Fall 2016, "Lakesiders take Tinseltown" by Lakeside School

LAKESIDE FALL | WINTER 2016

From directors to producers, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re making movie magic

Lakesiders town take Tinsel

MADE YOU LOOK

tom reese

Getting ready to role: In the dressing room backstage in St. Nick, student actors get ready for the Upper School spring 2016 play, “Almost, Maine,” a romantic comedy described by one critic as “Thornton Wilder crossed with the Twilight Zone.” Drama teacher Alban Dennis, who directed, promoted it as “funny, moving, and family friendly! And a great date night, too!”

STAFF

Your Comments

CORRECTION

What a great series of articles (“Finding Success,” Spring/Summer 2016). I’m a believer in finding time for introspection and accepting life’s messiness and imperfections, and it’s wonderful and validating to hear those messages from Bernie Noe, setting the tone for the school.

“From the Archives: Adams Scholars, Taming ‘The Academic Rat Race’” (Spring/Summer 2014) described the first Adams Scholars, who were allowed “unprecedented freedom from some courses in order to focus on a topic of special interest.” Listed and pictured among them was M.J. (Michael) Mates, who recently wrote to the Lakeside archivist: “My name should be removed from the list. I was invited to be an Adams Scholar and was listed as such in December 1963. I skipped several days of classes before Christmas holiday to ‘hitchhike to Montreal’ with a classmate, ending up in Medicine Hat, Alberta, after the cold got the better of us. We took the train back before Christmas, and after classes resumed in January 1964, I was told that my status as an Adams Scholar had been revoked. Fair enough — they made the rules and I broke them. BTW, Bill Dougall broke the news in person and did so in typical kindly fashion.”

— Lori Pender P’21

I just finished Knute Berger ’72’s article, “Life On Their Own Terms” (Spring/Summer 2016), and I really loved it. Besides the beautiful writing, no surprise but a pleasure all the same, I appreciated his gentle but insistent focus on success other than top grades, top money. I particularly liked Lael Plunkett Atkinson ’80’s quote about being an honorable person. My daughter starts Lakeside in 9th grade this year. I’m hoping she will embrace the good and not get caught up in the race to be perfect. —Debby Bacharach ’84

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—Michael Mates ’64

Michael Mates worked overseas as a teacher and as a U.S. diplomat, and in retirement lives in Monroe where he studies Christian theology and applied horticulture, notes Lakeside archivist Leslie Schuyler.

EDITOR

Carey Quan Gelernter WRITERS

Jim Collins, Sheila Farr, Carey Quan Gelernter, Leslie Schuyler, Mike Lengel, Amanda Darling ALUMNI RELATIONS NEWS

Kelly Poort

ART DIRECTOR

Carol Nakagawa

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Betty Udesen, Tom Reese, Clayton Christy, Mike Lengel, Lindsay Orlowski, Paul Dudley GRAPHICS

Lindsay Orlowski COPY EDITOR

Valerie Campbell

Signs of stardom: Innumerable Lakeside cast members have left their calling cards over the years on the ceilings and walls of

TABLE OF CONTENTS

the dressing room backstage in St. Nicholas Auditorium, including some who

Cover story

have gone on to

Now Screening:

bigger stages and

■

screens. Among

■

the signers for “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940” were Chris Miller ’93, who played Patrick O’Reilly, and Seth Gordon ’94, who played Roger Hopewell (Raager is how another character pronounced Roger; Gordon referred to his character, a producer, as “The Man” in rehearsal, recalls Rob Burgess, who directed). Read about the careers of these and other Hollywood Lakesiders on Page 11.

Lakesiders in Hollywood 11 Film studies on campus 28

tom reese

that’s a WRAP

his issue all started with an attention-getting email we got last January from Becky Chassin, wife of Aditya Sood ’93. She told us her husband, who had just won the Golden Globe award for best picture for “The Martian,” has been best friends since 2nd grade with another alum who has also found tremendous success in the movie business, Chris Miller ’93. “Might be fun to do something highlighting them together for the alumni magazine.” Oh, waaaay fun. Thank you, Becky! And thanks, as well, to Aditya, who in April spent the day with Lakeside students practically giving them a complete course on Hollywood 101. We knew alumni, too, would be intrigued by his insights. Clearly it was time for an issue on Lakesiders in Hollywood. Our high-profile alumni are some busybusybusybusy people. But finally Jim Collins P ’20, in La-La Land to help his daughter get settled for USC film school, caught up with Sood and Miller on the 20th Century Fox lot and with director/producer Seth Gordon ’94 on the Paramount lot and at his Hollywood home. We snagged cinematographer/director Kirsten Johnson ’83 when she came to town for the Seattle International Film Festival. And we heard from others among this school’s collection of alumni flourishing in the world of film in Hollywood, New York, and elsewhere around the globe. We think you’ll enjoy reading how they’re enlisting their talents to shape our images of ourselves and our sense of the world. ■

21 Inside lakeside

Head of school’s letter 4 Board news 5 Campus news roundup 6 Lakeside admissions 7 Commencement 8 College choices 9 Sports 10

Carey Quan Gelernter

Editor, Lakeside magazine carey.gelernter@lakesideschool.org 206-440-2706 • 14050 1st Avenue NE • Seattle, WA 98125

Alumni News

TALK TO US:

FIND US ON:

ON THE COVER:

Lakeside magazine welcomes

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ lakesideschool

Aditya Sood and Chris Miller, Class of ’93, seated; Seth Gordon ’94; and Kirsten Johnson ’83 are among the Lakesiders who have achieved acclaim in Hollywood.

your letters to the editor and suggestions. Please send them to magazine@lakesideschool. org or via social media. Lakeside magazine is published twice yearly by the communications office of Lakeside School.

Twitter: www.twitter.com/ lakesideschool Instagram: @Lakeside.Lions

New board members 30 Class Connections 32 Reunion 2016 38 In Memoriam 41 From the Archives 46 Calendar 47

Photos by Betty Udesen and Gini Reticker

32 Contents

HEAD NOTE

by BERNIE NOE

Slowing down to see what’s important

TOM REESE

his past February, for the first time in 40 years, Killian and I took a three-month break from work and traveled about the world. To slow down and reflect on what was important to us at this stage in our lives, we made walking our theme and walked in the desert in New Mexico, across the Greek island of Santorini, and from Florence to Rome. It was illuminating to see the world from that slower-paced perspective. And traveling in the late winter and early spring, we had nearly every place we went to ourselves. In fact, we had days walking through vineyards and olive groves and on wooded trails between small Italian villages when we saw only a few villagers. We also read books with philosophical and spiritual perspectives on life, the top ones being “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience,” “When Breath Becomes Air,” “The Consolation of Philosophy,” the Tao Te Ching, “The Analects of Confucius,” “Letters to a Young Poet,” and “Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living.” It was quite a luxury to read an entire book without distractions! When I left Lakeside on Feb. 12, I stopped reading work emails (about 200 a day), which opened up a lot of time for reading and being. 4

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While away, of course, I thought about Lakeside and how we live our lives at school, and below I share some reflections from my sabbatical perspective. My most significant insight: We are all just too busy. Our students, faculty, and staff try to do it all. Adults teach and work at a high level, and students learn at a high level and do well in all classes, join numerous clubs, play multiple sports, and more. Doing it all comes at the price of having too little time to be in the moment, to be kind, to be empathic, to experience joy, to reflect on what

is important. It took me almost a month to get to the point where I could actually do nothing for hours on end, but when I did, I discovered how important it is. While doing nothing, I had some clarity about what is important to me, I noticed beauty right in front of me, I was more empathic and less neurotic about every detail of life working out as I envisioned it. I was more patient with people and, I think, kinder. I am convinced we all must find a way to do nothing! Second insight: We are way too distracted and fragmented in our thinking. We need to be more present to people we are with, not on our devices tracking down a fact or answering a message from someone we are not with. Killian and I spent many lovely evenings talking to Italian and Greek villagers who were present to others and never drifted off to look at their phones. Not to mention that fragmentation means we never focus on a thought long enough to come to a reasonable conclusion. A final insight: Work and career are important, and we are very fortunate if we find what we are meant to do with our lives. But none of us, adult or student, can find our path through constant busyness, constant doing. We have to spend time doing nothing if we are to discern what is truly important in life, what really matters to us. So, good alumni, I hope to see you at reunions, where we can talk about life insights gleaned while doing nothing. As for me, I have set aside do-nothing time this year. I invite you all to join me, our mantra being “Just do nothing.” ■

BERNIE NOE

Head of School

INSIDE LAKESIDE

Board chooses new officers, adds 3 trustees

he Lakeside Board of Trustees elected a new chair and vice chair and three new members in May.

New leadership

Natasha Smith Jones ’89, the new chair, completed her third three-year term on the Lakeside’s Board of Trustees in May 2014, then served for two years as vice chair until she was elected chair this spring. She served as Lakeside/St. Nicholas Alumni Association president in 2003-2004. Jones is director of customer service for the King County Executive’s office. A graduate of Pomona College in English and media studies, she earned an MBA in technology management at the University of Phoenix. She and her husband, Jason, have two young children. Bertrand Valdman, the new vice chair and a trustee since 2010, is president and chief executive officer of Optimum Energy, which provides software and engineering expertise to help customers reduce energy use in cooling and heating systems. He earned a B.A. from Northwestern University and master’s and doctoral degrees from Stanford University. He and his wife, Madeleine, have three children, two at Lakeside and one at St. Thomas School.

New trustees

2016-2017

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Natasha Smith Jones ’89

Chair

Dr. Sarah Barton practices at Rainier Park Medical Clinic, where she cares for mostly low-income women, and sits on the advisory board for UW Medicine. She also manages her family’s foundation that focuses on criminal justice reform and breaking cycles of poverty. She earned a B.A. from Williams College and an M.D. from Northwestern University School of Medicine and completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Washington. She and her husband, Rich, have three teenagers at Lakeside.

Bertrand Valdman

David M. Victor is a founder and the managing director of Seneca Group, which provides real estate advisory and development services to its private and public sector clients. A graduate of Princeton and Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, Victor is also a trustee of Seattle Children’s Foundation Board, a board director of the Seattle Parks Foundation, and an advisory board member of The Trust for Public Land. He and his wife, Lolly, have three daughters, all Lakeside graduates.

Carmen Best

Nan Robertson is the 2016-17 Lakeside Parents and Guardians Association president. Since her children reached school age, Robertson has been involved in a wide range of educationrelated volunteer activities, including serving as PTA president at a Seattle public school and on the Seattle Public School’s Advanced Learning Advisory Committee. Robertson graduated Williams College and has a law degree from University of Virginia. She spent four years as a consultant for the U.S. State Department and practiced law for 10 years in Washington, D.C., and Seattle. She and her husband, John, have two children at Lakeside. ■

Vice Chair Theiline “Ty” W. Cramer ’78

Immediate Past Chair Stephen V. Sundborg, S.J.

Secretary

Mark Klebanoff ’80

Treasurer; Chair, Assets Management Committee Dr. Sarah Barton

Chair, Medical Advisory Board Rodney A. Bench Robert M. Helsell ’55 Lynn Hogan

Chair, Mission and Governance Committee Michael Larson

Chair, Investment Committee Mona Lee Locke Crystal Ondo ’99

Lakeside/St. Nicholas Alumni Board President Peter Polson ’91 Nan Robertson

Parents and Guardians Association President Carey Crutcher Smith ’77

Chair, Development and Communications Committee Edward Taylor

Chair, Schools Committee David M. Victor David W. Wiley ’71

Head Note, Trustees

INSIDE LAKESIDE

MS performing arts renovations to begin this summer

Lakeside joins suicide prevention initiative

steering committee overseeing plans for performing arts improvements has recommended as a first-phase project the $4 million renovation and expansion of performing arts spaces at the Middle School. A $2 million donation will support this renovation and the school would contribute the rest from its plant fund. Construction would be done this summer. Andrew Krus, director of visual and performing arts, is heading the performing arts steering committee working with architects Miller Hull. “The Middle School is the first priority because of the high need,” Krus said, noting that every MS student benefits because all are required to take a performing arts course every year they are at the

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Middle School. Also on the committee are representatives from the Board of Trustees, staff, and administration, including Head of School Bernie Noe. Explorations continue on costs and fundraising possibilities for improvements at the Upper School. At its October retreat, the board is scheduled to discuss a new facility for music instruction and renovations of St. Nicholas Hall to serve the drama program, the first of three project phases. Phase two, a performing arts center, and phase three, replacement of Moore and St. Nicholas halls with a new academic building, would follow. Trustees expect to have concepts, drawings, and a preliminary budget for phase one in hand by December, which will help them gauge what’s achievable and set priorities. ■

TOM REESE

Choir Director Shekela Wanyama leads some of last year’s 7th-grade choir members through a rehearsal.

akeside’s student and family support program recently began its second year of working with the nonprofit organization Forefront on suicide prevention. Affiliated with the University of Washington, Forefront advances innovative approaches to suicide prevention through professional training, campus- and school-based interventions, policy change, media outreach, and support for persons affected by suicide. Along with educators from 14 other schools, members of Lakeside’s student support team were part of an intensive two-day training in the fall of 2015 and then met regularly with a Forefront consultant to ensure that the school is offering evidence-based support to students in distress. Members of the Lakeside team developed a plan that includes outreach and prevention initiatives – including educating faculty, students, and parents and guardians on how to recognize distress and talk with students about it. In year two of the partnership, members of Lakeside’s team will be focusing on training faculty and staff, student training, peer-to-peer education, and incorporating social-emotional learning activities into the wellness curriculum. At its launch in September 2013, the UW announced that Forefront aimed to “help Washington state lead the way to new policies and programs to solve what is regarded as a major public health problem,” noting that “many suicides are preventable yet nearly 40,000 people die by suicide each year in the U.S. – one death every 14 minutes.” Said Jamie Asaka, Lakeside’s director of family and student support: “So many young people and their families are affected by suicide; this is important work for our community to do.” ■

Trustees aim to open micro-school in 2018 T

he Lakeside Board of Trustees has set fall 2018 as the target date for the opening of a Lakeside-affiliated micro-school and hopes to lease a site for it in the general area of the intersection of I-5 and I-90. At its May 19 meeting, the board also endorsed a goal of having a full complement of both freshmen and sophomores in the inaugural class, for a total of 80 students. The financial model calls for the school to add students each year until it reaches its capacity of 160 students. The plan for the micro-school is to offer a high-quality academic education for grades 9-12 in a more central location than Lakeside, at about $17,000 a year. The school would be separate from, though affiliated with, Lakeside with a different educational model, admissions process, and student-life program. The micro-school idea came out of Lakeside’s mission to serve as many highly qualified students in this metro area as it can. Given constraints of campus space and class size, Lakeside turns away a huge number of stellar students (this year the admit rate is again 18 percent; see below). And the Seattle area’s growth continues to both fuel demand and worsen traffic. “We felt that it was worth exploring whether

Map data (c) Google

The dotted lines on the map show a 1-mile radius around the intersections of I-90 and I-5, which represents the general boundaries of the area being targeted for the siting of a Lakeside-aff iliated micro-school. The area offers convenient access by public transportation and three freeways.

we could deliver the core educational rigor and values inherent to a Lakeside education,” said Board Chair Natasha Smith Jones ’89, “along with the sense of community that really makes the school so special. But do it closer to families in communities with fewer high quality,

affordable educational options.” While one initial possibility was to open the school in fall 2017, at the May board meeting Sue Belcher, director of micro-school research and development, recommended fall 2018 as more realistic. The board accepted her recommendation. Trustees also reached consensus on a preferred location in the vicinity within a 1-mile radius of the intersection of I-5 and I-90, noting the area offers convenient access by public transportation and three freeways. The board agreed that such access is a top priority, especially as rising housing costs push many families south and north of Seattle and Eastside communities. The board has approved $300,000 for the research and development phase; a donor gave $1 million toward startup costs. Belcher, appointed in December, is leading efforts to find the best site for the school and to develop curriculum that will be distinctive to the micro-school setting, working with a subcommittee of the board and national, regional, and local curriculum experts. Find last spring magazine’s story with more details about the micro-school and a link to a micro-school blog at www.lakesideschool.org/ magazine. ■

who gets into lakeside 2016-2017 A few highlights: • The admit rate for this school year was 18 percent for the fourth year in a row. • For connected students, chances of admittance were higher, at 42 percent, versus those not connected, at 14 percent. Connected means a student’s parents or grandparents are alumni, trustees, or faculty or staff; or they had or have siblings at Lakeside. • Applications were up by 4.6 percent. Last year they were up by 3 percent from the previous year.

• The new students came from 83 sending schools, down a bit from last year’s 85 schools; 44 percent came from public schools, down from last year’s 50 percent.

• Financial aid was awarded to 28 percent of new students, for a total amount of aid of $989,210. Families of new students receiving aid pay an average of $10,495 tuition. ■ Inside Lakeside

INSIDE LAKESIDE

Celebrating the convivial Class of 2016 A

t commencement exercises June 9, Upper School Director Alixe Callen chose the word “convivial” for the traditional one word to summarize the spirit of the class. She noted the word conveys “that inclusive joy, your cheerful collective spirit, your synergy.” On the podium to represent the 135 graduating seniors were Sofia Josefina Lago Dudas ’16 and Jared Bennett Youmans ’16, chosen by classmates to speak, and William Allocca II ’16, outgoing president of Upper School Student Government. Head of School Bernie Noe, recounting what he learned in a recent three-month sabbatical with his wife, Killian, extolled the virtue of tempering the typical success-oriented Lakeside outlook. Much is to be learned, he said, by being spontaneous, spending time doing nothing, and “just being open to what comes your way.” Find the full speeches and more photos at www.lakesideschool.org/magazine. ■

“

It’ll be in those moments of vulnerability that we’ll all face later, where you have to lay down your arms and admit that you can’t do it alone, where you’ll remember Lakeside.”

“ Commencement exercises June 9 celebrated the Class of 2016.

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paul dudley

— Jared Youmans ’16

Plan less and be open to finding truth everywhere. If you do so, I believe you will live a joyful, empathic life and that you will contribute your light to the world and make the world a better place for everyone.” — Head of School Bernie Noe

2016 BY THE

NUMBERS

3.2 million Number of times “Catching the dab,” created by a class member, was looped on Vine.

12 Number of students from this class who qualified for the Presidential Scholars competition.

134 Combined number of Lakeside drama productions in which members of this class have performed.

8,779 Number of weight room workouts completed by members of this class.

120 Average number of service learning hours earned by each member of the class.

1 Number of Intel Science Talent Search semifinalists in this class.

1,000+ Number of followers one member of the class has on her own personal YouTube channel.

paul dudley

Moments to memorialize abounded at Commencement 2016.

COLLEGE CHOICES Arizona State University

Lafayette College

University of Alaska, Anchorage 1

Barnard College

Boston College

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Los Angeles

University of Chicago

University of Hawaii at Manoa

University of Michigan

University of Notre Dame

University of Pennsylvania

Bowdoin College

McGill University

Brandeis University

Middlebury College

Brown University

New York University

Carnegie Mellon University

Northeastern University

Chapman University

Northwestern University

Claremont McKenna College

NYU Shanghai

Colby College

Occidental College

Colgate University

Pitzer College

Colorado College

Pomona College

Columbia University

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 1

Cornell University

Rice University

Dartmouth College

Saint John’s University

Davidson College

Santa Clara University

Duke University

Smith College

Emory University

Georgetown University Gonzaga University

University of Richmond

University of Rochester

University of San Diego

University of Southern California

University of St. Andrews

University of Washington

Southern Methodist University 2

Washington University in St. Louis

St. Olaf College

Wellesley College

Stanford University

Western Washington University 1

Hamilton College

Swarthmore College

Whitman College

Harvard University

Trinity University

Williams College

Yale University

Harvey Mudd College

Tufts University

Kenyon College

Tulane University

2 Inside Lakeside

SPORTS ROUNDUP

by MIKE LENGEL

BASEBALL TEAM GOES DEEP;# TENNIS FIVE-PEATS AS METRO CHAMPS

FOLLOW LAKESIDE ATHLETICS on Facebook, or on Twitter at @LakesideLions.

CLAYTON CHRISTY

Ryan Shaw ’16 hits a line drive base hit in a playoff win over Arlington High School. The victory sent the Lions to the state semif inals, where they’d clinch a trip to their f irst state championship game.

HE LAKESIDE BASEBALL TEAM turned a hot start into a second place finish in the state playoffs, tennis won another Metro championship (and hasn’t lost since April 2012), and boys soccer picked up its second Metro title in three years. “We knew pretty early on that we were going to be a team that was feared by the opposition,” said Ryan Shaw ’16 about the baseball team’s outstanding season, which ended with a second place finish in the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) 3A state championship game. And they were right. The Lions started the season with five blowout wins in a row. At the halfway point, they had outscored other teams by a massive total of 101 runs, holding opponents to just 1.6 runs per game. Heading 10

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into the state championship game, the Lions owned a Metro League best 20-4 record; two Seattle Times Star Times all-area team members in Shaw, who was also named to the USA Today All-USA Washington Baseball Team, and Ben Hinthorne ’17; and the Metro League Coach of the Year in Brian Woodward. The Lions’ second place finish is the best in program history. “Our mentality throughout the season was to prove ourselves,” said Corbin Carroll ’19. “Every game we played was the one we were focused on, not the ones in front of us or behind us.” Five years, five Metro League championships. That’s the story for the Lakeside tennis team, which won its fifth straight Metro title this spring. The Lions will carry an unprecedented 54 consecutive Metro League regular season victories into

the 2017 season. “Of course we want to keep the streak alive,” said Viv Daniel ’17. “But we know that the best way to do that is to focus on playing well during the match. If we can achieve that, the result will take care of itself.” Daniel took third place in the WIAA 3A girls state tournament while Eli F. ’17 took third in the boys state tournament, and Jason E. ’19 and Crystal X. ’19 both took sixth. The boys soccer team snagged a Metro League title of its own on its way to taking third place at state. For full highlights from the 2015-16 seasons, visit www. lakesideschool.org/athletics. ■ Mike Lengel is the digital communications specialist at Lakeside School. Reach him at 206-440-2955 or mike.lengel@ lakesideschool.org.

CLAYTON CHRISTY

Viv Daniel ’17 returns a shot from an O’Dea High School opponent. Daniel took third in the state in the girls singles division, and the Lions secured their f ifth straight Metro League title.

COVER STORY

In the art and business of filmmaking, alumni make a star-studded lineup

“The Martian” producer Aditya Sood ’93 talks about science and moviemaking at Seattle’s Museum of Flight last April.

Lakesiders d in Hollywoo BETTY UDESEN

n April, fresh from winning a Golden Globe as a producer of “The Martian,” Aditya Sood ’93 flew up from L.A. to headline a Museum of Flight event about the science and making of the hit astronautrescue film. At the reception afterward, the line of fans waiting to meet him snaked through the glitzy Charles Simonyi Space Gallery. His celebrity notwithstanding, Sood had volunteered to spend the previous day with a considerably younger crowd — at Lakeside. His candid answers to their dozens of questions about Hollywood moviemaking left students fairly well agog. As you’ll see in the story that follows, Sood’s savvy championing of “The Martian” and his career in general would make a good movie. So would his friendship-since-childhood with hot director and ’93 classmate Chris Miller (in a tough business, it helps to have a best friend you can trust). But as you’ll also read, they’re not alone among Lakeside alumni in having risen in the business of making movie magic. As directors, producers, financiers, set designers, screenwriters, and more, alumni have their hands in making everything from big-budget comedy blockbusters to quiet and searing documentaries to virtual reality experiences.

Sports, Lakesiders in Hollywood

The

e i ov M y d Bud

Starring Aditya Sood and Chris Miller As the Dream Factory careers of these longtime Class of 1993 friends soar, their friendship remains a touchstone by JIM COLLINS

photographed by BETTY UDESEN

t the start of a hot morning in early July, Aditya Sood finds Chris Miller at Building No. 3 on the Fox studio lot in Century City, just a few minutes’ walk down Avenue G from Sood’s office at Genre Films. They have a joint press interview scheduled, the last thing either of them needs. Boxes and packing tape clutter Miller’s office. In less than a week he’ll be off to London, where he’ll spend the better part of the next year directing the new Han Solo movie in the “Star Wars” anthology. Both of them seem excited, animated, even with lack of sleep. (Sood has a toddler at home. Miller has two young children. There’s always a lack of sleep.) Their banter is easy, natural, comfortable as old friends, which is what they’ve been forever, even before graduating from Lakeside together in the Class of 1993. “All ready for the move?” asks Sood. “Not even close,” says Miller, and they both laugh. Despite burgeoning careers, the two friends manage to see each other a couple of times a month, for Seahawks games, for dinners. Their families live just 10 minutes apart. They’re part of a group of crossword puzzle aficionados who regularly gather for drinks and puzzle-solving at fancy L.A. watering holes or at the Soho House, a members-only club for “creative souls” that The Hollywood Reporter has called the most important club in Hollywood, “a high-wattage magnet for A-listers and dealmakers.” Screenwriter Craig Mazin is part of the puzzle group, actress Zoe Kazan, magician and New York 12

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Sood and Miller share a laugh in Miller’s office on the Fox Studios lot. The friends have a reputation for being “good guys” in the industry.

Friends since 2nd grade at The Evergreen School, Sood and Miller collaborated on their first film while classmates at Lakeside in the early 1990s. Right: “The Adventures of Jungle Steve” was an action-film parody shot over a number of years at several Seattle locations.

CO U RTESY

O F REKHA

SOOD

INSIDE HOLLYWOOD with ADITYA SOOD ’93 During his April visit to Lakeside, Aditya Sood ’93 met with film and science classes at the Upper School and several gatherings at the Middle School. Here are edited excerpts of some of the students’ questions and his answers. What got you interested in filmmaking? I was really into “Star Wars.” But I was also interested in Greek and Roman mythology. At the same time, my parents, who emigrated from India the year before I was born, were telling me stories from Indian mythology. Then a weird thing happened. I realized all these things were similar in Indian and Roman mythology stories and “Star Wars.” It was a revelatory moment. I realized there were things about myth that permeated all cultures. And stories that kept repeating themselves. It was the beginning of not just being a movie fan but thinking how stories work, what’s exciting, why do I respond differently to some things more than others? How do you know a movie will be successful?

Times crossword puzzle creator David Kwong. “One of the members of the group calls us The Illuminerdy,” says Miller. Their sense of humor is infectious. “My parents were incredibly supportive of my creative pursuits,” Sood tells the reporter. “Both firstgeneration immigrant doctors. Of course they were.” “My parents knew they had a weird kid on their hands,” says Miller. “They were just grateful when I met Aditya – they realized I wasn’t alone.” The love of humor and storytelling that animated their years together at Lakeside is something they continue to share, now professionally. They routinely swap scripts, ask advice, offer ideas, talk about people they’re considering hiring or collaborating with. A big part of being successful in this industry is working with people who are good to work with. The two of them have a reputation for not only being good to work with but being “good guys.” Their story is the stuff of Hollywood. ➢

You never know. You just don’t. You know how you are feeling about it, you can guess based on whether it has elements or is a genre or has actors that people have liked. But until the movie comes out, you can’t know. It’s a little scary. There’s a lot of money on the line. continued on Page 19 ➢

mike lengel

Sood takes questions from Upper School students in St. Nicholas Auditorium — and gives them an insider’s view of the film business. Lakesiders in Hollywood

The reception area of his office showcases Miller’s film history and a glimpse into the mind of one of Hollywood’s “Illuminerdy.”

uSood/Miller

ood and Miller fell in love with movies growing up as best friends. They watched films all over Seattle — comedies and action flicks at the Oak Tree and Crossroads theaters, epic revivals at the old UA 150 downtown. Sood remembers being at a Northgate arcade and rushing to catch a bus for one of those epics, maybe “Lawrence of Arabia” or “Gone with the Wind,” and slamming into a door that he thought Miller was holding open for him. He ended up at Children’s Hospital getting stitches. The two of them still made it to the theater for most of the movie. At Lakeside — Sood arrived in 6th grade; Miller joined him a year later — the two friends got interested in making films themselves. They were good students, chemistry partners, both broadly interested in culture and history. But they were nerds at heart, fascinated by stop-motion photography and obsessed with “Star Wars.” Sood discovered an industry newspaper, The Hollywood Reporter, at the Bellevue Library and talked his mom into buying him a year’s subscription in return for a good grade on a physics test. He saw a documentary about the making of “Return of the Jedi” and pretty soon was fooling around with a Super 8 camcorder. He got Miller and a few friends together with the idea of making a send-up of an action movie on no budget called “The Adventures of Jungle Steve.” 14

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“

Would like to be doing in 10 years? Disney Imagineer or SNL writer. Will be doing in 10 years? Host of a comedy club in a Holiday Inn. [ CH RIS MI LLER , 1993 NUMI DIAN ]

LAKESIDE ARCHIVES

Miller, back right, acted on stage and drew cartoons for Tatler, foreshadowing the off-beat humor that would later mark his work in Hollywood.

“

Discovering “The Martian” as a self-published novel on Amazon, Sood was struck by the drama and the “hyper-accurate” science in the story.

Would like to be doing in 10 years? “I’d like to thank the Academy and my producers...” Will be doing in 10 years? “Would you like some Mexifries?” [ A D I T YA S O O D , 1 9 9 3 N U M I D I A N ]

LAKESIDE ARCHIVES

At Lakeside, Sood, left, received a subscription to The Hollywood Reporter as a reward for a good grade on a physics test. It turned out to be a career move.

They spent endless hours on the one editing machine in the Lakeside library, fighting for time with the kids making snowboarding videos. “Our movie was intentionally full of every cliché you can think of,” Miller would say later. “I was the villain. I would literally twirl my mustache. It was horrible.” Sood describes the movie as a pastiche of “Indiana Jones” and “Star Wars” action scenes — “great stuff ” like a garage door closing as one of the actors rolled under it just moments before the door hit the ground. Chris’s sister, Katie, Lakeside Class of ’98, played the robotic sidekick. “She was young and very short when we started,” Miller recalls. “But we shot the movie over a few years, and she kept growing taller. Each time we shot, we wrapped her in aluminum foil in a very classy way, but the continuity was pretty poor.” One of their friends, Greg Ostrander ’93, had an aunt who owned an amphibious vehicle. They used the vehicle in a dramatic scene filmed at the Kirkland waterfront, but they had to figure out how to write a new character into the script because Greg was the only one allowed to drive it. (Years later, Miller and Sood got together and watched “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” and hooted when they saw the huge action scene involving a ➢ Lakesiders in Hollywood

COLUMBIA PICTURES/METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER

The success of “21 Jump Street” (2012) proved that Miller’s directing touch worked on live-action comedy as well as animation.

uSood/Miller Russian-made amphibious military vehicle. “Spielberg probably got his hands on a bootleg tape of ‘Jungle Steve!’” Miller cried out.) The movie-making experience was a revelation to both of them, especially to Sood: He says it showed him, for the first time, how challenging and rewarding it could be to tell a story through the medium of film. The two friends stayed in touch after going to college — Sood to Pomona, Miller to Dartmouth. Sood studied politics and philosophy and economics, but he knew already where he was going and began interning almost right away with a couple of studios in Los Angeles, including a startup called DreamWorks. He impressed executives with his wide-ranging curiosity and his knowledge of the industry, gleaned from his religious reading of the trade papers dating from his Lakeside days. Miller doublemajored at Dartmouth in government and studio arts and wasn’t at all sure of his path when news of his offbeat, weirdly intellectual cartoons and animated shorts reached producers at Disney. When they called, Miller said he had exams and couldn’t take the time to fly out to L.A. just then, but could they see him over the summer, when he was already planning a trip there? Disney agreed, then hired him. They lived together for a while in Warner bros. pictures/ village roadshow pictures

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Tower 46 of the Park La Brea Apartments in L.A. as their careers in Hollywood took off. In 2002, at age 25, Sood became the youngest vice president in Warner Bros.’ history. In a press release picked up by the trade journals, Warner’s president of worldwide production, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, said, “Aditya has a great story sense and works extremely well with filmmakers and talent. He’s been a strong contributor to our team over the past several years.” Eight years later, along with British-born producer and screenwriter Simon Kinberg (“Sherlock Holmes,” “X-Men”), Sood started a new production

company called Genre Films, which signed a first-look deal with 20th Century Fox. Not long after, Sood came across a selfpublished book for 99 cents on Amazon, written by a computer programmer in Silicon Valley. At a recent visit to Lakeside, he told students that he had never read anything like it. “It was an incredible story of a guy who gets stranded on a planet,” he said. “It was equal parts great storytelling and hyperaccurate scientific storytelling, human and funny at the same time. I knew instantly that I wanted to spend the next however many years turning the book into a movie. “It was the project I’d been looking for for 20 years.” He brought the book to Fox’s studio executives and suggested they move fast. They bought the movie rights just as the big publishing houses were reaching out to author Andy Weir for his story, “The Martian.” The movie version, produced by Sood and starring Matt Damon, would go on to earn seven Academy Award nominations, win a

“The Lego Movie,” co-written and co-directed by Miller, impressed critics with its unexpectedly nuanced storytelling.

“The Martian,” produced by Sood and directed by Ridley Scott, was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won two Golden Globes.

Golden Globe for best motion picture, and gross more than $600 million worldwide. Meanwhile, Miller, along with Dartmouth classmate Phil Lord, had created a critically acclaimed pilot for a series called “Clone High,” written and directed “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” and directed the movie “21 Jump Street.” At the same time Sood was working on “The Martian,” Miller was busy directing his most ambitious, and unlikely, movie yet, “The Lego Movie.” What could have become a crass, 90-minute commercial for Lego turned out to be a nuanced, surprisingly emotional animated story that appealed to children and adults alike — and to critics who almost universally praised the storytelling. As a film reporter for BuzzFeed described it, “The Lego Movie” could easily have been a typical example “…of slapped together, mediocre ‘product,’ spawned by Hollywood only for their brand-name value. Instead, Lord and Miller have made each of their films richly and delightfully weird, filled with the kind of smart, sharp edges that most studio films have aggressively sanded down.” “The Lego Movie” — which included the actual Lego space village play set that Miller had played with as a child — won dozens of awards and was one of highest-grossing films of 2014. Following its release, Miller

came back to Seattle and threw out the first pitch at a Mariners game in which players were announced on the massive center field scoreboard in the form of Lego figures. After the game, “The Lego Movie” was shown on the big screen. For both Miller and Sood, the huge successes have put them in high demand. Among other projects, Sood, who was an executive producer on the 2016 blockbuster “Deadpool,” the eighth installment of the “X-Men” film series, now is working on “Deadpool 2.” He also is developing the movie version of the massively popular (and

20th century fox

Seattle-based) trading-card game Magic: The Gathering, executive producing the new ABC television series “Designated Survivor,” and collaborating on a recently announced, as yet unnamed, project with “Martian” author Weir. As for Miller, his list of announced projects and films in production and post-production is dizzying, including the next batch of “Lego” films (including “The Lego Batman Movie”), producing an animated Spider-Man movie for Sony, continuing work on the Fox comedy series “The Last Man on Earth,” and developing a hybrid live-action/animation film called “Son of Zorn.” All this with landing the all-consuming job of co-directing, with Lord, the much-anticipated Star Wars film, “Han Solo: A Star Wars Story.” As he recently told The Hollywood Reporter, “Now, somehow, we’re 10 times busier than we were when I thought we were too busy and I was going to die.” ➢

Sood showed a different sensibility in producing the blockbuster feature “Deadpool,” a movie version of the Marvel comic.

20th century fox

Lakesiders in Hollywood

INSIDE HOLLYWOOD continued from Page 13

lucasfilm/walt disney pictures

Miller’s current project is also his most ambitious: telling the untold back story of “Star Wars” hero Han Solo.

uSood/Miller

nd here the friends are, a few days before Miller’s world shifts 5,000 miles east, chatting as if they have nothing else to do, as if they’re reluctant to say goodbye. They won’t see each other again until Sood travels to the U.K. later this year to film a remake of “Murder on the Orient Express,” on which he’s serving as a producer. The talk turns to stories — like when they were in the 2nd grade at the Evergreen School and little Chris Miller won the annual KOMO 4 Christmas card drawing contest. The prize was a chance to ride in the KOMO 4 traffic helicopter, which landed and picked Miller up right there at the school. “He was like a celebrity,” says Sood. “It was a pretty amazing way to find out a classmate was so unbelievably talented.” Or like how Miller worked the title of the Lakeside school newspaper, Tatler, into a “21 Jump Street” scene. Or how he wrote a scene where an amorous couple in a science lab gets carried away and ends up breaking a bunch of crucibles — a reference to the many crucibles he and Sood accidentally broke during Dr. Fisher’s chemistry class at Lakeside. (“Too bad that

ended up on the cutting-room floor," says Sood. “People don’t know how expensive crucibles are. Unfortunately, we do.”) Miller suddenly turns as an idea lights up his eyes. “I’m going to try and get a planet into the Star Wars film called Numidian!” The half-hour interview runs to 45 minutes, then 60, and an assistant starts to move Miller toward the door. “We’ve got a lot to do,” she says. Miller has live auditions to oversee that afternoon and a hundred other details to attend to before heading to England. The reporter asks one more question, about what it means to collaborate with someone you’ve been friends with for most of your life. “The great thing about knowing someone for 35 years,” says Sood, “is that you can trust them. I don’t mean trust only in terms of honesty, but trust their judgment. I know how great Chris’s taste is. I trust his sense of humor.” “I wish I felt the same way,” says Miller, deadpan — and then they both break out laughing. “That’s why I went first,” says Sood. ■ Jim Collins is a magazine writer whose articles have appeared in Glamour, Outside, and Reader’s Digest, among other publications. He’s the parent of a Lakeside 9th-grader.

Playing a villain, complete with dastardly mustache, Miller holds the umbrella for Sood during filming of “The Adventures of Jungle Steve,” the movie they made during Lakeside days. COURTESY OF REKHA SOOD

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Fall/Winter 2016

What does a producer do? You’re responsible for creative development, production, and postproduction of any one of these projects. As a producer you get to oversee all of it. Some days I’m on set; for example, I was just in Toronto on this pilot “Designated Survivor” that we just shot. This week, I’m writing to three different writers about “Magic: “Magic:The The Gathering,” about how they would approach (writing) that movie. I have to look at a new cut of our pilot, to get to ABC; the network has to watch it this weekend, as they are deciding what shows to air in the fall. And then I’m also dealing with story stuff for “Deadpool 2.” One of the junior executives at our our company “I aread a book company just just saidsaid, “I read book that that would be a great animated movie would be a great animated movie we we should make, another studio should make, andand another studio wants wants it.” Itohave the studio to buyto it.”buy I have call to thecall studio (Fox) (Fox) say,the “Buy thefor book us.” It’s and say,and “Buy book us.” for It’s stressstressful butunlike also unlike any other ful but also any other job. job. What is the most stressful thing about movie production? The period of production is the most intense part. You’re spending the most money. Every day can cost from $150,000 to $500,000. A location may be reserved 1½ days but you have to shoot three days’ worth of material. You also have a prescribed amount of time you can use in that day to shoot. You are racing the clock, racing daylight every day. If you need an extra day shooting, I have to, as producer, call the studio and ask for that. They don’t like that call; it’s an unfun call to make. But at the same time you don’t want to rush through things. You don’t always get it right the first time. Someone in the scene, say, an actor, has a new idea for a joke or line or they didn’t understand something the first time. You need to balance financial reality — getting through the schedule — with getting things right creatively. That is the job of the producer, in many ways. Make a movie in the best creative way and in the most financially responsible way possible.

Sood signs a copy of “The Martian” for a fan. “It was the project I’d been looking for for 20 years,” he says.

I thought the director was the most important? But it sounds like it’s really the producer? The producer is helping the director get their vision made. The director is the most microfocused of anybody on the set. They’re dealing with the actors first and foremost. As producer, you take the 30,000-foot-view: Here are issues coming down. I’ve got to think about what’s the big sequence happening two weeks from now that we haven’t completely figured out. How do I communicate this to the director in a way that won’t overwhelm them with detail they can’t deal with right now? The most important decision you make as producer is picking your director. Pay attention to what they tell you in the first meeting. That’s the moment you have to make the greatest difference. Can you give examples when creatively or financially things go well or not? Generally you get a script, and the studio might think it should cost X. You hire a line producer, whose sole focus is nuts and

bolts: how many camera trucks, how many grips do we need to hire, exactly what do we need to make the movie. The number comes back. On a recent film, the initial budget estimate was $15 million higher than the studio was comfortable making the movie for. We had two weeks to figure out, how do we get it to that number? What are the sequences we have to lose? Or it may be a decision of where to shoot, it’s not always about cutting. No movies are shot in Hollywood anymore — states and countries give tax incentives. Vancouver, Toronto, Budapest, I’ve shot in all those places, all because of tax incentives. We shot Pasadena (the location of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, featured in “The Martian”) in Budapest. Your advice to future filmmakers? One, making movies is great, but if you don’t have things to make movies about, it’s not that interesting. As an artist or human being of any kind, have as many experience as you can. Take trips, classes you didn’t think you’d be interested in, that might spark something that later sticks with you.

How does a screenwriter get an agent? Don’t worry about that. Concentrate on becoming a great writer. What about the scientific accuracy of “The Martian”? For the most part, we tried to be authentic. A big one for me was the time delay: Because signals travel at the speed of light between Earth and Mars, it means conversations can’t go back and forth, and there was a lot of talk about let’s get rid of that. I remember arguing strenuously why I thought that was critical (to retain). Thematically, the movie is about loneliness and isolation. You’re undermining it if you connect people instantaneously. (Director) Ridley Scott figured out how to shoot that … to very subtly make it feel immediate and distant at the same time. Are astronauts really that smart? One of joys of making “The Martian” is that I got to know a number of astronauts. They are really smart. That smart-ass personality, that’s also very prevalent. ■ Reported by Carey Gelernter: carey.gelernter@lakesideschool.org. Lakesiders in Hollywood

At the Seattle International Film Festival this spring, two highlights were critically acclaimed films of Lakeside alumni: Seth Gordon ’94, a Hollywood director and documentary producer, and Kirsten Johnson ’83, a New York-based documentary cinematographer and director. Their career paths have been very different, but what they share, in addition to SIFF billings and Lakeside educations, are strong points of view shaped by unusual life experiences.

g n i ow h S Now

Gini Reticker

Award-winning cinematographer Kirsten Johnson ’83, here shooting a documentary in Rwanda, spoke at two June screenings of her new film, “Cameraperson,” at Seattle International Film Festival. The film had its theatrical release in September.

uKirsten Johnson ’83

Conscience behind the camera by Sheila Farr

amera work traditionally has been a macho craft. Even the language — “shooting” — has a militant edge, and the camera has often been used as a way of wielding power. Documentary cinematographer Kirsten Johnson ’83 chose a different approach: “How do you generate empathy? How do you be close to people? How do you be in solidarity with people? How do you let people’s

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Fall/Winter 2016

humanity speak for itself?” In town for a screening of her new film, “Cameraperson,” at Seattle International Film Festival last June, Johnson stood casual and relaxed as she introduced her film to a capacity crowd. She made “Cameraperson” for the future, she explained: “I wanted my children to be able to see who I was.” Then she went and sat with her father to watch the film. Part career retrospective, part per-

sonal memoir, “Cameraperson” is the first feature film Johnson has made entirely for herself. Most of her 25-year career has been spent working for other directors, among them Laura Poitras for “Citizenfour” (2014) and “The Oath” (2010); Gini Reticker for “Pray the Devil Back to Hell” (2008); Ted Braun for “Darfur Now” (2007); and Michael Moore for “Fahrenheit 9/11” (2004). The work has taken her to more than 90 countries, often in dangerous, wartorn locations: Rwanda, Yemen, Liberia, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay. She’s adjusted her lens on famous faces, from the French philosopher Jacques Derrida to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. But more often Johnson focuses our concern on people we don’t know: ➢

BETTY UDESEN

At home in his backyard with his son, Drake, director/producer Seth Gordon ’94 focuses on what’s important.

uSeth Gordon ’94

revealing a one-off perspective by jim collins

riorities shifted for Seth Gordon ’94 last spring during the intense, monthslong principal photography stage of “Baywatch,” a movie remake of the popular 1990s television show. Featuring Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron, the much-hyped movie was being filmed in Florida and Georgia. Gordon, directing his fourth big-budget feature, realized he’d been away from home for too many extended periods. As he put it, he was missing conversations with his 6-year-

old son, Drake, that he’d never have the chance to have again. The 40-year-old Gordon, one of the rare talents in Hollywood with crossover success making independent documentaries and major commercial films, someone with a reputation in the industry for work ethic and long hours and a history of voraciously taking on projects, felt he needed to reset his focus. “I’ve decided I’m not going to travel as much,” he said. “I’ve stopped saying ‘yes’ to everything. I’m

getting home earlier in the day.” Which is why, at the end of a busy workweek this past summer, Gordon drove away from Technicolor’s post-production building on the Paramount Pictures lot at 3 o’clock in the afternoon. His wife, Bootsy Holler, was due back at the house soon after picking up Drake at day camp. Gordon wanted to be home when they arrived. “It’s about life/ work balance,” he said. “Especially in this business, it’s so easy to lose sight of that.” Gordon uses language that often includes words such as “sight” and “vision” and “perspective.” “Point of view is one of the most important tools a filmmaker has,” he likes to say. “For documentaries, it’s one of the only tools. Point of view and tenacity.” Gordon’s particular point of view began forming early in his life. The son of academic parents, he constantly moved, to Chicago, New York, London, Chicago again, finally to Seattle. He got used to feeling what it was like to be on the outside looking in. He struggled to feel at home at Lakeside, where he arrived as a junior not knowing anyone else. He developed an empathy for outsiders — and an awareness of perspective. He says the awareness has been a hallmark of his work from the very start. Growing up, Gordon literally saw the world differently than the people around him. He struggled with astigmatism, with vision that was farsighted in one eye and nearsighted in the other. The asymmetric problems weren’t diagnosed until he was 14 (he had been smart enough to fake it until then, even memorizing the answers he heard from classmates taking the school eye tests ahead of him), and they weren’t fully corrected until he had Lasik surgery, just recently. Through high school, Gordon would let one eye work and then the other — constantly aware that seeing was an active, intentional act — and had difficulty reading through a single page of text at a time. He learned about narrative structure in English classes and especially in Gray Pedersen’s Cosmic Connections class, where students were taught to see history through the narrative threads running through disparate times and places. He grew comfortable with visual storytelling. He acted onstage and liked the physical spontaneity of improv. He was funny and learned to use humor as a way to fit in. He became fascinated with cameras and lenses. Between his freshman and sophomore years at Yale, Gordon worked with the late Lakeside administrator T.J. Vassar ’68 and ➢ Lakesiders in Hollywood

uJohnson victims of rape, witnesses of genocide, a newborn infant struggling for breath, a war crimes investigator grappling with post-traumatic stress. As we follow Johnson and her camera, it becomes clear that the work takes an emotional toll on her, too. To make “Cameraperson,” Johnson gathered outtakes and footage from some of her previous documentaries as well as images of family life, with her children in New York and her parents at her childhood home in Beaux Arts, Wash. We are right there with her, feeling the adrenaline, as she trails a raging boxer out of the ring — yelling and throwing punches — and into the locker room. Our hearts ache with hers as we observe the twisting, clenched hands of an anguished girl facing an unplanned pregnancy alone. Johnson takes us inside the cab of the pickup truck that dragged James Byrd to his death — and leaves our imaginations to dwell there. And Johnson shares with us intimate moments with her mother, tracking her shifting perceptions of the world and relationships as Alzheimer’s disease progresses. She died in 2007. The film traces a circle of life, with Johnson and her camera at the center. The conscience and unique sensibility Johnson brings to her profession was honed by her upbringing in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Eating meat, drinking, dancing, even movies, were restricted in Johnson’s childhood. The education she and her brother Kirk (Class of ’78) had at a Seventhday Adventist school was “hermetic,” Johnson says. They could only read books written by Christians and had little exposure to competitive sports, theater, and the arts. When Johnson transferred to Lakeside in grade 9, “My mind was being blown constantly,” she said. “It was this fabulous sort of generative, thrilling experience.” For a time, she considered following in her father’s footsteps to become a psychiatrist, but a C grade in college biology convinced her otherwise. Her interest in issues of race and social justice eventually led her to work on a film set in West Africa and from there to film school in Paris. Once she got behind a camera, she knew that’s where she belonged. “I loved having the camera,” she said. “It 22

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Fall/Winter 2016

gave me permission to be places that you are not necessarily allowed to be.” Johnson is one of very few women camera professionals. A recent New York Times story notes that of the 2000 top-grossing movies from 1994 to 2013, only 1.8 percent of the cinematographers were women. More women have penetrated the ranks of documentary filmmaking, with its smaller budgets and smaller box office draws. But even so, only 12 percent of the International Cinematographers Guild members are women. She titled her film “Cameraperson” to highlight that disparity. Johnson notes: “Every day when I am filming someone calls me a cameraman — because that’s the default language, right?” Her work on documentaries brings Johnson into close contact with people in extreme situations and those who have survived profound trauma. Earlier in her career, when the internet was not so far-reaching, she could promise survivors of persecution or injustice that when they revealed their faces to her camera they would be safe because the film would have limited distribution. Now nearly everybody carries a smartphone and films can be accessed most anywhere instantaneously. “The consequences of that, we are still trying to wrap our heads around,” she said. Her decision to make “Cameraperson” came after an earlier film she was directing and filming in Afghanistan fell through. A young woman whose life Johnson had documented over the course of three years viewed the film and said she couldn’t be in it: She was afraid. Even though Johnson had invested a huge amount of time and resources on the project and believed in the importance of showing the world what the life of Afghan girls and women is like, she had to ask herself, “Who does the film serve if the person is in danger?” “Making ‘Cameraperson’ is for me a way of acknowledging that image-making is always relationships and they are relationships that exist in time. They are one thing in this moment in time, but we don’t know what they will be in the future, and the image is the thing that carries that relationship forward into the future.” Each time Johnson trains her camera on a person, she knows the images she records and the stories she hears will come with emotional burdens for her. “They happen to you the way an indelible image happens to you: You see it and you can’t unsee it.” ■ Sheila Farr — a poet, author, and former art critic for The Seattle Times — writes about the arts from Seattle: sofarr@earthlink.net.

uGordon cut a short film for Lakeside Educational Enrichment Program (LEEP), the nonprofit educational program for Seattle inner-city kids. It was Gordon’s first real film. Vassar would show it for years. Gordon took six months off from college and taught English and math in a rural village in Kenya. While there, he witnessed the bureaucracy and corruption and cultural norms that complicated the project of building a new school, and he felt compelled to tell the story of the project. He brought hours of film footage back and took a documentary film course at Yale to gain more tools. He taught himself how to edit on an Avid video system. He did exactly what he would later advise aspiring filmmakers to do: Get a cheap camera. Tell a story that hasn’t been told before. He went on to earn an honors degree in architecture — more structure — and a writing fellowship at Oxford University. He attended Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. He brought all that perspective to his first breakout project, “The King of Kong,” a 2007 documentary about the quirky world of competitive arcade video gaming. The film’s unexpected humor and empathy charmed critics. In Hollywood, people noticed. Gordon was invited to direct a feature comedy, “Four Christmases,” starring Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn, A-list actors who had seen “Kong” and loved it. Vaughn insisted that Gordon be brought on to direct the $80 million project. Then 32 years old, Gordon told The Los Angeles Times that his move from shoestring documentaries to big-budget filmmaking was “an unprecedented, staggering, irrational leap.” The comedy became a hit, grossing more than $160 million at the box office worldwide, and established Gordon as a go-to big-time director. He went on to direct “Horrible Bosses” and “The Identity Thief ” before being tapped for “Baywatch.” He worked with 150-person crews, huge casts, and marketing budgets, alone, in the millions of dollars. At the same time, he created a

amazon pictures/open road films

Gordon produced the film “Gleason,” the tender, unflinching story of a former NFL player living with Lou Gehrig’s disease, which won the audience award for best documentary at the Seattle International Film Festival and had its theatrical release in July.

small production company, Exhibit A, through which he’s produced serious documentaries such as “Freakonomics” and “Undefeated,” the story of a North Memphis high school football team, which won the Oscar for best documentary in 2012. He added television serials to his credits (“Marry Me,” “The Goldbergs,” which incorporates actual home-movie footage from the 1980s in each episode, blurring the line between documentary and fiction). Longtime collaborator Clay Tweel has a theory about Gordon’s wide-ranging success. “I think there’s something with the whole architecture piece,” says Tweel. “I think of Seth as someone who can distill something complicated into a basic form that people can understand. He can visualize the abstract and concrete at the same time. That’s rare.” When asked in public about his unusual dual roles of directing commercial movies while producing serious documentaries, Gordon says the formats complement each other, that working in one art form makes him a better storyteller in the other. Privately, he says, “I love docs. Except I can’t make a living doing docs.” Instead, he leverages

his big-budget work and his clout in Hollywood to foster the visions of serious documentary makers. As Mary Rohlich, who runs Gordon’s production company, puts it, “To commit his time to directing documentaries, Seth would have to push pause on so many other projects. Instead, he helps other directors do great work. And as producers

go, he’s unusually involved in the creative process.” When pushed to define how his point of view informs his art, Gordon says that maybe he has an eye for finding humor and humanity, together, in just about any situation, whether in real life or a screenplay. That particular perspective might be the deep thread that runs through his dis-

parate projects. It is an especially bright thread in “Gleason,” the tender, humor-filled documentary Gordon produced of a former NFL athlete and father whose spirit is unbroken by Lou Gehrig’s disease. The film was shown at the Centerpiece Gala of last spring’s Seattle International Film Festival, where it won the audience award for best documentary. (A knee injury, suffered on the set of the “Baywatch” filming, kept Gordon from attending the showing.) That point of view will almost certainly animate the fun and deeply human projects Gordon has in the works: a musical adaptation of “The King of Kong”; “Freedom Fighters,” a documentary about the efforts of a group of exonerees from Dallas who have launched their own detective agency to help innocent prisoners; “Antarctica,” a Netflix comedy TV series about an autistic teenager who’s moving out of his family’s house to live on his own. “We’re shooting as much as we can from the viewpoint of the teenager,” Gordon says. “We’re playing a lot with perspective on that one.” ■

Gordon, center, spent much of last spring on location in Florida and Georgia, directing the movie version of the popular television series “Baywatch,” starring Dwayne Johnson, left, and Zac Efron.

COURTESY

OF SETH

GORDON

Lakesiders in Hollywood

Closeups:

Alums share career highlights, from big breaks to dream projects uMichael Benaroya ’99,

producer-financier, owner of three film-related companies Known for: Owner/CEO of Benaroya

Pictures, a film financier and film and TV production company; owner/founder of International Film Trust, a foreign sales agency and C4 Research and Development, an entertainment research and analysis company. “I've also produced over 20 theatrical feature films, created five published comic series, and created three TV series that have been sold to major TV networks, including Showtime, and are expected to have pilots (or in one case a full season) produced in the next few months.”

Career highlights: Films “Lawless,” star-

ring Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf, Jason Clarke, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska, and Gary Oldman, which grossed $38 million at the U.S. box office; and “Margin Call,” with Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, and Mary McDonnell, which was nominated for an Academy Award for best original screenplay (“which I found and chose to green light”) and won an Independent Spirit Award for its director J.C. Chandor.

Courtesy of Ashley Ellis ’04

Ashley Ellis ’04 is producing “A Forgotten Place,” a narrative feature set during the Nigerian Civil War.

Live Action Shorts at the 88th Academy Awards) Quotable: “The most useful Lakeside classes

to my film career were …” “… Technical Theater Production with Al Snapp and Art History with Ms. (Amy) Kaz - I never could have predicted it in high school, but learning to use power tools and analyze an image have been incredibly useful as a set decorator.” More: lizzieboyledesign.com.

uAshley Ellis ’04,

writer, filmmaker

“…I read the script ‘Margin Call.’ I knew it was good and had to be made. When our first offer to Kevin Spacey was accepted, we knew that the rest of the cast would fall into place. It's always toughest to get that first big star attached; once you have that, it's much easier for other stars to feel comfortable joining the cast, and of course the agents take your offer much more seriously when you have big cast attachments already in place."

Known for: Produced and directed “After We Lost Shima,” a documentary centered on the work of fellow alum Tico McNutt '75; currently producing “A Forgotten Place,” a narrative feature set during the Nigerian Civil War; “Little Evil Bookshop,” a dark comedy feature about “a small-town occult bookstore owner awaiting the visit of the leader of a secret society that I'm signed on to direct, to be produced by a team that includes fellow alum Jessica Schott ’05.” (Schott is studying film and TV writing through UCLA extension program.) “Look out for our forthcoming crowdfunding campaign on Seed & Spark!”

More: http://www.imdb.com/name/ nm2918260/; www.benaroyapictures.com.

(search “Ashley Ellis (III)”).

Quotable: “My big break came when …”

uLizzie Boyle ’08, set decorator Known for: “Miss Stevens” (2016 SXSW

Official Selection); “Day One” (nominated,

LAKESIDE

Fall/Winter 2016

More: www.emeraldcity-arts.com or IMDb

Quotable: “What would surprise most people about the movie business is …” “…how difficult it is for independent filmmakers to bring their stories to an audience."

uKevin Field '91, VR content

producer, visual effects production manager

Known for: Recently began producing VR content for Oculus, a virtual reality technology company. Spent most of his career in visual effects, most recently at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). “After starting as one of his assistants, I was promoted a few times and ended up as VP of George Clooney’s production company with Steven Soderbergh. Before I was hired there in 2010, getting to work at ILM in visual effects had been a personal dream of mine, ever since childhood; a dream I had had even longer, of working on a ‘Star Wars’ film, also came true when I got to work on Episode 7 there last year.” More: www.linkedin.com/in/kevinmfield; IMDb (search “Kevin Field (I)”). Quotable: “My dream project would be …”

“ … to write a feature screenplay with Fred Northup ’91, for Chris Miller ’93 to direct and Aditya Sood ’93 to produce. (Guys, I'll have my people call your people.)” uWeston Gaylord ’11, virtual

reality post-production specialist

Known for: Post-production work at Here

Be Dragons, a virtual reality production company (formerly Vrse.works). Recent projects include “The Displaced,” a New York Times VR documentary (Cannes Entertainment Lions Grand Prix 2016); “The Click Effect,” an underwater VR experience with James Nestor and Fabrice

Schnoller; “Here and Now,” a VR film shot in Grand Central Station with Facebook’s Surround 360 camera.

best dramatic score in 2015).

More: westongaylord.com.

Quotable: “My big break came when … ”

More: IMDb; https://soundcloud.com/

john-nordstrom-4

Quotable: “VR today …”

“…looks a lot like cinema a hundred years ago — a Wild West of short-form experimentation in which results range from nauseating to breathtaking. I’m excited to discover where the medium will go next and help determine what stories it can tell.” uKatie Miller ’98, script coordinator Known for: Working on “Son of Zorn,”

which began airing on Fox this fall: “It’s a live action show with one animated character (Zorn). My brother Chris Miller ’93 is one of the executive producers of the show. “Before this job I worked in television development for Aggregate, which is Jason Bateman’s production company on the Universal Lot. Before that I was an agent trainee at United Talent Agency. I have also worked as VFX (visual effects) coordinator and a PA (production assistant) on both TV and movies.” “As a script coordinator, I am a member of the writing staff but also a liaison to our production team. I get to participate on many sides of the process … keeping up with the writers, putting out scripts, dealing

Courtesy of Katie Miller ’98

Katie Miller ’98 with Zorn, the animated character on the live action show “Son of Zorn” where she’s script coordinator.

with legal and clearance issues and making sure the production and animation teams are able to execute what the writers have envisioned for the script.” More: On Twitter @darlingkatie; Instagram and Facebook.

Quotable: “What I love about my job …”

“… is that I get to spend time both in the writers’ room and on set. Another perk of working on this show in particular is that occasionally I get to work with my brother.” uJohn Nordstrom ’86,

composer for film and TV

Known for: Composer for “One Tree Hill”

and the CBS daytime series “The Bold and the Beautiful” (Emmy Award winner for

COURTESY of Weston Gaylord ’11

Weston Gaylord ’11, L.A.-based post-production specialist for the virtual reality company Here Be Dragons, during prep for a VR f ilm shot with Facebook’s Surround 360 camera at New York’s Grand Central Station. This photo was shot with a custom GoPro rig they were testing. (The Surround 360 camera’s on a tripod at the left edge of the photo.)

“…I received a call at 5 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon in 1994 while driving home on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. It was Fox Television, and they asked me if I could compose a :45 second opening theme for their big new series 'Models, Inc.,' a spinoff of 'Melrose Place,' which was the hottest show on television. Oh, and they needed it in 12 hours … I replied, ‘Of course!’ and rushed home. In the following 12 hours I composed, performed, recorded, and mixed the theme by myself in my bedroom/ home studio. I turned it in to Fox at 7 a.m. and they cut the video to my music that morning. At 3 p.m., I received a call from TV legend Aaron Spelling, ‘It’s a gorgeous theme, John!’ That night it was on the air, watched by almost 20 million people.” uS. Leigh Savidge ’76,

screenwriter, producer, director, founder Xenon Pictures Known for: One of the writers and executive producers of “Straight Outta Compton,” which received an Academy Award nomination for best original screenplay. ➢

Courtesy of S. Leigh Savidge ’76

S. Leigh Savidge ’76, a writer and executive producer of “Straight Outta Compton.”

Lakesiders in Hollywood

Andy Schocken ’92 setting up an interview with Wynton Marsalis for his f ilm “Song of Lahore.”

Wasif Arshad

“My way into the business was from the home entertainment/content distribution side of things. I'd borrowed some money from friends and produced Jay Leno's first live concert pre-Tonight Show; I founded Xenon to self-distribute the Leno project. During the next few years, I built the country's first home entertainment initiative for African-American film content by acquiring films in that category not controlled by the Hollywood's major studios; by 1998 Xenon had grown to be the leading U.S. independent distributor of African-American film content according to The Los Angeles Times. I began looking at the huge and woefully unaddressed market for Latin and Spanish-speaking film/TV content and was able to get into business with Grupo Televisa, the world’s leading producer of Latin/Spanish TV content. “By the early 2000s it became clear that the future of content delivery was rooted in digital distribution and four companies were going to control that space: Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google. I shifted my company's focus to the writing and development of motion pictures I felt could reach a large, broad-based global audience. Being a screenwriter and producer had been my original objective, and I'd always worked on various scripts at night and on weekends. Screenplay No. 15 was 'Straight Outta Compton,' which I'd written after 26

LAKESIDE

Fall/Winter 2016

directing and financing a documentary on the notorious hip-hop label Death Row Records, 'Welcome to Death Row.' From the initial drafts (21 in all), to the securing of the music rights, to the involvement of multiple Hollywood studios and additional writers, the green light on 'Compton' took 13 years. “Currently, I’m working on a screenplay about Sub Pop Records, which is easily Seattle's most important story in terms of music and music's influence on the global stage. At its core, the Sub Pop story has everything a writer needs to make a world class film: two music-loving outsiders (Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman) who, in the face of impossible odds and almost no capital to work with, identify the most important and successful rock musicians of their time period and sell the world on the so-called grunge movement which changes the face of the entire rock music business. …The story's other principal character is Megan Jasper, a former roadie who starts as the company's receptionist, rescues it in its darkest hour and becomes one of the most important and influential female figures in the music business.” More: LinkedIn

Quotable: “What most people don’t know

about the motion picture business is …” “It pays to have a positive outlook on things. If you find the right private detective and know where the right AA

meetings are, you can find a handful of Hollywood studio executives that possess a modicum of unforced compassion.” uAndy Schocken ’92, pro-

ducer, director, cinematographer Known for: Producing/directing “Song of Lahore,” a 2015 feature documentary that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was distributed theatrically by Broad Green Pictures. It received “a perfect 100 rating on Rotten Tomatoes, The New York Times described it as ‘Elegant and moving’ and Variety called it ‘A fascinating study in cross-cultural pollination … ‘Song’ positively sings.’ ” Co-producer and cinematographer for “The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner,” which was nominated for an Academy Award, and aired on HBO, about the late Lakeside alumnus Booth Gardner. “I’ve also done cinematography for numerous theatrically released documentaries, such as ‘First Position,’ ‘Gerhard Richter Painting,’ ‘A Lego Brickumentary,’ and ‘Very Semi-Serious.’ ” More: andyschocken.com

Quotable: “What would surprise most people about the movie business is …” “ … that most of your time is actually spent in development and post-production. The number of days spent in the field are pretty limited.” ■

Recreation”) in ‘Edgar Allan Poe's Murder Mystery Dinner Party.’” More: youtube.com/Rock-

etJump, youtube.com/Jimmy, youtube.com/FeastOfFiction or Twitter @jfwong. uSCILLA ANDREEN

’80, CEO & co-founder IndieFlix, producer, executive producer

Jimmy Wong 05’s “Feast of Fiction” cooking show is bubbling along.

uUPDATES We featured these four filmmaker alumni in 2012 or 2013 issues on creativity and innovation (find links at www.lakesideschool. org/magazine.) We asked them to share a few career highlights since then. uFREDDIE WONG ’04, co-founder

internet film production firm RocketJump, director, executive producer.

“IndieFlix.com, content for independent thinkers, continues to thrive and has now become one of the most meaningful global, streaming services in the industry. We provide filmmakers with real revenue and share data, which by Hollywood standards is considered LEE to be disruptive. MELLY QuickPick, our new discovery tool, helps audiences easily sample hundreds of films in our 8,000-plus library. And every minute you watch the filmmaker gets paid. “I’ve produced two documentary films, ‘The Empowerment Project’ and ‘Screenagers: Growing Up In The Digital Age,’ …currently screening in hundreds of schools, corporations and communities … and am in production on a documentary, ‘Ask Me How I Am' (slated for release next year) that we hope will redefine normal. It’s time to have a conversation and break the stigma around anxiety and depression. This project was inspired by my dear

friend, Lakeside alum, and former executive director of the IndieFlix Foundation, the late Tina Helsell '81 (with others in the Lakeside community collaborating, including director Mimi Gan). The IndieFlix Foundation … helped fund the films mentioned and underwrote a three-college tour of ‘Perspective: The Party’ (an acclaimed live-action story of a sexual assault at a frat party that viewers experience through the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, from both a man’s and a woman’s points of view). It was one of the hardest and most rewarding experiences for me.” More: IndieFlix.com.

uLily Whitsitt ’01, director,

producer, co-founder of multimedia performance group Door 10 “I just finished co-producing a new independent feature directed by Ian Olds, ‘The Fixer,’ starring Dominic Rains, James Franco, Melissa Leo, Thomas J. Ryan and Rachel Brosnahan. We premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival this spring and then played at the San Francisco International Film Festival and the Newport Beach Film Festival. We are now in the process of trying to sell the film. “ ‘The Fixer’ tells the story of an Afghan journalist reporting on a backwoods corner of America. Leaving behind his life as a fixer for Western journalists covering the war in Afghanistan, Osman (Dominic Rains) finds himself in a small bohemian town in Northern California working as a crime reporter for the local newspaper.” More: www.fixerthefilm.com; www.instagram.com/lilywhitsitt.

■

“We've just started filming a sci-fi anthology show for Hulu, entitled ‘Dimension 404.’ This is our second project with Hulu, the first being ‘RocketJump: The Show,’ a documentary series about the making of ridiculous short films.” More: RocketJump.com; @rocketjumptweet on Twitter.

uJIMMY WONG ’05, actor, musician “My cooking channel ‘Feast of Fiction’ recently passed over a half million subscribers in our fourth year of production. I have been producing, directing, writing, and acting in two short films every month for RocketJump this past year. I acted alongside Emma Watson in the upcoming movie ‘The Circle’; was a main character in the cult hit ‘Dude Bro Party Massacre III’ last year; and recently co-starred with Jim O'Heir (“Parks and

IndieFlix

“Screenagers: Growing Up in The Digital Age,” produced by Scilla Andreen ’80, has shown at numerous schools and in July opened the Seattle Transmedia & Independent Film Festival. Lakesiders in Hollywood

AL SNAPP/digital media arts TOM REESE

uHow Lakeside teaches about film

teacher, has taught a film elective, now called Literary Explorations: Cinema, for 12 years. His background: Grew up in a film family — Grandfather was Chico Marx of the Marx Brothers, mother was a casting director, father was a Disney animator. But poetry is Culhane’s primary creative medium. Class focus: classic and contemporary film noir; technical elements such as montage, motif, sound editing, and camera work — “less about film as narrative and more about the moving image and how cinematography and editing create stories.” Discussion topics include gender dynamics and film as social commentary. For final projects, students demonstrate the techniques they studied in their own creative projects, such as a short film, documentary, or music video. Class watches: "The Maltese Falcon," "Chinatown," "Fargo," "The Graduate," "The Godfather," "Vertigo," "City of God" (Brazil), "The Lives of

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Fall/Winter 2016

Why teach film? “It’s a great American

art form … It has a profound effect on how people view Americans and how we view ourselves.” How today’s students see film: “They’re highly literate in terms of their ability to interpret images. They’re bombarded by images. Their knowledge of film is perhaps quite narrow because they tend (this is a gross generalization) to focus on very contemporary films. “The serials on TV, so well written and acted, are supplanting interest in the novel. When people binge watch ‘Homeland,’ or ‘The Good Wife,’ or ‘The Wire,’ they’re basically having a novelistic experience, with cinematic chapters.”

MAL GOSS, Upper School English teach-

er, began also teaching Literary Explorations: Cinema this year. Her background: With a BFA in screenwriting, she aimed to write for soap operas, intrigued by the particular challenge of “these shows where people were watching for decades; they’re constantly engaged. But at the same time, the way shows are written, you have to be able to provide enough information so if someone new jumps in, they can pick up most of what’s going on within a week.” Nowadays, in addition to teaching, she writes fiction. Class focus: Screenwriting and how a film gets from idea to film. Some angles they study: “When you read the script and see the movie, what are the differences? How can

BRIAN CULHANE & MAL GOSS/literary explorations: cinema

Lindsay Orlowski

BRIAN CULHANE, Upper School English

Others" (Germany), among others.

TOM REESE

Lakeside offers three film-related classes at the Upper School: an elective on cinema taught by two teachers from two distinct angles; and an elective on digital media arts. Here the faculty share a bit about the why and how of their classes.

something not funny on the page turn out to be very humorous? How do you create a setting in a script so if it’s set in Boston it feels like it’s set in Boston?” They read articles and watch videos of directors and compare films with their scripts. Class watches: “Good Will Hunting,” “Memento,” and “Fargo,” among others. Students’ original film ideas: Her

students’ major project is to create a script — from initial idea, to writing a logline (a one-sentence summary), to three-act summaries with major plot points written into the scenes, to revisions, to final script. (See a selection of their loglines at right.)

Student presenters introduce a clip at last spring’s Lakeside Middle School Academy Awards ceremony, which recognizes students’ favorites among films made by 7th grade English students.

AL SNAPP, Upper School arts teacher, teaches Digital Media Arts. His background: Producer at Empty Space Theatre and elsewhere, studied filmmaking in art school, worked for a local video production company. He taught the first digital media arts elective in 2001; “at the time I said ‘we need this,’ nobody knew what that was.” Class focus (changes since ’01): “The

online world and social media world has altered what students most benefit from learning in a film studies class or in a digital media class. Social media promotes shorter and shorter films. “I used to have students do PSAs (public service announcements); the PSA for TV was 30 or 60 seconds. Now I teach advocacy videos, which are best on the web. There’s no limit to time. There’s experimentation going on, in a wide variety of genres, as to what is the most effective length. But the trend is toward brevity, as with Snapchat, Instagram, or Vines. If you’re getting into phone apps or games, that’s another way the format influences the imaging, the editing, the pace.” The class experiences the whole scope of putting together a video or film, including recording and editing audio and making use of nonproprietary music or creating music. The industry buzz over an award-winning 2015 featurelength film shot entirely on an iPhone5 prompted Snapp last year to assign students for the first time to use phones to shoot their short video projects. They still

Lindsay Orlowski

edit with pro editing software. “Today’s digital tools give an individual creator much greater efficiency and control over their ability to present their story. And helping students develop storytelling skills is still at the heart of what we do. Our students are digitally native. They get it. They’re very fast. And the wonderful thing about their being accustomed to sharing impulsive half-baked videos all the time is they’re not afraid to share things. Some are gems. But even when they’re not, you learn every time.” ■

FILMMAKING AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL

Their Digital Life classes introduce Middle Schoolers to filmmaking techniques including storyboarding, script writing, setting up shots, filming using the built-in cameras on their tablets and using video cameras, importing video and audio, and editing in WeVideo. In grade 5 they make PSAs and video book talks. In a now-13-year tradition, students in 7th grade English class film original dramas, thrillers, and comedies that are then judged by the student body as part of the Lakeside Middle School Academy Awards. Find a link to the overall 2016 winner at www.lakeside school.org/magazine. ■

uLakeside

students' film plots

Here are some of the loglines — one-sentence summaries of their movie scripts — by students in Mal Goss’s spring class, Literary Explorations: Cinema. Inspired by a true story, a young playboygone-wild meets a woman who challenges him to do the impossible: read “Ulysses” from front to back, a task that will take him all across the world and ultimately forces him to question his past and present self. A troubled war vet, recently released from the military, has to prove that his squad commander shot an innocent child, while they were on active duty, to get closure in his own life. A hard-working high school senior, who is convinced to skip school by his carefree best friend, must do everything he can to avoid being caught and ends up learning more about himself than he ever imagined. A retired animal rights activist fights to redeem himself in the eyes of his daughter by rescuing her favorite exhibit at the zoo — Khloe the Koala. A tech millionaire quits his job to sell pot when it is legalized in a U.S. state, and in an effort to avoid irritating federal regulations, spirals into an underground world he never knew existed.

Teaching about film

ALUMNI Lakeside/St. Nicholas Alumni Board

2016-2017

NEWS

Alumni Board welcomes 10 new members

he Lakeside/St. Nicholas Alumni Board is pleased to welcome 10 new members this year. Get to know these representatives from the alumni community: Maki Arakawa ’93 Family: Married with son, 6, and

daughter, 3. Work: Attorney at Summit Law Group. Education: Stanford University, U.C. Berkeley School of Law, Boalt Hall. Fun: Traveling, swimming, cooking, and spending time with her family. A little more: Before joining Summit, she spent several years working in San Francisco and in Tokyo as an in-house lawyer for Amazon and as an associate at Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Morrison & Foerster LLP. Alison Alkire Behnke ’00 Family: Married to Zane Behnke

’00 with two preschool-age sons. Work: Teacher at Mercer Middle School. Education: Middlebury College, University of Washington (Master in Teaching). Fun: Baking, writing, doing anything that gets her outside (gardening, chasing her kids at the park, hiking), catching up with friends, and bingereading novels. A little more: After Middlebury she headed to San Francisco to attempt to apply her liberal arts degree in the real world. While working at two Bay Area nonprofits, 826 Valencia and Making Waves, Alison discovered her passion for education.

Ginger Ferguson ’82 Family: Mother of a daughter, 20,

and son, 23. Work: School psychologist for Seattle Public Schools. Education: Pomona College, University of Washington (Master of Education). Fun: Hiking, skiing, kayaking, and reading. A little more: She’s been working in both public and independent schools as a school counselor and school psychologist for over 20 years, including five spent in New Zealand as an educational psychologist.

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Fall/Winter 2016

Laurie Frink ’81 Work: Registered client associate

at Wells Fargo Advisors. Education: University of Puget Sound. Fun: Skiing and watching the Huskies, Seahawks, and Sounders with her family. A little more: After college, she worked in the international shipping business and for a ski resort in Utah before returning to Seattle and beginning her 25-plus year career in the financial industry. Brooke Loughrin ’10 Work: Associate communications

analyst (social impact) at Deloitte. Education: Boston College. Fun: Hiking, biking, and kayaking. A little more: While in college, she was selected by Ambassador Susan E. Rice to serve as the first-ever U.S. Youth Observer to the United Nations. Michelle Moore Morrison ’02 Family: Married. Work: Owner/photographer of

Michelle Moore Photography. Education: University of Washington. Fun: Cooking, boating, and traveling. A little more: While most of her previous work was in portrait photography, she has been shifting her business to focus more on commercial lifestyle photography and has worked with companies like Amazon, women’s retailer Free People, and Shoes.com. Gen Rubin ’88 Family: Married with two daugh-

ters, 10 and 13. Work: Songwriter/producer. Education: Brown University. Fun: Spending time with family and snowboarding. A little more: He left Brown after two years when offered a songwriting deal from Warner Music Group in Los Angeles. He’s written and produced for artists like Mary J. Blige, Aretha Franklin, and Babyface, and won a Latin Grammy for Song of the Year.

What is the Lakeside/St. Nicholas Alumni Board and what does it do?

he Alumni Board works to “assist Lakeside School in creating and maintaining a vibrant and engaged greater Lakeside alumni community.” It meets on campus monthly from September to June, and each meeting includes a guest-speaker panel of students, teachers, or administrators. Each member serves a three-year term and participates on one of three committees. The activities committee plans events and activities (think Alumni Row, Beers with Bernie for young alumni, community service events, and more). The mission and governance committee chooses the Distinguished Alumni Award winner and recruits new board members. The connections committee works to build connections within our alumni and school communities. Alumni Board members also have the opportunity to attend classes at the Upper and Middle schools each year.

2016-2017

LAKESIDE/ ST. NICHOLAS ALUMNI BOARD OFFICERS Crystal Ondo ’99

President Ben Stephens ’77 Family: Married to Natalie

Grim Stephens ’81, with two sons, Lakeside Classes of 2015 and 2019. Work: Mediator with Alhadeff & Forbes Mediation Services. Education: Amherst College, Cornell Law School. Fun: Watching his sons’ athletic events, cooking, birdwatching, and biking. A little more: Previously, he was the vice presi-

dent of corporate affairs at Intellectual Ventures and senior corporate counsel at AT&T Wireless. He started his career at Bogle & Gates and Riddell Williams. Ishani Ummat ’13 Education: Senior at Univer-

sity of Washington, studying finance, international business, and global health. Work: Managing partner of the Montlake Consulting Group.

Fun: Skiing, backpacking, and searching for

French food.

A little more: She spent seven months abroad

in her junior year, researching mental illness in rural Gujarat via a USAID Fellowship Program, and continued on to study international business strategy in France. Elizabeth Richardson Vigdor ’85 Family: Married with one

son, 15, and two daughters, 12 and 9. Work: Senior lecturer at the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the UW. Education: Princeton University, Harvard School of Public Health (Master of Science), Harvard University (Ph.D.). Fun: Running, reading, and being a Girl Scout leader. A little more: Taught at Duke University for 15 years before returning to Seattle. Started her career as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch before switching to academia. ■

Interested in learning more about the board? Email the alumni relations office at alumni@lakesideschool.org to be connected to a current board member. Join us to celebrate and strengthen our vibrant alumni community!

Claudia Hung ’89

President-elect

Meredith Dorrance ’87

Mission and Governance Chair Maurice Drayton ’89

Activities Chair

Trevor Klein ’03

Connections Chair MEMBERS Maki Arakawa ’93 Bruce Bailey ’59

(Lifetime Honorary Member)

Alison Alkire Behnke ’00 Sophie Calderón ’00 Michelle Chang Chen ’90 Ginger Ferguson ’82 Laurie Frink ’81 John Hammarlund ’79 Brooke Loughrin ’10 Sadie Mackay ’09 Alexa Helsell McIntyre ’98 Tyler Moriguchi ’91 Michelle Moore Morrison ’02 Alexander Oki ’08 Trevor Parris ’97 Gen Rubin ’88 Daniel Jeffrey Shih ’90 Ben Stephens ’77 Ishani Ummat ’13 Brandon Vaughan ’06 Elizabeth Richardson Vigdor ’85 Lauren Deal Yelish ’99

Alumni news

CLASS CONNECTIONS 1954

This summer, Frederick Branchflower, Colin Radford, and Terry Agnew gathered at Salty’s restaurant in West Seattle for a celebratory lunch. They all turned 80 years old this year. They chose Salty’s Alki Beach, at 1936 Harbor Ave. S.W., as they were all born in 1936.

1968

On Oct. 15, Barbara Morry Fraumeni was inducted into Wellesley College’s Athletic Hall of Fame. The release from Wellesley notes, “Barbara Morry Fraumeni ’72 is a key part of Wellesley’s storied history in competitive rowing. Fraumeni rowed in the first women’s national championship in 1966, competing as a member of the Seattle Tennis Club before going on to compete in subsequent nationals as a member of the Lake Washington Rowing Club. The recipient of LWRC’s Aldina Nash Award in 1968, she would go on to win five national lightweight rowing championships from 1967 to 1969. At the international level, she served as an alternate on the United States Women’s National Team. She continues to be active in the sport, serving as an umpire at Boston’s world-famous Head of the Charles Regatta since 1990.” Barbara won in the lightweight singles dash, doubles, and quad. Frank Cunningham, a longtime teacher and coach at Lakeside, coached the national champion quad she stroked.

Vicki Watt Sheldon ’64 at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. Vicki posted the photo to the alumni Facebook group noting that this is what alumni do at 69-plus!

1976

Peter Osgood, director of admissions at Harvey Mudd College, was the recipient of the 2016 Henry T. Mudd Prize, an annual award that recognizes extraordinary service to the college. The citation presented at commencement by President Maria Klawe reads, in part, “For his exemplary service to Harvey Mudd College spanning almost two decades, during which he has served with enthusiasm, humility, collegiality and integrity; for his selfless dedication to the mission of the College and to STEM education more broadly; for his active role in mentoring the junior staff, being a kind role model, leading by example with his dedication to serving as the ideal ambassador for the College while maintaining balance in his life; for being a tireless champion of diversity at all levels; for his desert-dry puns that have us all groaning; for epitomizing unwavering loyalty to Harvey Mudd College, being a true citizen of the community and a staff member to be celebrated.”

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Fall/Winter 2016

Members of the Class of ’81 and friends gathered at Lakeside Head of School Bernie Noe’s home for a dinner purchased at the ROAR auction. Pictured back row from left, John Pope ’81, Chris McKey ’81, Tony Dwyer ’81, Dan Springer’81, Charlie Hanson; front row from left, Kris Moe ’81, Rob Outcalt ’81, Bruce Bailey ’59, John Powell ’81, Tom Gorai ’81, and Mark Sherman ’81. Classmates from 1954, from left, Frederick Branchflower, Colin Radford, and Terry Agnew celebrate their 80th birthdays at Salty’s.

1989

John Emch writes that he and his band, Subatomic Sound System, are in the middle of a tour of North America, Europe, and Jamaica with Grammy-winning Jamaican producer Lee “Scratch” Perry, performing Perry’s legendary 1976 studio album “Super Ape” for the first time live as part of the band’s Dub Champions Festival. John shares: “Described by Keith Richards as the ‘Salvador Dali of music,’ the famously eccentric Perry was the first producer to ever appear on an album cover as an artist, one of the first to use a sample, and is credited with inventing the genres of reggae and dub, as well as producing, cultivating, and co-writing some of the world’s most famous music with an artist the world would come to know as Bob Marley. He did this all from his simple home studio known as the Black Ark, which would serve to inspire musicians worldwide for decades … and lead to collaborations with the Clash, Paul McCartney, the Beastie Boys, and many more.” John has been working with Perry since 2007, when he collaborated on an early dubstep track with Perry creating a mix of classic reggae and electronic music. He has been Perry’s band leader and musical director for six years traveling the globe and for the Super Ape tour launched a highly publicized Kickstarter campaign to secure a giant inflatable gorilla for the stage shows. His new single with Perry called “Black Ark Vampires” hit No. 1 on various reggae and electronic charts. CNN affiliate Great Big Story just released a short online film documenting the tour with Perry and Subatomic’s innovative use of computers in redefining live music performance. John writes, “It all started at a 7th grade electronic music class at Lakeside.” You can view the film at https://youtu.be/6zzp6Hr0dXg.

1991

Allison Winn Scotch released her sixth novel, “In Twenty Years,” in early July. She and her family live in Santa Monica, Calif., where her son is in grade 6 and her daughter in grade 4. She’d love to catch up with Lakeside

both exciting and rewarding to support our troops and European allies.” Congratulations to Casey Schuchart who was selected as one of the Puget Sound Business Journal’s 2016 “40 under 40.” Casey is vice president of strategy at the construction firm Schuchart.

1997

Lea Sugimura Tiernan and her husband, Joe, welcomed son Sean Jitsuto Tiernan on April 26.

1998

See 1999 notes for an update on Andrew Laughlin.

1999

In March, Chris Greenman gave a recital of Schubert, Beethoven, and Ravel in McKay Chapel at Lakeside to raise funds for a Peruvian medical nonprofit called Sacred Valley Health. Chris recently started a fellowship in interventional cardiology at Harbor-UCLA / Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles and is hoping to return to the Pacific Northwest thereafter.

John Emch ’89 is on tour with Lee “Scratch” Perry.

Rafi Finegold ’99 with his wife, Rebecca, and their four children. friends the next time she’s in Seattle, probably next summer!

1996

Emile Pitre and his wife, Molly, welcomed Grace Olivia Pitre on May 24 in Mainz, Germany. The family lives in Wiesbaden, Germany, but Emile’s job with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers takes him all around Europe. Emile writes, “For the first two years my territory was Belgium where I had many opportunities to enjoy some of the world’s best beer and chocolate. Just recently, I was promoted to a position that has me traveling to Poland about 30 percent of the time. It is

Rafi Finegold is vice president of product at TrueMotion, a Boston-based startup that uses mobile phones to monitor and improve driving safety. Rafi’s company recently launched its first consumer app, TrueMotion Family, aimed at helping parents and teens measure and start a conversation around safe driving. Check out the app at gotruemotion.com/app. Rafi lives in Sharon, Mass., with his wife of 12½ years, Rebecca, ➢

Grace Olivia Pitre is the daughter of Emile Pitre ’96 and his wife, Molly.

Sean Jitsuto Tiernan, son of Lea Sugimura Tiernan ’97 and her husband, Joe. Alumni news

CLASS CONNECTIONS

Alexander “Alec” Osorio Laughlin, son of Andrew ’98 and Vanessa Brewster Laughlin ’99.

Friends from 2004 at the wedding of classmate Houston Gossett (who was off taking photos with his bride); from left, Jason Buursma, Thomas Cho, William Clough, Ben Forman, Nick Scott, Brewster Stanislaw, Andy Bench, Joe Phillips, Rishi Kumar, Jonah Rathbun, Jake Cox, and Joey Kotkins.

Sean Whitsitt ’05, was her bridesman. Family and friends from both coasts made the trip to celebrate with the couple who will continue living in Brooklyn, New York. In June, Lily began work as TED Fellows’s community manager. She writes, “I’m thrilled about the position and am loving it. I’m also still continuing to work on my theater and film projects with my company, Door 10. We’re developing our newest piece, ‘This Is the Color Described By the Time,’ adapted from an early Gertrude Stein play.”

2004 Victoria Shum ’04 reads to baby Lincoln.

Victoria Shum and her husband, Vincent, are pleased to have welcomed baby Lincoln into their family in April. She writes, “We praise God for this blessing!”

and his four kids, Bentzi, 10, Ayelet, 9, Amiel, 6, and Meital, 2. Before joining TrueMotion more than two years ago, he spent six years at Zipcar.

Briana Abrahms married Brendan Blake on Oct. 31, 2015, the anniversary of their first date. The ceremony included Danny Abrahms ’07 and Ilana Kegel.

Andrew ’98 and Vanessa Brewster Laughlin, along with their 3-year old, Blake, welcomed a baby boy on Feb. 24: Alexander “Alec” Osorio Laughlin. When asked to comment on the new arrival, chocolate lab Kayser (demoted to “family dog” in 2013) responded with, “While this event may indicate a concerning trend, my own analysis has concluded the likelihood of future incidents is quite low.”

2001

On July 23, Lily Whitsitt married Ian Olds on Whidbey Island. Former Lakeside faculty member Bob Mazelow served as officiant with assistance from former faculty member Kathleen Sears. Lily’s brother,

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2007

As part of her master’s thesis at New York University, Jamila Humphrie co-created a play titled “How We G.L.O.W.” (Gay, Lesbian, or Whatever), which features interviews with 20 LGBTQ+ youth about their identities and their experiences in schools and communities. It has been performed over a dozen times at schools and theaters in the New York City area. More information can be found at howweglow.com.

2010

After graduating from Dartmouth in 2014, Anna Franklin worked as a research coordinator in the University of Washington’s psychology department. This fall she

Lily Whitsitt ’01 married Ian Olds on July 23.

Send us your updates! Share your updates and photos with classmates and Lakeside/St. Nicholas friends! Events big and small, personal or professional, are always of interest. Send in your baby announcement and photo and we’ll outfit your little one with a Lakeside bib. Photo guidelines: We ask that images be at least 300 dpi, approximately 6 inches wide, so they will display well. Email notes and photos to alumni@ lakesideschool.org. Deadline for the spring issue is Feb. 6.

Briana Abrahms ’04 and husband Brendan Blake, center, with wedding guests including Ilana Kegel ’04, fourth from right, and Danny Abrahms ’07, seventh from right. Division of Medical Sciences.

The stage is set for “How We G.L.O.W.” (Gay, Lesbian, or Whatever), a play co-created by Jamila Humphrie ’07.

began working toward a Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. She would love to connect with any alumni living in Philly.

2012

Jeanne Gallée graduated from Wellesley College with a major in cognitive sciences and linguistics and a second major in psychology. This fall she began as a Ph.D. candidate in the Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology program, a graduate program within the Harvard

Natalie Spach ’12 traveled to Honduras this summer with Shoulder to Shoulder, a nonprof it that provides medical services to the people of Intibuca, Honduras.

Lauren West graduated from Webb Institute in New York with a degree in naval architecture and marine engineering. She moved to Helsinki, Finland, in October to begin work at an engineering firm. Natalie Spach graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude with high honors in Hispanic Studies from Davidson College, where she played two years of varsity soccer and started every game during her tenure as an athlete. After stopping soccer to focus on academics and pre-med activities, she volunteered as a medical interpreter at a free clinic for uninsured patients living in the greater Charlotte, N.C., area. She was awarded the Davidson Impact Fellowship to work for Mountain Area Health Education Center in Asheville, N.C., where she is currently conducting research and providing community health services to high-risk patients in the rural communities of Western North Carolina. She traveled to Honduras for a second year this summer on a medical brigade trip with the nonprofit organization Shoulder to Shoulder, which provides medical services to the people of Intibuca, Honduras. Alex Koh graduated from Northwestern in ➢

Alumni news

CLASS CONNECTIONS

Former Lakeside teacher Aster Chin, left, with Sophie Shank ’12 as she receives the J.E. Wallace Sterling Scholastic Award at Stanford. Class of 2016 – welcome to the Lakeside/St. Nicholas Alumni Association. Your bricks are up in The Paul G. Allen Athletics Center. Stop by campus soon to check them out!

Karisma Gupta ’12 received a Fulbright Scholarship to study in Mumbai, India. June with a degree in biological sciences and began working for a health care software company in Madison, Wis. Kathryn Beebe graduated from Whitman College in May with a Bachelor of Arts in Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology and began working as a research scientist for the Miller Lab at the University of Washington. She has been learning and working on projects that include molecular cloning, virus generation, and inquiries into the molecular mechanisms of FSH muscular dystrophy. She still spends much of her free time riding horses, playing sports, and traveling. Alex Miropolsky writes, “After being a ‘lifer’ at Lakeside Middle and High School, I studied electrical engineering and computer science (with a minor in psychology) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. I joined in various organizations such as Upsilon Pi Epsilon and the computer science department as a mentor, where I volunteered to help tutor classmates as well as bring faculty and students together in annual events. I gained interests such as autonomous robotics and philosophy of mind and was able to learn more about

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the psychology behind machine learning and AI with various professors. Four years later, in May 2016, I graduated from RPI to join Johnson & Johnson’s accelerated IT Leadership Development Program, a two-year rotational program aimed at giving perspective and leadership training in a variety of technical fields. For my first rotation, I’ve chosen to be an enterprise architect within the pharmaceutical sector of J&J, where I’m working in R&D on big data technologies such as advanced analytics and machine learning.” Sophie Shank was a recipient of the J.E. Wallace Sterling Scholastic Award for distinguished academic performance at Stanford. The award is presented to the top 25 students of each year’s graduating seniors in the humanities and sciences department. Each recipient may invite the secondary school teacher who most influenced their scholastic career. Sophie invited former Lakeside history teacher Aster Chin who shared: “It was so fun to see her and wonderful to meet the other award recipients — all of these students are so incredibly accomplished, which really speaks to how amazing it is that Sophie was selected for this award. I am so proud of her.”

Karisma Gupta graduated with a B.S. in biomedical engineering from Georgia Tech, where she was awarded “BME Outstanding Senior.” She also received a Fulbright Scholarship for the 2016-2017 academic year that has taken her to Mumbai, India, where she “plans to study the impact of upper-room ultraviolet germicidal irradiation on India’s tuberculosis health care initiatives. Her project will identify the obstacles that have prevented critical technology from being implemented in India’s hospitals.” LB Miller recently graduated from Reed College in Portland, with a degree in psychology. LB is transgender and prefers “they” pronouns. LB is in the process of finishing up an internship in behavioral neuroscience at Oregon Health and Science University. They are working with Andrey Ryabinin, Ph.D., whose research focuses on genetic and social factors contributing to alcohol abuse, drug addiction, and other mental disorders. LB plans to stay in Portland for the next few years as a research assistant, before deciding whether to pursue an advanced degree. Lena Mentyka graduated in May from American University’s School of Public Affairs with a B.A. in interdisciplinary

Alumni Service Day 2016 Alumni gathered July 30 to restore natural areas on the trail around Jackson Golf Course through Green Seattle Partnership for Alumni Service Day, sponsored by the Lakeside/ St. Nicholas Alumni Board. The group spent a hot afternoon clearing a large patch of invasive blackberry bushes. This trail, just across I-5 from the Lakeside campus, is often used by the cross-country team. The alumni board hopes that a service day will become an annual event. Keep an eye out for future opportunities to give back to our community with your Lakeside friends. studies (communications, legal institutions, economics, government) and a minor in communications. She worked as a congressional policy intern for Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and for the National Parks Conservation Association as a government affairs intern in its cultural resources department, where she researched and helped introduce a bill to establish the Birmingham Civil Rights Historical Park in Birmingham, Ala. At AU, Lena was a four-year member of the Division I swimming and diving team, earning a place on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll for seven consecutive semesters while swimming best personal times in the 50 free (24.58),

Classmates from 2012, from left, Robbie Adler, Jill Rosok, Lena Mentyka, Garrett Allen, and Moriel Behar, gather in Seattle to celebrate New Year’s 2016.

Alumni Service Day participants hard at work clearing invasive blackberry bushes.

100 free (54.13), 100 back (59.37) and 200 free (1:59.33). In September, Lena joined Arlington Aquatic Club in Arlington, Va., as a senior level swim coach.

2016

Serena Williams writes, “This past May, I graduated from George Washington University with a double major in international affairs and French. I am very happily living in Washington, D.C., working as an associate in the West and Central Africa and Haiti division at Chemonics International. I currently work on a USAIDfunded project in Mali that is focused on climate change adaptation.”

From left, Susan Ayrault, June Arnett, and Carol Borgmann celebrate June’s 90th birthday.

Former Faculty & Staff See Class of 2012 notes for news from former history teacher Aster Chin. June Arnett’s 90th birthday was celebrated at Foundation House in Bothell, where Carol Borgmann’s ukulele band Side by Side played for residents and dedicated the show to June. June worked at Lakeside for 22 years, first in the development office and then as assistant to thenHead of School Dan Ayrault. Along with Borgmann, who works in the development office, former staff member Susan Ayrault also attended the celebration. In May, the late Dan Ayrault, former Lakeside Head of School, was one of three former Stanford rowers named to the Pac-12 Men’s Rowing All-Century Team, a 25-man squad. The teams were voted on by a panel consisting of coaches, players, administrators, and members of the media. Each member of the team was chosen based on his collegiate career in the conference. Dan was a two-time Olympic gold medalist. ■

Alumni news

REUNION 2016

by KELLY POORT

2011 classmates, from left, Katherine Myhre, Lara Adekoya, and Sydney Green.

Classmates from 2006, from left, Christine Madubueze, Catharine Killien, reunion planner Jessica Cox, Elena Mayer, Peter Austin, and Robin Andrews.

Celebrating 1s and 6s

n June, more than 400 alumni from classes ending in 1 and 6, current and former faculty and staff members, and friends filled The Paul G. Allen Athletics Center for a reception and dinner to celebrate Reunion 2016. The Classes of 2011, 1966, and 1951 were recognized for, respectively, their milestone fifth, 50th, and 65th reunions. More photos, including updated class photos: www.lakesideschool.org/alumni. ■

Dan Clancy ’71 sporting his Lakeside letter jacket with Bliss Moore ’61 and his wife, Shirley.

From left, reunion planner Kendra Jones Kelly ’91, reunion planner Fred Northup ’91, and Ashley Northup.

Members of the Lakeside and St. Nicholas Classes of 1966 gather for a photo in front of McKay Chapel.

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Members of the Class of 1951, from left, Jim Anthony, Peter Bishop, and Dick Werttemberger.

Proud members of the Class of 2001, from left, James Hurdelbrink, Lucas Roth, reunion planner Whitney Moller Howe, and reunion planner Collin Jergens.

Members of the Class of 1986 make a toast to their senior bricks.

Members of the St. Nicholas Class of 1961, from left, Barbara Bailey, Eleanor Wolgemuth O’Keefe, Mary Wheatman Rockwell, and Sis Ambrose Woodside.

From left, Celina Schocken ’91, reunion planner Betsy Wade ’11, Head of School Bernie Noe, Nicole Luche ’11, and Christine Wong ’11.

Classmates from 1996, from left, Cordy Crockett, David Cho, and Erica Riley Swanson.

Classmates from 1956 toast their 60th reunion, from left, Walt Swanson, Michael Foley, and Van Jordan.

From left, former faculty member Dale Bauer, Katharine Barrett ’81, and reunion planner Mark Sherman ’81.

Members of the Class of 1976 gather beneath the Moore Hall balcony to recreate the photo taken of their class as students. Reunions

➢ REUNION 2016

And they partied on …

lasses continued their reunion celebrations into the weekend with family picnics at parks, boat rides, parties at classmates’ homes, and gatherings at many local watering holes.

The Class of 1981 wrapped up its reunion festivities with a Sunday brunch at a classmate’s home.

Classmates from 1956, from left, Bill Phillips, Mike Foley, Van Jordan, Bill Evenson, Denny Watt, Jay Baker, and Alan Beall, took a cruise to lunch on Lake Washington as part of their reunion celebration. Class of 1986 selfie! Clockwise, from bottom center, Keri Schloredt Kirton, Sara Higgins, Mike O’Brien, Eric Anches, Nick Straley, Melissa Minas, John Nordstrom, Charlie Axworthy, Colin McAlister, Jason Vontver, and Bridget Goodrick Rodden.

Alumni and students took to Parsons Field for the 2016 alumni lacrosse game on Saturday morning of reunion weekend.

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Members of the Lakeside and St. Nicholas Classes of 1966 (and some friends from Bush School) continued their 50th reunion celebration at Hale’s Brewery after commencement.

IN MEMORIAM

ST. NICHOLAS ALUMNAE Anne Gould Hauberg ’35 • April 11, 2016

Anne Gould Hauberg died peacefully at age 98, thus concluding an extraordinary lifetime filled with art, beauty, creativity, and an unending appreciation of originality. She was known internationally for her support of the visual arts, especially studio glass. Anne Westbrook Gould was the second of three children born in Seattle to Dorothy Fay Gould and the noted architect Carl Frelinghuysen Gould. She was raised on Capitol Hill in Seattle and “Topsfield,” the Gould family country place on Bainbridge Island. After St. Nicholas and the Helen Bush School, she studied architecture — the only female in her class — at the University of Washington, attended Miss Porter’s and Vassar, and continued her study in architecture at the Cambridge School of Architecture and Design. In 1941 she married John Henry Hauberg Jr., a timber heir, and they had three children: Fay Hauberg Page (Nathaniel); Sue Bradford Hauberg; and Mark Denkmann Hauberg, who died in 1954. Raised with an appreciation for all the arts, Anne gravitated to the legends of the mystic “Northwest School,” becoming close friends with the painter Mark Tobey; she joined with him in celebrating the Baha’i faith. Active in civic matters, Anne’s “protest” march is credited with the creation of Freeway Park in Seattle, the first such lidded park in the U.S., and with preserving the buildings and character of Pioneer Square and Pike Place Market. But perhaps her greatest accomplishment was co-founding the Pilchuck Glass School in 1971. She became the greatest supporter — emotionally, sometimes financially, always creatively — for the scores of glass artists who came to Pilchuck through the years to experience the unique school created by Dale Chihuly. The Haubergs divorced in 1979. In the 1980s, Anne began to share her energies with Tacoma, purchasing an interest in an historic building and becoming a trustee of the Tacoma Art Museum. She received many honors including the Matrix Award for her work in art, craft, and city beautification; the Washington state Governor’s Award; Seattle Center’s Legion of Honor; arts service awards from King County and Seattle; she was crowned “Queen of Everything” by Pilchuck School; received the Aileen Osborn Webb Silver Award from the American Craft Council for her advocacy of American crafts; the Visionaries Award (the highest honor bestowed by New York’s American Craft Museum); the Dorothy Stimson Bullitt award for philanthropy from the Junior League of Seattle; and the University of Washington Libraries Artist Images Award was renamed the Anne Gould Hauberg Artist Images Award in her honor. Anne is survived by her daughters, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Ruth Adele Hedgcock Campbell ’39 • July 15, 2016

Ruth Adele Hedgcock Campbell, born March 1, 1922, in Decatur, Ill., died peacefully surrounded by family from complications of a stroke suffered July 1. Ruth Adele was a strong, loving, loyal, and family-centric woman who lived a life enveloped by a loving husband and grateful family. Ruth Adele was the daughter of Andrew Jackson Hedgcock II, a Decatur physician, and Ruth DuPlan. After her father died when she was 4, she, brother Jack, and their mother moved to Seattle, where her mother married J.L. Grandey, an early developer of Queen Anne Hill, Broadmoor, and communities in Renton. After St. Nicholas, she attended Scripps College and then the University of Washington, where she earned a B.A. in speech therapy, joined Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, served as the chairman of the War Student Power Commission and vice president of the AWS, and was elected to Totem Club and Mortar Board. At UW, Ruth Adele met Robert Miller Campbell. They married in 1944 and promptly left by train for Ann Arbor, Mich., to continue Dr. Bob’s medical education and training in obstetrics and gynecology. Ruth Adele worked as a United Airlines ticket agent until the births of her children Susan and Bobby refocused her lifetime calling to excelling as a wife and mother. Son Bruce was born after the Campbell clan returned to Seattle. They moved to Bellevue in 1963 and also acquired a second home on Whidbey Island, spending over 40 years creating a family legacy there. Ruth Adele loved her family deeply and life enormously. She was an enthusiastic participant in all forms of physical activity, including skiing, tennis, dancing, swimming, and hotly contested games of family croquet. She loved music, and especially singing in choirs. She held a strong faith and was an ardent supporter of Young Life and her University Congregational Church’s Fireside Group. She is survived by her children, six grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren.

If you have a remembrance to share about a St. Nicholas alumna or Lakeside alumna/ alumnus for the next magazine, please email the alumni relations office at alumni@ lakesideschool.org or call 206-3683606. The following are reprints of paid notices or remembrances submitted by family members. Remembrances are subject to editing for length and clarity. The deadline to submit one for the spring issue is Feb. 6.

Marjorie Towle Pepin ’46 • July 13, 2016

Marjorie Jean Pepin was born June 19, 1928, and grew up in the Seattle area, attending St. Nicholas School and the University of Washington, where she met her husband, William Pepin. The Pepins made their home in Bellevue, later retiring to Hoodsport. Marjorie is survived by her son, five grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

Joanne Habegger Fisher ’47 • March 28, 2016

Joanne “Joedy” Fisher was born in Seattle to Joe and Ruth Habegger. She was preceded in death by her husband Harold, her parents, and her brother Bob. After graduating from St. Nicholas School, she attended Washington State University, where she met her loving ➢ Reunions, In Memoriam

➢ IN MEMORIAM: St. Nicholas husband Harold (Hal), and then completed her studies at Western Washington University, obtaining her B.A. in education. Joedy and Hal were married in 1950 and settled in Mount Vernon, where they raised their family and contributed to the community through work and service. Her passion was being a wife and homemaker. Joedy held various positions as a school teacher, secretary at Avon Methodist Church, hospital guild president, fundraiser and supporter for the new Skagit Valley Hospital, Kidney Dialysis Board, Habitat for Humanity, and Walk to Emmaus and was instrumental in establishing a Bible study fellowship class in Mount Vernon. She was a member of the Mount Vernon First United Methodist Church for 65 years, serving in many capacities. Joedy and Hal traveled many times to Hawaii and Europe. They hosted tour groups and took their motorhome across the U.S., which provided them with many adventures and joy. Joedy is survived by her four children, 10 grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. Nothing made Joedy happier than spending time with her children and their families. Joedy loved being outdoors in the warmth of the sunshine and the beauty of flowers. Her door was always open to welcome family and friends. She honored and glorified God with her life, and trusted in a better life after death with her Savior.

spent time in the medical field. Later she joined Windermere Real Estate and had a successful career as a real estate agent. Happy pastimes over the years included downhill skiing, fly fishing, cruising in the San Juans, scuba diving, kayaking, bird watching, cooking, and golfing. She had a vegetable garden almost everywhere she lived. Barbara loved the sights, sounds and smells of the Pacific Northwest and the Puget Sound. She had a huge store of energy and a contagious sense of humor and was blessed with the cherished camaraderie with many lifelong friends. Above all, Barbara treasured the close bond she shared with her family and rejoiced in their times together. She will be remembered for her high spirits, loyalty, generosity, thoughtfulness, and her love of life. In 1997 she married Robert Edwin Bender, with whom she spent the rest of her life. She was a founding member of the Helen Morrison Guild of Seattle Children’s and a member of the Highlands Arboretum Guild, Junior League of Seattle, Seattle Garden Club, Sunset Club, and Colonial Dames of Washington. Barbara is survived by her husband, two children, and six grandchildren.

Jane Bailey Koshney ’48 • May 12, 2016

Patricia Nadine Frazier, 77, passed away in Seattle after a long illness. Nadine was born Dec. 6, 1938. A lifelong resident of Seattle’s Queen Anne Hill, Nadine was the daughter of Florence Nadine Blackford and Jack Blackford and the granddaughter of prominent Seattle waterfront magnate Capt. James Griffiths and his wife, Ethel. Nadine attended St. Nicholas School until her senior year and graduated from Queen Anne High School in 1957. While still in high school, Nadine embarked on the first of many long journeys that took her, over her lifetime, to every continent except Antarctica. Her adventures ranged from a monthslong cruise of the South Pacific and Australia in the early 1960s to a performing tour of China with Seattle’s Jubilate Choir shortly before Alzheimer’s disease made it difficult for her to travel. Nadine was a gifted cook who took great pleasure in delivering warmth, hospitality and kindness to her own family as well as a large, extended family of friends and neighbors in her church and community. She founded and stewarded Queen Anne United Methodist Church’s “Funraiser” spaghetti dinners for 25 years, and she cooked annual Thanksgiving dinners for community members who were alone or unable to cook for themselves. At her last spaghetti dinner, when Alzheimer’s disease had made it challenging for Nadine to manage such a complex project, her entire church family pitched in to make the dinner both a successful fundraising project and a tribute to her long leadership role and support of the church. Nadine was an exceptional vocalist who joined and performed with Seattle’s Jubilate Choir all over the world. She particularly loved jazz and contemporary classical music and hymns and spirituals. She also performed with her church choir. She was devoted to her church family, and in 2005 helped underwrite the full remodel of the church’s sanctuary, a project that revitalized the church’s attendance. Nadine also volunteered her time at Swedish Hospital and helped preserve both Seattle’s heritage and her

Jane Bailey Koshney began her life in Ketchikan, Alaska, in 1930, joining sister Nathylie and her parents, Chris and Doris Bailey. Mary, her twin, lived a short eight months. After graduating from St. Nicholas, she spent a year at Linfield College in Oregon, then joined her sister at the UW where they were both Zeta Tau Alphas. After graduation from nursing school at Tacoma General, she began her career as a registered nurse, working at Swedish Hospital, Burien General (now Highline Hospital), and as an industrial nurse at Lockheed Shipyard. She was introduced to husband Neale by mutual friends and they were married for 54 years until his death in 2012; she died in May after a brief illness. Their three daughters, Cinda, Jan, and Nina, will forever be grateful for the way she nurtured special relationships with each of them, providing unconditional love, support, and wisdom. Generous beyond measure, she was always giving without a thought to her own needs. She loved listening to music, was an avid reader, enjoyed trips to gardening stores, astrology, watching game shows late at night, and having her family drop by for a visit ... and cookies! She leaves behind her daughters, 10 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

Barbara Henry Bender ’55 • March 27, 2016

Barbara Henry Bender died peacefully at age 78 with her husband and children by her side. She was the second of three children born in Seattle to Elizabeth Calvert and Langdon Chapin Henry Jr. Barbara was the granddaughter of Seattle pioneers William and Edna Calvert and Langdon and Genevieve Henry. After graduating from St. Nicholas, she attended the University of Washington, where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. In 1959 she married G. Philip Koon and they had three children, Todd Philip, Ann Elizabeth, and Stephen Henry. After attending the Dabney Medical Technology and Secretarial School, Barbara

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Patricia “Nadine” Blackford Frazier ’57 • Feb. 25, 2016

own family’s legacy through her active involvement in the Queen Anne Historical Society. Nadine Frazier cherished and celebrated hospitality, inclusion, and love every day of her life. She was quick to hug, quick to forgive, and always eager to help launch a new program or jump-start a stalled project. Nadine is survived by her husband, Robert Frazier, three children, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Marilyn McVay Richards ’57 • April 22, 2016

Marilyn McVay Richards passed away peacefully from cancer in her home in Bend, Ore. She was born Sept. 16, 1939, to John P. McVay, a prominent Seattle physician, and Josephine Mears McVay, daughter of Frederick Mears, chairman of the Alaska Railroad Commission in charge of building the Alaska Railroad and Jane Mears, founder of the first public school in Anchorage. Marilyn grew up in Seattle, attending St. Nicholas School and graduating in 1961 from the University of Washington, where she was vice president of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. She is a former member of the Junior League of Seattle and served on the board of directors of the Seattle Garden Club. Marilyn lived for 20 years in Anchorage, where

she was co-founder of the Anchorage Volunteer Service League and co-authored the book “Around and About Anchorage with Children.” Upon returning to Seattle, her principal volunteer activity was animal rescue, serving the MEOW cat rescue organization in Kirkland and as a director of Best Friends Animal Society, the global animal rescue organization with whom she rescued animals in Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina. She is survived by her husband of 52 years, Robert R. Richards, four beloved children, and 10 grandchildren.

Laurie Larson Finn ’66 • Feb. 17, 2016

Laurie Finn was born and raised in Seattle, the daughter of Leslie and Dorothy Larson. After graduating from St. Nicholas School and attending Seattle University, she moved to New York to pursue a career in financial services. While working in New York, Laurie met the love of her life, Paul Finn. Laurie and Paul spent over 30 years together until Paul’s death in 2014. After many years in financial services, Laurie decided to pursue her passion for interior design and founded La Jolie Maison, a design and interior decorating company.

LAKESIDE ALUMNI   Stuart C. Anderson ’41 • June 6, 2016

Stuart Anderson started with one restaurant in Seattle, where he served affordable steak dinners, and built a business that eventually grew to more than 120 Black Angus restaurants across the U.S. His wife, Helen Anderson, said there was a line out the door when he opened that first Stuart Anderson’s Black Angus Restaurant in 1964 on Elliott Avenue near Western Avenue. It was a one-price $2.95 steak dinner, with green salad in a wood bowl and “your choice of steak and baked potato served on a sizzling platter — because he believed in selling the sizzle,” she said. Mr. Anderson died from lung cancer, surrounded by his family at his home in Rancho Mirage, Calif. He was 93. The son of Dr. Roger Anderson, an orthopedic surgeon, and Susan Carver Anderson, Stuart Anderson was born in Tacoma and grew up in Seattle. After serving in the Army during World War II, Mr. Anderson returned to Seattle, where he leased a hotel and opened a restaurant in it called The French Quarter — his first restaurant. “He fell in love with the restaurant business,” Helen Anderson said. “He really loved the people. And he didn’t like to get up early in the morning, so with this, he didn’t have to.” Mr. Anderson opened 140 restaurants in his lifetime, and employed more than 10,000 people, his wife said. When he retired in 1986, there were 122 Black Angus locations. Though Mr. Anderson loved being around people, at times he also craved solitude. He found it on his 2,400-acre ranch in Thorp, Kittitas County. Mr. Anderson and his wife were also avid travelers, going to New Zealand to look at electric fences, going on safari in Africa, and taking a freighter trip for 42 days. “He was adventuresome,” Helen Anderson said. “He was bigger than life.” In addition to Helen, he is survived by daughters Christopher Gee and Quincy Anderson, two grandsons, a great-grandson, a stepson, a step grandson, and the mother of his daughters, Marilyn McKenzie. Excerpted from The Seattle Times

Dr. Richard E. Ahlquist Jr. ’43 • March 30, 2016

Richard E. Ahlquist Jr., M.D., born Dec. 12, 1925, to Dr. Richard E. Ahlquist and Kathryn Ford Ahlquist, died in Spokane. After Lakeside, he served two years in the Air Force and graduated Stanford in 1948 and from the University of Maryland Medical School cum laude in 1952. He did his internship and residency training in general thoracic and vascular surgery at University of California Medical Center in San Francisco, where he served as chief resident his final year. In 1959, he and his wife moved to Spokane to start his surgical practice, which he maintained until his retirement in 1990. Dr. Ahlquist was a member of myriad professional medical associations, including the Washington State Medical Association and the Spokane Surgical Society, where he served as president in 1976. He also served as a fellow and governor of the American College of Surgeons and as president of the North Pacific Surgical Association in 1988. Dick is survived by the love of his life, Janis Roberts Ahlquist, whom he met while attending medical school and married in 1950. He is also survived by three children, four grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter.

Carroll D. French ’46 • March 9, 2016

Carroll Davies “Dave” French died peacefully at his home in Langdon, N.H., where he had been a resident since 1986. He was born June 20, 1928, in Jersey City, N.J., the son of Carroll and Harriet (Fera) French. He grew up mainly in Scarsdale, New York, and attended the Punahou School in Hawaii before graduating from Lakeside. He graduated from Yale College in 1950 and Harvard Law School in 1956. His strong belief in a citizen’s responsibility to perform public service led him to enlist in the Army during the Korean War. Fluent in German, he was assigned to Army counterintelligence in Austria from 1951 to 1954. For many years he practiced business and corporate law in New York City at Dewey Ballantine and Reid & Priest and served as assistant general counsel at American Can Company in ➢

In Memoriam

➢ IN MEMORIAM: Alumni Connecticut. After retiring to New Hampshire, he taught business law as adjunct faculty at Keene State from 1988 to 1993. His extensive volunteer work included serving as commercial law liaison on an American Bar Association project in Albania for five months to help set up a democratic legal system after the fall of the Iron Curtain, and back in New Hampshire, as treasurer of the board of trustees of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, as an arbitrator on the National Association of Securities Dealers Board of Arbitration, as chairman of the Langdon Zoning Board of Adjustment, and as corporate secretary of the Alstead Historical Society. In 20002001, he was on the Sullivan County Study Committee to make recommendations concerning the county government. Formerly a moderate Republican, he became a registered Democrat in 1998 and enjoyed working with the Sullivan County Democratic Committee for many years. He ran twice for the state Senate without success but was elected to be Sullivan County Treasurer in 2008. During these years he was also a partner in a small dairy operation in Alstead. Dave read three newspapers daily and contributed many letters to the editor on far-ranging issues, but mainly urging reforms for a better-functioning government. Being a good steward of his land, maintaining trails for hikers and hunters, boiling maple sap in his little sugar house, splitting wood, and reading before his woodstove, engaged him into his 80s. He will be remembered for his amazing sense of humor, his commitment to doing the right thing, and his endless ability to argue his point. Survivors include his loving wife of 16 years, Marcia French, two daughters, three stepchildren, four grandchildren, and four stepgrandchildren. His first marriage to Sarah French ended in divorce. He was predeceased by a previous wife, Janet Anderheggen French.

John L. Bate Jr. ’49 • July 24, 2016

John “Jack” Leslie Bate Jr. died after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He is survived by his wife, Karen, three children, 10 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Jack was born Dec. 4, 1930, in Tenafly, N.J., to John and Eleanor Bate. With his family, he moved to Oregon in 1945. After Lakeside, he attended Pomona University and University of Oregon. Forty-five years later, he finished a degree in history from the State University of New York. After attending college, Jack began working with his grandfather (John Herbert Bate) to manage the Bate Lumber Company in Portland. In 1954, they journeyed to England on vacation. On the cruise ship returning to the U.S., Jack met a beautiful Danish woman, Karen Gortz, who was on her way to begin a nursing job in a Detroit hospital. Jack fell in love immediately. It took Karen awhile because Jack was so seasick due to the wild Hurricane Hazel that chased that ship across the Atlantic! They married in the Episcopal Cathedral in Portland in 1955. They raised three children and taught them to ski, fish, row boats, camp, hike, swim, drive, cook, bike, and woodwork, one of Jack’s favorite hobbies. In 1968 he bought a condemned building in historic Jacksonville, Ore., much to Karen’s surprise. He made it into a very nice restaurant with eight hotel rooms, the Jacksonville Inn. Today it is a five- star restaurant. In 1978 he sold the business and branched out into other projects, including insurance sales, stockbrokering, and construction, continuing after their move to Wrightsville Beach, N.C., in 1984 to be closer to his uncle Harold Bate. In North Carolina he worked as a stockbroker. He also participated in many triathlons and bikes rides. He was an inventor, leaving his family with many treasured mementos

LAKESIDE

Fall/Winter 2016

and pieces of furniture he designed. Jack was proud of his service in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean conflict, in the U.S. Army Reserve, Coast Guard Auxiliary, and later in the Oregon National Guard military branches, and also in the Wilmington Civitan Club. He was a member of the Carolina Yacht Club.

Dr. Sigurd J. Normann ’53 • April 4, 2016

Dr. Sigurd Johns Normann passed away after a seven year battle with multiple myeloma. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Oct. 24, 1935, to Theodore and Bird Normann, he moved with his family to Seattle in 1939 when his father was appointed professor of piano at the University of Washington. After graduating from Lakeside as valedictorian, he attended UW for three years (chemistry and economics) and was admitted to its medical school, receiving his M.D. degree with honors in 1960. After a surgical internship at the University of California, San Francisco, he returned to UW for a combined research and residency program that culminated in 1966 with a Ph.D. in pathology. From 1966 to 1968, he was a captain of the Walter Reed Army Research and Development Command, where his research was awarded a certificate of achievement at the West Point science conference. In 1968, he joined the faculty at the University of Florida; he retired as an emeritus professor in 2010. With a research development award from the National Institutes of Health, he did cancer immunology research from 1974 to 1975 at the Swiss Institute for Medical Research, Davos, Switzerland, that led to a Swiss consultancy and a laboratory directorship from 1976 to 1989. Combined with his research at the University of Florida, he published 86 peer reviewed papers, three books and 14 book chapters, and made numerous presentations. In 1990, Dr. Normann was appointed director of pathology education; his two courses in general and systemic pathology won a Golden Apple Award three times for the best-taught basic science course. Dr. Normann received the university’s College of Medicine Teacher of the Year Award in 1995 and was three times voted best basic science teacher by the senior medical students. Other university honors include the Lifetime Achievement Award of the College of Medicine (2004), Distinguished Teacher Award (2006), and the Sustained Excellence Award in Medical Education by the Society of Teaching Scholars (2009). One of Dr. Normann’s passions was volunteering for the American Cancer Society; he served on the Alachua unit board of directors, the Florida division, and national committees. During his term as president of the Florida division, he led the effort to create the Florida Biomedical Research Program, which has channeled millions of dollars toward medical research and provided inspirational leadership to his fellow volunteers. He received the American Cancer Society’s St. George National Award in 2005. Dr. Normann is survived by his loving, devoted wife of 35 years, LeJene, two daughters, and four grandchildren. Dr. Normann enjoyed hiking and skiing, and he and LeJene enjoyed gardening, time spent with friends, and travels to near and far lands.

Christopher W. Collins ’62 • June 10, 2015

Christopher Wetherill Collins passed away in Bellevue at the age of 71. Chris was born June 8, 1944, in Seattle to Josephine and Wetherill Collins. He attended Lakeside, St. Michael’s University School in British Columbia, and the University of Puget Sound, where

he was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He began his career at People’s National Bank and continued on in banking and asset management. Chris met lifelong friends and forged fond memories while at Lakeside. He loved spending time at the family farm on Whidbey Island, whether it was duck hunting or boating with his family, friends, and Labradors. Chris was an avid duck hunter, snow skier with his children, and was known to keep meticulously clean cars. He entertained all with his wit and his acquired taste of W.C. Fields, British humor, and puns. He was a member of the University Club, Kirkland Kiwanis, Ducks Unlimited, Seattle Children’s Home, a certified judge of the Mustang Club of America, and a 20- year president of Lake View Cemetery. He is survived by wife Susan of 20 years, two children, two step-children, two grandsons, and seven step-grandchildren.

David E. Wyman Jr. ’63 • June 18, 2016

David Wyman died at home surrounded by his family. A lifelong resident of Seattle, David was born to Helen Marie Ryan Wyman and David Evans Wyman Sr. on Feb. 23, 1945. After graduating Lakeside, he attended St. Mary’s College in Moraga, Calif., and the University of Washington, then David joined the U.S. Air Force, serving in many missions to the Vietnam war zone from his base in Thailand. David then joined his father in the family business, M.A. Wyman Lumber Co., which owned timber land, sawmills, and other investments. He also served as a longtime director of Kinzua Corp. in northeastern Oregon. In 1980 David ventured out on his own, purchasing a large local steel fabricator. Within 24 months the recession hit and Stack Steel failed, leaving David with challenges that he rose above and conquered with honesty and dignity. Moving forward after this disappointment, David found success in the early excitement of angel investing in companies such as Coinstar and Prime Advisors. Most recently, David joined Cascadia Capital, where he served as director of business development until his death. The Wyman family has had a long tradition supporting charitable and cultural organizations in Seattle. David’s grandfather, father, and uncle created the Wyman Youth Trust in 1951, and David continued this tradition as a trustee, as well as serving as a trustee of Lakeside School, ACT Theatre, and Griffin Business College. He was a member of the Men’s University Club, The Ruins, Seattle Tennis Club, Washington Athletic Club, and Ducks Unlimited. In his early years David was an avid sailor, racing in Swiftsure races and sailing with the Seattle 6 Metre fleet. During the ’80s David began running daily out of the Washington Athletic Club with a group of downtown business men and women, and finished marathons in New York and London. His other passions were skiing on Bald Mountain in Sun Valley, fly fishing in Montana, bird hunting all over the world, and reading history and biographies. David is survived by his wife of 40 years, Linda Agustsson Wyman, and their son. David was a compelling and charismatic man who lived life on his own terms. He was the most loyal of friends and they will miss him dearly.

Lt. Cmdr. Thomas David Johnston ’63 • May 31, 2016

Thomas David (“Dave”) Johnston, was born in Seattle just 35 days after VE day, on June 12, 1945, a few months before his father, James William Johnston, a Navy and Marine officer, returned from the Pacific to him, his mother, Victoria J. Johnston, and his older brother James William Johnston Jr. Dave grew up in Seattle’s Mount Baker district. After Lakeside, he was nominated to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis by Sen. Warren G. Magnuson. He graduated with honors in 1967 then earned his master’s in aeronautical engineering at

Georgia Tech. He earned his Navy aviator wings at Pensacola and obtained his test pilot designation at the U.S. Navy test center at Patuxent River. He was a member of the team that brought the S-3 into service for the Navy as an anti-submarine aircraft. He flew several overseas and carrier-based tours with various S-3 squadrons including in Keflavik, Iceland, and aboard the USS Eisenhower, the USS Forrestal and the USS Nimitz. He also did a “surface” based tour with the 6th Fleet in Italy. He served our country for over 24 years, retiring after distinguished service at the Pentagon during the first Gulf War. Dave was a great pilot. His nickname, bestowed on him by those with whom he served, was Eeyore, because he was always looking for what could go wrong — which prevented things from doing exactly that. After retiring he moved with his beloved Patricia Johns to Port Orchard. Dave is survived by Patricia, her daughter, and granddaughter.

Jonathon King ’74 • April 6, 2016

Jon King, a true Renaissance man and lifetime Magnolia resident, lived life on his own terms. He graduated from Lakeside School and was a perpetual student at the University of Washington. Jon was an aesthete, a learned philosopher and philanthropist, a writer and poet, a brilliant conversationalist, a humorist and satirist, an accomplished fisherman, a talented craftsman, an avid stargazer, an amateur astronomer, and an expert treasure hunter. An erudite gentleman, a kind and gentle spirit, Jon was loving, generous, always eager to befriend and lend a hand. Jon loved being on the water; he was a passionate connoisseur of art, architecture, and music, and enjoyed meandering walks through neighborhoods, parks, forests, and on Maury Island beaches. Jon loved animals; he loved, and was loved, by generations of extended family and multitudinous friends. Jon was the longstanding and loving life partner to Sue Besecker, brother to Robert and Eric King, brotherin-law to Lynn Artz, uncle to Kristina Marie King, nephew to Hazel Carroll, and first cousin to many loving cousins. He is profoundly missed by his family and friends.

Dr. Steven C. Aleinikoff ’79 April 16, 2016

Steven Craig Aleinikoff passed away after a heroic battle with cancer at the age of 55. He was born in Seattle, the second of two children born to Paul and Beverly Aleinikoff, and grew up in the Seward Park area. At Lakeside Middle and Upper schools, Steve was a standout student athlete in football and track and field and was elected captain of both those teams his senior year. At the University of Washington, he ran track his freshman year and was a proud member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity all four years. He received a biology degree in 1983 and graduated from the UW’s School of Dentistry in 1987. Steve and Alison Jones met and fell in love at the UW in 1981 and were married in 1986. They have three incredible children, Kyle, Emily, and Ryan. Steve practiced dentistry for 29 years in the University District. He loved being a dentist and the patients he was able to help through the years. He was known professionally for his calm demeanor, sensitivity, and humor. Steve loved to travel and go on family trips to places including the Oregon Coast and Hawaii. He was an avid fisherman who spent quality time in Canada. His favorite place was in the San Juans, where he loved to go crabbing, shrimping, and spending time outdoors with family and friends. He will be well remembered for being a standout mixologist and grillmaster, avid Husky Athletics fan, and man of deep faith. He is survived by his wife and children. ■ In Memoriam

FROM THE ARCHIVES

FILM STUDIES

at Lakeside

by Leslie Schuyler

This photo of Lakeside’s f irst Concord videotape recorder ran with a 1970 Lakeside News Bulletin story about its donation by the McCaw family. From left, Raymond Gray ’72, Jeffrey Murray ’72, Chris Herron ’71, and Gordon Jones ’70. Herron recalls the photo was taken during an early media class taught by Dean Soule.

Lakeside Archives

1920s’ disdain for “moving pictures” gives way by ’70s to classes for buffs and would-be filmmakers

which was part history of cinematic art, part student-driven in-depth study of a particular aspect of film; the year

oday most of us appreciate

learned to analyze various influences

before, a digital media arts course was

films on some level. But the earliest

on film creators and also produced their

added, which also had an immediate

Lakesiders weren’t convinced. The

own films and worked as camera people

large signup. In 2006, the film course

Dramatic Club, for example, founded

on classmates’ projects.

description included cinematography

sometime between 1919 and 1923,

Fact and Fiction’s popularity with

and editing, and in 2014, the title

was created in order to “encourage

students likely reflected that of film in

changed to its current one, Literary

taste for wholesome plays and for the

broader society by this era. Within two

Explorations: Cinema, in part to clearly

drama rather than for moving pictures.”

years curriculum guides began including

convey to colleges its academic chops

The club, according to the Maroon

a cautionary note: “This class is often

and nonfluffy nature. (Read more about

& Gold yearbook for those years,

oversubscribed, so students selecting

today’s classes on Page 28).

focused on “the history of acting and

it are more likely than others to get their

its deterioration; the reason for its loss

second and third choice of electives.”

of reputation and our ambition to do

As the professional equipment and curriculum evolve to keep up with

Through the 2000s, the course

technology and the broadened role film

our small part toward reinstating it in its

name and emphasis shifted to reflect

and media play, Lakeside film courses

rightful place as a part of education and

different teachers’ and students’

remain popular. Today’s media saturated

a means of expression.”

interests and expertise. In 2002, Fact

and savvy students see the skills learned

and Fiction gave way to Film Studies,

as more germane than ever. ■

Fast forward several decades. The study of film first appears in the Lakeside archives in a curriculum guide from 1978. The English department’s Films class covered “film as art, particularly in relation to literature”; the course was offered through 1993. In 1995, Film — Fact and Fiction taught both viewing and doing: Students

LAKESIDE

Fall/Winter 2016

[

It’s NOT a wrap yet (we need your help!) The story of film studies at Lakeside is incomplete. Can you help fill in the gaps? Did you take a film studies course in the 1960s or ’70s? Archive records are incomplete before 1978, when we see the first reference to a film course in a curriculum guide. Archivist Leslie Schuyler is eager to add your memories to the archives. Please reach her at 206-440-2895 or archives@lakesideschool.org.

DECADES OF LAKESIDERS

Class portrait 1967.

photos from Lakeside archives

Class of 1977.

2016-2017 CALENDAR September

24 Annual Fund kickoff and notewriting breakfast, Wright

Community Center, 8-11 a.m.

28 Belanich Family Speaker on Ethics and Politics featuring Karl

Rove and Howard Dean, St. Nicholas Hall, 7 p.m.

Classmates from 1987, from left, Crispin “Pinney” Sheppard Fievet, Anne Crary, Mari Murao, and Jennifer Bornstein.

March

Seattle Area Alumni Reception, location TBA, 6 p.m. 22 Dan Ayrault Memorial Endowed Lecture featuring Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger, St. Nicholas Hall, 7 p.m. 25 Rummage Sale, Upper School campus 8

October

April

26 Beers with Bernie for young alumni, location TBA, 6 p.m.

26 New York Area Alumni Reception, location TBA, 6 p.m.

November

May

BMGI Speaker Series on Economics featuring Austan Goolsbee, St. Nicholas Hall, 7 p.m.

15 T.J. Vassar ’68 Alumni Diversity Celebration, McKay Chapel,

6:30 p.m.

December

16 Young Alumni Lunch with Bernie Noe (Classes of ’13-’16),

Refectory, 11:30 a.m.

February 8

Bay Area Alumni Reception, location TBA, 6 p.m.

15 Mark J. Bebie ’70 Memorial Lecture featuring Jelani Cobb,

St. Nicholas Hall, 7 p.m.

Arts Fest, Upper School campus, 6 p.m.

June 8

50th reunion luncheon (11:30 a.m.) and Class of 2017 commencement (2 p.m.), Upper School campus

Reunion dinner for classes ending in 2 and 7, hosted by Lakeside, The Paul G. Allen Athletics Center, 6 p.m.

10-11 Reunion 2017 class gatherings

For more information on all alumni events, visit www.lakesideschool.org/ alumni. Questions? Please contact the alumni relations off ice of the Lakeside/St. Nicholas Alumni Association at 206-368-3606 or alumni@lakesideschool.org.

GET READY FOR REUNION 2017! June 8-11, 2017 Recognizing Lakeside and St. Nicholas alumni from classes ending in 2 and 7.

Lakeside School invites all classes celebrating their reunion to a complimentary reception and casual dinner Friday, June 9, 2017. Reunion volunteers are needed to help plan their individual class events. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact the alumni relations office at 206-368-3606 or email alumni@lakesideschool.org. In addition, the Lakeside and St. Nicholas Classes of 1967 will be honored at a luncheon and at the Upper School commencement Thursday, June 8, 2017. Additional details to come! Archives, Calendar

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