Creative Writing major Nick Martinez is spending the semester in New York for the New York Arts Program. This week, he leaves Manhattan for a trip to Brooklyn.
The Producer, The Journalist and The Detective
posted by Nick Martinez
This week, Nick Martinez’ dispatch from the New York Arts program discusses his three internships in journalism and film.
Failure, Disappointment and Disillusionment
posted by Nick Martinez
Nick Martinez is spending the semester in New York as part of the NY Arts Program. He will be regularly providing dispatches from the city. In this one, he recounts his experience applying for internships.
Winter Wonderdance
posted by Nick Martinez
On Dec. 11 Garson’s Dance Company showcased its Winter Dance Concert, and the close to full audience was delighted with a wide variety of acts from guest artists and students with close ties to the dance department.
Emily Rapp Raps
posted by Nick Martinez
Creative Writing Department faculty member Emily Rapp is leaving SFUAD after the fall semester. In this Q & A, she discusses what comes next.
Shenyse Harris Q/A
posted by Nick Martinez
Shenyse Harris discusses acting, SFUAD’s Performing Arts Department and her role in Our Lady of 121st Street.
Character Counts
posted by Nick Martinez
The real joy in Our Lady of 121st Street is taking a peek into these awful people and their regret-filled lives. Even the successful characters are melancholic and searching for hope.
Long View
posted by Nick Martinez
In telling the horror show of slavery, 12 Years doesn’t flinch. Families torn apart, slaves whipped and women raped; the scenes are there, but the brutality of what you witness remains hours, days after you leave the theater.
Alan Littlehales Q/A
posted by Nick Martinez
In the fourth of a series of Q&A sessions with SFUAD students, Jackalope Magazine speaks with Performing Arts Department senior Alan Littlehales, who shares his thoughts on Our Lady of 121st Street, plans for the future and Oregon.
Seven Falls SFUADcast
posted by Nick Martinez
This week, Nick Martinez and Christopher Stahelin kick off their first SFUADcast with an interview with SFUAD Liberal Arts contributing faculty member Hideki Nakazono, about his new novel, Seven Falls. Nakazono will give a short reading with a Q & A from 6-7 pm, Friday, Nov. 8 in the O’Shaughnessy Performance Space in Benildus.
Helping Veterans
posted by Nick Martinez
On Oct. 25-26, SFUAD welcomed homeless veterans and other homeless to Alumni Hall, as an opportunity to receive the help they need. For Phillip Chavez, 2013 Veteran Stand Down organizer, the event has always close to home during the three years he’s been running the event. “When I retired from the military I sort of lost my identity,” said Chavez. “I just wanted to do something to help the veterans.” With three local churches, Santa Fe Community College, SFUAD and various veterans groups coming together, there was plenty of help to go around. A buffet line of food greeted the hungry upon entering the room. Booths were stationed around the building, offering a wide range of services including: haircuts, foot washing, flu shots, racks of clothing, massages, blood pressure checks, prayer rooms, free hugs, as well as a variety of information booths on alcoholism, drug abuse, and nutrition. “People are receiving all the services really well,” said Angie Howes, Santa Fe Seventh Day Adventist Church volunteer, who was offering blood pressure checks. “They seem to love the opportunity to get help that they need.” Chavez estimated that almost 200 homeless, half of whom were veterans, cycled through on Friday alone. The number of homeless veterans in New Mexico is estimated to be fewer than 1,000, according to Long March Home, a website that chronicles the plight of homeless veterans. Daniel Reiher, an American Legion rider and veteran, agreed with the estimates for attendees, and said he reveled at the chance to help the less fortunate. “It’s amazing the number of people who came here and got clothing,” said Reiher. “It’s been powerful, very moving.” Reiher at one point spotted a familiar face in a police uniform. He called him over and chatted about...
Jackalope Halloween Memories
posted by Nick Martinez
It’s every 13-year-old’s favorite holiday this week. To celebrate, the Jackalope staff looked back on some of their fondest Halloween-related memories. Charlotte Martinez I had a friend named Matt in my dance company who came up with the best costumes for Halloween. One year he dressed up as a kissing booth: “$1 Per Kiss,” was written on a frame he had constructed from his waist to the top of his head. Another year he draped a blue cloth and a sign that read “Caution, Still Wet” over his shoulders and called himself a puddle. The best costume, though, was when he got my brother and his friend to dress up as the Blue Man Group. The Blue Man Group, if you don’t know, are musicians/mimes who perform these strange comedy acts. They dress in black, perform in trios and paint their heads and faces shiny bright blue. That Halloween, I arrived at school to find a crowd throwing marshmallows toward three guys with blue heads and shiny blue faces. Matt, my brother and his friend stood like aliens, mute and wide eyed. They were catching marshmallows in their mouths. It was the best Halloween by far. Maria Costas Novo My best memory from Halloween is actually from last year. In my country, Halloween is not a big celebration; actually, it is just something for kids, and an excuse for the adults to go out to a disco. Last year, was my first Halloween in the US, and it was amazing. There were three different parties in three different days, and I had a different costume for every party. I also remember doing the Trick or Treat all over the campus getting candies as if I was a little kid. It was the first time in my life that I did something like that, and I really enjoyed it! Nick Beckman It was my junior year of high school and I went to a Halloween party my friend was hosting. In my usual immature and slightly off-putting nature, I decided to dress as Your Average Pervert. My thick prescription lenses and fake mustache seemed to be making a few of the party-goers uncomfortable, so I figured copious amounts of alcohol would help make that more enjoyable. The next thing I really remember was lying on the basement couch and two girls I went to high school with were staring at me in absolute disgust. Thinking my costume had offended them in some way, I promptly turned on my side and fell back asleep, grimacing to my drunken self. However, as it turns out, the couch I was lying on just so happened to be where all of the girls were leaving their purses to be safe. In my drunken stupor, I had apparently mistaken one of the open purses as a puke bucket and spewed my whiskey leavings inside of it. One of the girls hosted that year’s post-prom party to which I was, for some reason or another, not invited. Bran Ghigliotty Worst: I think I dressed as a pirate for almost my entire childhood. It wasn’t even a good costume—it was out of a goddamn bag! A brand new bag-o-pirate every year. I don’t want to talk about it. Best: I don’t think this exists right now. I’m heading to see Coco Rosie on Halloween this year, so it’ll easily take the top spot. I tend to just shut off all the lights and hide from everyone on major holidays.(Shut up, this is why I didn’t want to share in the first place. My life is a fart.) Shayla Blatchford I wouldn’t say I was kidnapped by gypsies, but I was stuck in the backseat of an Oldsmobile as my new acquaintances tried to navigate their way from Los Angeles to Las Vegas with a quick stop in Tucson. I had met my new friends, Dimon and Katya, at a Gogol Bordello concert and offered...
Q/A W Sam Zickefoose
posted by Nick Martinez
In the third of a series of Q&A sessions with SFUAD students, Jackalope Magazine speaks with Contemporary Music Program Sophomore Sam Zickefoose, who illuminates the joy of banjo, Laser Cats and Gypsy Jazz. Jackalope Magazine: What instruments do you play? Sam Zickefoose: My main instrument is banjo, but I play some guitar and mandolin, and a little bit of bass. JM: What got you into banjo? SZ: My uncle played banjo and my family kind of had a blue grass band a while ago, so I grew up with it. JM: What about bluegrass still draws you? SZ: Well, there’s a lot of energy and it’s really a reactive type of music, kind of like jazz. It’s always changing, it’s not set; you can be playing the same songs a hundred times and it will be different every time. JM: What brought you to SFUAD? SZ: To be honest, I was looking for schools that had banjo programs or teachers. There was one here, one in Texas and Berkeley and that was about it. And I ended up here. (laughs) JM: Is there a teacher who plays banjo that has mentored you in any way? SZ: Yeah, Tom Adler plays banjo. He plays clawhammer and is also a guitarist and singer. But I’ve worked with a lot of the teachers and they’ve been really open to relating their concepts to banjo, like Ross [Hamlin], Polly [Ferber] and Scott [Jarrett]. JM: Have you been learning things in general that you could apply to the banjo? SZ: All of our theory classes are really applicable to a lot of different styles of music and writing music in general. In Balkan Ensemble, we learn the theory of the music…and learn new techniques. Even if we don’t use them for Balkan music, we can transfer them...
Freedom Hopkins: A Renaissance Man
posted by Nick Martinez
“If you had to label me,” began senior Freedom Hopkins, “and labeled me a filmmaker, you would be denying me everything else.” Hopkins has done his best to defy labels. Growing up just an hour south of Santa Fe in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Hopkins has always had interests in various forms of art. He performed in school productions and crafted his first film entitled “Freeing Joshua” his senior year of high school. Arriving in Fall 2010, Hopkins was initially a film major. A year and a half later he converted to a double major in film and theater. A semester later he stood alone as SFUAD’s only self-design major. “There are too many forms of communication for me to commit to one. Which maybe has been my problem throughout life.” Dana Levin, creative writing co-chair and Hopkin’s advisor, hardly sees a problem. “Freedom’s been great: self-directed, committed to his self-designed curriculum, asking for what he needs bureaucratically and intellectually,” said Levin. “I love how open he is to input from everything! Art, people, world. And he teaches me too, through sharing his enthusiasms for independent cinema, the connections he sees between the history of twentieth century film and literature and how those two mediums have responded to shared cultural zeitgeist.” It’s these connections that Hopkins hopes to imbue in all of his work. He doesn’t necessarily see any medium as mutually exclusive. The Creative Writing department offered the opportunity to understand story, both its history and its contruction. At The Film School Hopkins gains the understanding of the collaborative process. The Performing Arts department lets Hopkins experience the “sense of entertainment, of performance, of kinetic live energy, which is what I want to bring to my movies.” However, Hopkins’ wide area of interests presents its own form of challenges. “Which department do [self-design majors] call home?” asked Levin. “In terms of wading through school bureaucracy, it’s important for a student to have a departmental home. Freedom seemed departmentally homeless to me, a visitor to Film, Theater and Creative Writing, but no foothold in any of those departments in the way a traditional major would have.” The bureaucracy doesn’t seem to concern Hopkins in the slightest. He dismisses the fact that he doesn’t know what will be on his diploma with a simple hand wave. It’s the work that matters. “The self design has a reputation as the cop-out major,” said Hopkins. But this stereotype is hardly accurate. Without much institutional support it is up to the student to get the most out of their college experience. As Hopkins put it “you are your own success or failure.” With his first semester of his senior year halfway done, Hopkins has his eye towards the future. Despite his love for New Mexico, he hopes to attend graduate school in New York where he can continue his particular brand of entertainment. But what does that ultimately mean? “I’m interested in the human experience, why we communicate the way we do, how we do it and its significance,” said Hopkins. “Now that’s pretty vague, but so is art.” ...
Middletown Delivers
posted by Nick Martinez
Middletown, the latest SFUAD Performing Arts Department production, opens with Curtis Williams’ Public Speaker waxing philosophic about the nature of small towns. It’s a fun digression that captures the high energy and inherent sadness of the mostly plot-less but emotionally poignant show that follows. The play has an ensemble cast, but there are a few characters given the most time to shine, including: Mathew Eldridge’s John Dodge; Porscha Shaw’s Mary Swanson; Michael Phillip Thomas’s Cop; and Jade Lewis’s Mechanic. Eldridge and Shaw did a phenomenal job carrying the emotional weight for much of the play. Due to the structure of the play, many of the actors had the difficult job of taking what could easily be one-note characters and adding pathos. It seems lazy to make such a blanket statement, but the whole cast was really up to the challenge. Not every joke landed, and not every character left the same impression, but the batting average is so high, it is easy to brush off the shortcomings. Maia Rychlik’s Librarian and Yusef Seevers’s Doctor, in particular, breathed such life into simple characters that leave one combing through all of their dialogue for hidden meaning long after you leave Greer Garson Theatre. The two scenes that stood out most were the scene in space and Lewis’s scene with Tallis Geohegan-Freifeld’s Doctor. The scene in space, featuring Matt McMillan and Robert Henkel Jr. is nestled towards the end of Act One. The scene is by far the most removed from the plot, but is the first point where the themes are front and center. McMillan and Henkel Jr.’s subtle performance prevents the message from being overbearing. Chelsea Kuehnel’s sets are also a delight in their simplicity, giving the space scene a magical feel and the dusty...
All ‘Bad’ Things Must End
posted by Nick Martinez
“Guess I got what I deserved,” sang Pete Ham from Badfinger’s 1971 single “Baby Blue,” over Breaking Bad’s final moments. And despite Walter White’s final string of mini-victories, his death was the only proper conclusion. “Felina” opens back in New Hampshire with Walt trying to steal a parked car. Police lights shine from behind and for the first time in memory Walt prays for the chance to get back to the ABQ. The police leave and through divine intervention the car keys slip from the visor. Walt starts the car, Marty Robbins’s “El Paso” blares from the stereo, and for the last time, audiences hear the opening theme. Fans were worried leading up to the finale, having felt wronged by show-runners before (Damon Lindelof’s Lost, David Chase’s The Sopranos), but having seen the episode twice now, I feel that there is only one word to describe Breaking Bad’s finale: perfect. Vince Gilligan, and his team of merry writers, were able to produce a finale that was both thematically and structurally pleasing. Some have argued that storylines were wrapped up too neatly, but I would argue in the age of cut to blacks, and lumberjacks, true closure is refreshing. The standout moment of this episode has to be Walt’s scene with Skyler. Set in her new dingy apartment, Skyler tells Walt he has five minutes to talk. Walt gives Skyler the GPS coordinates that will lead the DEA to Hank and Gomez, hoping that the coordinates will be a good bargaining chip to get her off the hook. He also starts to tell her why he did what he did. “Stop, if I have to hear one more time that you did this for your family-” says Skyler. “I did it for me,” Walt says to a stunned Skyler. “I like it. I was good at it. And, I was really… I was alive.” One of Walt’s defining characteristics throughout the show was his inability to face the truth. To justify all of his actions, regardless of their moral depravity. But in the moment where he finally tells the truth, for Skyler, as well as the audience, there is relief. In no way was Walt redeemed; he’s caused so much pain and destruction to those around him to ever be redeemed, but it completes the tragic series of events. The hero finally recognized he was the villain. There was plenty of relief this episode for fans. Walt blackmails Gretchen and Elliot into leaving Walt’s $10 million into a trust for Jr.; with the help of Badger and Skinny Pete (“I don’t know, this all seems kind of shady, like, morality wise.”); Walt uses Chekov’s Ricin against the ever-deserving Lydia; Walt’s rigged M60 takes down Uncle Jack’s (Michael Bowen) entire Neo-Nazi crew; Jesse strangles Todd with his own chains; and Walt kills Uncle Jack in a masterfully similar way that Uncle Jack killed Hank in Ozymandias. Jesse’s refusal to shoot Walt in the end was a fitting conclusion to his arc. He finally refused to do Mr. White’s bidding. The final shot of his screaming and crying, blazing out of the Neo-Nazi compound, was the perfect mixture of happiness, shock, anger and relief. As a long time fan, I was happy that there was no trip to Belize. In the end, Breaking Bad is Walt’s story. His casual stroll through the Neo-Nazi meth lab, lovingly caressing his tools, while police sirens blared, was a fitting end to his life. He died with what he loved. I’m a fan of television. My throat dried as Stringer died, my heart skipped a beat when Tony cut to black. But, without a single doubt in my mind, Breaking Bad is the greatest television series of all...
Olympics A Success
posted by Nick Martinez
On Sept. 21, SFUAD Student Life hosted the first-ever student Olympics. Students participated in a variety of events, including: water balloon toss, volleyball, inflatable obstacle course, basketball, dodge ball, team three-legged race, Sumo wrestling and, of course, a costume contest. Though certainly not a clinic on athletic ability, SFUAD students were up for a fun, sun-soaked day of competition. “I would say that the events were a good mix of fun, and competitive,” said Jakob Anderson, team leader of the 1st place Team Jakob. “It depended on the event, I guess. The Sumo thing got kind of rough.” Student life member Ramiro Leal agreed with Anderson on the event’s success. “This year’s event was most definitely a success,” said Leal. “We always have successful events. That’s not to be taken in a cocky way, but what I meant to say is that even though we might not reach our goal for the specific event, we strive for success within the group, success for learning.” At the end of the day the final count left Team Jakob in first, Super RAs in second, and the Ki-Ki Maow Maows in third. “After a good team effort, it was nice to take home the gold,” said Anderson. “And beating the RAs was of course a big bonus.” Leal was so happy with how the Olympics came together and he hopes that they can bring the event back for the spring semester. Anderson agrees. “[The Olympics] should be a annual...
Q/A W Tyler Sinnott
posted by Nick Martinez
In the second of a series of Q&A sessions with SFUAD students, Jackalope Magazine speaks with Graphic Design Department Junior Tyler Sinnott. Sinnott tells us about his start in graphic design, his hat collection, and whether or not he’s a Masshole. Jackalope Magazine: What made you pursue graphic design in the first place? Tyler Sinnott: It all started back in high school. I originally wanted to be a cook. I got a cooking job in high school, but got fired because it was a small restaurant and the woman had a set way of doing things. And that ruined that dream. Then my dad bought a new computer that had Photoshop Elements, which is like the Microsoft Word version of Photoshop. I started taking the pre used images they had and put them on shirts and my friends started getting interested in what I was doing. JM: Were you just doing that as a hobby? TS: Yeah yeah yeah. Just doing it after school. Started making shirt designs that were garbage, they were terrible, but I posted them on Facebook and on MySpace and kept getting good feedback. Then I started my own shirt company. I did three designs and had 25 of each design and looking back they were like the worst things I ever could have printed on a shirt. JM: Why did you choose SFUAD? TS: You know, I was just looking for something different. I was an East Coast kid all my life: New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey. I wanted something different and the opportunity arose to come here. I came out here and looked at it and it seemed like my kind of thing. JM: You lived in Massachusetts. Are you a Masshole? TS: Am I a Masshole? (Laughs)...
One More
posted by Nick Martinez
Granite State, the penultimate episode of “Breaking Bad,” opens with Saul (Bob Odenkirk)—not Walt—entering the vacuum repair shop. The long discussed, never seen, vacuum repair man (Robert Forster!) tells Saul that while waiting for his trip to Nebraska, he’ll have a roommate. Queue Walt pacing in his bunker, finally alone with all he’s done. Now take that moment and add around four months in a snowy New Hampshire purgatory and we have the tired broken man who orders one last drink before the DEA arrives. The Walt we see for most of Granite State is a broken shell and the logical conclusion for the previous 57 hours of the show. For all of his brilliance, Walt is completely unable to acknowledge that it’s over. Before Saul leaves to go buy his three pairs of Dockers and assistant manage a Cinnabon, he gives Walt one last dose of reality: surrender. Skyler, in a nice nod to the pilot, is catatonic as the DEA illustrates the full situation. Walt’s faux confession last week was a nice gesture, but Skyler is in no way scott-free. With Walt at large, Skyler’s role in the situation still unclear, and two DEA agents missing, someone has to answer. So it falls to Skyler to be destitute, working part-time as a taxi dispatcher, and a social pariah as an alleged co-conspirator in an international meth empire. Matters only worsen when Albuquerque’s resident sociopath, Todd, makes an appearance in baby Holly’s nursery. For me, this was by far the most terrifying scene in “Breaking Bad” history. At any moment I was ready for Todd to kill both Skyler and Holly, to protect his crush Lydia (Laura Fraser). And how creepy is Todd’s infatuation with Lydia? One moment he’s threatening Skyler, and murdering...
A Day In SWA
posted by Nick Martinez
It was 8:15 p.m. on Sept. 16, and writers—mostly freshmen—were trickling into Benildus 101 for the Student Writers Association(SWA). Junior Adriel Contreras, current co-head of SWA, was drawing the SWA logo on the white board. Senior Katie Johnson, also co-head, was organizing her materials together. It was about five minutes past their starting time when everyone was settled. Johnson apologized to Contreras, and erased his logo in order to write the opening exercise. It’s been four months into Johnson and Contreras’s first year running SWA—a task that not many writers were excited to tackle. “What I didn’t realize was how much work SWA is,” said Contreras. “I’m an RA, I’ve been working in the mail room. It’s been challenging juggling everything.” Johnson asked the group to toss some words at her and the collection of writers were only happy to oblige. Pineapple, golden, obscene, ragamuffin, clout, juggernaut, panarama, and ostracices were some of the choice words among them. After compiling a list of 20 or so words, Johnson instructed the group to write a poem or flash fiction for the next 20 minutes using all or as many of the words that they could. “SWA is good for creative writing students to just be seen on campus. It’s very easy for writers to stay locked up in their room and not be appreciated for their work,” said Johnson in explaining SWA’s unofficial mission statement. “It’s wonderful to use SWA for writers to have an on campus prescence.” Contreras shared that sentiment and continued on the importance of collaboration. “It’s important to have a community of writers to really establish itself,” said Contreras. “When you write, it’s so singular, it’s your own process. It’s important to get other people’s perspectives.” Next, Contreras and Johnson...
Jackalope Magazine is the student magazine of Santa Fe University of Art and Design. Building on the interdisciplinary nature of our education, we aim to showcase the talent of our university and character of our city.
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