UCI Lighting Designers Reunite COVID-19 has ushered in a new way to connect and reconnect with the people in our lives. One opportunity that faculty and students at UCI Claire Trevor School of the Arts have taken advantage of is the connection through Zoom online virtual meetups. The digital platform allows people from all over the world to connect in a virtual space through an internet connection, enabling face-to-face time with friends from far away. On June 29, 2020, a cohort of faculty and alumni from the Department of Drama’s Lighting Design Program met online to reunite with graduates from the program. The idea came after professors Lonnie Rafael Alcaraz and Jaymi Smith hosted a Zoom pizza party with current students from the program late in the spring 22
quarter. They promoted the event with a post on Instagram, seen by both current students and alumni. John Martin, B.A. ’90, reached out to the group and suggested they have a full reunion for the entire program. Alcaraz and Smith, along with previous lighting professors Cameron Harvey and Tom Ruzika, quickly collaborated to set up the event. Over 60 alumni, faculty, and current students from incoming classes, ranging from from 1970 to 2023, convened on Zoom. They spent more than three hours telling stories, sharing old photos, and discussing what is currently happening in their industry. The team created opportunities for smaller groups of alumni to connect by hosting breakout rooms in the session for the different decades combining smaller classes with other close graduation years.
