25
Sep 2019
LOOKING AT YOU
LOOKING AT YOU: Professor Rob Handel’s Libretto Explores Surveillance Capitalism By Allie Donahue Librettist Rob Handel, CMU Professor of Dramatic Writing, and Composer Kamala Sankaram’s opera Looking at You, directed by Kristin Marting, made its world premiere at HERE Arts Center in New York this September. Handel and Sankaram describe their work as “an immersive techno-noir opera.” The show begins as a corporate tech party and audience members are guests,
26
Aug 2019
RETURN ENGAGEMENT
CMU alumnus Marc Masterson returns to the helm of Pittsburgh’s City Theatre — 20 years after he led it the first time By Joyce DeFrancesco Whoever said “you can’t go home again” doesn’t know Marc Masterson (A 1978). The newly re-appointed artistic director of Pittsburgh’s City Theatre, Marc returned to the role, one that he held from 1980 to 2000, in July 2018 after 19 years in other U.S. regional theaters.
15
Jul 2019
CRAZY RICH DECOR
From the small screen to the Silver screen, alumnus Andrew Baseman sets the scene in Hollywood By Amanda S.F. Hartle An award-winning set decorator for blockbuster films and top television shows, Andrew Baseman (A 1982) immerses viewers in lush, vibrant scenes from wildly varied times and places. From the stunning homes and weddings of Singapore’s elite in “Crazy Rich Asians” to the everyday existence of Russian spies in 1980s Washington, D.C.,
Onstage Blog ranked The School of Drama technology and design programs first in the nation. The list of 10 ranked BFA programs included such distinguished programs as University of Michigan, Cal Arts and University of North Carolina School for the Arts. The blog included these “notable facts” about our program: – With as many as 25 annual productions in the School of Drama—among them The New Works Series, devised work, traditional
17
Aug 2016
Alumni Tune Up Car Museum
Picture yourself behind the wheel of Steve McQueen’s 1956 Jaguar. That’s the excitement you’d get at the newly detailed Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, thanks to Carnegie Mellon University alumni who helped drive the renovation project. The museum, which closed in 2015 for the $125 million renovation project, houses more than 100 priceless vehicles, from McQueen’s Jaguar XKSS to Herbie the Love Bug, with just as many housed in a vault
Writes Live Design International: “The Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular is a Boston tradition that spans over 40 years. Lighting Designer Mike Berger, of Full Flood Inc., was responsible for lighting this year’s 4th of July celebration using gear from 4Wall New York. Hundreds of thousands gathered at the historic DCR Hatch Shell to celebrate America’s independence while fireworks exploded in the air during a performance by Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas,
Television is a brave new world, and CMU alumni are helping to blaze the frontier. While networks crank out hit weekly shows, streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon are releasing full seasons to content-hungry viewers for “binge-watching.” Amazon Studios released several new pilots in June starring three Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama alumni. Two of the pilots are hour-long dramas. “The Interestings” stars Corey Cott and Jeffrey Omura,
17
Jul 2016
National award for CMU’s John Clay, III
“Carnegie Mellon University rising senior John Clay III recently took first place and a $12,000 prize at the National Society of Arts and Letters musical theater competition. In annoucing the winners from the contest in Phoenix, the organization that has supported young performers since 1944 wrote of Mr. Clay: “What he loves about theater is the storytelling aspect and how it draws people together under one roof. To be in
15
Jul 2016
Alumni Josh Groban, Denee Benton make Broadway Debuts in “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812”
Alumni Josh Groban and Denee Benton will both make their Broadway debuts in this fall’s premier of Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812. Groban has been eager to appear on Broadway for some time, but hadn’t found the right part until he encountered Pierre. Benton is making the transfer from the mounting of the production at Boston’s American Repertory Theatre. Groban tells Entertainment Weekly: “I didn’t want to
