison, N.Y., have designated a portion of

College can continue

their estate to establish a scholarship fund at

its vital mission for

Emerson. “We want to assure that deserving

many years to come.

students who cannot afford to pay tuition will have an opportunity to study at Emerson.”

GARY S. SAGENDORF

’88

“As I prepared my will, I chose to remember

BARNEY T. BISHOP III GARY SAGENDORF

‘73

“I came to Emerson with a

Emerson in a way that

scholarship in forensics,”

was special and lasting—commensurate with

said Barney T. Bishop III

the lasting impression Emerson and the city of

’73, president of The

Boston have had on my life,” said Gary S.

Windsor Group, a public

Sagendorf ’88, a systems administrator at

affairs and government

AT&T Labs in Florham Park, N.J. “I believe in

relations consulting firm in

Emerson’s mission, its alumni and its students.

Tallahassee, Fla. He and his

BARNEY AND SHELBY BISHOP

By making a bequest I can

wife, Shelby Bishop, have

help future students fulfill their

designated a portion of their estate to support

dream of an Emerson

activities associated with debate. “The lessons

education.”

I learned at Emerson gave me the selfconfidence and skills I needed to succeed.

CHARLES ROSEN CHARLES ROSEN (LEFT) AND DAVID PANZER

’68

Forensics is making a comeback at Emerson,

“Emerson was a major

and I want to make sure it continues to

influence in the progression of

flourish.”

For information about planned giving, contact Jeanne Brodeur, Office of Institutional Advancement, Emerson College 120 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02116-4624; (617) 824-8533.

Strike a pose! Dancers at the 21st Annual EVVY Awards create a tableau during one of the showâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dance numbers. The annual event is a high point for the campus, a celebration of the best work, in many disciplines, that students have produced throughout the year.

Emerson College 120 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02116-4624

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