Callboard Fall 2017

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

SCHOOL OF DRAMATIC ARTS |

THE CHANGE THAT BEGINS WITH ART

2017/ 18

A MESSAGE FROM T H E DEAN USC Callboard magazine is an annual publication of the USC School of Dramatic Arts for its alumni, parents, students and friends. dean David Bridel assistant dean of communications Delphine Vasko editor Stacey Wang Rizzo graphic designer Christopher Komuro contributing writers Tim Greiving, Allison Engel, Lynne Heffley, Evan Henerson, Sophia Spirus photography Michael Hardy Photography, Capture Imaging, Craig Schwartz Photography, Joan Marcus © 2017 USC School of Dramatic Arts We’d like to hear from you, keep you informed and/or share your news in an upcoming issue of USC Callboard.

Please send correspondences to Stacey Wang Rizzo at staceykw@usc.edu or mail to: USC School of Dramatic Arts Attn: Stacey Wang Rizzo 1029 Childs Way Los Angeles, CA 90089

It has been a year of tremendous growth and excitement at the School of Dramatic Arts,

and this annual edition of Callboard reflects several aspects of the School’s evolving ambitions and extraordinary accomplishments.

Take a look at the stunning achievements of alumnus Donald Webber Jr., explore the School’s commitment to theatre and social change, get to know our new Board of Councilors members and their remarkable profiles, and celebrate our new vice dean, Lori Ray Fisher, and her long history with Dramatic Arts. I’m also delighted to note the publication of our donor marquee, which thanks all of you who contribute, at all levels, in service of our students and their futures; and our alumni marquee, which notes just some of the activities of our ambassadors out in the world.

Please enjoy browsing these pages. Feel free to join us for our exciting new season of plays and events. Stay in touch, and we hope you will remain a part of our story.

David Bridel Dean Braverman Family Dean’s Chair

T H E N A N D N OW

In the 2016-17 Season of Plays, the School presented Evita — a rags-to-riches story of Argentine First Lady Eva Perón — as the annual spring musical, which performed at Bing Theatre. Here’s a look at last spring’s production (bottom photo) of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s masterpiece and that same show performed at SDA almost 30 years prior in March of 1989.

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INSIDE

The Change that Begins with Art

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Social justice programming connects classroom with community.

By Tim Greiving P LU S A Diverse and Inclusive Community / Clowning Around to Heal / All for One, and One & All

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Not Throwing Away His Shot

Alumnus Donald Webber Jr. climbs his way to Broadway stardom.

By Evan Henerson

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Getting to Know the Vice Dean

Lori Ray Fisher assumes a new administrative role.

By Lynne Heffley

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Welcoming New Board of Councilors Members Nine industry and community leaders join the board.

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Seated for Success Steve Braverman endows the dean’s chair to support the School’s vision.

19 Focus on Faculty Kate Burton joins the School as professor and master artist.

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Live Read@SDA New program provides support for new works for the American theatre.

20 A L U M N I M A R Q U E E 22 D O N O R M A R Q U E E

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By TIM GREIVIN G

THE CHANGE THAT BEGINS WITH ART The School’s social change programming connects the classroom with community.

with a child patient in a hospital. Garment workers stage a play addressing their marginalized social situation. A Black Lives Matter activist moderates a discussion after a potent production about Trayvon Martin.

A CLOWN STAGES A PHONY GETAWAY

What might sound like an unrelated string of events are, in fact, all examples of the School of Dramatic Arts’ newly robust commitment to Theatre and Social Change. That’s the new title for the School’s minor program for undergraduates, and the name of an institute about to launch. More than that — it’s the name of a movement.

The movement itself is not new. Under the previous banner Applied Theatre, the School has for years been offering courses such as Theatre in Education, Theatre in Therapy and Theatre in the Community. Brent Blair has carried the banner as director of the minor program as well as, previously, the master’s program in Applied Theatre (which was offered between 2010 to 2014).

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A Diverse and Inclusive Community

Recognizing diversity, inclusivity and equity are central to the study and practice of the dramatic arts and to our duty as global citizens, the School and university have made a concerted effort and commitment to cultivating a diverse and inclusive environment on campus.

The School of Dramatic Arts’ efforts are led by Associate Dean of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Anita Dashiell-Sparks, who oversees and chairs an Inclusion and Equity Committee that comprises of faculty, staff, students and alumni. Along with developing a strategic plan for the School to become a standardbearer of diversity and inclusion in higher education, the committee conducted a comprehensive review of the School’s curriculum. Since then, the School has increased the number of works and resources by women, persons of color and underrepresented minorities that are taught in required core curriculum.

The same conscious effort for equity and inclusivity is utilized by our Literary Committee, comprised of faculty, staff and students, when recommending plays for our annual season of productions.

Additionally, the School annually hosts a diversity and inclusion summit for the SDA community that explores issues of race, gender, culture and identity through interactive workshops, panel discussions and performances.

The School also works with the university’s offices of Student Affairs, and Equity and Diversity to develop programs and initiatives that raise awareness and provoke dialogue about significant campus climate issues. 

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THE CHANGE THAT BEGINS WITH ART

(CONTINUED)

Blair joined the faculty in 1994 — “L.A. was two years away from the Rodney King uprising,” he says. “USC was particularly concerned with community relations, and the School was interested in creating programs.” Blair’s own life changed after college, when he was an actor working in Boston and was mugged — prompting a fascination with society’s relationship with violent youth. He joined a company that performed Shakespeare in juvenile detention centers, and traveled to East Nigeria on a Fulbright grant to study the application of theatre to social issues among the people there. That led to his work with Augusto Boal, the author of an idea called “Theatre of the Oppressed.”

“It’s a methodology,” Blair explains, “where theatre is used with oppressed communities to help them problematize solutions to difficult problems — where the community members who are affected are the actors and writers and musicians and performers, and also the audience. Professional theatre artists serve a kind of marginal role, to help develop the skill sets. But it is the people who are most affected who end up being the center of stage.

They go from stakeholders in their problem to shareholders.”

Blair has long employed Theatre of the Oppressed both in the classroom and in communities around USC — from residents at Beit T’Shuvah (a drug and alcohol rehab program), Gender Justice L.A. (an advocacy group for transgender people of color in lower income areas), high-risk teens, and garment workers and street vendors in L.A. “People get emotionally affected by watching a really good play, but then maybe they go home and the next day or two they forget,” he says. “But when people become engaged and have to participate in the process, they are much more likely to then continue their engagement long after the play is gone. That’s the basic underlying ethical principle of the new Theatre and Social Change focus, which is to engage people in art to let them make their own revolution.”

A rising tide has elevated and placed new emphasis on the efforts of Blair and his colleagues. USC Provost Michael Quick has tasked all of the university’s arts schools with developing a cohesive initiative around arts and social change. American theatre, as a whole, has been responding to political events and social injustices with charged productions — like the recent controversial staging of Julius Caesar at The Public Theater — and searching its own soul about inclusion and diversity.

THEATRE AND SOCIAL CHANGE — IT’S THE NAME OF A MOVEMENT.

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Clowning Around to Heal The School’s medical clowning program provides students with specialized training to serve in hospital and medical environments as medical clowns, also known as clown doctors. These individuals utilize the power of humor and play to help patients and families in the healing process, as well as demystify the potentially frightening hospital experience, particularly for young individuals.

The School of Dramatic Arts’ exploration into medical clowning began in 2014, when the School hosted an International Conference on Medical Clowning that brought together expert leaders in the field. Since then, the School has developed a program that first provides students with an introduction of theatrical clowning and the therapeutic role a clown can have on healing, followed by incorporating their studies with the medical environment.

The School has established relationships with Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, USC Norris Cancer Hospital and Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center, each of which serve as training partners for students to observe and practice their studies.

The Medical Clowning program has been made possible through new grants and donations, with lead funding from the Edit & Edward Komberg, the Joshua & Siobhan Korman Philanthropic Fund and the Albert & Bessie Warner Fund.

Read more about Medical Clowning on dramaticarts.usc.edu 

THE CHANGE THAT BEGINS WITH ART

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“Right now is a good moment for artists to be active in the effort to heal the wounds, traumas or address the problems of communities and societies — in this country and everywhere else,” says Dean David Bridel. “The idea that theatre can be kind of an ivory tower, saying privileged things to privileged people, has been interrogated and, frankly, torn down more in the last few years than it was in the preceding 10 or 20. There’s a cultural momentum from the theatre itself to take a really long, hard look at the relationship between the act of creating theatre and the communities it’s supposed to speak to.”

Bridel, personally, is passionate about medical clowning, which will soon expand from what is now faculty practitioners working in hospitals to SDA students becoming apprentices in the field. The dean, whose extensive background includes arts and clowning and who founded The Clown School in Los Angeles, is quick to point out that the practice — begun in the U.S. in the 1980s — isn’t really about clowns juggling and performing for sick children.

“The function of the clown in any society is to live at the bottom of the hierarchical ladder,” he says, citing the historical role of the court fool, who could speak truth to kings and queens in the form of parody or a joke precisely because he was beneath everyone else. “In a hospital, a clown also lives on the very bottom of the hierarchical ladder. And what’s notable about that is that they take the place of the patient — or rather, they bump the patient up one rung. So medical clowning is about a clown showing up and figuring out, with the patient, how they can get underneath them in terms of hierarchy, and give the patient agency and a degree of liberation, given that their circumstances may be dire.”

This new emphasis on theatre and social change has also influenced the School’s productions.

Last year’s season included Angels in America, The Kentucky Cycle, Facing Our Truth and Antigone X — plays that deal with themes of sexual orientation, class, religion, the environment and individuals facing a tyrannical government.

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Anita Dashiell-Sparks — an SDA professor for 15 years and the School’s new associate dean of equity, diversity and inclusion — cites adding new courses like “I Too Am America: Theatre and Cultural Literacy.” Using plays like Zoot Suit and the works of August Wilson, the class looks at cultures and social movements throughout history and “how these narratives emerged in conversation with and in reaction to the climate of the time.” Particularly potent is the study of “I Never Saw a Butterfly” — a series of poems and drawings created by children in concentration camps during the Holocaust.

“What it must have been like to be a child in the midst of that kind of degradation, in that kind of oppression and, yet, as a survival mechanism, they used art as a way to imagine themselves outside of their circumstances,” she says.

“That is extremely powerful, and for me that speaks to the transformative nature of theatre.

It’s at the epicenter of this fusion and this intersectionality of art and activism, which really is what Theatre for Social Change is all about.”

Dashiell-Sparks was the director of Antigone X, written by her colleague, Paula Cizmar. The contemporary, multicultural adaptation assigns Sophocles’ ancient story to immigrants in a refugee camp. “Little did we know just how immediate and alive and relevant all of these issues were going to be, pre-election and postelection,” she says. “Working on that piece and presenting it in the midst of our current climate was an example of art imitating life, and life imitating art, in a profound way.”

A post-show discussion was held after every production last year, moderated by both professors and people from the community.

After every performance of Facing Our Truth, a collection of short plays about Trayvon Martin, moderators included a Black Lives Matter activist and a representative from the Bedrosian Center, a group at the Price School of Public Policy looking at the intersection of public policy and community.

“THERE’S A CULTURAL MOMENTUM FROM THE THEATRE ITSELF TO TAKE A REALLY LONG, HARD LOOK AT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ACT OF CREATING THEATRE AND THE COMMUNITIES IT’S SUPPOSED TO SPEAK TO.”

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THE CHANGE THAT BEGINS WITH ART

(CONTINUED)

All for One, and One & All

Other future plans and hopes for the School include a possible summer intensive, where SDA will host area high school students to study and practice Theatre of the Oppressed. The forthcoming institute will be an umbrella for all of these classes and initiatives, and play host to bigger conversations in the form of conferences and symposiums. Blair hopes that it will be an international resource and research center.

Taking inspiration from the theatrical form of Theatre of the Oppressed, the organization uses art as a means of social activism, and includes the facet of audience participation as “spectACTORS.”

“We learn so much by observing and exchanging with other cultures — who have a long history, maybe longer than we do in the United States — this kind of work,” he says. “We have had partnerships with people in Kabul, Afghanistan, in Tehran, Iran, in Mozambique, in South Africa, in Senegal, in Rwanda working with genocide survivors, in Brazil, and especially in Calcutta, working with rural farmers on issues of women’s empowerment and education. These are all organizations that have longstanding traditions using theatre in their communities.

The hope is that we would internationalize our presence, and help our enrolled students participate in these opportunities, and learn more from other cultures as well.”

While there are many different theatrical organizations for SDA students to be involved in, Jasmine Hayden (BA ’17), felt there was something missing: “…none of them addressed social issues or used art as a means to bridge gaps in the community...” So, she founded the One & All Social Justice Theater Company in Spring 2016. From classics to original works, One & All fosters constructive conversations regarding race, gender, class, sexuality and identity.

Hayden recalls how the performances have impacted audiences because of their participation, as well as the nature of the content. At a talkback at the performance of The Sex Show, an audience member was moved to tears because she had a similar experience to what was expressed in one of the vignettes. The impact of the conversations and mentalities are not limited to spectACTORS, but also the organization’s members. “Not only have they become more critically engaged thinkers, but they have also grown by learning and advancing in improvisation skills, Theatre of the Oppressed techniques, and strong ensemble collaborative work,” Hayden says.

One & All’s impact has also reached beyond the SDA community. Aside from their workshop at last year’s SDA Diversity and Inclusion Summit, One & All has participated in campus-wide events in support of organizations like AIM for Mental Health, the Center for Women and Men’s Sexual Assault Task Force to create PSAs and with the LGBT Resource Center for a staged reading of A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant, and A Prayer.

One & All has accomplished much since its founding last year, and has more on the horizon. Although Hayden graduated last May, she hopes through more events and workshops in the future that One & All will “remind us of the power we have in the choices we make.”  —By contributing writer Sophia Spirus

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Theatre and Social Change, then, becomes a pretty large umbrella. So what is the common thread between garment workers staging plays and clowns in hospitals, using theatre to address racial inequality and a theatre company improving its own inclusion and diversity practices?

Empowerment, says Bridel ... and liberation. 

Tim Greiving is an arts journalist in Los Angeles, specializing in film music. He produces radio features for NPR, Classical KUSC, and Southern California Public Radio, and writes for the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post.

Photos used in illustrations by Capture Imaging and Craig Schwartz Photography.

In the coming year, the School will host the Arizona-based Sojourn Theatre, a company “whose exclusive emphasis is around theatre and civic discourse,” says Bridel. They will be in residency at the School of Dramatic Arts, working with students and creating a new project.

“WORKING ON THAT PIECE AND PRESENTING IT IN THE MIDST OF OUR CURRENT CLIMATE WAS AN EXAMPLE OF ART IMITATING LIFE, AND LIFE IMITATING ART, IN A PROFOUND WAY.” If you are interested in making a donation to help support the School’s theatre and social change programming, please contact Sara Fousekis, assistant dean of development, at fousekis@usc.edu or 213-821-4047.

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sk Donald Webber Jr. (BFA ’08) about the first time he took the stage playing the title role of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash hit musical Hamilton, and the alumnus flashes instead to a different memory: his company debut as a member of the ensemble.

“It was the night Mike Pence was here,” recalls Webber, referring to the Nov. 19 performance after which the cast read a postcurtain message to the Vice President-elect about the need for tolerance, thereby inspiring the wrath of President-elect Donald Trump. “I was really excited because, as a new cast member, the last thing you want to do is distract members of the cast who have been doing it for a year. I was happy that there was something else, that I was not going to be the distraction that night.”

It may seem un-actorly not to crave the spotlight, and the people who know Webber invariably mention his work ethic, his generosity and his humility, as well as his considerable talent. During a middle school production of The Wiz, while other kids did the speaking, a sixth grade Webber sang all of the leading male parts: Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion and the Wiz. His first Broadway credits included the original company of Motown: the Musical and in the touring company of Jersey Boys. In both cases, he was part of the ensemble.

Alumnus Donald Webber Jr. climbs his way to Broadway stardom.

By EVAN HENERSON

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This is not to suggest, however, that Webber is anybody’s shrinking violet. He worked constantly both on campus and off during his years at USC and was a contestant on the ninth season of American Idol. Now that he has gotten his “shot” carrying the show (Webber performs in the ensemble nightly and plays the title role for three performances per week, every other week), Webber’s days of blending in are probably over.

“It is not possible to not remember Donald,” says his former SDA physical movement instructor and director Stephanie Shroyer. “He is just an amazing spirit today and he was when he got here.”

A native of Inglewood, Calif., Webber comes from a musical family. His father plays the piano and his mom sings. “We’re all musical,” Webber says. “At family reunions, that’s what we do. We sing and we eat and then we sing some more. It wasn’t until sixth grade that I realized, ‘I like this acting part, too.’ ” Webber made USC his school of choice and auditioned his way into the rigorous BFA program. After Webber’s sophomore year, Shroyer, now associate dean of BFA programs, remembers a conversation she had with him. The young actor was juggling school work and a full slate of side projects. He could probably have put aside his studies and gone straight into the business, according to Shroyer.

“We had to remind him that the program he was in was a focused one. He was doing so great in everything that he didn’t necessarily have to be in this program,” Shroyer says. “One of the things that made my respect for him go sky high [was] when we talked to him about ‘what do you really want to do?’ ‘Think about whether you want to have this very concentrated time to make an investment and to learn about your craft and study or do you want to just go out and start working because you can’t straddle the two things.’ He said, ‘You know what? I’m only this age once, and this is my time that I should invest in learning a craft.’ ”

Photo by Joan Marcus.

“Somewhere along the line, during his time with us, Donald Webber became a really serious artist,” Shroyer continues.

“As he moved throughout his career, he was going to be the captain of the ship.”

Webber’s Trojan ties are strong, and he frequently posts on social media to acknowledge his professors, classmates and training. The program was everything he had hoped it would be and more, he says.

“Even from the audition, it stuck with me, this was a family situation,” Webber says. “This isn’t just ‘Oh, we’re going to go and grab the actors we like the best.’ Sure there’s that. But

this is a family. These are the people we want to help grow and to impart wisdom upon so when they have opportunities like I’m having now with Hamilton, they will be ready.”

After leaving USC, Webber taught drama and directed plays for a few years at his former high school, St. Bernard in Playa Vista. His regional work included the hip-hop musical Venice at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in which he shared the stage with his future Hamilton castmate Javier Muñoz. In 2011, he came back to campus to visit with faculty and “soak up the good vibes of USC,” dropping in on a rehearsal of the 2011 production of Balm in Gilead, which Shroyer was directing.

The production had experienced some unexpected personnel turnover and Shroyer asked Webber if he had any availability for the next three weeks. Webber did, and ended up acting in the production as a guest artist.

“I told him, ‘I’m teaching these kids, but you’re an alumnus and a professional. You know what to do.’ And he did and he was amazing,” Shroyer says. “There were people who saw that show who came out saying, ‘It’s strange. There’s a kid in that production who looked exactly like Donald Webber. I can’t figure it out.’ ” Webber left his teaching assignment for a two-year stint on the road with Jersey Boys. Upon returning to New York, he had inquiries about the Chicago cast of Hamilton. With his wife, actress Rebecca Covington, having recently returned from touring with the musical Waitress, Webber took a gamble and decided to pass up Chicago and stay in New York.

The Hamilton producers called him again and offered him a spot in the Broadway company. In March of 2017, he began covering the role of Hamilton. As a member of the ensemble, Webber has played James Reynolds and understudies several additional roles. When he goes on as Hamilton — the part originated by composer Lin-Manual Miranda — he typically gets post-show rock star treatment.

Webber, who waited at the stage door to meet Viola Davis and took a selfie with Courtney B. Vance, says he enjoys the fan interaction. Hamilton is a special show, and he is more than happy to meet those who have been affected by it.

“I always make sure to go out there and spend time with the folks who just spent three hours with me,” Webber says.

“I was on the other side of the barricades not so long ago.”  Evan Henerson is a freelance writer whose works have appeared in American Theatre, Backstage and Playbill Online. An alumnus of USC, he is a former lead theatre critic and writer for the Los Angeles Daily News.

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Getting to Know the Vice Dean Serving USC for almost 30 years in student services, Lori Ray Fisher assumes a new administrative role.

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By LYNNE HEFFLE Y

assistant dean of admissions and student services for USC’s School of Dramatic Arts since 2000, Lori Ray Fisher has played a significant, and widely appreciated, role in the lives of students, parents, and faculty.

In July, Fisher’s appointment as the School’s first-ever vice dean will allow her to further broaden her scope.

AS THE VETERAN

Fisher, Dean David Bridel says, “is a patient and astute communicator, a problem-solver, and a leader” with “a portfolio of skills and abilities that made it obvious to me, quite soon after I started working with her, that she would respond to a position of greater responsibility.”

As vice dean, Fisher will be a day-to-day operational manager for SDA’s “vastly expanded network of activities,” Bridel says, pointing to the development of a new BFA in contemporary musical theatre and additional new programming at the degree level, as well as the School’s enhanced professional development and summer programming, and other curriculum-related activities and operations.

All of Fisher’s experiences “are of deep value when addressing new programs,” Bridel says. “She is deeply engrained in the School’s culture and she understands the student experience intimately. She knows what the students want, what they respond to, when they are thriving, and she understands the obstacles and the challenges that they face.

“She’s also just an absolutely lovely person, which doesn’t do any harm.”

Photo by Ryan Miller/Capture Imaging.

Shane McGhie, who graduated in 2016 from the School of Dramatic Arts with a BFA in Acting, is one of many students grateful for Fisher’s guidance. “She took the time to listen to what the students had to say,” McGhie says. “She said, ‘I’m here, use me, talk to me if you need me.’ She was like a mom away from mom. And I love her smile,” he adds. “It can definitely make any rough situation feel a little more hopeful.”

Fisher says that she is honored to be thought of “as someone who would be able to provide support in such a vital role” at this point in the School of Dramatic Arts’ evolution. “I think that now we’re at a point where we have a sound curricular structure,” she says, “we have an excellent faculty that brings tremendous value both nationally and internationally, [and] I know that we’re going to reach the position of the best performing arts school in the country. We’re on our way there.”

Her biggest challenge as vice dean, Fisher says, will be easing out of her role in supporting students directly, but she looks forward to working closely with faculty

to create an organizational structure that will help support students. “My day-to-day interaction with the students is going to be minimized,” she notes, “but overall I’m still working for that good.”

Fisher’s empathy for the challenges students face is rooted in something she experienced at age 18 as a struggling electrical engineering major at the university.

“Back in the ’80s, USC was a very different campus,” she says. “I was a first generation college student, a student of color, a woman and an inner city kid [from Compton, Calif.] on top of that. And I had an advisor who essentially said, ‘Why are you here? You should just go home now and save all of us time, because you’re not going to finish.’ ” Shaken, Fisher managed to survive that rocky start by making connections with other students of color and with much more supportive student affairs professionals. She eventually switched majors, earning an undergraduate degree from the Annenberg School of Communication & Journalism, and an MA from the Rossier School of Education. But the memory of her early negative experience stuck, she said, and she was determined to be a strong, confidencebuilding resource for students when, after earning her BA, Fisher joined the USC staff as a career counselor.

Her nearly 30 years with USC encompass positions in the psychology department (as an academic advisor), a return to the university’s career center — where she established programming for diversity and outreach through internships and alumni partnerships — and extensive sojourns within the School of Dramatic Arts, first as a director, and then as assistant dean.

“One stepping stone led to another, and then another,” Fisher says, “but each was in the service of empowering young people, saying ‘you can do this, you can connect, you can network, don’t give up and, yes, it’s going to be tough, but you can continue on.’ ” The part that USC has played in Fisher’s life extends to her family as well. She and her husband, now “empty nesters,” have two daughters. One will be a sophomore at USC’s Marshall School of Business; the other, a law student at the University of La Verne, is a USC alum.  Lynne Heffley is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and editor for print and online publications. She is a former general arts reporter for the Los Angeles Times and is a founding member of The Journalism Shop, the online co-op of ex-Los Angeles Times staffers.

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Welcoming New Board of Councilors Members The USC School of Dramatic Arts has greatly expanded its Board of Councilors this past academic year. Under the leadership of Dean David Bridel, nine members who are leaders in the industry and the local community, and bring a breath of expertise and talents to the School, were welcomed to the board.

These new members join an already strong and impressive group of members, who now total 23. As the School continues to pursue new programming in areas like new media, industry relations and professional development, the board will have myriad opportunities to influence and add value.

As Dean Bridel notes, “I am grateful to have such an active and committed group of Board of Councilors who are energized by our new programming and eager to help us achieve our short and long term goals, with a particular emphasis around professional development.

These new members have already provided a tremendous wealth of new ideas and connections that have strengthened our reach and visibility.”

Founded 26 years ago, the Board of Councilors at SDA provide advice and continued counsel on a variety of topics to help advance the mission and vision of the School.

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Chris Andrews

Michael Chiklis

Chris Andrews is a motion picture talent agent at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), a talent and literary agency based in Los Angeles with offices in Nashville, New York City, London and Beijing. Andrews works in the L.A. office and represents many of the world’s leading actors — including Daniel Craig, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Ben Kingsley, Emily Blunt, Jon Hamm, Ian McKellen, Saoirse Ronan, Edgar Ramirez and Steve Coogan. Andrews began his career in the mailroom of International Creative Management. He joined CAA in June 2006.

Michael Chiklis is an actor, director and television producer, best known for his work on The Shield, The Commish and Fantastic Four.

He joined American Horror Story in 2014 for its fourth season, and currently appears in the hit television show Gotham. In 2016, Chiklis also released his first solo album, Influence. His career began when he took on the role of John Belushi in the controversial biopic Wired and his role as Commissioner Tony Scali in ABC’s drama The Commish made him a household name.

Chiklis played the leading role of The Shield ’s LAPD Detective Vic Mackey and won an Emmy Award and Golden Globe for the role.

Chiklis serves on the Dean’s Advisory Board of the College of Fine Arts at Boston University.

Talent Agent, CAA

Denise Chamian Casting Director

Denise Chamian, president of Denise Chamian Casting, Inc., began in the entertainment industry at a boutique agency.

She went on to work for casting directors Janet Hirshenson and Jane Jenkins before starting her own company in 2001. She has worked with such distinguished directors as Steven Spielberg, Stanley Kubrick, Tony Scott, William Friedkin, Tim Burton, Francis Lawrence, Gabriele Muccino, Michael Bay and Gore Verbinski, among many others.

Her resume includes films as diverse as Saving Private Ryan, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Pursuit of Happyness, Big Fish, Minority Report and God Particle. Chamian serves on the Advisory Board of The Felix Organization.

She is an active supporter of Campbell Hall School, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Exceptional Children’s Foundation, Hollygrove Children and Family Services, Los Angeles Jewish Home, Museum of Modern Art and Venice Community Housing.

Actor, Director, Television Producer

Stacy Lederer

Community Leader Stacy Lederer is a mother to three USC students and an active community and school volunteer. She and her husband Mike (Marshall, 1989) are L.A. representatives for the School of Dramatic Arts’ Parent Ambassadors. They are also members of the USC Parent Leadership Circle and are avid supporters of the USC School of Dramatic Arts, USC Athletics, USC Associates and the USC Price School of Public Policy.

Alexander LoCasale

(Chair, Alumni Leadership Council) Senior Vice President of Business Affairs for Gener8 Digital Media Services and SDA Alum Alexander LoCasale is the inaugural chair of the SDA Alumni Leadership Council.

He is the senior vice president of business affairs for Gener8 Digital Media Services, and a graduate of the School of Dramatic Arts’ BFA program. At Gener8, LoCasale maintains the company’s client base and business strategy in new media, alternative distribution and feature films, including Hunger

Games: Mockingjay Part II, Wonder Woman and Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. LoCasale has served on the USC Alumni Association Board of Governors, as a School of Dramatic Arts representative and Chairman of the Board of Governors Marketing and Advertising Committee. Additionally, LoCasale was a member of the USC Athletic Board of Counselors.

Dr. Steven Nagelberg Managing Partner of Cambridge Medical Group

Dr. Steven Nagelberg is an alumnus of the USC Marshall School of Business, supporter of the Arts in Downtown Los Angeles and board certified orthopedic surgeon.

He is on the Board of Directors of the USC Associates, Board of Counselors for USC Athletics, the Keck Leadership Board, as well as the Los Angeles Opera. He was formerly on the Board of Directors of the Center Theatre Group and was Chairman of their Finance Committee. He and his wife Jerri continue to support MoCA and MoMA.

Byron Pollitt

Community Leader, Retired CFO and EVP of Visa, Inc. Byron Pollitt retired from Visa Inc. in 2015, most recently serving as executive vice president and CFO. Before joining Visa, Pollitt was the executive vice president and CFO of Gap Inc. Previously, he spent 13 years in various roles at The Walt Disney Company, including executive vice president and CFO of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. He was selected by The Wall Street Journal as one of the 25 best S&P 500 CFOs; ranked seven times by Institutional Investor as a top CFO in Specialty Retailing, Consumer Finance and Computer Services; and received the Bay Area CFO Lifetime Achievement Award. He serves on the board of Voya Financial, Inc., and the Finance Commission of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Noelle L. Wolf

Producer and SDA Alum Noelle Wolf is a philanthropist and producer, who began as a photo agent, transitioning to public relations, working with fashion designers and publications such as Vogue, Harpers Bazaar and Vanity Fair. She and her husband Dick, through their Wolf Family Foundation, are the naming donors of the Children’s Museum of Santa Barbara — the Wolf Museum of Innovation and Exploration (MOXI), where she is a board member. She is also on the advisory board of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation and Mariska Hargitay’s Joyful Heart Foundation, and serves on The Alliance for Children’s Rights, Mount Desert Island Hospital and The Hawaii School for Girls boards. In addition, she chaired the Friends of Arcadia 25th Anniversary and has donated time to The Princess Grace Foundation, Lupus L.A., The Jackson Lab and The New York Stem Cell Foundation.

Warren Zavala WME Partner

Warren Zavala is a partner of WME – IMG and agent in WME’s talent department. Zavala, a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, joined WME from CAA in June 2012. Zavala is also a host committee member for the Annual MPTF event, “Reel Stories, Real Lives.” He was a member of The Hollywood Reporter’s Next Generation Class of 2004.

Board of Councilors Michele Dedeaux Engemann Founding Chair Michael Felix Chair Patrick J. Adams Chris Andrews Lisa Barkett Todd Black Steve Braverman David Bridel Denise Chamian Michael Chiklis Brad Fuller Donna Isaacson Gary Lask Stacy Lederer Alexander LoCasale Michael Meyers Dr. Steven Nagelberg Byron Pollitt Linda Bernstein Rubin James D. Stern Rik Toulon Noelle L. Wolf Warren Zavala Alumni Leadership Council Alexander LoCasale Chair Adam Blumenthal Kate Cannova John Coffey David Fickas Jaclyn Kalkhurst Devin Kelley Sean Lask Henry Martone Tomm Polos Pranav Shah Adrienne Visnic Parent Ambassadors Suzanne Bruce, MD & Malcolm Waddell Elizabeth & Thomas Dammeyer Scott & Deborah DeVries Kathryn & John Gilbertson Anne Helgen & Michael Gilligan Mike & Stacy Lederer Ernest & Raphael Morgan Lauren & David Rush

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Seated for Success

Steve Braverman endows the dean’s chair to support the School’s vision.

By ALLISON EN GEL

answers quickly when asked if he’s ever performed in a play.

STEVE BRAVERMAN

“It’s quite impactful to see the School partnering with other strong arts schools on campus — the dance school, music school and cinematic arts.”

Allison Engel is an author and produced playwright who has been an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor at national magazines. She has covered USC’s six arts schools and Classical KUSC and KDFC radio stations.

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“Never,” he laughs. But as the father of two daughters with singing and acting talent, he has put in his time attending plays and musicals with them on Broadway (“I think I’ve seen Wicked five times,” he admits), watching performances at their summer camps, as well as driving the carpool for voice and acting lessons, and auditions.

His calling is in the financial world, where he has distinguished himself as an in-demand expert on investment options for high net worth families. Often quoted in publications such as Investment News, Worth and Private Asset Management, he is known for helping families consider investment challenges and opportunities involving multiple generations.

He is the co-CEO of Pathstone Federal Street, an independent financial advisory firm with offices in six states and the District of Columbia.

Braverman himself is bi-coastal, splitting his time between Los Angeles and New Jersey.

He joined the USC School of Dramatic Arts’ Board of Councilors shortly after his older daughter, Heather, entered the School as a freshman in 2014, at the end of Dean Madeline Puzo’s tenure. He worked with David Bridel during his interim deanship, and was delighted when Bridel was given the permanent position.

So delighted, in fact, that Braverman and his family recently endowed the dean’s chair. Bridel now holds the Braverman Family Dean’s Chair.

“David’s energy and vision was very exciting to us on the board,” Braverman says. “What he is doing is transformational.”

Braverman says he has been impressed at how the dean is modernizing platforms at the School

USC CALLBOARD

and bringing in study of new media. “Also to David’s credit is his consideration of the actor as a self-producer and his or her own best advocate,” Braverman says. “The history and study of acting is important, and the School is so strong on that, but to a parent covering the costs of education, teaching students how to sustain themselves as actors is vital as well.”

He appreciates the expansive view the School takes of dramatic arts. “The arts are around us all day, and not just on the stage or screen.” He mentions the School’s recent efforts in medical clowning, and the speech training and confidence the School provides to those who go on to become lawyers or teachers.

“In so many professions, audience engagement is critical. I know when I make a presentation, I’m thinking about the audience,” he says. “The School could have a symposium for those in hedge funds.”

Braverman says the School is in the perfect position, geographically and educationally, to be a world leader. “It’s quite impactful to see the School partnering with other strong arts schools on campus — the dance school, music school and cinematic arts.

And the opportunities the School has being in Los Angeles! What better location can the School have?”

Braverman has always found time to volunteer his expertise to nonprofit organizations, and currently also sits on the Foundation Board of Trustees for the Englewood (NJ) Hospital and Medical Center and the investment committee for Yale-New Haven Hospital. Although he surely would be welcome on the board of any business school, Braverman says he is happy lending his expertise to the arts.

“There’s more to life than numbers and figures, and more to life than Wall Street,” he says. “I want to help support a great school within one of the finest universities in one of the most arts-centered cities in the United States.” 

FO C U S ON FAC U LT Y

Kate Burton

Crafting New Works for the American Theatre In 2016-17, the USC School of Dramatic Arts launched LiveRead@SDA, a new program created to cultivate and provide critical support for the creation of innovative and contemporary new works for the American theatre.

The inaugural year’s readings included musicals Emojiland (book, music and lyrics by Keith Harrison and Laura Harrison) and Hipster Sweatshop (book, music and lyrics by Kyle Puccia, Kurtis Simmons and Darryl Stephens).

Annually, professional artists are invited to workshop residencies on the USC campus, where they refine their work with access to a diverse student population.

The workshops, which culminate in a reading for industry insiders and the School of Dramatic Arts community, affords students an invaluable opportunity to work with industry leaders — producers, directors, playwrights, lyricists, composers and choreographers — while gaining insights and practical experience in what it means to intensively workshop new material headed toward commercial production. 

VERSATILE ACTRESS KATE BURTON

joined the School of Dramatic Arts faculty this fall as a professor and master artist.

The three-time Emmy and Tony Award nominee teaches and directs undergraduates and graduates, as well as incorporates her professional career into learning opportunities for dramatic arts students.

Kevin Kline and Kate Burton in the Broadway revival of Noël Coward’s Present Laughter.

ABOVE:

Photo by Joan Marcus.

Most recently, Burton starred with Kevin Kline in the Broadway revival of Noël Coward’s backstage comedy, Present Laughter. She has been nominated for three Tony Awards for her work on Broadway in Hedda Gabler — directed

by Nicholas Martin, The Elephant Man — starring Billy Crudup and directed by Sean Mathias, and The Constant Wife with Lynn Redgrave and directed by Mark Brokaw.

Her Los Angeles theatre includes The Price directed by Garry Hynes, The House of Blue Leaves with John Pankow, Mia Barron and Jane Kaczmarek and directed by Nicholas Martin, Arcadia — directed by Robert Egan, Wild Honey with Sir Ian McKellen and Jake’s Women with Alan Alda.

On television, she is best known as Ellis Grey in Grey’s Anatomy and Sally Langston in Scandal. On film, her favorite roles have been in Big Trouble in Little China, Unfaithful, Remember Me, 2 Days in New York, Liberal Arts and 127 Hours.

She has directed Three Sisters, The Cherry Orchard and The Seagull for the MFA Acting Repertory at USC and has taught in the BFA program at Fordham University and the MFA program at Brown University.

She has also directed two evenings of Shakespeare and Tchaikovsky with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Burton has a BA in Russian studies and European history from Brown University and an MFA in acting from the Yale School of Drama.

The new position at the School was made possible with the help of generous parent supporters Meryl and Marc Winnikoff. 

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Alumni Marquee Inga Ballard (MFA ’83) appeared as the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet at The Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. Cynthia DeCure (BA ’88) was hired as a tenure-track assistant professor of theatre at the California State University, Stanislaus, in Fall 2016. Her works include Balm in Gilead at the college and is dialect coaching In the Heights at the Phoenix Theater in Arizona.

Tate Donovan (BFA ’85) can be seen in the film Blame, which premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival.

Joni Ravenna (BFA ’84) saw her dark comedy Blinded perform at Brickhouse in North Hollywood.

C l ass of 1 9 9 0 s Philip G. Allen (BFA ’95) sound designed the recent production of Zoot Suit at Center Theatre Group.

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Brandon Rachal (BA ’13) as Cory in Fences at the Long Beach Playhouse.

Michelle Blair (BFA ’99) was the stage manager for Center Theatre Group’s revival of Zoot Suit.

Ali Alexander Kahn (BA ’99) host of the TV show Cheap Eats on the Cooking Channel in which he travels the country to find the best budget meals.

Edgar Landa (BA ‘92) returned to Wyoming for the third summer in a row to direct this year’s production of The Tempest at Off Square Theatre/Thin Air Shakespeare. SDA Professor of Theatre Practice Andy Robinson performed as Prospero and Kendall Johnson (MFA ’14) as Ferdinand. Landa was also recently nominated for a Stage Raw Award for Fight Direction for his work in That Pretty Pretty, or, the rape play by Sheila Callaghan at Son of Semele Ensemble.

Bari Newport (BFA ’97) is in her sixth year as producing artistic director of Penobscot Theatre Company, a 43-yearold professional theatre in Bangor, Maine.

Danny Strong (BA ’96) wrote and directed the new film Rebel in the Rye, starring Nicholas Hoult and Kevin Spacey.

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USC CALLBOARD

Robin Veith (BFA ’96) is set to pen the televised adaptation of Mary Beth Keane’s novel Fever and will serve as an executive producer alongside Moss, Morrison, and Annapurna’s Sue Naegle and Megan Ellison.

Lili Fuller (BA ’09) is a writer and executive producer for The Cut, a dance-themed drama series being developed by Fox.

C l as s of 2 0 0 0 s

Elizabeth Ho (BA ’06) co-stars on a new Netflix comedy series Disjointed, starring Kathy Bates and co-created by Chuck Lorre (The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men).

Boni B. Alvarez (MFA ’07) received a world premiere of his play Bloodletting, which sold out during its initial five-week run in November 2016 and returned to Playwright’s Arena at Atwater Village Theatre in January for four weeks.

Jennifer Brienen (BFA ’06) was the production stage manager of At Home at the Zoo a coproduction with Deaf West Theatre at The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.

Kate Cannova (BA ’03) recently presented, through her production company, a reading of a new musical, Trails, at Pearl Studios in New York City. It was stage managed by SDA alumna Jennifer Wheeler Kahn (BFA ’04) and the cast included fellow alumni James Snyder (BFA ’03) and Donald Webber, Jr. (BFA ’08) .

Ray Chase (BA ‘09) voiced the lead, Noctis Lucis Caelum, in the video game Final Fantasy XV, which released in November 2016.

Chastity Dotson (BFA ‘04) plays Keisha Russell of Amazon’s crime drama Bosch and had recurring roles on Amazon’s political thriller Patriot and the Fox baseball drama Pitch.

Ryan Eggold (BFA ’06) made his feature-length debut at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival with his romantic comedy Literally, Right Before Aaron. He wrote and directed the film, which is an adaptation of his short film of the same name.

Meghan Finn (BA ’02) directed the world premiere production of Charleses by Carl Holder and produced by The Tank in New York City. She previously directed the critically acclaimed The Offending Gesture.

Ben Giroux (BA ‘07) wrote, directed, and starred in the independent short film Time Travel Romance.

Meghan Hong (BA ’06) was associate lighting designer on God Looked Away, starring Al Pacino and Judith Light, at The Pasadena Playhouse.

JP Karliak (BA ’03) voices the iconic roles of Wile E. Coyote in The New Looney Tunes and the Tin Man in Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz. He is also the voice of Willy Wonka in the new film Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Phil Kong (BFA ’08) was associate lighting designer for the Golden Fairytale Fanfare and Tomorrowland Stage, both at the Shanghai Disney Resort.

Alex Lubischer (BA ’09) will see his original play Bobbie Clearly premiere in March at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, presented by Roundabout Theatre Company.

Reynaldo Pacheco (MFA ‘09) was nominated for an Imagen Award for the Best Supporting Actor for his work in the feature film Our Brand is Crisis.

Joe Sofranko (BFA ’09) is a writer and executive producer for a dance-themed drama series currently being developed

by Fox, known as The Cut. Ashley Steed (BA ’09) was named the new editor-in-chief for the rebranding and relaunch of Better Lemons, an online arts and culture publication dedicated to supporting, covering and inspiring artists and audiences in Los Angeles.

Photo by Michael Hardy Photography.

C l ass of 1 9 8 0 s

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Cl as s of 2010s Megan Breen (MFA ‘10) wrote the play Lecherous Honey, a contemporary, multimedia adaption of Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts. It was commissioned by the company Cock and Bull, and premiered in October 2016 in Chicago.

Jennifer Kranz (BA ’14) appeared in the lead role of Jolene Oakes in Musical Theatre West’s production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels after finishing the workshop for the new musical, Recorded in Hollywood.

Inda Craig-Galván (MFA ’17) co-wrote Celestial Blood, an eight-episode series that played on the radio station KCRW. Her play Black Super Hero Magic Mama was selected for inclusion in the 2017 Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Playwrights Conference.

Grace Korkunis (BA ’16) started a professional L.A. based sketch comedy group, TR!FECTA, with other SDA alumni Dom Bournes (BA ’16) , Marc Rosenzweig (BA ’16) , LaRose Washington (BA ’16) , Katie Baker (BA ’16) , Kevin Phan (BA ’16) , Portia HenryWarren (BA ’16) , Isaac Jay (BA ’15) , and Jay Lee (BA ’15) .

Andrew Dits (MFA ’10) recently workshopped God Looked Away opposite stage legends Al Pacino and Judith Light.

Margaret Ivey (BA ‘11) starred in the comedic, music-filled play The Legend of Georgia McBride at the Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati.

Photo courtesy of Phil Kong.

A.J. Helfet (BA ’14) was seen in HBO’s All the Way — starring Bryan Cranston, directed

by Jay Roach and executive produced by Steven Spielberg.

Connor Kelly-Eiding (BFA ’11) performed in the play Dry Land at the Kirk Douglas Theatre as a part of Center Theatre Group’s inaugural Block Party program.

Chelsea Lloyd (BA ’13) was selected as one of Jewish Women’s Theatre’s NEXT @ The Braid Arts Council fellows in November 2016.

Michael Malconian (BA ’15) is a voice actor for Unsolved Murders and Remarkable Lives, Tragic Deaths podcasts, which are produced by Parcast.com.

Molly McGraw (BFA ’10) was featured in American Theatre magazine’s “Roll Call” as one of the theatre workers to know.

Kelly Merritt (BFA ’16) was a PA for Center Theatre Group’s revival production of the musical Zoot Suit.

Jonathan Muñoz-Proulx (BA ’11) was named associate producer of Skylight Theatre Company and was elected to the Emerging Arts Leaders/ Los Angeles Leadership Council. At Playwright’s Arena, he produced the Ovation Recommended-production Bloodletting by Boni B. Alvarez (MFA ’07) and a reading of Thisability by Gabriel Rivas Gomez (MFA ’07) . He is also a new member of the Latinx Theatre Commons and directed a site-specific production of Here We Are by Eric Loo at Chalk Repertory Theatre.

Chantal Nchako (MFA ’16) worked opposite James Franco, Camille Belle and Summer Phoenix in the film The Mad Whale, and performed in a workshop of the play BLKS

by Aziza Barnes for the Ojai Playwrights Festival. She is currently a member of the 2017 Williamstown Festival non-equity company.

Brandon Rachal (BA ’13) played Romeo in the Texas Shakespeare Festival’s Roadshow tour of Romeo & Juliet and starred as Cory in Fences at the Long Beach Playhouse.

Daniel Rashid (BA ’15) can be seen in the comedy feature You Can Choose Your Family.

Phil Kong (BFA ’08) lighting designed Der Kaiser von Atlantis in Hamburg, Germany.

Zury Ruiz (MFA ’13) recently had a staged reading of her play, What a Piece of Work is Man, which was developed at the School of Dramatic Arts. The reading was part of Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA’s Winterfest.

Pallavi Srinivasan (BA ’16) was associate choreographer for the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company and also played the roles of Alice in Henry V and Peaseblossom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Sedale Threatt Jr. (MFA ’15) starred in the west coast premiere of Little Children Dream of God by Jeff Augustin and directed by Andre Barron.

Charlotte Mary Wen (BA ’13) guest starred on an episode of Young and the Restless on CBS and performed in Mamma Mia! at the Hollywood Bowl in July.

Colin Woodell (BFA ’14) performed as a lead role in Long Day’s Journey opposite Alfred Molina and Jane Kaczmarek.

Are you an alum of the School? Tell us what you’ve been up to and we’ll feature it in Callboard !

Email Stacey Wang Rizzo at staceykw@usc.edu.

DRAMATICARTS.USC.EDU

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Supporters of Dramatic Arts The USC School of Dramatic Arts would like to recognize the generosity of the following individuals and organizations who have supported the School with a gift over the past year towards core programs such as production, professional development, scholarship and the Dean’s Strategic Fund. We recognize at the visionary level those donors whose tremendous generosity has reached the cumulative giving level of $1 million+. Their extraordinary commitment has built the foundation for our continued prominence and future achievements.

VISIONARY CIRCLE

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS

Dr. & Mrs. Peter Bing and the Anna H. Bing Living Trust Steve Braverman* George N. Burns Trust Katherine B. Loker Martin Massman Trust Robert & Elizabeth Plumleigh in memory of Karen Plumleigh Cortney* Alice, Teresa & Byron Pollitt

Anonymous The H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation John D. and Leslie Henner Burns Family Foundation* Alexander & Megan LoCasale* Adrienne Visnic* Meryl & Marc Winnikoff

DEAN’S CIRCLE

Anonymous (2) Todd S. Black & Ruth Graham Black Alex Cohen Jerome & Jacqueline Day Roger & Michele Dedeaux Engemann Brad & Ally Fuller Jason Grebin & Lorie Kombert-Grebin Mark J. & Elizabeth L. Kogan Philanthropic Fund Pamela & Mark Litvack Jeff Kribs Gary & Karen Lask Marshall Sonenshine & Therese Rosenblatt Dick & Noelle Wolf

George & Dyan Getz* Michael P. Huseby Family* Brian & Dianne Morton* Steve & Jerri Nagelberg* PATRONS OF TRIBUTE

Rama Backer* Barnett Charitable Foundation* Richard & Lori Berke* Michael & Debbie Felix* Peter M. Jarowey II & Constance M. Jarowey* Seth & Vicki Kogan* Edit & Edward Komberg* Joshua & Siobhan Korman Philanthropic Fund* The Lederer Family* Linda Bernstein Rubin & Tony Rubin* Jeff & Cathie Thermond James & Leslie Visnic* Albert & Bessie Warner Fund SEASON SPONSORS

The John and Jordan Davis Foundation Lionel F. Conacher & Joan T. Dea* Scott & Deborah DeVries* Sorin Eremia Kathryn & John Gilbertson The Kalkhurst Family* Michael & Melissa Meyers* Melissa Posen & Lawrence Hirschhorn Lauren & David Rush* Suzanne Bruce, MD & Malcolm Waddell* Estate of Rebecca Welles Weis in memory of Don Weis

*Represents multi-year pledge

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USC CALLBOARD

PRODUCERS

DIRECTORS

Anonymous (2) Jonathan & Adrienne Anderle Randolph & Ellen Beatty Bloomfield Family Foundation Denise Chamian Donna Isaacson Todd & Victoria Johnson Christine Marie Ofiesh Ramona Stark Sands Robert R. Scales in memory of Suzanne Grossmann Scales Rik Toulon Michael & Norma Wank Richard & Diane Weinberg Warren Zavala & Sarah Self

PATRONS

BENEFACTORS

FRIENDS

Anonymous Joan Beber The Emanuel Bachmann Foundation Adam Blumenthal Laurie & William Garrett Tom & Noelle Hicks Melvin & Doris Hughes David & Debra Jensen Susan & James McGowan Cathy Moretti Eddie & Julia Pinchasi Ruth Tuomala & Ernest Cravalho Linda Yu J.W. Woodruff and Ethel I. Woodruff Foundation

Edward G. Brown & Shari Sharifi Brown Bob & Sally Edgar, in honor of Elsbeth M. Collins Samuel N. Fischer Terry & Debbie Hammer Keith & Joyce Imai L. Michael & Karen Kelly Kate Mason Pamela M. Monroe David & Pamela Patch in honor of Kimberly A. Patch Joseph & Catherine Phoenix Susan & Jim Polos Michael Charles Solomon Anthony Sparks, Ph.D. & Professor Anita Dashiell-Sparks Deborah Ann Woll

Harry Abrams Carolyn Albin Thomas Cunningham Anawalt Brenda Kadrie Anderson & Brian Anderson Aris Vanessa Arredondo & William Ogilvie Kenneth Atchity Dee Atkinson Ms. Kimberly Clark-Bailey John Ballowe Daralee S. Barbera Christian & Elisabeth Barcellos Jessica Barnett Mark H. Bevan Dominic Bournes Dr. Julie R. Brannan Cort Brinkerhoff Hayley Brown Mike Bryant & Jennifer Thibault Roland Buck III Julie Budwine Jeffrey & Suzanne Buhai John Burdick Robert & Robin Burg Marie Burke Andrew R. Caddes Michael Canonica Michael Cantor Zachary Christian Cantrell Olivia Castanho Michael & Michelle Chiklis Christopher & Tammy Collins Angela Counts Joanne Couvrette John Cramer Timothy Dang Lauren Rayner Davis Alexis C. de Forest Kevin & Marion Dole Douglas S. Dupuy Suzanne Elizabeth Durrell & Ian Scott McIsaac Amin El Gamal Linda E. Ewing Christopher Fager & Corie Brown Stephanie A. Farugia Donald B. Fields & Myla Lichtman-Fields Sara Fousekis Madgel Friedman Michael Garrido George & Agnes Gero

ANGELS

Anonymous (2) Theodore V. Arevalo Suzanne & Gadi Ben-Menachem Yvonne M. Bogdanovich David Bridel Laurie & Todd Campbell Cleared by Ashley, Inc. Dr. J. Perren Cobb & Mrs. Cynthia Cobb Mr. & Mrs. Gabriel Dassa Freddie & Andrea Fenster Jeff & Marie Fishman Steve & Cindy Fitz Jon & Carrie Hulburd James & Joanne Hunter Family Trust Mr. & Mrs. Michael A. Kane Bob & Gail Kantor Devin Kelley Jane & David Long Marguerite E. Maclntyre & Michael Schaefer Mark F. Malan Holly & Andrew McCloskey Brian & Linnell McRee Ernest & Raphael Morgan Scott S. Mullet & Jenelle Anne Marsh-Mullet Dr. Willa Olsen Tomm Polos Madeline Puzo Tim & Vicki Rutter Pranav Shah Rick & Jeanne Silverman Abe & Annika Somer

CHAMPIONS

Stephen Albert Mohammed & Elizabeth Anis Craig & Sarah Antas William & Margaret Brown Dr. David Emmes & Ms. Paula Tomei Casey Cowan-Gale Claudia & Michael Gallo Stephanie and Scott Goodman Charles W. Haynes Collie & Charlie Hutter Mitchell T. Kaplan Mark McNabb Sherri Nelson Sean & Janis O’Malley Jessica Nobmann Eric & Kathryn Oakley Elliot Stahler Peter & Nancy Tuz

Johnny & Marie Gillespie Amy Glenn & Daniel Schuster Chad Goeser & Motoko Maegawa Kristine Goode Andrew J. Goodman & Carolyn Ramsay Lisa Jordan Gopman Blake Goza Ramona M. Gricius Richard & Susan Gurman Mona S. Al-Haddad & Marc Sellier Christine & Robert Hamparyan Sarah & Mike Harlan Raymond & Helen Hartung Jackie B. Haslam Bernd & Cathy Hauschildt Kyle T. Heffner Margaret Zoe Heimann Andy M. Henson David Aaron Hernandez Marc & Randi Hertzberg Charles Hess Joanna Humphrey Renee Briana Infelise Barry & Courtney Jennings Jolyn Johnson Jeremy Scott Jones Casey Kalmenson Gretchen Kanne Darlene Kaplan & Stephen Zuckerman Peter Karinen Bob & Iwona Kasprowicz Professor W. Martin Kast & Sylvia M. H. Kast-Ferkranus Roeban Katz Zachary Kaufer & Hunter Johnson Dylan C. Kenin Azmat Khan William Kohne James R. Lane & Jill Reusch Lane Rabbi Susan E. Laemmle & John Antignas Dennis Lawler Patrick & Elisabeth Ledwell Dr. Dong-Joon Lee & Kaaren McConaughy Lee

Robbie M. Lee & Katya Lee Mary Lewis Lucille Liberatore Mitchell & Karen Light Lincoln Gap Productions Madeline G. Lindsay Veronica M. Long Penelope Lowder Stephen M. Lowe & Marilyn Levin David A. Magidoff Ashley Maimes Kelly Makowiecki Malek Malekzadah & Tayeba Salhi Vicky & Winston Mar Nancy Molitor-Mark & Robert Mark Jennifer Martin Henry Martone Marzipan Entertainment, Inc. Nicholas J. Masi, Jr. Tony & Danute Mazeika John V. McCarthy Randle Mell & Mary McDonnell Michael & Antonia Melon Stephen W. Mendillo David & Jennifer Mitchell Orlando C. Montes Katelyn Moore André Moss Scott W. Mullin James & Kathleen Muske Professor Carol Anne Muske-Dukes Adam Nee Prince Nora Colette Olsson Mary Reveles Pallares Jeffrey Parker Steven Peterman & Susan Duffy Peterman Paul & Alison Pires Mike & Kristin Poe Edward G. Redlich & Sarah Timberman Jennifer Nicole Rendel-Leka Emerita Associate Professor Eve Roberts Philip & Christina Ronstadt Virginia L. Ross

Mark D. Rossen & Mary Gwynn David & Melissa Rothblum Torey A. Rubin James Patrick Ryan Talia Saraceno Tracy Sbrocco & Michele Carter Joshua Schell Van Schwartzman James D. Shanahan John & Jennifer Shepphird Lee Isaac Sherman Gary Shimokawa Irwin & Sandra Sitkoff Patrick Skelton Michael J. Skloff Renita Smith James Snyder Jeffrey & Catharine Soros Emmanuel Spero & Hyeon-Sook Spero Dean & Cherie Stebner Norman Stephens & Tracy Fairhurst Michael A. Sturgis Brent H. Sudduth Charles L. Swick & Linda M. Reilly-Swick Natsuki Takano Donald & Diane Thompson John & Evelyn Tipre Michael Torres Mark Towns Jennifer Trujillo Anne Fomon Ulloa & Joseph J. Ulloa Eleanor E. Vade Bon Coeur Ivana Vento Paula Walder Kelly D. Ward James J. & Laurie Hom Wen Kevin Wibberley Wilson Fitzgerald Trust Catherine Lockwood- Wimberg Grace E. Wright Ross M. Wyngaarden Beth T. Zeitman Patricia Zlaket David W. Zucker Samantha Zyck

WE HOPE YOU WILL CONSIDER BECOMING A MEMBER.

For more information about giving to the School of Dramatic Arts, please contact Sara Fousekis at 213-821-4047 or fousekis@usc.edu.

Have you remembered the USC School of Dramatic Arts in your estate plan?

Through thoughtful and early planning, we can help you build your legacy @ SDA. Estate and other deferred gifts provide critical support to the USC School of Dramatic Arts, and endow a lasting legacy to the School, our students and the larger arts community.

The university’s gift planning office can guide you on gifts made through wills and living trusts, retirement plans and more. Your generosity — today and tomorrow — will empower SDA to be the standard bearer in dramatic arts training.

For more information, please call 213-740-4634 or visit https://campaign.usc.edu/giving/ planned-giving

DRAMATICARTS.USC.EDU

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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SCHOOL OF DRAMATIC ARTS

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dramaticarts.usc.edu

An Octoroon

By Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Directed by Anita Dashiell-Sparks McClintock Theatre | Sept 28–Oct 1, 2017 Twelfth Night

By William Shakespeare | Directed by Kate Burton Bing Theatre | Oct 5–8, 2017 BFA SENIOR ACTING REPERTORY

Scene Dock Theatre | Oct 12–22, 2017 Passion Play

By Sarah Ruhl | Directed by Christopher Shaw Punk Rock

By Simon Stephens | Directed by Lisa James Trojan Barbie

By Christine Evans | Directed by Ken Sawyer McClintock Theatre | Oct 26–29, 2017 Wild Honey

by Michael Frayn Adapted from an original play by Anton Chekhov Directed by Guillermo Cienfuegos Bing Theatre | Nov 2–5, 2017 The Wild Party Book, Music, and Lyrics by Andrew Lippa Directed by Vicki Lewis McClintock Theatre | Nov 16–19, 2017

MFA YEAR 2 ACTING REPERTORY

Scene Dock Theatre | Nov 16–19, 2017 Circle Mirror Transformation

By Annie Baker | Directed by Jonathan Muñoz-Proulx Eurydice

By Sarah Ruhl | Directed by Stephanie Shroyer MFA YEAR 3 ACTING REPERTORY

Scene Dock Theatre | Feb 2–Mar 4, 2018 The Matchmaker

By Thornton Wilder | Directed by Drew Barr Buenaza/Cabrón

By David Bridel and the MFA Acting Class of 2018 Music and Lyrics by Caitlyn Conlin Directed by David Bridel A Bright Room Called Day

By Tony Kushner | Directed by David Warshofsky Macbeth

By William Shakespeare | Directed by Natsuko Ohama Bing Theatre | Feb 22–25, 2018 Great Expectations

By Barbara Field, From the novel by Charles Dickens Directed by Stephanie Shroyer McClintock Theatre | Mar 1–4, 2018 The Labyrinth of Desire

By Caridad Svich | Adapted and translated from Lope de Vega’s La prueba de los ingenios Directed by Denise Blasor Scene Dock Theatre | Mar 29–Apr 1, 2018

West Side Story Based on a conception of Jerome Robbins Book by Arthur Laurents Music by Leonard Bernstein Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Directed by Ken Cazan Choreographed by Danny Pelzig Bing Theatre | Mar 29–Apr 8, 2018 Don’t Go Created in association with Sojourn Theatre Scene Dock Theatre | Apr 19–22, 2018 BFA Sophomore Show Directed by Kathleen Dunn-Muzingo McClintock Theatre | Apr 19–22, 2018 New Works Festivals YEAR 1 New Play Readings Apr 30, 2018 YEAR 2 Playwrights Workshop

Massman Theatre | Apr 6–22, 2018 YEAR 3 Play Project

Carrie Hamilton Theatre at The Pasadena Playhouse | May 25 & 26, 2018 For more information about our shows, visit

dramaticarts.usc.edu

#USCSDA