2017–2018 UNIVERSIT Y OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
VISIONS AND VOICES
A Message from Michael Quick Dear Friend of USC, I am pleased to announce the 2017–2018 season of USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative. Created by President C. L. Max Nikias twelve years ago, this annual series of performances, lectures, exhibitions, and discussions has become a centerpiece of campus life and a hallmark of a USC education. USC’s utmost responsibility is to serve the global public good. Our students and faculty answer this calling by bringing a wide array of perspectives to solve the most difficult problems of our time. And the arts and humanities play a critical role. They shape our understanding of the human condition, give expression to the full range and diversity of human experiences, and, as a result, are integral to addressing the wicked problems faced by people all over the world. Just as USC’s commitment to the arts and humanities permeates our curriculum, you will find that Visions and Voices extends that commitment beyond the classroom, providing abundant opportunities for students in any major to engage, reflect, and design a better world. Trojans have a distinct opportunity here—one that cannot be found with such scope, scale, or depth at any other major university. Take advantage of this enormous privilege. This year’s signature events feature a diverse array of performances and speakers. In September, Ballet BC performs an eclectic repertoire of works by Canadian and international choreographers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. In October, USC, in partnership with the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles, presents a new annual residency in which a distinguished artist from Mexico will spend a week at USC, sharing work and interacting with students and the broader community. The inaugural Cátedra México will feature Graciela Iturbide, an internationally acclaimed photographer whose images explore indigenous and border cultures, identity, sexuality, rituals, and the visual aspects of cultures in constant transition. In February, as part of the Provost’s Series on Wicked Problems, opera star Renée Fleming and neuroscientist Antonio Damasio discuss the very real possibility that music is part of the solution to problems like chronic pain and cancer with LA Opera CEO and president Christopher Koelsch. The discussion will be interweaved with live musical performances by LA Opera’s Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artists. In March, RUBBERBANDance will perform an electrifying full-evening program that combines the spontaneity of hip hop with the refinement and choreographic maturity of ballet. These are just a few of our many outstanding Visions and Voices offerings. Please read through this brochure and consider attending the events that spark your interest as well as those that will expose you to ideas, genres, or cultures you’ve never explored before. I plan to attend several Visions and Voices events this year, and I encourage you to do the same. Sincerely,
Michael Quick Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs 1
CONTENTS
1 A Message from Michael Quick 3 About Visions and Voices 4 Events
4 SPARK! 12th Annual Visions and Voices Multimedia Kickoff 5 The President’s Summer Reading List Book Salons 6 The Provost’s Series on Wicked Problems 8 O Solo Homo: Marga Gomez and Tim Miller 9 Wild L.A. 9 Stand-Ups Speak Out 10 Ballet BC 11 Race and Health in America 12 Three Laureates: Poets of the New California 13 Trojan Family Weekend 14 Cátedra México with Graciela Iturbide 15 James hd Brown: Life and Work in Mexico 16 Making Movements with Jon Boogz 16 Dis…Miss: Performing Gender 17 The Metropolitan Opera in HD 18 The Nation Skate 19 A Variedades Tribute 20 A Tribute to Pauline Oliveros 21 Biohorror 21 UnREAL: Gender, Race, Power, and TV 22 Lessons from the Japanese American Incarceration 22 I Love Dick: Women Writers on Hybrid Storytelling 23 John Cho and Viet Thanh Nguyen in Conversation 24 USC Thornton Opera: Handel’s Alcina
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24 Planet of the Apes Exhibit and Retrospective 25 Live Artists Live: Simultaneity 26 Women of Color Creating Community through the Arts 27 Working the Public, with Theaster Gates 28 8 Stops: A Performance by Deb Margolin 29 Hilton Als: The Fairings of a Literary Mind 30 Lucky Plush Productions 31 Archive Fever: Lost Words, Buried Voices 32 Artivistas: A Concert for Social Change 33 An Evening with Olafur Eliasson 34 RUBBERBANDance 35 Talking Race: Social Media and Social Justice 35 West Side Story 36 Beethoven’s 9th: USC Thornton Symphony and USC Thornton Choral Artists 37 Caught in the Chamber with yMusic 38 The Promise and Peril of Algorithmic Living 38 Considering Matthew Shepard 39 A Day with Senga Nengudi 40 Sojourn Theatre at USC 41 USC Kaufman’s Spring Dance Performance
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Experience L.A.: Events around Los Angeles USC and Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA At a Glance: Events by Date Important Information Contact Information Visions and Voices: Who We Are
About Visions and Voices Visions and Voices is USC’s dynamic and unparalleled arts and humanities initiative. Announced by President C. L. Max Nikias in 2005 upon his installation as provost and launched in 2006, Visions and Voices was created to enrich the academic experience of USC students through a deep engagement in the arts and humanities. President Nikias has said that “the arts and humanities are our teachers . . . they illumine our way.” The Visions and Voices initiative encourages USC students to expand their horizons and discover the transformative power of the arts and humanities in our lives. Highlighting the university’s commitment to interdisciplinary approaches, the initiative features a spectacular array of events conceived and organized by faculty and schools throughout the university. Every Visions and Voices event includes an interactive or reflective component, providing students and the community with a stimulating experience and an opportunity to explore USC’s core values, including freedom of inquiry, respect for diversity, commitment to service, entrepreneurial spirit, informed risk taking, ethical conduct, and the search for truth. This approach to the arts and humanities is intended to help USC students become engaged world citizens, making every future scientist a better scientist, every future lawyer a better lawyer, every future business professional a better business professional, and every future artist a better artist, contributing to a better society as a whole.
ABOUT ABOUT
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SPARK! 12TH ANNUAL VISIONS AND VOICES MULTIMEDIA KICKOFF Thursday, August 17, at 8 p.m. Pre-Show DJ Set at 7:30 p.m. USC Village
Featuring
CHICANO BATMAN JAVON JOHNSON
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ATSUKO OKATSUKA JESSICA SELE & DJs URBAN ASSAULT
Photo (Chicano Batman): Josue Rivas Photo (Javon Johnson): Steve Cohn
Kick off the academic year and the 12th season of Visions and Voices at our annual arts extravaganza! Presented outdoors as part of the grand opening of the USC Village, this lively evening of music, comedy, and spoken word will make you laugh, dance, and think. Come early for a pre-show featuring DJs Urban Assault (aka Faust and Shortee). Get inspired by the socially charged spoken word of National Poetry Slam champion Javon Johnson and the hilarious comedy of Atsuko Okatsuka and Jessica Sele. Then stay for a concert featuring one of L.A.’s favorite bands, Chicano Batman. The event will also include a welcome by Provost Michael Quick and a presentation by USC cinematic arts professor Tara McPherson. Plus, attendees will receive free Visions and Voices T-shirts and backpacks.
The President’s Summer Reading List Book Salons Every summer, USC President C. L. Max Nikias offers students a list of recommended reading—books he thinks will improve and enrich their lives. This year, we are excited to launch a new event series in which students can dig deeper into selected titles from the President’s Summer Reading List in lively discussions with a USC faculty member.
Book Salon on Tom Stoppard’s Indian Ink Wednesday, August 30, at 3 p.m. Alumni Center Salon, Tutor Campus Center 302 Award-winning playwright and USC dramatic arts professor Paula Cizmar will lead a stimulating conversation about Tom Stoppard’s Indian Ink. The play is a profound exploration of colonial relations, the impact of culture on art, and the complexities of our notions of home, history, and time.
Book Salon on Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Notes from Underground Tuesday, September 26, at 3 p.m. Alumni Center Salon, Tutor Campus Center 302 USC Slavic languages and literature professor Greta MatznerGore, a specialist in nineteenth-century Russian prose, will lead a conversation on Dostoevsky’s Notes from Underground. A short novel from 1864, Notes from Underground is widely considered the first existentialist novel and is known for provoking substantial reflections on human nature and our modern world.
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WICKED
The Provost’s Series on Wicked Problems
The Provost’s Series on Wicked Problems brings together special guests and USC faculty to discuss the most intractable, multifaceted problems of our time. The series was established by Provost Michael Quick in 2016 out of a belief that universities must take on “wicked problems” through interdisciplinary collaboration, research, and the education of a new generation of leaders and innovators who just might create the solutions the world needs.
Borders, Bans, Walls, and Welcomes: U.S. Immigration Today
As millions are displaced by violence and climate change, or leave home in search of jobs or safety somewhere else, a globalized world must reckon with the values and the challenges of national borders. Join Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum; Leilani Chan, founding artistic director of TeAda Productions and co-creator of several theatre projects about refugee and immigrant experiences; and USC professors Manuel Pastor and Robert Suro for a provocative conversation about immigration—one of the most pressing and divisive issues of our time.
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Photo (Leilani Chan): Michael Burr
Tuesday, September 5, at 7 p.m. Friends of the USC Libraries Lecture Hall Doheny Memorial Library 240
D PROBLEM Music as Medicine Renée Fleming and Antonio Damasio in Conversation A VISIONS AND VOICES SIGNATURE EVENT Monday, February 5, at 7 p.m. Bovard Auditorium Can music help manage pain or treat anxiety? Cutting-edge scientists, doctors, and artists think so. Provost Michael Quick will introduce a forward-thinking discussion with opera star Renée Fleming, neuroscientist Antonio Damasio, and LA Opera CEO and president Christopher Koelsch about the connections between music and the brain—and the very real possibility that music is part of the solution to problems like chronic pain and cancer. The discussion will be interweaved with live musical performances by LA Opera’s Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artists. Presented in partnership with LA Opera. Co-sponsored by the USC Brain and Creativity Institute.
Photo (Antonio Damasio): Dietmar Quistorf Photo (Christopher Koelsch): Craig T. Mathew/Mathew Imaging
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O Solo Homo: Performances by Marga Gomez and Tim Miller Two iconic artists visit USC for a special evening of queer performance. Marga Gomez was one of the nation’s first out lesbian performers and a founding member of the groundbreaking theatre collective Culture Clash. Tim Miller was one of the “NEA Four”—four artists who were denied NEA funding in 1990 because their work failed to pass “decency” guidelines. Gomez and Miller will perform selections of their work followed by a discussion with USC professors David Román and Luis Alfaro exploring over four decades of queer identities and culture. Organized by Luis Alfaro (Dramatic Arts) and David Román (English).
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Photo (Marga Gomez): Ian Douglas/New York Times
Wednesday, September 6, at 7 p.m. Joyce J. Cammilleri Hall
Wild L.A.
Stand-Ups Speak Out: Comedy, Race, and Identity
Thursday, September 7, at 7 p.m. Friends of the USC Libraries Lecture Hall Doheny Memorial Library 240
Friday, September 8, at 7:30 p.m. Tommy’s Place, Ronald Tutor Campus Center
The mountains north of Los Angeles are home to one of America’s first national forests and one of its newest national monuments. How can these green spaces better serve park-poor communities in the L.A. Basin? What hidden meanings can Southern California’s indigenous people share about these mountains? And how can animals help us rediscover the wildness of urban ecosystems close to home? Environmental historian Char Miller; urban wildlife expert Beth Pratt-Bergstrom; and native-plants activist Nicholas Hummingbird will discuss these questions and more in a dynamic conversation moderated by Nathan Masters of the USC Libraries and KCET’s Lost L.A.
Can we joke about race in America? Performances by stand-up comedians David A. Arnold, JR De Guzman, Jenny Yang, and Priyanka Wali will prove that we can laugh our way to a more just world. Dwayne Colbert (The Second City, Veep) will emcee an uproarious evening exploring race, identity, stereotypes, “political correctness,” and comedy that centers and celebrates communities of color. Organized by Louise Peacock (Dramatic Arts).
Related Event: Wild L.A. Guided Hike Sunday, September 10, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. San Gabriel Mountains National Monument Explore the wilderness at the edge of L.A. on a hike guided by environmental and wildlife experts. Organized by the USC Libraries.
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“
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Entertaining and brilliantly executed. —The Ottawa Citizen
Ballet BC A VISIONS AND VOICES SIGNATURE EVENT Wednesday, September 13, at 7:30 p.m. Bovard Auditorium Encounter the ballet of today in an evening of bold and innovative performances by Ballet BC, the internationally acclaimed contemporary ballet company based out of Vancouver and led by Artistic Director Emily Molnar. Founded in 1986, Ballet BC is a leader in contemporary dance in Canada and is renowned worldwide as a hotbed for the creation and performance of exciting new choreography. Performing a diverse repertoire of works by Canadian and international choreographers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Ballet BC’s dancers are dynamic, deeply thoughtful, and delight in collaboration.
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Photos: Michael Slobodian
Co-sponsored by the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance.
Race and Health in America: The Medical Humanities, Arts, and Ethics Series Achieving Health Equity: Tools for a National Campaign Against Racism A Lecture by Camara Jones Photo: KreativTouch Group
Monday, September 18, at 1 p.m. Mayer Auditorium, Health Sciences Campus Dr. Camara Jones, the immediate past president of the American Public Health Association, will discuss her research on the structural causes of unequal raceassociated health outcomes. Her remarkable “illustrated” tales about racism and the barriers to health equity foster dialogue, enhance understanding, and inspire advocacy to end racism and injustice in health care. Jones is a senior fellow at the Satcher Health Leadership Institute and the Cardiovascular Research Institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine.
I Can Make a Difference A Lecture by Marian Wright Edelman Thursday, March 29, at 4 p.m. Mayer Auditorium, Health Sciences Campus Join us for a very special afternoon with Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Children’s Defense Fund. For half a century, Edelman and CDF have been the driving forces behind most of the laws and programs that have improved education and health care for children in the United States. Edelman insists that nurturing children is everyone’s responsibility. This notion, summed up in the African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child”—popularized by early CDF staffer Hillary Rodham Clinton when she was First Lady—reminds us to protect all communities. Organized by Pamela Schaff (Family Medicine and Pediatrics), Alexander Capron (Law and Medicine), Lyn Boyd-Judson (Levan Institute for Humanities and Ethics), Ron Ben-Ari (Internal Medicine), and Lynn Kysh (USC Libraries). Co-sponsored by the Keck School of Medicine’s HEAL Program (Humanities, Ethics/Economics, Art, and the Law), the USC Pacific Center for Health Policy and Ethics, and the Levan Institute for Humanities and Ethics.
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Three Laureates: Poets of the New California Thursday, September 28, at 7 p.m. Bovard Auditorium U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera, California Poet Laureate Dana Gioia, and Los Angeles Poet Laureate Robin Coste Lewis come together for a reading and discussion about poetry and the role of place—in particular, the many places of California—in their creative work. The son of farmworkers, Herrera spent his early years living from crop to crop in California’s San Joaquin and Salinas valleys and attended college at UCLA during the Chicano movement. Former NEA chair Dana Gioia grew up in Hawthorne and spent his college years at Stanford. And National Book Award winner Robin Coste Lewis is from Compton. In a rare joint event, these three highly decorated and deeply rooted California poets will reveal how poetry contributes to our shared yet varied sense of place.
Related Event: Poetry Workshop with Juan Felipe Herrera Thursday, September 28, at 3 p.m. The Academy for Polymathic Study Doheny Memorial Library 241 Juan Felipe Herrera will lead a workshop exploring the craft and creativity of poetry.
Photo (Dana Gioia): Lynn Goldsmith Photo (Juan Felipe Herrera): Carlos Puma Photo (Robin Coste Lewis): Dunya Alwan
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Organized by the USC Libraries. Co-sponsored by the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles.
Trojan Family Weekend Thursday, October 12, through Sunday, October 15 University Park Campus USC will host an annual celebration that gives USC families the opportunity to visit their student and experience life as a Trojan. This dynamic four-day weekend will be packed with enriching lectures, tours of the campus, engaging workshops, and social activities, and will culminate in USC’s football game. The exciting programming will also include a special concert presented by Visions and Voices.
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Cátedra México with Graciela Iturbide A VISIONS AND VOICES SIGNATURE EVENT PRESENTED WITH THE CONSULATE GENERAL OF MEXICO IN LOS ANGELES Monday, October 16, at 7 p.m. Town and Gown In partnership with the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles, we are thrilled to announce Cátedra México, a new annual residency in which a distinguished artist from Mexico will spend a week at USC, sharing work and interacting with students and the broader community. The inaugural Cátedra México will feature Graciela Iturbide, an internationally acclaimed photographer whose images explore indigenous and border cultures, identity, sexuality, rituals, and the visual aspects of cultures in constant transition. Following an introduction by USC President C. L. Max Nikias, Visions and Voices will present an evening with this award-winning image maker, whose work has been featured in solo exhibitions at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Getty Museum, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, among others. Presented in partnership with the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles. Co-sponsored by the USC Fisher Museum of Art and the USC Roski School of Art and Design.
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James hd Brown: Life and Work in Mexico Born in 1951 in Glendale, California, James hd Brown relocated with his family to Oaxaca, Mexico, in 1995 and founded Carpe Diem Press, which publishes limited-edition artists’ books featuring the work of influential artists from the United States and Mexico. In conjunction with Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, the USC Fisher Museum of Art will present an exhibition of Brown’s “My Other House” series along with Carpe Diem Press books from Tuesday, September 5, through Saturday, December 2.
Bookmaking Workshop with James hd Brown and Graciela Iturbide Tuesday, October 17, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Art Division 2418 W. 6th Street, Los Angeles, 90057 Make your own artist’s book with guidance from some of the most talented practitioners of the form.
An Exhibition Tour and Discussion with the Artist Wednesday, October 18, at 2 p.m. USC Fisher Museum of Art James hd Brown will lead a tour of the exhibition and participate in a discussion with KCRW Art Talk host Edward Goldman and artist Marcos Ramírez Erre about bicultural experience, the value of authenticity, and working as an expat artist. Organized by the USC Fisher Museum of Art as part of Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, an initiative of the Getty. The presenting sponsor is Bank of America.
James hd Brown, Mystery of My Other House; Home Economics, Gender & Zoning, 2014
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Dis…Miss: Performing Gender Thursday, October 19, at 7 p.m. USC Wallis Annenberg Hall
Making Movements: Dance and Social Change Featuring Jon Boogz Wednesday, October 18, at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center Movement artist Jon Boogz has choreographed for performers ranging from Mikhail Baryshnikov to Gloria Estefan, had his work featured on So You Think You Can Dance, and collaborated with artists across disciplines. Now Boogz will come to USC for a performance and interactive lecture on the ways dance can be used to advance social change. Join us for an inspiring program featuring the short film Color of Reality, a collaboration between Boogz, movement artist Lil Buck, and 3-dimensional painter Alexa Meade; a live performance of Boogz’s solo piece Love Heals All Wounds; and performances by students from the USC Kaufman School of Dance. In a lively discussion, Boogz will reflect on the role of the artist in transforming society and inspiring change. Organized by the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance.
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How do you perform gender? This intersectional, interactive event combines video, images, talks, exercises, questions, and tweets to reveal a broad spectrum of gender possibilities beyond the binary. Writer/performer Kristina Wong will emcee a dynamic, multidisciplinary evening featuring projections of short videos and postcards by artists including Cassils, Shizu Saldamando, Ovarian Psycos, and Meena Nanji; scholarly reflections by Karen Tongson, Amelia Jones, and Valorie Thomas; and a theatrical workshop led by Anita Dashiell-Sparks. With performance artists Amitis Motevalli, Reanne Estrada, and Anne Bray as your guides, get ready to encounter others’ performances of gender and respond by reporting back how gender performs you. Organized by Anne Bray (Cinematic Arts), Holly Willis (Cinematic Arts), and Alison Trope (Communication and Journalism) in partnership with Freewaves.
The Metropolitan Opera in HD
Photo: Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera
The USC School of Cinematic Arts will host a series of satellite broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera presented in spectacular HD digital projection and 5.1 surround sound. Ken Cazan, chair of vocal arts and opera and resident stage director at the USC Thornton School of Music, will host discussions prior to the operas listed below.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) Saturday, October 21 12 p.m.: Pre-Opera Discussion 1 p.m.: HD Opera Broadcast Frank Sinatra Hall at the Eileen Norris Cinema Theatre Complex Met Music Director Emeritus James Levine conducts Tony Award winner Julie Taymor’s production of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), with Golda Schultz making her Met debut as Pamina, Kathryn Lewek as the Queen of the Night, Charles Castronovo as the fairy-tale prince Tamino, Markus Werba as the birdcatching Papageno, Christian Van Horn as Sprecher, and René Pape as Sarastro.
Thomas Adès’s The Exterminating Angel Saturday, January 20 12 p.m.: Pre-Opera Discussion 1 p.m.: HD Opera Broadcast Frank Sinatra Hall at the Eileen Norris Cinema Theatre Complex Composer Thomas Adès conducts The Exterminating Angel, a 2016 opera cocommissioned by the Met and based on Luis Buñuel and Luis Alcoriza’s acclaimed 1962 film of the same name. Directed by the librettist Tom Cairns, The Exterminating Angel is a co-commission and co-production with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Royal Danish Theatre; and Salzburg Festival, where the production premiered in 2016. Organized by the USC School of Cinematic Arts in conjunction with the USC Thornton School of Music and the Metropolitan Opera.
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The Nation Skate: Diplomacy, Diversity, and Global Engagement through Skateboarding Monday, October 23, from 4 to 7:30 p.m. Wallis Annenberg Hall Look at the world—and maybe even make it better—from the vantage of a skateboard. In two panels covering topics from science to diplomacy, explore the vast influence of skate culture with skateboarding legends Rodney Mullen, Vanessa Torres, and Element founder Johnny Schillereff; sports commentator Sal Masekela; Garth Ross, vice president of community engagement at The Kennedy Center; Renata Simril from the youth-sports foundation LA84; USC Annenberg professor K.C. Cole; and USC Annenberg adjunct professor Neftalie Williams, whose pioneering work looks at skateboarding as a tool for cultural diplomacy. A concurrent photo exhibition, The Nation Skate: What You Can Do for Your Country, will visually represent the universal language of skateboarding. Organized by K.C. Cole, Neftalie Williams, and the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
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Tonight at the Palace!: A Variedades Tribute Thursday, October 26, at 7:30 p.m. The Downtown Palace Theatre 630 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, 90014 Step into a 1950s variety show, reimagined for a 21st-century audience. Spanish-language vaudeville shows, or variedades, were centerpieces of early L.A. entertainment, catering to Latinx communities in movie palaces that are now considered historic architectural sites. Revisit this spectacular history at the beautiful Downtown Palace Theatre, built in 1911 as one of the first homes of vaudeville in Los Angeles. The evening will feature traditional Mexican music from La Familia Gonzalez de Los Angeles, who performed at variedades as children in the 1970s and ’80s; the hip hop, house, popping, locking, and Afro-Latin moves of Versa-Style Dance Company; a jam session with legendary Latin American session players, including Abraham Laboriel and Paulinho Da Costa; and a screening of Laurel & Hardy films. Photo (Palace Theatre): August Bradley Photo (Versa-Style): George Simian Photo (Laurel & Hardy): Hulton Archive
Organized by Josh Kun (Communication and Journalism) as part of Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, an initiative of the Getty. The presenting sponsor is Bank of America. Major support is provided through grants from the Getty Foundation.
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Beethoven Was a Lesbian: A Tribute to Pauline Oliveros Sunday, October 29, from 4 to 7 p.m. ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries 909 West Adams Boulevard, Los Angeles, 90007 One of the foremost avant-garde composers of her generation, Pauline Oliveros (1932–2016) expanded our understanding and perception of sound. In her groundbreaking career, Oliveros consistently experimented with new musical forms, emphasizing the potential of non-hierarchal musical practices and collaboration. An influential figure in Southern California’s artistic communities during the 1970s, Oliveros’s work was deeply committed to the women’s movement. ONE Archives, in collaboration with the International Contemporary Ensemble, will present an open set of performances, meditations, Deep Listening, screenings, and discussions in tribute to Oliveros’s landmark contributions to experimental and electronic music.
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Photo: Vinciane Verguethen
Organized by ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries in conjunction with their exhibition Axis Mundo: Queer Networks in Chicano L.A., part of Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, an initiative of the Getty. The presenting sponsor is Bank of America. Major support is provided through grants from the Getty Foundation.
Artwork (Face Melting): Geoffroy Thoorens
Biohorror Monday, October 30, at 6:30 p.m. Friends of the USC Libraries Lecture Hall Doheny Memorial Library 240
UnREAL: Making and Unmaking Gender, Race, and Power for TV
Parasites. Infections. Menacing forms of new life. In a unique exploration of biological/body horror, a screening of sequences from horror and sci-fi films will reveal our cultural anxieties, fears of difference, and speculations about life in times of radical social change. Horror-film experts Adam Lowenstein (Shocking Representation) and Isabel Cristina Pinedo (Recreational Terror); parasitologist Patricia Johnson; and Joseph Hawkins, a lecturer in anthropology and director of the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at USC, will illuminate the languages of biohorror in scenes from movies like Alien, The Thing, and Videodrome. Body horror will also be highlighted in a display of rare materials from USC Libraries collections.
Wednesday, November 1, at 7 p.m. The Ray Stark Family Theatre, School of Cinematic Arts 108
Organized by the USC Libraries.
The Peabody Award–winning Lifetime series UnREAL, about the complex relationship between two female producers of a Bachelor-like reality show, has been lauded for its searing, compulsively watchable take on feminism, race, fantasy, and media. Join us for an evening of conversation about identity, female competition, and what it means to make television today with UnREAL co-creator Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, showrunner Stacy Rukeyser, USC professors Karen Tongson and Henry Jenkins, and some of the stars of UnREAL. Organized by Karen Tongson (English, Gender Studies, and American Studies and Ethnicity) and Henry Jenkins (Communication and Cinematic Arts).
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When We Imprisoned Our Own: Lessons from the Japanese American Incarceration
I Love Dick: Four Women Writers on Hybrid Storytelling
Thursday, November 2 5 p.m.: Panel Discussion 6:30 to 8 p.m.: Workshop Friends of the USC Libraries Lecture Hall Doheny Memorial Library 240
Friday, November 3, at 5:30 p.m. Friends of the USC Libraries Lecture Hall Doheny Memorial Library 240
During World War II, more than 110,000 people of Japanese descent, most of them U.S. citizens, were forcibly removed from their homes and incarcerated by the U.S. government. USC Dean of Religious Life Varun Soni will moderate a discussion with social activist Kathy Masaoka; Lane Ryo Hirabayashi, a scholar of Japanese American studies; activist, writer, and artist Traci Kato-Kiriyama; and Niels Frenzen, director of the USC Gould Immigration Clinic, about lessons learned in the past 75 years and the connections between past and present rhetoric and policies relating to immigrants, refugees and stateless people, and communities of color. Following the panel discussion, Kathy Masaoka and Traci Kato-Kiriyama will lead a workshop on how to take action for social change. Organized by the USC Libraries. Co-sponsored by the USC Office of Religious Life.
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I Love Dick, Chris Kraus’s auto-fiction about the obsessions of a writer named Chris Kraus, has influenced a generation of writers to experiment with blurring fact and fiction as a way to claim radical subjectivity. The book has now been adapted into an Amazon Original series. In a conversation about how genre-crossing writing makes visible issues of feminism, race, queerness, and culture, Kraus will talk with writers who have been influenced by her innovations: Tisa Bryant (Unexplained Presence); Anelise Chen (So Many Olympic Exertions); and Q.M. Zhang (Accomplice to Memory). Organized by Viet Nguyen (English and American Studies and Ethnicity), Dana Johnson (English and Creative Writing), Jonathan Wang (Asian Pacific American Student Services), and Sunyoung Lee (Kaya Press).
John Cho and Viet Thanh Nguyen in Conversation Friday, November 17, at 7 p.m. Bovard Auditorium Join us for a timely conversation on race, representation, and the arts between actor John Cho (Better Luck Tomorrow, American Pie, Harold & Kumar, and Star Trek) and Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist and USC professor Viet Thanh Nguyen (The Sympathizer). Exploring their overlapping interests in film, literature, and Asian American representation, Cho and Nguyen will illuminate the challenges faced by Asian American artists, and the opportunities and pitfalls of a career in the arts—for Asian Americans and for everyone. Organized by Viet Thanh Nguyen (English and American Studies and Ethnicity) and Jonathan Wang (Asian Pacific American Student Services).
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Planet of the Apes: 50th Anniversary Exhibit and Film Retrospective Monday, January 8, to Friday, May 11 The Hugh M. Hefner Gallery, George Lucas Building Lobby USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex
Sunday, November 19 1 p.m.: Pre-Opera Discussion 2 p.m.: Opera Performance Bing Theatre Love reigns supreme on the lush island of the sorceress Alcina and her sister, Morgana. A pair of mortals, however, is about to undo the spells that hold Alcina’s lovers captive. And only then will Alcina discover that she is genuinely in love with her most recent prisoner. George Frideric Handel’s brilliant score perfectly tells the sexy story of obsession and selfishness undone by true love and faithfulness. Encounter this moving but long-forgotten eighteenth-century opera seria in a performance by the USC Thornton Opera. A pre-performance discussion between Maestro Brent McMunn and Resident Stage Director Ken Cazan will consider Handel’s brilliant setting of this tale of the loss of love—and power. Organized by the USC Thornton School of Music.
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Organized by the USC School of Cinematic Arts and 20th Century Fox.
Image: Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
USC Thornton Opera Presents Handel’s Alcina
The 1968 sci-fi satire Planet of the Apes has spawned sequels, TV series, comic books, a reimagining by Tim Burton, and 20th Century Fox’s prequel series, including two films directed by USC School of Cinematic Arts alumnus Matt Reeves. Based on the novel Monkey Planet by Pierre Boulle, the Apes franchise has traversed decades of American popular culture, reflecting changes in society, politics, Hollywood, and audience tastes. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Planet of the Apes, the USC School of Cinematic Arts and 20th Century Fox will host a film retrospective and exhibit, as well as conversations throughout the semester with artists, scholars, and leading industry professionals to offer a broad yet intimate perspective on the Apes universe.
Live Artists Live: Simultaneity Friday, January 12, and Saturday, January 13 Gayle and Ed Roski Master of Fine Arts Gallery The Graduate Fine Arts Building (IFT) 3001 South Flower Street, Los Angeles, 90007 Performance artists including Carlos Martiel, Mickey Negrón, Nao Bustamante, Rafa Esparza, Xandra Ibarra, Marcus Kuiland-Nazario, and Dorian Wood will come together for Simultaneity, the second iteration of the USC Roski School of Art and Design’s performance-art biennial, Live Artists Live. In an exciting two days of performances, dialogues, a Long Table event led by Beatriz Cortez, and more, acclaimed artists and scholars will explore the simultaneity that exists within binational and multicultural lives. Diana Taylor, the founding director of the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics, will offer the keynote address.
Photo: Camilo Godoy
Organized by the USC Roski School of Art and Design.
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And Still We Rise: Women of Color Creating Community through the Arts Tuesday, January 23 3:30 p.m.: Conversation Friends of the USC Libraries Lecture Hall Doheny Memorial Library 240 5:30 p.m.: Workshop and Dance Event Ronald Tutor Campus Center, Grand Ballroom
Organized by Ken Foster (Arts Leadership).
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Photo (Dancer): Jason Skinner
Women of color have long been at the forefront of community building and social activism through the arts. Dance companies, music ensembles, theatre troupes, and other arts groups led by women of color have worked in distinctly collaborative, intergenerational ways to not only preserve their cultural heritage but also build vibrant, healthy, and engaged communities. Los Angeles–based community arts leaders will join the legendary founders of the International Association of Blacks in Dance— Cleo Parker Robinson, Debbie Blunden-Diggs, Lula Washington, Joan Myers Brown, and Ann M. Williams—for an interactive conversation about the challenges and rewards of community arts leadership. Then you can become a community art maker yourself in a dance flash mob organized by the IABD and other community activists.
Working the Public, with Theaster Gates Wednesday, January 24, at 7 p.m. California African American Museum Atrium 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, Los Angeles, 90037 Join us for a dynamic lecture by Theaster Gates, one of the most important public artists of our time. As the founder of the Rebuild Foundation, a non-profit platform for art, cultural development, and neighborhood transformation, Gates is redefining the way we think about visual art and its potential to change the world. He collaborates with communities and large institutions to create spaces such as Chicago’s Arts Incubator and Dorchester Projects, which transformed underutilized buildings into cultural centers. Gates’s artistic practice spans media, including ceramics, installations, and performance; political interventions; and the founding of organizations. Organized by Amelia Jones, Karen Koblitz, and the USC Roski School of Art and Design. Co-sponsored by the California African American Museum.
Installation view of Theaster Gates, But To Be A Poor Race, 2017 Photo: Brian Forrest, Courtesy Regen Projects, Los Angeles
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“
”
All plays are about love and all plays are about death. That’s what we write about. Anything else is subsidiary. —Deb Margolin
8 Stops: A Performance by Deb Margolin Thursday, February 1, at 7 p.m. Joyce J. Cammilleri Hall Don’t miss the West Coast premiere of 8 Stops, Obie Award winner Deb Margolin’s thought-provoking and comedic new solo work about death, the private lives of animals, the suburbs, the spiritual exurbs, illness, desire, and a subway ride with a motherless child whom Deb realizes she has only eight stops to raise! Margolin, author of plays including Imagining Madoff, Turquoise, and Bringing the Fishermen Home, is a nationally celebrated playwright, actor, founding member of the lesbian feminist political theatre troupe Split Britches, and professor of theatre studies at Yale University.
Related Events: Workshops in Playwriting and Performance with Deb Margolin Wednesday, January 31, at 4 p.m. Friday, February 2, at 3 p.m. Joyce J. Cammilleri Hall
Organized by Melinda C. Finberg (Dramatic Arts), Brent Blair (Dramatic Arts), Meiling Cheng (Dramatic Arts), and Brighde Mullins (English).
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Photo: Alexander Iziliaev
Deb Margolin will lead two liberating workshops based on her belief that the empowered actor is a writer, and the writer for theatre must create work that comes from the body and will return to the body.
The Fairings of a Literary Mind A Conversation with Hilton Als Wednesday, February 7, at 7 p.m. Joyce J. Cammilleri Hall From the pages of The New Yorker, where he is the chief theatre critic, to his books The Women and White Girls, Hilton Als beautifully blends cultural criticism and autobiography. He won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize “for bold and original reviews that strove to put stage dramas within a real-world cultural context, particularly the shifting landscape of gender, sexuality, and race.” Als will talk with USC Dramatic Arts Dean David Bridel and professors/ writers Carol Muske-Dukes and Maggie Nelson about reviewing theatre, moving across genres, and never losing focus on the individual life. Earlier in the day, professor David Román will conduct a Q&A-style master class with Als.
Photo: Brigitte Lacombe
Organized by the USC School of Dramatic Arts and the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
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Trip the Light Fantastic: The Making of SuperStrip A Performance by Lucky Plush Productions A VISIONS AND VOICES SIGNATURE EVENT Monday, February 12, at 7:30 p.m. Bovard Auditorium Washed-up superheroes start a nonprofit think tank in a wildly funny and fresh performance by Chicago’s Lucky Plush Productions, a dance-theatre company led by Julia Rhoads. Trip the Light Fantastic: The Making of SuperStrip seamlessly weaves comic-book graphics, sound effects, and immersive video into a captivating evening with Lucky Plush’s signature blend of nuanced dialogue, complex choreography, and off-the-cuff improvisation. The superheroes move through training missions and specialized movement techniques—only to discover that real-world problems are far more complicated than singular forces of evil.
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Photo: William Frederking
Co-sponsored by the USC School of Dramatic Arts and USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance.
Archive Fever: Lost Words, Buried Voices Wednesday, February 21, at 7 p.m. Joyce J. Cammilleri Hall What kinds of secrets are tucked away in archives of past cultures, including our own? What do we hope to discover when we listen to voices that vanished for centuries? Strange scenes and stories, unfamiliar ways of speaking and thinking—or maybe something like relic feelings? In an evening of vivid performances and disturbing revelations by BLUNT RESEARCH GROUP, scholar and historian Miroslava Chávez-García, playwright Asher Hartman, writer M. NourbeSe Philip, literary historian Caleb Smith, and poet and scholar Daniel Tiffany, Archive Fever will bring to life a chorus of forgotten voices from mental asylums, teen prisons, and slave ships, as well as the intimate archive of a family crossing the border to begin a new life in California. Organized by Daniel Tiffany (English and Comparative Literature). Co-sponsored by the Ph.D. Program in Creative Writing & Literature.
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Artivistas: A Concert Inspiring Resistance, Empowerment, and Social Change Thursday, March 1, at 7:30 p.m. Bovard Auditorium Join us for an unforgettable evening of performances by artivistas—women artist/ activists of color—who inspire and embody resistance, empowerment, and the fight for social justice in their poetry, performance, and music. The incredible line-up includes Alice Bag, the former lead singer of The Bags and author of Violence Girl: East L.A. Rage to Hollywood Stage; theatre artist Alison De La Cruz; Quetzal’s Martha Gonzalez; hip hop artist and Artivist Entertainment co-founder Maya Jupiter; L.A. hip hop veteran Medusa; singer Georgia Ann Muldrow; and organizer/poet/mother Faith Santilla. From hip hop to punk, theatre to spoken word, you’ll be roused to change the world in a feminist revolution that very much includes dancing! Presented in partnership with Artivist Entertainment.
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Photo: Theo Jemison
A VISIONS AND VOICES SIGNATURE EVENT
An Evening with Olafur Eliasson Monday, March 5, at 6:30 p.m. Bovard Auditorium Encounter Olafur Eliasson, the artist who brought icebergs to Paris. The Danish-Icelandic environmental artist doesn’t limit himself to the confines of museums or galleries but engages the public sphere through architectural projects and interventions in civic space. His diverse works—in sculpture, painting, photography, film, and installations—have been exhibited around the world, from The Weather Project at London’s Tate Modern to The New York City Waterfalls to Ice Watch, in which he installed a circle of icebergs in Paris during the 2015 conference on climate change. In an illuminating evening, Eliasson will reflect on his art and the broad questions his works consider regarding emotion, physicality, and the future of our world. Organized by Hadrian Predock (Architecture).
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“
[RUBBERBANDance] is cool, magnificent, and intense, great entertainment not only for dance fans but for anyone who loves to be excited. —Phindie
”
RUBBERBANDance A VISIONS AND VOICES SIGNATURE EVENT Tuesday, March 20, at 7:30 p.m. Bovard Auditorium Combine the spontaneity, fearlessness, and risk-taking of hip hop with the refinement and choreographic maturity of ballet, and you’ve got the groundbreaking RUBBERBANDance. Artistic director Victor Quijada hails from the hip hop culture of L.A., danced with legendary choreographer Twyla Tharp, and founded RUBBERBANDance to reconcile the opposing aesthetics of street styles and classical dance. The company will perform Vic’s Mix, an electrifying full-evening program featuring choreographic jewels that span Quijada’s creative journey. The performance will be followed by a Q&A with Quijada, moderated by Jodie Gates, vice dean and director of the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. Co-sponsored by the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance.
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Talking Race: Social Media and Social Justice Tuesday, March 27, at 7 p.m. Friends of the USC Libraries Lecture Hall Doheny Memorial Library 240 Recent activism has exploded notions of a “post-racial” society to deal head-on with difficult issues of race in America. Many of these conversations take place in alternative media such as podcasts, Facebook Live, Twitter, and Vine. Meredith Clark, who wrote her dissertation on Black Twitter; blogger and novelist Feminista Jones; and USC Annenberg professor emeritus Felix Gutiérrez will speak from their experiences as participants in and scholars of these vital discussions of race in social media. The compelling conversation will explore how new ways of creating and sharing news, from the hyper-local to the global, intersect with communities of color and issues that matter. Organized by the USC Libraries.
West Side Story Thursday, March 29 6:45 p.m.: Pre-Show Lecture 7:30 p.m.: Performance Bing Theatre Book by Arthur Laurents Music by Leonard Bernstein Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Based on a Concept of Jerome Robbins From the first notes to the final breath, West Side Story is one of the most memorable musicals and greatest love stories of all time. This poignant, provocative, and emotionally powerful musical transports Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to mid-1950s New York City, as two young, idealistic lovers find themselves caught between warring street gangs. Their heartwrenching struggle to survive in a world of hate, violence, and prejudice continues to be relevant today. Organized by the USC School of Dramatic Arts, USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, and USC Thornton School of Music.
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Beethoven’s 9th The USC Thornton Symphony and USC Thornton Choral Artists Friday, March 30, at 7:30 p.m. Bovard Auditorium The USC Thornton Symphony and USC Thornton Choral Artists join forces to perform one of the great masterworks of late Classical music, Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125. Completed in 1824, Beethoven’s final published symphony features the largest orchestra ever assembled by the composer and the now-iconic final movement, with a full chorus singing “Ode to Joy”—a fitting title for such a revelatory piece of music. Maestro Carl St.Clair, artistic leader of the USC Thornton Orchestra Program, will conduct the USC Thornton Symphony, the USC Thornton Chamber Singers, and the USC Thornton Concert Choir as they perform one of the most beloved symphonies ever written.
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Photos: Dario Griffin
Organized by the USC Thornton School of Music.
Caught in the Chamber A Music and Dance Concert-in-Process with yMusic Wednesday, April 4, at 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center Hailed by NPR as “one of the groups that has really helped to shape the future of classical music,” yMusic is an ensemble of six innovative New York City instrumentalists who are equally at home performing with popular musicians like Björk and commissioning scores from rising orchestral composers. In two special performances, yMusic, award-winning composer and USC Thornton professor Andrew Norman, dancer/choreographer and USC Kaufman professor Jennifer McQuiston Lott, and avant-pop music-video director Nathan Johnson will create a hybrid “chamber music video.” Share in their creative journey at this unique event, which will also feature new works by students from the USC Thornton School of Music and USC Kaufman School of Dance.
Photo (Dancers): Scott Shaw
Organized by Jennifer McQuiston Lott (Dance) and Andrew Norman (Music).
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The Promise and Peril of Algorithmic Living Saturday, April 7, from 1 to 4 p.m. Friends of the USC Libraries Lecture Hall Doheny Memorial Library 240 Fake news, online-dating apps, and recommendation engines are just a few of the regular features of contemporary life built on algorithms—groups of instructions that determine processes and procedures, often beyond the realm of human monitoring. How much do algorithms influence what we buy, what we believe, and even whom we love? Philosophers, scientists, scholars, and writers will spend an afternoon thinking together about the complex implications of the algorithms already embedded in our daily lives—and those yet to come. In conjunction with this event, the USC Libraries will mount an exhibition entitled For the Love of Big Brother, looking at propaganda and persuasion in the digital era. Organized by the USC Libraries.
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Considering Matthew Shepard Sunday, April 8, at 4 p.m. Bovard Auditorium In 1998, a college student named Matthew Shepard was beaten, tied to a fence, and left to die in a Wyoming field because he was gay. His murder brought international attention to anti-gay violence and hatecrimes legislation, and his life and legacy are remembered in Considering Matthew Shepard, the new passion/oratorio by Craig Hella Johnson, one of today’s most influential voices in choral conducting. This exquisite chamber work, performed by the USC Thornton Chamber Singers, soloists, and instrumentalists, will move you to embrace differences and disrupt violence. The performance will be followed by a panel discussion with the composer and representatives of the USC Office of Religious Life and the LGBTQ community. Organized by Jo-Michael Scheibe (Music). Co-sponsored by the USC Thornton School of Music.
A Day with Senga Nengudi Saturday, April 14, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. California African American Museum 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, Los Angeles, 90037 Senga Nengudi is one of the seminal conceptual and performance artists of our time, known for her abstract sculptures and her participation in radical, avant-garde black art movements. Nengudi works with essential elements of the earth and of our lives in a jazz-like improvisational manner. Viewers become participants, and barriers are broken. In conjunction with an exhibition at the USC Fisher Museum of Art, Senga Nengudi: Improvisational Gestures, a daylong conference will explore the innovations and impact of Nengudi’s career, with Naima J. Keith, deputy director of the California African American Museum, and Nora Abrams, co-curator of the exhibition and one of the foremost specialists in contemporary African American art. Nengudi herself will lead a tour of the exhibition and choreograph an original work with USC students.
Photo: James Goulden
Organized by the USC Fisher Museum of Art in collaboration with the California African American Museum, the USC Roski School of Art and Design, and the USC Dornsife Department of Art History.
Senga Nengudi, R.S.V.P. sculpture activated by the artist, 1977 Photo: Harmon Outlaw
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Sojourn Theatre at USC Friday, April 20, at 7:30 p.m. Scene Dock Theatre The innovative Sojourn Theatre is a nationally acclaimed ensemble that employs theatre to engage communities and create positive social change. Join us for the premiere of a new theatrical work created by Sojourn in collaboration with students at the USC School of Dramatic Arts. Sojourn blurs the borders between theatre and civic engagement, making participatory, sitespecific theatrical works that bring diverse audiences into surprising encounters with each other. We can’t wait to see what emerges from their spring visit to USC. Organized by the USC School of Dramatic Arts.
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Living Legends: USC Kaufman’s Spring Dance Performance Thursday, April 26, and Friday, April 27, at 7:30 p.m. Bing Theatre Get close to the masterworks of William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, and Paul Taylor—three living legends of choreography. William Forsythe has transitioned ballet into a dynamic 21st-century art form. Jiří Kylián spent 30 years as artistic director of the acclaimed Nederlands Dans Theater. And Paul Taylor, described by critic Terry Teachout as “the world’s greatest living artist,” has bridged the distance from modern to contemporary dance with more than 100 extraordinary works. In two thrilling performances, BFA students from the USC Kaufman School of Dance will take on classic choreography by these legendary choreographers. The performances will be preceded by talks with Glenn Edgerton of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and USC Kaufman faculty Thomas McManus and Patrick Corbin, who will illuminate the creative motivations and practices that shaped these works from concept to reality.
Photo (William Forsythe): Dominik Mentzos Photo (Jiří Kylián): Joris Jan Bos Photo (Dancer): Rose Eichenbaum
Organized by the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance.
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EXPERIE EXPERI
EXPERIENCE L.A.
USC Visions and Voices offers a variety of stimulating opportunities for USC students to experience Los Angeles’s world-class cultural landscape. YOU MUST BE A USC STUDENT AND USE THE PROVIDED TRANSPORTATION TO PARTICIPATE. SPACE IS LIMITED AND ADVANCE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. For more information or to RSVP, please visit our website at visionsandvoices.usc.edu.
Wild L.A. Guided Hike Sunday, September 10 Depart USC at 10 a.m.; return at 3 p.m. San Gabriel Mountains National Monument The rugged mountains north of Los Angeles are home to one of America’s first national forests and one of its newest national monuments. Explore this wild ecosystem on the edges of L.A. on a guided hike with environmental historian Char Miller; urban wildlife expert Beth Pratt-Bergstrom; native-plants activist Nicholas Hummingbird; and Nathan Masters of the USC Libraries and KCET’s Lost L.A.
Echo Theater Company: Fixed by Boni B. Alvarez Sunday, September 24 Depart USC at 3 p.m.; return at 7:30 p.m. Atwater Village Theatre, Glendale The Echo Theater Company presents Fixed, a fierce and funny new play by Boni B. Alvarez about Miracles Malcañang, a drag queen working in the infamous Malcañang Massage Parlor in Historic Filipinotown. When Miracles’ forbidden love affair sparks tensions within the city’s hottest political family, two families must come together to understand the power of desire, identity, and honor. 42
VISIONS AND VOICES
IENCE ENCE L.A. L.A. LA Art Tours: Downtown LA Graffiti/Mural Tour Friday, October 6 Depart USC at 10 a.m.; return at 2:30 p.m. Arts District, Los Angeles
Wear comfortable shoes for this two-mile walking tour of the abundant murals and graffiti art of downtown L.A.’s bustling Arts District. You’ll see massive murals, hidden gems, and maybe even an artist at work in an artist-led tour of a rapidly changing neighborhood. After the tour, relax and soak in the local atmosphere with a lunch provided by the Bohemia food truck.
Los Angeles Philharmonic: CDMX: Dudamel and Café Tacvba Sunday, October 15 Depart USC at 6 p.m.; return at 10:30 p.m. Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles A special concert conducted by Gustavo Dudamel will showcase Café Tacvba, the “greatest rock band in Mexico [and] possibly even the world” (New York Times), as they perform with a full orchestra for the first time. The program will also include the world premiere of Danzón No. 9 by Mexican composer Arturo Márquez, a commission by the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Photo: Courtesy of LA Opera
LA Opera: La Belle et la Bête Saturday, October 28 Depart USC at 6:30 p.m.; return at 10:30 p.m. The Theatre at Ace Hotel, Los Angeles Jean Cocteau’s 1946 cinematic masterpiece, La Belle et la Bête, is recast with an enchanting soundtrack by Philip Glass, who has replaced the film’s original music and dialogue with a classical opera, performed by live singers synchronized with the film. This presentation at the beautiful Theatre at Ace Hotel will feature four vocalists performing with the Philip Glass Ensemble, conducted by Michael Riesman.
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Photo: Joan Marcus
Hamilton Tuesday, November 7 Tuesday, November 14 Depart USC at 6:15 p.m.; return at 11:30 p.m. Pantages Theatre, Hollywood One of Broadway’s biggest hit musicals, Hamilton is the story of America’s founding father Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant from the West Indies who became George Washington’s right-hand man and the new nation’s first Treasury Secretary. Featuring a score that blends hip hop, jazz, blues, rap, R&B, and Broadway, Hamilton is the story of America then, as told by America now.
Water by the Spoonful by Quiara Alegría Hudes Thursday, February 15 Depart USC at 7:15 p.m.; return at 11:15 p.m. Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles Four recovering addicts find a safe haven in an online chat room. But when an Iraq War veteran’s tragedy spills over into their cyberhome, everything changes. In this Center Theatre Group production of the Pulitzer Prize–winning play by Quiara Alegría Hudes (In the Heights), worlds virtual and real unfold onstage, challenging our notions of family, forgiveness, community, and courage.
Allegiance: A New Musical Inspired by a True Story Thursday, March 22 Depart USC at 7 p.m.; return at 11:30 p.m. Japan Aratani Theatre, Los Angeles Inspired by true events, the new musical Allegiance is the story of a family whose lives are upended when they and 120,000 other Japanese Americans are forced to leave their homes following the events of Pearl Harbor. Allegiance is presented by the nation’s premiere Asian American theatre company, East West Players, with the Japanese American Cultural Community Center.
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Photo: Mathew Imaging
Los Angeles Philharmonic: Dudamel Conducts Mahler’s Song of the Earth Thursday, April 5 Depart USC at 6:30 p.m.; return at 11 p.m. Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde (Song of the Earth) is unclassifiable—neither song cycle, nor symphony, nor operatic drama. This performance will be staged by LA Phil’s artist-collaborator-in-residence Yuval Sharon in conjunction with Teatrocinema, a Chilean theatre company renowned for innovative interaction between video and live performers. Tenor Russell Thomas and mezzo-soprano Tamara Mumford perform.
The Temblors: Members Only by Oliver Mayer Friday, April 13 Depart USC at 7:15 p.m.; return at 11:15 p.m. Los Angeles Theatre Center, Los Angeles The Latino Theater Company presents Members Only, a new play by Oliver Mayer, a member of the L.A. playwrights’ collective The Temblors. The year is 1982, and prizefighter Pedro Quinn finds himself confronting issues of Latino and gay/straight identity in a roller-coaster ride to redemption in the time before AIDS had a name, to the music of Laurie Anderson, Pat Benatar, and Willie Colón.
Photo: Breeann Birr
Complexions Contemporary Ballet Friday, April 20 Depart USC at 6 p.m.; return at 10:30 p.m. Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center will feature a performance by Complexions Contemporary Ballet, who mixes methods, styles, and cultures to create groundbreaking dance that is recognized around the world. Along with other repertory pieces, this performance will include their new work, Star Dust, which celebrates the life and music of David Bowie.
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USC USC&&PACI PAC STANDAR STANDAR TIM LA/L LA/L USC AND PACIFIC STANDARD TIME: LA/LA
Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA is a far-reaching and ambitious exploration of Latin American and Latino art in dialogue with Los Angeles. Supported by grants from the Getty Foundation, Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA takes place from September 2017 through January 2018 at more than 70 cultural institutions across Southern California. Pacific Standard Time is an initiative of the Getty. The presenting sponsor is Bank of America.
James hd Brown, Mystery of My Other House; Home Economics, Gender & Zoning, 2014
USC is proud to participate in Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA with several exciting events.
James hd Brown: Life and Work in Mexico September 5 to December 2 USC Fisher Museum of Art
The USC Fisher Museum will present an exhibition of the work of Glendale-born, Oaxaca-based publisher of artists books James hd Brown (Carpe Diem Press). Affiliated events include an exhibition tour with James hd Brown and workshops on bookmaking and printmaking.
Anthony Friedkin, Jim and Mundo, Montebello, East Los Angeles, 1972
Axis Mundo: Queer Networks in Chicano L.A.
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September 9 to December 31 ONE Gallery and MOCA Pacific Design Center, West Hollywood
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries, in collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, will present a multi-site exhibition that maps the intersections and collaborations among a network of queer Chicano artists from the 1960s to the 1990s. Major support is provided through grants from the Getty Foundation.
Photo (Laurel & Hardy): Hulton Archive
Jose Venturelli, Levantando al caido (Helping the Fallen), 1976
Intermediate Stages of Blooming, in John Fisk Allen (1785–1865), Victoria regia; or, The Great Water Lily of America, 1854
CIFIC IFIC RD RD ME LA LA
Visual Voyages: Images of Latin American Nature from Columbus to Darwin
September 16 to January 8 The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens Curated by USC professor Daniela Bleichmar (Art History and History), this exhibition looks at the role of images and objects in creating knowledge of the natural world during the first global era. Related events include an outdoor sound installation and performance by Guillermo Galindo and a three-day conference organized by Bleichmar with support from the USC-Huntington Early Modern Institute. Major support is provided through grants from the Getty Foundation.
Winds from Fusang: Cultural Dialogues between Mexican and Chinese Artists December 7 to June 10 USC Pacific Asia Museum Presented by the USC Pacific Asia Museum, Winds from Fusang is the first major exhibition to explore the influence of Mexican art and artists on the development of art in China in the 20th century. Artists exhibited include Diego Rivera, Miguel Covarrubias, Yuan Yunsheng, and Liu Huang.
Musical Interventions/The Tide Was Always High: The Music of Latin America in Los Angeles Fall 2017 Various Locations around Los Angeles USC Annenberg professor and 2016 MacArthur fellow Josh Kun edits a new book (UC Press) and curates a series of live “musical exhibitions” exploring the musical networks between L.A. and Latin America. Events will take place at venues throughout Los Angeles, including the Getty Center, Hammer Museum, Palace Theatre, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Huntington, and UCLA. Major support is provided through grants from the Getty Foundation.
Learn more at arts.usc.edu/PST and pacificstandardtime.org. visionsandvoices.usc.edu
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At a Glance: Events by Date
2017
August
8/17 SPARK! 12th Annual Visions and Voices Multimedia Kickoff, p. 4
September
9/5 U.S. Immigration Today, p. 6 9/5–12/2 James hd Brown: Life and Work in Mexico, p. 15 & p. 46
9/6 O Solo Homo: Marga Gomez and Tim Miller, p. 8
9/7 Wild L.A. Discussion, p. 9
9/8 Stand-Ups Speak Out, p. 9 9/9–12/31 Axis Mundo: Queer Networks in Chicano L.A., p. 46
9/10 Wild L.A. Guided Hike, p. 9 & p. 42
9/13 Ballet BC, p. 10
9/16–1/8 Visual Voyages: Images of Latin American Nature, p. 47
9/18 Achieving Health Equity with Camara Jones, p. 11
9/24 Echo Theater Company Presents Fixed, p. 42
9/26 Book Salon on Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Notes from Underground, p. 5
9/28 Poetry Workshop with Juan Felipe Herrera, p. 12
9/28 Three Laureates: Poets of the New California, p. 12
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8/30 Book Salon on Tom Stoppard’s Indian Ink, p. 5
October
10/6 Downtown L.A. Graffiti and Mural Tour, p. 43 10/12–10/15 Trojan Family Weekend, p. 13
10/15 LA Phil: Dudamel and Café Tacvba, Walt Disney Concert Hall, p. 43
10/16 Cátedra México with Graciela Iturbide, p. 14
10/17 Bookmaking Workshop with James hd Brown and Graciela Iturbide, p. 15
VISIONS AND VOICES
EVEN EVE BY DA DA
10/18 An Exhibition Tour and Discussion with James hd Brown, p. 15
10/18 Making Movements with Jon Boogz, p. 16
ENTS NTS Y ATE ATE
10/19 Dis…Miss: Performing Gender, p. 16
10/21 The Met in HD: Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, p. 17
10/23 The Nation Skate, p. 18
10/26 A Variedades Tribute, p. 19
10/28 LA Opera: La Belle et la Bête, p. 43
10/29 A Tribute to Pauline Oliveros, p. 20
10/30 Biohorror, p. 21
November
11/1 UnREAL: Gender, Race, Power, and TV, p. 21
11/2 Lessons from the Japanese American Incarceration, p. 22
11/3 I Love Dick: Women Writers on Hybrid Storytelling, p. 22
11/7 & 11/14 Hamilton, Pantages Theatre, p. 44
11/17 John Cho and Viet Thanh Nguyen in Conversation, p. 23
11/19 USC Thornton Opera: Handel’s Alcina, p. 24
December
12/7–6/10 Winds from Fusang: Mexican and Chinese Artists, p. 47 2018
January
1/8–5/11 Planet of the Apes Exhibit, p. 24 1/12 & 1/13 Live Artists Live: Simultaneity, p. 25
1/20 The Met in HD: Thomas Adés’s The Exterminating Angel, p. 17
1/23 Women of Color Creating Community through the Arts, p. 26
1/24 Working the Public, with Theaster Gates, p. 27
1/31 Workshop with Deb Margolin, p. 28
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February
2/2 Workshop with Deb Margolin, p. 28
2/5 Music as Medicine: Renée Fleming and Antonio Damasio, p. 7
2/7 Hilton Als: The Fairings of a Literary Mind, p. 29 2/12 Lucky Plush Productions, p. 30
2/15 Water by the Spoonful, Mark Taper Forum, p. 44
2/21 Archive Fever: Lost Words, Buried Voices, p. 31
March
3/1 Artivistas: A Concert for Social Change, p. 32 3/5 An Evening with Olafur Eliasson, p. 33
3/20 RUBBERBANDance, p. 34
3/22 Allegiance, Japan Aratani Theatre, p. 44
3/27 Talking Race: Social Media and Social Justice, p. 35
3/29 Marian Wright Edelman, p. 11
3/29 West Side Story, p. 35
3/30 Beethoven’s 9th: USC Thornton Symphony and USC Thornton Choral Artists, p. 36
April
4/4 Caught in the Chamber with yMusic, p. 37
4/5 LA Phil: Dudamel Conducts Mahler, Walt Disney Concert Hall, p. 45
4/7 The Promise and Peril of Algorithmic Living, p. 38
4/8 Considering Matthew Shepard, p. 38 4/13 Members Only, Los Angeles Theatre Center, p. 45
4/14 A Day with Senga Nengudi, p. 39
4/20 Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, p. 45
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2/1 8 Stops: A Performance by Deb Margolin, p. 28
VISIONS AND VOICES
4/20 Sojourn Theatre at USC, p. 40 4/26 & 4/27 USC Kaufman’s Spring Dance Performance, p. 41
INI
NFORMATIO INFORMATI Important Information
Contact Information
Admission, Reservations, and Tickets
USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative visionsandvoices@usc.edu (213) 740-0483
Advance reservations are required to attend most events. Most Visions and Voices events are open to the public. However, attendance at some events is limited to USC students or the USC community only. All events are FREE for USC students. Admission prices vary for non-USC students.
837 Downey Way Stonier Hall, Suite 203 Los Angeles, CA 90089-1142
For more details and to make reservations, visit visionsandvoices.usc.edu. Visions and Voices E-Mail List Visit our website to sign up for the e-mail list and receive updated event information, RSVP reminders, and other special announcements.
#visionsandvoices visionsandvoices.usc.edu 51
Visions and Voices: Who We Are Leadership
Robin Romans, Associate Vice Provost Daria Yudacufski, Executive Director, Visions and Voices Robert Cutietta, Chair, Visions and Voices Deans’ Council Tara McPherson, Chair, Visions and Voices Faculty Committee
Deans’ Council
Chaired by Robert Cutietta, Dean, USC Thornton School of Music and USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance Willow Bay, Dean, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism David Bridel, Dean, USC School of Dramatic Arts Milton Curry, Dean, USC School of Architecture Elizabeth Daley, Dean, USC School of Cinematic Arts Selma Holo, Director, USC Fisher Museum of Art Erica Muhl, Dean, USC Roski School of Art and Design Catherine Quinlan, Dean, USC Libraries Christina Yu Yu, Director, USC Pacific Asia Museum Ex-Officio: Adam Rosen, Assistant Vice President, Cultural Relations and University Events
Faculty Committee
Chaired by Tara McPherson, Cinematic Arts Sasha Anawalt, Communication and Journalism Paula Cizmar, Dramatic Arts Kenneth Foster, Arts Leadership Alice Gambrell, English Brenda Goodman, Cinematic Arts d. Sabela grimes, Dance
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VISIONS AND VOICES
WHO WHO
Dana Johnson, English Amelia Jones, Art and Design Annette Kim, Public Policy Josh Kun, Communication and American Studies and Ethnicity Daniel Richter, Classics David Román, English and American Studies and Ethnicity Pamela Schaff, Family Medicine and Pediatrics Jennifer West, Art and Design Diane Winston, Communication and Journalism Ex-Officio: Adam Rosen, Assistant Vice President, Cultural Relations and University Events USC Students: Catherine Griffiths, Graduate Representative Caitlin Tran, Undergraduate Representative
Art Department
Eve NaRanong, Art Director Hector M. Catalan, Graphic Designer
Staff
Mary Megowan, Production and Marketing Specialist Marie-Reine Velez, Production and Marketing Specialist Karina Kletscher, Events Coordinator Steve Lin, Web and Systems Administrator
Student Assistants
Dominique Corona, Student Coordinator Katherine Guo, Student Coordinator
OOWE WEARE ARE visionsandvoices.usc.edu
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USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative 837 Downey Way Stonier Hall, Suite 203 Los Angeles, CA 90089-1142
visionsandvoices.usc.edu