School
of Theatre, Television, and Film
Fiscal Year 2023-2024
Dear Donor,
The School of Theatre, Television, and Film (TTF) extends our deepest gratitude for the generous support that we have received this past year, which has made a profound impact on our students, faculty, and staf. Because of this support, we have been able to bring in guest artists who are at the top of their feld, provide life changing scholarships for students, and ofer more opportunities for students to engage in transformative multi-media projects and productions.
In 2023-24, our students were some of the frst to grace the stage of the newly renovated Main Stage Theatre, and the world premiere production of Ziggy, Stardust, and Me was the inaugural production in the new Prebys Theatre. Both spaces are part of the new SDSU Performing Arts District.
Our production design emphasis in the Television, Film, and New Media area remains ranked in the top 10 of The Hollywood Reporter’s best programs, and the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film provides an anchor for our robust critical studies major. And, in every major theater in San Diego, you will fnd either a current student or alum of the renowned Design and Technology program.
The future of TTF is bright. Your continued support will help a new generation of artists and visionaries transform our industry. Thank you!
Stephen Brotebeck, MFA Interim Director, School of Theatre, Television, and Film Professor of Musical Theatre
Changing Lives through Program Support
James Silberrad Brown Foundation Excellence in Musical Theatre Fund
A grant supporting the James Silberrad Brown Foundation Excellence in Musical Theatre Fund has been a lifeline for the MFA Musical Theatre Program. It supports the musical theatre archive (including the salaries of two MFA archive assistants), production funds, advertising, and the addition of crucial recent technology. A notable example of this technology is the purchase of professional equipment to create a self-tape video lab for student use.
Since before the pandemic, and accelerated by the restrictions, casting directors and producers are more than ever using video audition submissions to cast their productions. Actors are expected to create these videos themselves, and our new studio has been instrumental in providing direct experience working with lighting, backdrops, sound, and audio to produce professional-level quality to their work.
Photo of MFA Student Natalie McClure and the self-tape video lab
Living the Aztec Experience
Isabel Christiana Quilos Adamos, Class of 2024
Class Level: Undergraduate Student
College: School of Theatre, Television, and Film
Major: Film
As a native San Diegan and Filipino-American flmmaker, my creative drive is focused on creating flms that strike a delicate balance between universal resonance and individual uniqueness. This ambition has been signifcantly shaped and supported by my time at SDSU, where I immersed myself in a flm program that encourages exploring diverse narratives and fostering human connections through storytelling.
At SDSU, I prioritized building relationships with professors across various specializations, from cinematography to editing, embracing the holistic view necessary for a flmmaker. This mentorship, combined with the program’s hands-on approach, has enriched my understanding and skill set, allowing me to craft flms that ofer insightful perspectives on human connection.
Brenna Avery Hughbanks, Class of 2024
Class Level: Undergraduate Student
College: School of Theatre, Television, and Film
Major: Theatre Arts - Emphasis Youth Theatre
I am working to become a theatre teacher. The Youth Theatre emphasis within my major is particularly geared toward this kind of work. Some of the most helpful coursework has been focused on how to run a theatre classroom and what teaching artistry can look like.
One of my classes introduces us to various youth theatre programs in San Diego and fosters connections to those programs. Other major requirements give practical knowledge such as stage management and technician skills that both broaden my career horizons and add to knowledge I hope to pass on to future students.
Celebrating Shared Success
Statistics of Interest
The School of Theatre, Television, and Film is the only school in the U.S. to ofer an MFA in Musical Theatre
In just this past year, we have had graduates of our programs perform and contribute to productions at all of the major theatres in San Diego, including The Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, Cygnet Theatre, San Diego Music Theatre, Moonlight Amphitheatre, the California Center for the Arts in Escondido and many more. Nationally, they have performed on Broadway, of-Broadway, national tours, and major regional houses.
Three members of the graduating class of 2024 have already secured full-time teaching positions at Illinois Wesleyan University, the University of San Diego, and Austin Peay University in Clarksville, Tennessee.
Recent Highlights
Professor Brotebeck assumed the role of Interim Director of the School of Theatre, Television, and Film at SDSU on July 1st. As well, he has completed his one-year appointment as the Interim Artistic Director of the Diversionary Theatre in University Heights, where he produced three mainstage shows that garnered multiple nominations and two wins from the San Diego Critics Circle's Craig Noel Awards.
Over the past year, Brotebeck directed a production of See How They Run at the Okoboji Summer Theatre and will be directing the San Diego premiere of the musical, Midnight at the Never Get in the fall of 2024.
Productions
New Interim Director
This past year, we have had graduates of our programs perform and contribute to productions at all of the major theatres in San Diego.
Professor Brotebeck is the new Interim Director of the School of Theatre, Television, and Film.
Helping to Build a Brighter Future
Greg Durbin, M.F.A.
Title: Professor Emeritus College: School of Theatre, Television, and Film Achievement: Greg Durbin is a flmmaker and professor at the School of Theatre, Television, and Film at San Diego State University.
His experience ranges from independent flm and video production to video art, and includes much documentary and short narrative work. He has worked professionally as a director, writer, cinematographer, and editor.
Durbin’s work has received national and international recognition. It has been broadcast nationally on PBS, The Sundance Channel, HBO, the Canadian Broadcast System, and many broadcast venues abroad. It has also been exhibited nationally and internationally in museums and festivals, including Venice, Amsterdam, Berlin, Stockholm, San Francisco, The Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, The Pacifc Film Archives in Berkeley, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
His flms have won numerous prizes and awards both in the US and abroad and have been featured three times at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. His short flm Boundaries won 17 top national and international festival prizes, including 10 frst-place prizes, including the 2001 Slamdance Grand Jury Prize. His collaborative work with Daniel Boord has also received international recognition.
Durbin received a B.A. degree with high honors from the University of California at San Diego and an M.F.A. degree from the University of California at San Diego in Visual Arts, where he received a full Regents Fellowship. Durbin became an Associate Professor of flm at the University of Oklahoma’s School of Art in 1983, where he was head of the Film Program. He moved to San Diego in 1987 to teach at San Diego State University. He also was a visiting Associate Professor at the University of California Visual Arts Department for four years. In 2001, he was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to lecture on Film at the University of Barcelona, Spain.
Thank you for your generous support.