Alumni Marquee CL ASSES OF 1 9 6 0S & 1 970S Michele Dedeaux Engemann BA ’68 recently received the Alumni Service Award from the USC School of Dramatic Arts. — READ MORE ON PAGE 14. John Ritter BA ’71 was featured in a television special, called Superstar: John Ritter, about the late alumnus as part of a docuseries examining mavericks who shaped American culture. Norma Zuckerman BA ’71 earned a master of arts in theatre at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, writing her thesis on the impact and influence of The Diary of Anne Frank on middle and high school students. She is founder and artistic director of the Jewish Repertory Theatre of Nevada, where she produced awardwinning productions with Tovah Feldshuh, Hal Linden, Hershey Felder, Loni Anderson, among others. Zuckerman also produced, directed and performed The Diary of Anne Frank at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas. LeVar Burton ’76 was named PEN/Faulkner’s first Literary Champion and the grand marshal for the 2022 Rose Parade. Andy Tennant BA ’77 is a producer and director for television series The Kominsky Method, and directed the film The Secret: Dare to Dream. CL ASS OF 1 9 80S Debbi Dachinger BFA ’80 is a syndicated, award-winning podcast host, nominated for two People’s Choice Podcast Awards, a Webby Award, interviews celebrities on the red carpet, has been interviewed on more than 1,500 media outlets, and is the author of four international bestselling books. For over 13 years, Dachinger has hosted the Dare to Dream podcast. She is also a keynote speaker at high-level national events; a media personality, who has been seen in the news, documentary films, on the cover of magazines; and is a regular Published Magazine contributor. Tim Dang BFA ’80 is featured in a video game called Ghost of Tsushima. He is also the arts and culture leader of the LA County Economic Resiliency Task Force. Greg Holford BA ’80, MFA ’82 directed a show for Amway China International in Dubai. He recently received the Production Innovation Award from the USC School of Dramatic Arts. — READ MORE ON PAGE 16.
Teresa Storti MFA ’81 performed as the titular character of Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End at the Curtain Call Theatre in New York. Todd Black BFA ’82 produced Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, as well as Dr. Death, A Journal for Jordan, Being the Ricardos and Uncoupled. Randy Johnson BFA ’82 wrote and directed the one-man theatrical show My Story: Unleashed. Johnson made his Broadway debut as playwright and director of the Tony Award-nominated musical A Night with Janis Joplin, and co-produced and associate directed the West Coast premiere of Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart almost immediately after graduating from USC. Forest Whitaker ’82 starred in Jingle Jangle, which earned him a NAACP Image Award nomination, and stars in the film Havoc. He also narrated Frederick Douglass’ memoir, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave for Spotify. He recently received the Robert Redford Award for Engaged Artists from the USC School of Dramatic Arts. — READ MORE ON PAGE 13. Marguerite MacIntyre BFA ’84 wrote the Peacock series Vampire Academy.
Gregory Fawcett BA ’92 is an actor, producer and screenwriter currently in pre-production for Street Death Fight, and post-production for Of God and Kings and The Last Victim. Other works include The New Adventures of Robin Hood, Point Pleasant and Jack Woody. He was an executive producer and actor in the Netflix film Street. Anthony Sparks BFA ’94 is writer, producer and showrunner of Choir on Disney+, a docuseries on the Detroit Youth Choir. He is creating a scripted companion series that will air on the platform as well. He is also showrunner and producer of Queen Sugar. Kevin Mambo BFA ’95 recurs on the Netflix series Hit & Run as Detective Newkirk. He also performed as Charles Boyd in a virtual production of pen/man/ship by Christina Anderson at Molière in the Park, as well as a reading of Romeo N Juliet at the Pittsburgh Public Theater and a reading of Atlantic Theater Company’s African Caribbean MixFest. Alma Martinez MFA ’95 was in a virtual reading of Electricidad at Center Theatre Group in November 2020. She was also in an audio theatre recording of the play Bump, produced by L.A. Theatre Works, alongside faculty member Inger Tudor.
J. August Richards BFA ’95 has a recurring role as Joe in the HBO Max series Generation, and will Tate Donovan BFA ’85 stars in the films Worth and star as Victor Dashkov in the upcoming Peacock Blood Relative, as well as the TV series Macgyver. series adaptation of Vampire Academy. Grant Heslov BFA ’85 is producing the Buck Rogers reboot, the Amazon Studios film The Tender Bar, a docuseries on the Ohio State sex abuse scandal, and George Clooney- and Julia Roberts-starring film Ticket to Paradise. He also produced the Netflix film The Midnight Sky. He and his company Smokehouse Pictures recently received the Corporate Leadership Award from the USC School of Dramatic Arts. — READ MORE ON PAGE 17. Anthony DiMaria BFA ’89 directed and produced feature documentary Jay Sebring....Cutting to the Truth about the revolutionary Hollywood stylist and his untimely demise at the hands of the Manson family. The film features Dennis Hopper, Quincy Jones, Nancy Sinatra and Quentin Tarantino. He also played Matty Flynn in Ray Donovan and Howard Fox in Woody Allen's Cafe Society. C L A S S O F 1 990S Timothy Omundson BFA ’91 is a recurring character on This Is Us.
Stacy Alley BA ’96 is head of musical theatre and associate professor of musical theatre/ dance at The University of Alabama, and was elected as Musical Theatre Educators’ Alliance president. Jason Ginsburg BA ’96 helped launch Discovery+ and manages Discovery Channel content for that streaming service, as well as the Discovery GO app. His first screenplay, Age of Stone & Sky: The Sorcerer Beast, premiered this year. Danny Strong BA ’96 is showrunner, writer and executive producer of the Hulu series Dopesick. Robin Veith BFA ’96 created, produced and wrote the drama series Candy. Bari Newport BFA ’97 recently became the artistic director of Florida theatre GableStage. Michael Uppendahl BFA ’98 directed and executive produced the FX series Impeachment: American Crime Story. DRAMATICARTS.USC.EDU
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