Rita McGhee has worked in costume design for 25 years and was nominated for an Emmy in 2015 for her work on the hit television series, Empire. She recently visited SFUAD with her daughter Troi Speaks, a prospective Creative Writing student.
Club-Along Film Club
posted by Andrew Koss
Warren Couvillion and Omar Hilario don’t need to warm up the crowd for the Tuesday night movie club, Club-Along. At least 50 people fill the seats of The Screen for the club’s showing of Sweeney Todd, the 2007 Tim Burton film starring Johnny Depp. Theater rows fill up with cliques of varying sizes. Shouted conversations assault the ears before the emcees even begin their introduction. Couvillion and Hilario look like they could be brothers, both sporting trendy black hipster glasses. They stand in front of the audience and run through the standard list of “don’ts” at The Screen: don’t have sex; don’t drink alcohol; don’t do drugs. Ironic groans spill forth from the crowd. At the last moment, Couvillion adds, “Oh, and no masturbation.” “But it’s Johnny Depp!” someone screams, earning approving laughter. The club runners head to the projector booth to start the film. The houselights fade and the DreamWorks logo appears on screen, menacing organ music blasting out of The Screen’s speakers. Conversations continue at full volume, scattered throughout the theater. Though the voices die out as the opening credits roll, it is clear that Club-Along is unlike any other film club at SFUAD. The original concept for the Club-Along centered on quoting favorite lines along with the movie, but it dawned on Couvillion that sing-alongs might be more popular. Every other film club prohibits audience members from singing along, so that everyone can hear the movie. “I jokingly say I started the club to spite the other club runners,” Couvillion says. “The first club I ever went to here showed The Lion King and I wasn’t allowed to sing ‘Hakuna Matata.’” When the WTF Film Club played Mulan at the beginning of the school year, students received the standard warning against singing along with the movie. Some students sang anyway. “That was the moment I realized our club might actually be popular,” Hilario says. Film clubs typically stick around SFUAD until the club runners graduate. Couvillion and Hilario say the arrival of Film School almuna Charlotte Martinez as The Screen’s new manager opened up new possibilities. They approached Martinez at the beginning of the school year with their idea. Along with Simple Film Necessities, Club-Along is the second new film club established this year. Is it annoying to sit in a crowd of strangers and hear them singing and quoting along with every line of the film? That may depend on one’s temperament. Studio Art major Hannah Gardner came to the Club-Along to see Sweeney Todd for the first time. “My friends laughed at me when I got here, because I didn’t know it was a sing-along,” Gardner says. “I’m pretty serious when it comes to watching movies. I normally don’t like people talking, but it could’ve been worse. There were no horrible singers.” Yellow subtitles scroll at the bottom of the screen in case anyone forgets the words. As Johnny Depp and Jamie Campbell Bower sing the opening lines of “No Place Like London,” at least half the audience backs them up. The voices are remarkably in tune. More than a few Musical Theatre majors attend the Club-Along. It’s like sitting in the midst of a choir. Those singing have obviously listened to the motion picture soundtrack ad infinitum as they speak in unison with the dialogue that precedes the songs. They gasp along with Helena Bonham Carter just before belting out the lyrics to “The Worst Pies in London.” When Johnny Depp extends his arm, his razor blade shining, the audience shouts out with him, “At last, my arm is complete again!” The voices are a scattered mess. Some have memorized the film dialogue, and others have committed the slight variations of the movie soundtrack to memory. Everyone giggles. “It’s no secret that this club is the most lenient,” Hilario says. “We do make sure that everyone respects each other and don’t just yell out,...
Squatch’d
posted by Andrew Koss
A hairy, simian-like creature stalked the Quad recently during lunch hours.
SFUAD Olympics
posted by Andrew Koss
“If I die, I’m going to Valhalla,” screamed Emery Mulligan, beneath an oversized, plastic sumo suit. “Shiny and chrome!” Members of the Student Activities Board (SAB) assisted him in putting on his gloves. He stepped into the circle, facing Myles Hammer, whose already burgeoning head of hair was topped with a faux chonmage helmet. Mulligan’s team, Legs for Days, was up against Hammer’s team, McLovin, in the SFUAD Olympics. Like most of the face-offs on Sept. 27, the match didn’t last long. After a brief struggle, Hammer pushed Mulligan out of the ring. Mulligan attempted to thrust back at Hammer, but the force knocked him onto the ground and he had to be helped up again. The events took place on the Quad in front of the bandshell and next to King Hall. Six teams met to challenge each other for the coveted Olympic medals and the glory of Amazon gift cards. The teams faced each other one on one, and with each win were awarded a victory point. Emily Curley, a member of SAB for the first time this year, was very excited about all of the events the group has put together already. “We’ve had a water fight, a glow dance, dodgeball and Uno night so far,” she said. “It’s all I spend my time doing, but it’s worth it.” If students weren’t taking part in the activities, they were sitting on the sidelines, cheering on their friends. “Go, motherfucker, go!” yelled one spectator as he watched a match of tug-of-war. Most of the cheering included expletives of one kind or another. It was not uncommon to hear curses pouring forth from the mouths of the players, either. “My hands!” cried an Olympian, his palms burnt by the tug of the thick,...
Q/A w/ Anne Valente
posted by Andrew Koss
Creative Writing and Literature Department’s newest faculty member Anne Valente discusses her fiction writing process, the power of place and her relocation to Santa Fe.
SWA Writes, Talks, Eats Words
posted by Andrew Koss
The Student Writers Association (SWA) held its first meeting of the school year last week, and with it began another year of quirky innovations in the art of writing. The coming semesters promise another mixed bag of surprises from the group, which delights in denying conventions. As a member of SWA myself, I decided to step out of the objective view of a reporter and bring some of the spirit of the group to our interviews. I ask each of my colleagues to bring their favorite book with them. Our assignment? To flip through the pages and find a word or phrase that describes each member of SWA. What follows is an act of literary communion, wielding dangerous Sharpies and filled with ink-splotched abandon. Melinda Freudenberger “That crazy bastard may be the only sane one left.” —Catch-22 When I meet up with Melinda Freudenberger on the Quad, she is smoking a cigarette under a tree. I ask her what’s on the horizon for SWA this year. “We’re planning a lot of cool open mics,” she says, and recalls watching a video of a band performing in a cave. While there are no caves in the Santa Fe area, she says we can expect some unusual locations for open mics. “We’re planning on streamlining Coffee Spoons,” Freudenberger says of SWA’s literary magazine. Coffee Spoons began last year as a monthly, online publication, culminating in the release of a limited, physical copy at the end of the spring semester. After struggling to receive submissions to the magazine, SWA has decided to work with students who attend their meetings to produce pieces for publication. Issues of Coffee Spoons will then be released at the end of each semester. Freudenberger believes that the group’s past difficulty in receiving submissions can be linked to students’ insecurities. “I equate this with open mic anxiety,” she says. “I share the feeling of not having something to read at an open mic or not feeling comfortable having my work published. Publication is put on a pedestal and it doesn’t need to be like that.” Coffee Spoons serves as an entry-level publication for students, but that doesn’t mean that all work is accepted. Freudenberger credits her acceptance into SFUAD’s annual literary journal, Glyph, as giving her the confidence to submit to outside publications. “You can be rejected from Coffee Spoons,” Freudenberger says, “but it exists as proof that you can be published.” SWA has not always been so innovative and fun. In fact, Freudenberger says, “It was pretty shitty. The first meeting I went to, the seniors just talked at us. They told us to bring work in and they’d workshop it, but nobody ever did.” Freudenberger recalls a lack of warmth. “There wasn’t as much encouragement to new students to read as there is now. It felt closed off.” This lack of community served as the impetus for change. Creative Writing faculty member Dana Levin was instrumental in finding new recruits. She pulled Freudenberger aside one day, along with Amaya Hoke, Marina Woollven and Nik Thomas. Levin took them by surprise when she addressed them as SWA. “That’s when things started to change,” Freudenberger says. “We had to stop and consider whether or not we actually cared about it, and if we did, how could we make it better?” The group was strengthened last year by then-seniors Brandon Brown and Bailey Schaumburg. They provided the warmth that was missing. Schaumburg took charge of organizing the open mics. Brown made a conscious effort to mentor the underclassmen, grooming them to take over after he graduated. “We were really excited about it,” Freudenberger says, “but also a little nervous.” This is Freudenberger’s second year as a board member of SWA. The work is not without its stress. So much time gets put into organizing events that board members don’t always get to see the benefits of their work. But every once in a while, there is proof that the...
New SFUAD Writing Center
posted by Andrew Koss
SFUAD’s new Writing Center opens on Sept. 21. The space will be shared by Hideki Nakazono’s tutoring staff and the Creative Writing program. The Writing Center will act as a space for Creative Writing students to get away from distractions elsewhere on campus.
Studio Arts Closeup on Phat Le
posted by Andrew Koss
Le’s current series of work is built upon a newfound interest in math. He uses numbers, primarily binary code, to draw parallels between the real world and the world of the imagination.
Montavon’s Desaparecidos...
posted by Andrew Koss
Luke Montavon’s senior photo thesis explores what the disappeared left behind in Juarez, Mexico. The work is on display at the Marion Center.
Studio Arts Closeup: Hannah Gardner
posted by Andrew Koss
All of Gardner’s recent paintings came out of her Layers and Series class. She prefers working from photographs. “Most of my work is very straightforward,” she says. “Like, look at the clock, see what’s missing.”
Ephemera 5
posted by Andrew Koss
The fifth incarnation of the Graphic Design show is open to students from all of the Visual Arts departments. Even former students drop by to enjoy the work.
Exhibition Season
posted by Andrew Koss
As the school year comes to a close, student art exhibitions fill up the schedule at SFUAD. “We’re just about hitting the time when the campus will be swarming with art,” says Linda Swanson. “In addition to student shows, you’ll be seeing lots of student work around a lot of different places.”
Studio Artist Closeup: Stephanie Thompson...
posted by Andrew Koss
Jackalope talks to SFUAD studio artist Stephanie Thompson about the focus of her work.
Quidditch on the Quad
posted by Andrew Koss
SFUAD’s new Quidditch club has its first practice session.
String of Pearls Preview
posted by Andrew Koss
Alyssa Vogel says String of Pearls is a “woman-empowering show. You will know a woman in the play, whether it’s your mother, your grandmother or someone else.” String of Pearls premieres April 10 and 11 at 7 p.m. and concludes on April 12 at 2 p.m.
SFUAD Film Clubs
posted by Andrew Koss
SFUAD’s four film clubs cater to different tastes, but all share a love for people watching movies together.
Happy Bday Bach
posted by Andrew Koss
Musicians gather for sound checks at St. Francis auditorium. They are preparing for the day’s concert in honor of Johann Sebastian Bach’s 330th birthday, and come from all backgrounds: amateurs, students and professionals. SFUAD Contemporary Music Program major John Church sits stage left with a shotgun mic aimed at his mandolin. Over spring break, Church said he was pretty nervous about the upcoming performance. “As time goes on it dwindles, but it might start back up again.” Two men roll a grand piano across the wooden stage. Scattered spectators populate the auditorium’s creaky pews. The pianist takes his seat and warms up for his performance of Kreuz und krone from Bach Cantata No. 12. Fitzhugh de Gogorza Cline stands in front of the piano, practicing her vocals for the Aria. World class oboist Gerald Fried rounds out the trio. Fried is most well known for composing the scores for the original Star Trek episode, “Amok Time,” the television mini-series Roots and several of Stanley Kubrick’s films. Church expected to see him at the March 21 performance, but was unsure of who would be joining Fried on his piece. “He’ll probably be accompanied on the piano by [SFUAD Contemporary Music Program instructor] Deborah Ungar or someone else,” Church says. That someone else turns out to be Oscar-winning film composer and jazz pianist Dave Grusin. It’s enough to make any budding musician nervous. Cline walks down a set of wooden stairs adjacent to the stage. The hem of her black dress flutters around her boots. Church hammers out the Prelude to Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major. “Who would’ve thought?” Cline says. “What’s that?” Church asks. “Who would’ve thought that Bach would sound so good on the mandolin?” “Oh, thank you. Your voice sounds wonderful as...
Drawing on Trees
posted by Andrew Koss
Four students of differing majors meet and throw paint on a canvas to their hearts’ content. This is Drawing on Trees, SFUAD’s student run visual art club.
“For Colored Girls”...
posted by Andrew Koss
Tikia “Fame” Hudson’s production of Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls is a rare theater-going experience. Audiences can see the show on March 8 at Warehouse 21.
Monte del Sol Art Exhibition
posted by Andrew Koss
The opening of Monte del Sol charter school’s Student Art Exhibition was originally scheduled to take place on Jan. 30 at the Marion Center for Photographic Arts. Unfortunately, inclement weather forced the SFUAD campus to close and the event was rescheduled. Despite taking place on the closing night of the exhibition, this did nothing to dampen the spirits of students on the evening of Feb. 20.
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