Callboard Fall 2006

PAGE 3 A Subtle School of Morals

by Philip Pullman

PAGE 5 Mrs. Kennedy Remembers

PAGE 6 Focus on Faculty: Velina Hasu Houston and Lora Zane

FALL 2006

Provost Launches Visions and Voices: The USC Arts & Humanities Initiative May be the most ambitious venture of its kind within higher education.

Visions and Voices, the new arts & humanities initiative, Katherine B. Loker and Dennis Cornell, USC Chief of Protocol (School of Theatre M.F.A., 1981), at last spring’s USC Associates reception following a performance of the musical Company at the Bing Theatre.

is expected to provide every USC student with a unique

Katherine B. Loker Donates $1.5 Million For Fellowship Philanthropist Katherine B. Loker has donated $1.5 million to the USC School of Theatre to establish the Donald P. Loker Acting Fellowship in honor of her late husband. This is the largest gift in the 15-year history of the School of Theatre.

educational experience, one available Provost Max Nikias

only on a campus that dynamically

draws together students from the arts, humanities, sciences, social sciences and professions.

USC Provost C. L. Max Nikias announced the initiative in the fall of 2005, at his installation address. Now, the initiative has formally taken shape under the guidance of Professor Barry

D

ean Madeline Puzo said, “We are so

film and stage career under the name Don Terry.

Glassner, executive vice provost. Glassner is sup-

happy and grateful that Mrs. Loker has

He made his stage debut as a leading man

ported by a Dean’s Committee headed by School

honored us with this generous gift.

in What Every Woman Wants at Boston’s

of Theatre Dean Madeline Puzo and a faculty

It is a testament to the growing excel-

Wilbur Theatre and appeared on Broadway

committee headed by Professor Tara McPhearson

lence of our School, as well as a great

in a production of Wuthering Heights.

of the School of Cinema-Television. Glassner has

vote of confidence in our faculty and students.”

worked closely with the committees and students He was featured in many movies for Universal

in arranging film festivals, humanities lectures,

Donald Prescott Loker was born on August 8, 1902

Studios, but he is perhaps best known for

art exhibitions and musical performances.

in Natick, Massachusetts. After attending the

his role as Commander Don Winslow in the

Huntington School in Boston and Philips Academy,

pre-war series, Don Winslow of the Navy

“The new university-wide initiative will ensure

Andover, he joined the Class of 1925 at Harvard.

and Don Winslow of the Coast Guard.

every student at USC has the opportunity to experience the richness of the arts and humani-

During a visit to Hollywood, he met the popular

Loker’s service as a Navy Lieutenant Commander

ties,” said Dean Puzo. “Provost Nikias understands

author of crime fiction, Charles Francis Coe, and was

in the Pacific during WWII, and for which he

that it is through arts and humanities that we

signed to play Danny in the film version of Coe’s

was awarded a Purple Heart, eventually brought

affirm what is most essential and most enduring

book Me…Gangster. Loker then began a 15-year

his acting career to an end.

within the human spirit. And he believes that it (continued on page 4)

(continued on page 4)

A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN

PORTRAITS OF INDIVIDUALS

Michele Engemann Elected to USC Board of Trustees

By Allison Engel

Michele Dedeaux Engemann, president-elect of the USC Alumni Association, has been elected to the USC Board of Trustees.

Dean Madeline Puzo

Engemann, who earned a bachelor’s degree from the USC School of Theatre in 1968, was the founding chair of the School of Theatre

I have a habit in casual conversation of referring to the academic year as if it were a theatrical season.

Board of Councilors and remains on the board.

I find myself saying things such as, “We began our 2006 season by welcoming the inaugural class of our

She also was the recipient of a university-wide

new Master of Fine Arts in Acting program.” It is a slip of the tongue born of my years in theatre where the

Alumni Service Award in 2001.

traditional “season,” like the academic year, begins in September. This habit has been encouraged of late

She is part of a legendary Trojan family. Her

by the fact that we started the year – or season – with a show: a reading of Eric Bentley’s “Are You Now Or

late father, Rod Dedeaux, coached the Trojan

Have You Ever Been?”, the first of four readings the School of Theatre is doing as part of the University’s

baseball team for 45 years, and Dedeaux Field

new “Visions and Voices” initiative to use the unique power of the arts and humanities to explore, examine and provoke discussion about the core values that inspire this institution and, indeed, our culture. A docu-

is named in his honor. Both of her parents, her sister, two brothers and a daughter are USC graduates, and her son, Alex, is a sophomore in

mentary play about the HUAC Congressional investigations into the political beliefs of writers, directors

the USC Marshall School of Business who plans

and actors, “Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been?” proved to be a great success, both as an evening

to attend film school.

of theatre and as an occasion to consider the meaning of freedom of expression, its power and its limits.

The event has also led me to consider the many forms a vision or voice can take and the variety of ways people devote themselves to and serve the arts. As it happens, this issue of Callboard is largely devoted to

Engemann is an accomplished actress who has performed with the Nine O’Clock Players Theatre for Children in Los Angeles for three decades, appearing in more than 60 productions for audi-

portraits of individuals (almost all, as it happens, women) whose voices and visions and commitment to the

ences who are mentally or physically challenged

arts enrich the School of Theatre. These include two generous supporters of the School: Michele Engemann,

or have limited access to live theatre. As a col-

an alumna of the School of Theatre and member of our Board of Councilors, and Katherine B. Loker, who

lege student, she performed in London and the

has recently established a Fellowship in Acting in memory of her husband. Additionally, there are profiles

Edinburgh Fringe Festival and was offered a spot

of two of distinguished artists on the School of Theatre faculty: playwright Valina Hasu Houston, director

with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

of the MFA Dramatic Writing program, and director and teacher Lora Zane.

As a businesswoman, she helped her husband build his money-management firm, Roger

This issue also features an interview with Barbara Kennedy, member of the Class of 1947 and the first recipi-

Engemann and Associates. It is now known as

ent of a USC B.A. in Drama. Mrs. Kennedy shares a fascinating reminiscence of the earlier days of our school

Engemann Asset Management and was sold

and of Professor William C. DeMille, the “Father” of USC’s drama program and an artist and teacher whose

to Phoenix Investment Partners in 1997.

“vision” very much endures today.

The Engemanns have a family foundation that concentrates on education, medical research

Neither last nor least, you will find here what I think is an important essay by the renown and iconoclastic

and human services. A $500,000 gift from their

British author Philip Pullman on the special value of art and, in particular, of stories. He argues that great

foundation established the USC School of

art – by portraying and illuminating life – makes us better individuals and citizens.

Theatre’s building fund. Another $500,000 gift from the foundation funded the USC Baseball

At the School of Theatre we are guided by a belief that art can affect, indeed transform, an individual

Hall of Fame at Dedeaux Field.

and a culture.

Engemann’s other USC activities include her

I hope you had a wonderful summer and that you will find time to visit us here at the School now that our year (or should I say our season?) is underway.

presidency of the Trojan League of Los Angeles and service as chair of the Alumnae Coordinating Council. She is a member of Town & Gown, Skull and Dagger, USC Associates and the University Hospital Guild.

Madeline Puzo Dean

Current School of Theatre Board Chair Richard Weinberg presents Founding Chair Michele Engemann with gift for service to the School.

2

account of the currents flowing through cultural life and public discourse. And I think that there are two such currents that have been flowing strongly in recent years.

One is “theory,” and the whole project of theory, including post-structuralism, post-colonialism, postmodernism and so on. As it affects this argument, it takes the form of saying that the connection between literary texts and the rest of life is characterized by contradictions and fractures and disjunctions and subversions and an endlessly regressive series of dialectical readings.

A text is not, as we had innocently thought, a transparent window through which ideas or things or events or characters are visible with perfect clarity. As a matter of fact, it’s problematical to talk

A Subtle School of Morals

as if there were a difference between texts and the

By Philip Pullman

rest of life in any case, because “il n’y a pas dehorstexte,” there is nothing outside the text.

Fiction can teach us what’s good, bad, generous, selfish or cruel.

This intellectual endeavor is a source of great Not far from the door of St. Peter Mancroft

the theater was indeed a place to find instruction

fascination and enormous fun and considerable

Church in Norwich, England, there’s a finely carved

or enlightenment about matters of morality.

professional advantage to those who know how

tomb with the following inscription: “This Stone

to play it. But to the non-academic reader it does

is dedicated to the Talents and Virtues of Sophia

You might not have gone to see a play specific-

seem to undercut a certain moral idea, namely

Ann Goddard, who died 25 March 1801 aged 25.

ally in order to become a more moral person;

responsibility. You seem to be able to say things

The Former shone with superior Lustre and Effect

the latest harlequinade or pantomime might be

without consequences, because whatever you

in the great School of Morals, the THEATRE, while

stronger on farcical slapstick and transformation

say will automatically deny and subvert its own

the Latter inform’d the private Circle of Life with

scenes than on ethical instruction. But by and

claims to truth. When “theory” was at its height,

Sentiment, Taste, and Manners that still live in the

large, the audiences would have felt that the

the idea the novels or plays reflected more or

Memory of Friendship and Affection.”

experience over a season’s or a life’s theater-

less faithfully what human life was like and

going – of seeing many different stories, some

taught us how to behave by showing what

I’ve been fond of that tomb, and this inscription,

full of sentimental pathos, others bristling with

happened when you did this or that seemed

and by extension, of Miss Goddard herself, for

martial bravado, some tragic, some comic –

ridiculously old-fashioned.

most of my life.

would provide a moral education. That was the assumption. People would go to see that some

The other cultural force beating on the school of

I know nothing about her; if I had the time I’d

kinds of behavior, such as generosity and forgive-

morals is quite different. I suppose you could call

spend a few hours in the country archives to

ness, led to happy outcomes and were praise

it theocratic absolutism. Theocratic absolutism

see if there was any record of an actress called

worthy; other kinds of behavior, such as greed

has been around longer than theory, and its

Sophia Goddard in Norwich at the end of the

or deceitfulness, led to unhappy outcomes and

effects have been far more deadly. I don’t think

18th century. Clearly she was greatly loved and

were disapproved of; yet other kinds of behavior,

you need to believe in God to have a theocracy;

widely admired. There must have been a portrait

such as renunciation or noble self-sacrifice, led

some theocracies are atheist. I mean a system

made at some point; people have always liked

to sad outcomes in the short run but were highly

that has these characteristics:

looking at pictures of young actresses.

praised because they led to happy outcomes for

•

others in the long run.

is inerrant and may not be doubted, which

But here’s what concerns me. I don’t profess any religion. I don’t think it’s possible that there is a God; I have the greatest difficulty in understanding what is meant by the words “spiritual” or “spirituality.” But I think I can say something

There is a holy book, a scripture whose word has such absolute authority that it trumps

“The stories we call the greatest are great because they are most like life and the ones we think not so good are correspondingly less so.”

every other. Everything, even the discoveries of science, has to be judged against what scripture says, and if there is a contradiction, scripture wins. This scripture might be the

about moral education. It has something to do with the way we understand stories, which is

I endorse this “school or morals” view whole-

why I’ve begun with Miss Goddard’s grave.

heartedly. I think we can learn what’s good and what’s bad, what’s generous and unselfish,

Bible, it might be the Koran, it might be the works of Karl Marx.

•

There are doctors of the church, who interpret

“The great School of Morals, the THEATRE.”

what’s cruel and mean, not just from the theater

the holy book and make pronouncements on

It was possible in 1801 to use a phrase like that

but from fiction in general.

its meaning. It might be St. Augustine, it might be the ayatollahs, it might be Lenin.

and not be misunderstood, not be suspected of irony. The people who went to Miss Goddard’s

This may sound obvious, but I think that from

performances would really have believed that

time to time it needs restating in terms that take

•

There is a priesthood with special powers and privileges, and there is close control of (continued on page 5)

3

Loker Donates $1.5 M

Visions and Voices

continued from page 1

continued from page 1

He married Katherine

‘is the arts and the humanities that will make USC

as an undergraduate. He immersed himself in

Ann Bogdanovich in

a truly universal university in the coming century.’

Greco-Roman classics, theatre and history, even

1940, the same year

I am very proud that Provost Nikias has asked me

as he studied electrical engineering. “This shaped

she graduated from

to chair the Dean’s Committee for this initiative.”

and defined me as a person. Even as a career

USC. After the war,

Donald P. Loker

technologist, I can say that science and technology

Loker joined his

At the kickoff event for Visions and Voices this

are tools toward an end. But great art is our

father-in-law’s busi-

fall, Nikias told incoming students that, while

end as fully mature human beings.”

ness, the French

other great universities are attempting similar arts

Sardine Company, as

and humanities initiatives, USC’s may be unique –

Nikias also believes that Visions and Voices is

director of public and

due to its location at a cultural crossroads and its

a natural response to the challenge from USC

industrial relations.

status as a home to “an unmatched range of top

President Steven B. Sample to the university.

programs in the arts and humanities.”

After his father-in-law’s death, when the company

“In our age of overspecialization, President

was reorganized as Star-Kist Foods, Inc., he became

“We have some of the world’s finest young talent

Sample understood the need to build up

vice-president in charge of public and labor rela-

in music, film, the fine arts and theatre,” Nikias

Renaissance men and women – students and

tions and traveled extensively in connection with

told students. “Add these together and you have

scholars who can boast of possessing ‘breadth

the business. In 1947, he was sent to Tokyo under

a chance at USC to explore artistic values that can

and depth,’ men and women who are deeply

government sponsorship to advise General Douglas

make your lives and careers more potent.”

grounded in two highly differentiated fields,

MacArthur on the rehabilitation of the Japanese

such as the arts and the sciences,” Nikias said.

fishing industry. In 1949, he received the Certificate

Nikias has argued that the revaluing of the arts and

“These people, he argued, are the ones who

of Achievement for his part in helping the Allied

humanities is “essential” if the United States is to

will have creative insights capable of solving

Powers in the fishing industry.

maintain its edge in coming decades. “The arts help

society’s most intractable problems.”

us discern what it is to be fully human and to live Loker retired from Star-Kist Foods, Inc. in 1965

in the society of other humans,” he wrote in the

The 2006-2007 academic year will see the first full

and became a private investor and philanthro-

San Francisco Chronicle this summer. “The arts

series of events, which will not only draw upon

pist, continuing the charitable and governmental

help us produce better engineers, better scientists,

the abundant cultural diversity of the university,

service he had begun until his death in 1988.

better physicians and better entrepreneurs. Art is

but all the museums, theatres and performing

the ability to impose a meaningful pattern on

arts centers of greater Los Angeles as well.

From March 1955 through March 1959, he was

experience and existence, the English mathemati-

commissioner for the Los Angeles Coliseum

cian Alfred North Whitehead noted. An artless

Commission and from September 1955 through

technologist, one who attempts to innovate with-

January 1969, he served with the Harbors and

out this ability, may produce at best a sterile work.”

Watercraft Commission for the State of California.

In October 1969, President Richard M. Nixon

Nikias has also noted that the encounter of students

appointed Loker to represent the U.S. on the

from the arts with students from other disciplines

Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission. He

will not only benefit the non-artists, but can offer

also joined the Defense Orientation Conference

new, invaluable perspectives to students in the arts.

Association, Inc., of Washington, D.C. in 1978.

Artistic events sponsored by Visions and Voices Katherine B. Loker and her late husband are

will be accompanied by a “reflective compo-

among the top individual benefactors in the

nent,” which allows students to consider how

history of USC. Included among those contribu-

the performance or exhibit exemplifies core

tions were donations for the Katherine B. Loker

USC values such as freedom of inquiry, sound

Track and Field Stadium and for the College of

risk-taking, collaboration and respect for others.

Letters, Arts and Sciences’ Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute (the world’s leading research

Nikias, a nationally recognized leader in multi-

center in its field) that the couple established in

media and Internet technologies, has said the

1977. An honorary trustee at USC, she has

classics played a major role in his formative years

Two-time Tony Award winner Stephen Spinella (top photo) and Tony and Emmy Award nominee Adam Arkin appeared in the Visions and Voices reading of Eric Bentley’s “Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been?” at the Scene Dock Theatre.

received numerous awards from the university, including an honorary doctorate in 1997, the Asa V. Call Award (the USC Alumni Association’s M A N D E L S TA M ’ S W I T N E S S Adapted by V.M. Rakoff With Charlotte Cornwell & Andrew J. Robinson Directed by Jack Rowe Scene Dock Theatre – November 21, 2006

highest honor) and the Raubenheimer Award from the College of L.A.S. She holds honorary doctorates from Cal State Dominguez Hills and Harvard, where she was also awarded the Harvard Medal. She has served various roles with the California Science Center of Los Angeles, the Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda and the Los Angeles Music Center, as well as being an avid supporter of the Donald P. Loker Cancer Treatment Center at the California Hospital Medical Center, Los Angeles.

As part of Visions and Voices, the School of Theatre has scheduled the following readings for student audiences: A R E Y O U N O W O R H AV E Y O U E V E R B E E N ?

The Investigation of Show Business by the Un-American Activities Committee 1947-1956

By Eric Bentley; Directed by Allan Miller Scene Dock Theatre – September 13, 2006

GALILEO

By Bertolt Brecht Bing Theatre – January 25, 2007 PROTEST

By Vaclav Havel Scene Dock Theatre – March 7, 2007

For more information, please visit www.usc.edu/visionsandvoices.

4

Subtle School of Morals continued from page 3

the news media and ferocious censorship of books. It was the Roman Catholic Church of the Counter-Reformation that invented the word “propaganda,” and the Soviet Union that took it up with enthusiasm and incorporated it into its term “agitprop.”

And there are many more characteristics of this sort of system, which we can find parallels for in both religious and atheist forms of totalitarianism: •

the concept of heresy and its punishment;

•

the concept of apostasy;

•

an inquisition with the powers of a secret police force, or a secret police force with the powers of an inquisition.

•

a complex procedural apparatus of betrayal, denunciation, confession, trial and execution.

Just to restate what I mean by the school of morals: it’s the assumption that stories, in whatever form they come – drama, novel, fairy tale, film – show us human beings like ourselves actWilliam C. DeMille (foreground), head of the USC Drama Department, in 1948 with coeds on the steps of the Old College in preparation for the demolition of the building to make way for Founders Hall. DeMille holds a signed portrait of actor Edwin Booth.

ing in recognizably human ways, and they affect our emotions and our intelligence as life itself affects us. That the stories we call the greatest

Mrs. Kennedy Remembers

are great because they are most like life, and the ones we think not so good are correspondBy Sandy Wells

ingly less so. The characters in one are rich and

First drama graduate recalls post-war days at USC.

complex and unpredictable, like real people;

How did you come to be USC’s first drama

going to New York. But there was plenty going on

cardboard-like – stereotypes.

graduate? I was the first graduate of the drama

around here.

department. Before that they always finished in speech. I came as a junior and declared myself a drama major, so I became the first, because I came in late. All the ones before me had already declared as speech majors.

those in the other are two-dimensional and

Why did you choose USC? I chose USC because of

Now I can’t prove this numerically. I can’t show

Mr. (William C.) DeMille. It was an excellent program.

you statistics to demonstrate a 23% increase in

Just the experience of working with Mr. DeMille was

moral awareness among 12 to 14-year-olds who

valuable. We fondly called him ‘Papa’ – but not to his face. He was always ‘Mr. DeMille.’ He wasn’t

have been exposed to fiction as opposed to those who have been denied it. I can’t point to

Where did you transfer from? I went to Stephens

intimidating – just very dignified. He taught acting.

College in Columbia, Missouri. Maude Adams was

That was quite a popular class – it was for graduates,

studies demonstrating that murderers who have

teaching at Stephens. She had played Peter Pan,

too. I gave my class notes to [fellow classmate who

read Dostoevsky go about their business more

but she was far from being like Peter Pan when I

worked for Cecil B. DeMille at the studio] Jack Gariss

thoughtfully than murderers who haven’t. I can’t

met her (in her 80s). She was always wrapped up

– he was going to write a book but never got around

quote official reports on the decline in adultery

in several coats – she was always cold; a very slight

to it. I wish I hadn’t given them away.

woman. She had an amazing speaking voice.

What was USC like then? It was just after the war.

Where did you grow up? I was born in L.A.

There was an influx of GIs. The campus was flooded

I’m a native. I grew up in Beverly Hills.

with these guys waiting to get their education and

What was that like? I saw movie stars all the time.

But it was an unwritten rule – no one asked why – but you never paid any attention to the stars, you never asked for an autograph unless you were waiting for them backstage after a show. You never paid any special attention to them. They were ‘just neighbors.’ It was the people from out of town who broke

get out. It was a rather exciting time. The professors

moral education that stories provide is a more subtle, fluid, all-pervasive thing, without a precise one-to-one correspondence in any place.

had goals – they made the professors ‘hop to.’ It was

And it often works most effectively when it

a real challenge. They appreciated that the students

doesn’t seem to be taking place at all.

were motivated and had a purpose. You were there to study and work – people weren’t there to play.

If they weren’t serious, they usually didn’t stay long.

You met your husband at USC? My husband Paul

Our parents never told us. I’ve talked to several other

Kennedy was one (a GI); a drama major. I met him

women I grew up with. To this day, we don’t remem-

in the first semester. They took the course everyone

ber who. I think it’s a matter of being polite, and

had to take, Man and Civilization. They taught it at

giving them their space. They have to live, too.

Bovard Auditorium. Then they broke off into small

to be home after two years away. I thought about

I don’t think that’s the way it works. I think the

said all these men – they were no longer boys – they

the rule. But I can’t remember who made up the rule.

What made you come back to L.A.? I was ready

among reading groups discussing Anna Karenina.

groups with teaching assistants. The campus was just bursting at the seams. You’d go to a class – fellows (continued on page 7) 5

Novelist Philip Pullman is a former teacher who has maintained a passionate interest in education.

He has published nearly 20 books, the most well-known of which is the trilogy His Dark Materials.

Reprinted by permission of AP Watt LTD on behalf of Philip Pullman.

F O C U S O N F A C U LT Y

2008. In addition, she spoke at the 2006 Kokusai

conviction and faith that the theatre is a neces-

Kekkon (Nikkei International Marriage Society)

sary means for human expression and with a

Professor and Director of

Conference, and her book, along with co-editor

strong belief in the transformative nature of the

the M.F.A. Dramatic Writing

Dr. Marianne McDonald, “The Myth Strikes Back:

human spirit, “Workshop 360” is a collective of

Program, Houston has had

Medea Plays By Women,” is under consideration

artists committed to work that is challenging,

a busy year with a number

by the University of Michigan Press. A second

provocative and socially relevant, with particular

of her plays being presented

book, “There Goes the Neighborhood, There

emphasis on issues of diversity, race, class, gen-

around the country: in

Goes Hollywood: Society’s Mixed Race & Cinema’s

der, sexual orientation and the politics of power.

Honolulu, “The Nature of

Racial Mythology,” is under consideration by

Zane received her M.F.A. in Directing from the

Vanderbilt University Press. Houston is co-produc-

School of Theatre and joined the faculty in 1992.

Kahua Theatre in January. She also facilitated a

er of “Desert Dreamers,” a documentary narrated

Her classes range from Acting, Directing and

critical discussion of the themes in the play at

by Peter Fonda which premiered on PBS in

Experimental Theatre Workshop to Production

the Hawaii International Conference on the Arts

September, and she is executive producer and

Analysis and Performance (Gender and Sexuality).

and Humanities; “Shedding the Tiger” at the Los

screenwriter of “Cherry Blossom and Apple Pie:

Each summer, she teaches an Acting Workshop

Angeles Theatre Project as CASA 0101 (part of the

Japanese Women Who Changed America,” a

for the USC Summer Seminar for High School

“Feminine Experience”) in April; “Tea” at Kumu

documentary film produced by The Tea Project,

Students. Last semester, Zane directed the

Kahua Theatre in conjunction with the Okinawa

LLC, currently in pre-production. Houston is a col-

highly-acclaimed production of “The Last Days

Cultural Center in Honolulu, in July; “Calling

laborator in Dr. Marsha Kinder and The Labryinth

of Judas Iscariot” at the Scene Dock Theatre.

Aphrodite” at the John Anson Ford Theatre’s

Project’s trans-media science, arts and humanities

This spring, she helms the much-anticipated

Summer Reading Series in July; a workshop of

project, “Tangles,” an investigation of Alzheimer’s

production of “Machinal” in the Bing Theatre.

her new play, “The Eyes of Bones” at Kumu

Disease, identity, culture and society. She is collab-

Zane is currently collaborating with playwright

Kahua in July; the world premiere of “The

orating on an anthology of the Asian American

Brighde Mullins (author of “Fire Eater,” which

Peculiar and Sudden Nearness of the Moon”

drama canon and her article on the state of Asian

received its Los Angeles premiere at “Workshop

at the Sacramento Theatre Company in the fall;

American theatre is featured in the October issue

360” in the fall of 2004) on an original play

“The House of Chaos” will have its world pre-

of American Theatre magazine.

with music to be produced by “Workshop 360”

Lora Zane

in 2007. Researching the history of the American

Velina Hasu Houston

the Beast” received a staged reading at the Kumu

miere in the 2006/07 season at the Asian American Repertory Theatre in San Diego; and the

West, in an attempt to gain insight into the

world premiere of “Calling Aphrodite” will take

A Senior Lecturer, Zane is

“American Identity,” this project, which will

place at International City Theatre, Long Beach,

Artistic Director and Co-

also be directed by Zane, is a big leap for the

in August 2007. She is also under commission

founder (with USC graduate

company toward intensive creative collaborations

by Minneapolis’ Mixed Blood Theatre Company

Tasha Ames) of “Workshop

with associate artists and working together on

along with Naomi Iizuka and four other play-

360,” a non-profit theatre

new material as an ensemble.

wrights to write a series of thematically related

company located in Venice,

plays, “Messy Utopia,” due for production in

California. Founded on the

1

2

1) Cloris Leachman and Sorel Carradine. 2) Associate Dean Jack Rowe, Dean Madeline Puzo, Joan Burns, Cloris Leachman, James Brooks, Allan Burns and Ed. Weinberger. 3) Cloris Leachman and B.F.A. Acting students Matt Griggs and Sorel Carradine.

Student One-Act Comedy Staged at Scene Dock with Cloris Leachman In celebration of the life of the late B.F.A. acting student Jack Weinberger, the School of Theatre held a staged reading of his one-act comedy “Mary & Joseph, The True Story” on Sunday, March 26, in the Scene Dock Theatre. Under the direction of Associate Dean Jack Rowe, Academy Award-winning actress Cloris Leachman joined Jack’s B.F.A. acting classmates Sorel Carradine, Matt Griggs and Wyatt Fenner for this one night only performance. “Mary & Joseph” is a light-hearted look at the Biblical story of Mary and Joseph who find themselves parents-to-be under very unusual circumstances.

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New Design Lab Opens The new School of Theatre Design Lab was unveiled on August 24, 2006 as Dean Puzo cut the ribbon officially opening the lab to an excited crowd of B.F.A. production students. The state-of-the-art equipment will help students realize their designs for School of Theatre productions, as well as class assignments. The new space also provides a much needed community area for the students to gather and share ideas as they work on projects together.

Mrs. Kennedy Remembers continued from page 5

would be sitting

We had Touchstone Theatre in the old college build-

getting ready to give birth to this play on opening

on the floor and in

ing. I think that was the first building for college classes

night. Well, now it’s time to spank the baby!’

the window sills.

at USC. It was a small theatre where we did one acts

University was a major street back then. People would drive their cars down

Mrs. Barbara Kennedy

and we had acting classes there, too. Mr. DeMille’s office was downstairs in the basement. It had lots of furniture and props all around. It was quite an interesting space. We had rehearsals down there, too.

it. There was an old

Evedna Blackburn taught stagecraft. I remember

dog – an Airedale,

taking a class in lighting from her. It was a two unit

I think – who’d run up

class. We’d set up the lights; it was part of our duties.

and down the street

There were men around. They did most of the work.

chasing cars. We called him ‘Tire Biter.’ Everyone

I just stood around watching most of the time. I let

would feed him. He just hung around the campus.

the boys do the work. I wasn’t deemed big enough

He became the (unofficial) school mascot.

to do it, but I knew the theory.

What was the acting curriculum like? We did

What was it like working with William C. DeMille?

scenes, we did one acts and we studied a little

I did a play called Uncle Harry – I don’t remember

bit of speech. It was pretty standard fare. Mr.

the author. Mr. DeMille directed it. I played Harry’s

DeMille and Freda Mebline directed main stage

sister. Mr. DeMille was always very big on entrances

plays. I think we did two plays a semester, one

and exits – how you got on and got off.

each term. We did them in Bovard Auditorium.

Cecil B. DeMille said at a retirement dinner, “I always did epics. Bill (DeMille) was always in a corner of the soundstage working on the small details – getting the perfect love scene, and perfecting the entrances and exits.”

Did your plays get reviewed? Art Buchwald wrote for the Daily Trojan. He would review some of the plays. I remember we were angry with him because he panned one of our dear friends. He thought he was at UCLA when he first arrived on campus until he began to fill out his registration and realized he was at USC. He did not graduate. He went to Paris and met the daughter of the publisher of the New York Herald Tribune and got a column in the paper.

What did you do after school? I got married to Paul Kennedy in ‘46. I graduated in ‘47. Paul graduated in ‘48 – because he’d been in the service. He flew a B-29 as a pilot off Guam. He flew 20 missions. Their plane went

I was Madame Arcati in Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit.

down in the Pacific. They were all rescued by a stray

That was one of my best memories. In one rehearsal

ship that happened by. They had a week to recover in

a group of us came on stage. We didn’t just ‘come

Hawaii. He probably would have flown his 25 missions

What else did you study? We studied acting, history

on.’ He had a plan and we did it again. We rehearsed

if he hadn’t lost a million dollar plane in the ocean.

of theatre, stagecraft, modern drama taught by

it carefully – everyone had their special business.

He’d say he had lost his first million so he had to go and

Dr. Leckie from the English Department, makeup,

One night in rehearsal, it was around 6 p.m. and

make a second million. He went on to have a successful

lighting for the stage, speech – we’d read poetry,

dinner time. I rushed on stage. He stopped me and

career in advertising as a TV/radio account executive.

taught by a woman well-known for interpretive

asked, ‘Why are you in such a hurry?’ I dropped

abilities. We were encouraged to take fencing as an

character and said, ‘I’m hungry!’ Well, he said, ‘You’re

elective. (I didn’t.) We learned the phonetic alphabet.

not that hungry!’ and he made me do the entrance

There was music but we weren’t required to take it.

again. On opening night he’d give us a speech.

I don’t believe there was a dance program.

He’d say ‘We’ve been practicing, rehearsing and

You had to project your voice so everyone could hear you. It was a big space.

7

I just wanted to be an actress. Of course, you always aim for stardom but I was more interested in the stage.

I was a legal secretary, a model, a housewife. But I could always act the part. I was a damn good actress.

MARQUEE Patrick J. Adams (B.F.A. 2004) designed and directed a new production of “Marat/Sade” presented at the Sacred Fools Theatre this past September.

Aiyana D’Arcangelo (B.A., 2004) is currently working for Lincoln Center in New York City as the Facilities Manager & Symposia Coordinator for the Lincoln Center Festival 2006.

Tate Donovan (B.F.A., 1985) recently starred in the West Coast premiere of David Lindsay-Abaire’s awardwinning play “Rabbit Hole” at the Geffen Theatre in Westwood. He will soon be seen in two feature films: the title role of “Neal Cassady,” which tells the story of what happened to the real life Neal Cassady after Jack Kerouac’s “On The Road” was published; and as the father of Nancy Drew in “Nancy Drew,” which finds the teen detective happening upon clues to a murder mystery involving a movie star while on a business trip to Los Angeles with her dad.

Lindsey Gearhart (B.A., 2003) directed and produced the West Coast premiere of Kirsten Childs’ awardwinning musical “The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin” at the Pico Playhouse. She is currently working on her M.F.A. in Musical Theatre at San Diego State University.

Anthony Gerard (B.F.A. Acting, 1989) appeared as Douglass in the season finale of HBO’s hit series “Deadwood.” Other credits include “C.S.I.,” “Strong Medicine,” “High Roller: The Stu Unger Story,” “The Sopranos,” “One Life To Live” and “Guiding Light.”

Michele Greene’s (1983) first novel “Chasing the Jaguar” was published by Harper Collins this past June.

It is a young adult mystery, the first in a book series, about a 15-year-old Mexican-American girl with a psychic inheritance. Producer Robert Katz has optioned the book for development as a feature film. Michele also appeared in an episode of the new David Mamet show, “The Unit,” starring Dennis Haysbert and Regina White, and in “Nip/Tuck.”

Jo Humphrey (B.A., 1949) was invited to perform a new work, “Three Women, Many Dramas,” with the Chinese Theatre Works at the International Shadow Theatre Festival held in Tangshan, China, and for which she was awarded a prize for best voice work.

Alma Martinez (M.F.A., 1994) is currently on a Fulbright Grant in Lima, Peru. She is an Associate Professor in the Theater Arts Department at UC Santa Cruz.

Denise Nicholas (B.A., 1987) returned to campus this past March to take part in the USC Black Alumni Association Women’s History Month Celebration for a reading and discussion of her new novel “Freshwater Road.”

Gina Neibarger Notrica (B.A., 1985) has had a long career in country music performing across the U.S. with her band for the past ten years. This past June, she traveled to Iraq to entertain the troops.

Brooke Marie Procida (B.F.A., 1995) is currently running Pretty Girl Productions with fellow Trojan alum Lori Ashton Zondag. Their musical children’s show, “Lori, Lori What’s the Story?” is touring nationally and will soon make the leap to television. As a musician, Brooke recently wrote a song for a new film (“See How They Run”) by fellow alum Joe Towne and also had the pleasure of opening for Sting last fall in New York City.

Virginia Schmitt (B.F.A., 2004) is the Marketing Associate/Stage Manager for the New Conservatory Theatre Center in San Francisco, a predominantly gaythemed theatre whose Pride Season features work that is by, about and for the gay community. For the past 25 years, the NCTC has provided a haven in the Bay Area for LGBTQ and straight stories to come to life on stage.

Virginia also freelances as a stage manager at several Bay Area theatres, including Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

Lee Sherman (B.A., 2006) was only one of 25 graduating seniors to receive the prestigious USC Student Recognition Award, the Order of the Laurel & Palm, during last’s spring’s commencement ceremony. Distinguished

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Joan Tewkesbury (B.A., 1960) has written a play about Georgia O’Keefe called “The Retrospective.”

Forest Whitaker (1982) has garnered rave reviews starring as Idi Amin in the critically acclaimed feature film “The Last King of Scotland,” based on the events of the brutal Ugandan dictator’s regime as seen by his personal physician during the 1970s. He also gueststarred as Detective Jon Kavanaugh on 12 episodes of the award-winning TV series “The Shield.” Upcoming feature films include: “Ripple Effect,” where a fashion designer, perpetually on the verge of success, sets out to correct a wrongdoing he committed 15 years ago and, in doing so, experiences a spiritual awakening; “The Air I Breathe,” a drama based on an ancient Chinese proverb that breaks life down into four emotional cornerstones: happiness (played by Whitaker), pleasure, sorrow and love; and “Vantage Point,” about the attempted assassination of the President as told Rashomon-style from five different perspectives.

IN MEMORIAM Chris Smith (B.F.A., 1982) a screenwriter and teacher who inspired big dreams in his students, passed away last spring due to complications from stomach cancer. One of his students was a young security guard named Antwone Fisher. Chris helped Antwone tell his story, working with him to develop the screenplay that ultimately became the 2002 feature film “Antwone Fisher,” directed

by Denzel Washington and co-produced by Chris.

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James Snyder (B.F.A., 2003) appeared in the film “She’s the Man,” released this past summer, and will appear in the forthcoming “An American in China.”

University of Southern California

Dean Madeline Puzo

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leadership and excellent scholarship are key descriptors of those selected for the Order of the Laurel & Palm, the highest honor bestowed on graduating seniors.

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