Columbia University School of the Arts Class Notes 2023-2024

Writing alum Kathy Fagan ’82 published her sixth collection of poems, Bad Hobby—a perceptive collection focused on memory, class, and might-have-beens.

A new novel by Film alum Krishna Candeth '88, All Stray Dogs Go to Heaven, was launched earlier this year at the World Book Fair in New Delhi.

Visual arts alum Midori Curtis '89 exhibited monoprints and woodblock prints for her 2023 exhibition, Improvisations, at the Knox Gallery in Monterey, Massachusetts. 

Visual arts alum Sue Johnson ’81 was featured in EAT ME!, an exhibition at Collar Works (Troy, NY) running until July 15, 2023. EAT ME! examines cultural, societal, and personal relationships with the things that we eat. 

Visual arts alum Sue Johnson ’81 had an exhibition, External Reflections| Internal Identities, at The Delaware Contemporary until August 27, 2023.

Theatre alum Hal Luftig ’84 produced the plays Here Lies Love and Life of Pi. 

Visual Arts alum Pamela Bramble's ’86 show Excavations opened December 1, 2023 and will run through January 13, 2024 at Five Points Gallery, Torrington, CT. 

The Delaware Contemporary hosted a joint exhibition by Visual Arts alum Sue Johnson ’81 and Constance McBride, entitled External Reflections | Internal Identities, which was on view June 9—August 27, 2023.

Live from the Mood Board, a poetry collection by Writing alum Candice Reffe ’85, received the 2018 Elixir Press Annual Poetry Award and was published in 2019.

Writing alum Con Lehane ’82 published Murder at the College Library, the sixth book in the 42nd Street Library Mystery series.

Writing alum Michele Herman ’85 published a poem in The Hudson Review and an article on LitHub.

Visual Arts alum Nancy Cohen ’84 exhibited a solo show The State We're In and curated a group show Drawing on Memory, including Visual Arts alum Alexandra Athanassiades ’84, both of which opened at Kathryn Markel Fine Arts on March 28th. 

Writing alum Parul Hinzen ’89 won the AWP Prize for the Novel for her debut novel, Inside the Mirror, and also published a short story titled "Geronimo!" in Ploughshares.

Writing alum Ronald Okuaki Lieber ’83 published a book of poetry titled The Long Journey Out.

Visual Arts alum Wenda Habenicht's ’81 solo exhibition ran from October 2, 2023 to January 3, 2024 at the 4 Elements Studio Satellite Gallery in Utica, NY. 

Theatre alum Christian Parker ’98 dramaturgs Another Marriage at Steppenwolf.

Film alum Bertha Bay-Sa Pan ’97 was elected as Co-Chair of the Directors Guild of America's Eastern Diversity Steering Committee.

Writing alum E.J. McAdams ’98 published a book of poetry titled Last with BlazeVOX. 

Writing alum and faculty member Heidi Julavits ’96 published her memoir Directions to Myself.

Writing alum Jeff McMahon ’98 read new work at Neilma Sidney Theatre.

Queer for Fear: The History of Queer Horror, a four-part documentary series co-produced by Film alum Kimberly Peirce ’96, was nominated for Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary at the 44th annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards. 

Writing alum Moira Egan ’92 won the Raiziss/De Palchi Fellowship for her translation of Letters of Black Fire by Italian poet Giorgiomaria Cornelios into English. 

Film alum and faculty member Ramin Bahrani ’96 directed the short documentary If Dreams Were Lightning: Rural Healthcare Crisis, which screened at the 2023 Telluride Film Festival. 

Writing alum Barbara Tran ’92 published a book of poems titled Precedented Parroting and released Madame Pirate: Code of Conduct, a short film and VR experience that premiered at SXSW.

Film alum Bertha Pan ’97 was a SXSW panel speaker on Understanding Artist Residencies & Retreats for Filmmakers on March 10, 2024.

Lost Angel: The Genius of Judee Sill, a film directed by Brian Lindstrom ’91 and Andy Brown ’91 and produced by Peter Kenney ’91, opened April 11th at the IFC Center and elsewhere nationwide.

Writing alum Claudia Rankine ’93 inaugurated the Speak Now Series at Columbia School of the Arts.

The Land is a Body, a solo exhibition by Visual Arts alum Colin Hunt ’98, was on view at Hirschl and Adler Modern from April 18 to May 24, 2024.

Fish, a play written by Theatre alum Kia Corthron ’92, premiered at Theatre Row and ran from March 19 to April 20, 2024.

Theatre alum Heather Alicia Simms ’96 acted in the critically acclaimed Broadway show Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch starring Leslie Odom, Jr. 

Lisa-Erika James ’99 received a Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Program award to work with education partners in Morocco.

Writing alum Regine Rayevsky Fisher ’93 published a collection of short stories, Dance Me To The End Of Love: Volume 1 and Volume 2.

Theatre alum Robert O’Hara ’96 directed X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, which had its premiere at the Metropolitan Opera.

Theatre alum Robert O’Hara ’96 directed Jelly’s Last Jam at New York City Center.

Columbia University Entertainment, in partnership with the Black Alumni Council, hosted a second Showrunners Panel the evening of Monday, June 26 in Beverly Hills—this time with Courtney Lilly (CC '97)(ABC's Black-ish) and Raamla Mohamed (CC '03) (Onyx Collective's Reasonable Doubt). The panel will be moderated by Theatre alum Chris Maddox '03 (Writer/Producer: CW's Dynasty, ABC's A Million Little Things), and will cover their professional journeys and creative process. 

Visual arts alum Derrick Adams '03 was profiled by Galerie magazine in his Crown Heights studio. 

Theatre alum Harrison David Rivers ’09 writes The Salvagers at Yale Rep.

Theatre alum Jocelyn Bioh '08 writes Jaja's African Hair Braiding at Manhattan Theatre Club. 

José Edmundo Ocampo Reyes '03 published a poem titled “Self-Portrait as Derivatives Trader” in The Slowdown.  

Theatre alum Kyle Haden '02 directed Parental Advisory: a breakbeat play, which ran from September 26 to October 29, 2023, at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s Stiemke Studio. 

Under the title Paula Wilson: Toward the Sky’s Back Door, visual arts alum Paula Wilson '05 showcased paintings, prints, collages and videos in her solo exhibit at the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College from July to December 2023. 

Theatre alum Pirronne Yousefzadeh '09 directed The Ants at Geffen Playhouse.

Theatre alum Rachel Chavkin ’08 directed Gatsby at American Repertory Theater.

Theatre alum Saheem Ali '07 directs Fat Ham at Geffen Playhouse and Buena Vista Social Club at Atlantic Theater.

Visual Arts alum Vesna Pavlović's ’07 work is being featured in the Woven Wind exhibition at Hiram Van Gordon Gallery (Nashville, Tennessee) until June 9. 

Theatre alum Barbara Whitman ’05 produced Good Night, Oscar.

Writing alum Beth Raymer’s ’08 debut novel Fireworks Every Night made Oprah Daily’s Top Ten Novels of 2023. 

Radical, written and directed by Film alum Christopher Zalla ’04 and produced by Film alum Ben Odell ’04, won the Festival Favorite Award at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

Film alum Frédéric Tcheng ’07 co-directed and co-wrote Invisible Beauty, a documentary about Bethann Hardison, the first Black woman to own a racially diverse modeling agency. The film, made in collaboration with Hardison herself, was released nationwide by Magnolia Pictures on September 22, 2023. 

Visual arts alum Jaqueline Cedar ’09 had a solo exhibition on display at the Shelter Gallery in New York.

Visual Arts alum Jaqueline Cedar's ’09's work was featured in the group exhibition Imaginary Persons. The exhibition ran June 17—August 19, 2023 at the Good Naked Gallery in Chicago. 

Theatre alum Javier Antonio González ’06 devised and directed Inspired by French Cinema for Barnard's Theatre Department.

Film alum Jessica Levin ’00 served as an executive producer for the new limited TV series Class of ’09 (FX on Hulu). 

Film alum Jonathon Roessler ’07 wrote and produced the Netflix series My Life with the Walter Boys.

Theatre alum Kareem Fahmy ’07 directed Martyna Majok's Sanctuary City at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. 

Film alum Ken Kristensen ’08 wrote an episode of The Continental: From the World of John Wick, which premiered on Peacock.

Theatre alum Kyle Haden ’02 directed Parental Advisory: a breakbeat play, which ran September 26–October 29, 2023 at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater in Wisconsin.

A Love Letter to My Queer Pink Dress from a Baby Black Trans Femme Princess, a monologue by Theatre alum Nick Hadikwa Mwaluko ’09, was part of the PlayGround Experiment Monologue Festival #5. 

Visual Arts alum Paula Wilson’s ’05 new exhibition Toward the Sky’s Back Door was on view at the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College.

Writing alum Rachel Kushner ’01 selected and presented the guest director program "Juvenile Court" by Frederick Wiseman at the 2023 Telluride Film Festival.

Writing alum Robert Isaacs ’02 published short stories in Hindsight Magazine and The First Line, as well as an essay with Salon.com.  

Writing alum Robert Isaacs ’02 won the 2022 Gabriele Rico Nonfiction Challenge (Reed Magazine, Issue 156) with an essay written during his time at SOA: "Growing Up Godless."

The Last Out, co-directed and produced by Film alum Sami Khan ’09, won the News and Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Business and Economy Documentary at the 44th annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards. 

Visual Arts alum Vesna Pavlović’s ’07 photography exhibit Stagecraft was on view at the Harriman Institute October 23—December 15, 2023.

Theatre alum Adam Tsekhman ’06 was a cast member in Netflix’s The Night Agent.

Writing alum Cynthia-Marie O’Brien ’09 published an essay, The holiness of asking for help, in America Magazine.

Theatre alum Donovan Christie Jr ’12 starred in the television series Perimeter on BET+ and co-starred in Envy on Lifetime.

The Madwomen of Paris, a novel by Writing alum Jennifer Epstein ’03, was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Novel.

Writing alums M. M. De Voe ’01 and Christina Chiu ’00 moderated a blowout in-person networking event for authors with kids, hosted by Pen Parentis.

The Salvagers, a play written by Theatre alum Harrison David Rivers ’09, celebrated its world premiere with a run at the Yale Repertory Theatre.

Jackie Thomas-Kennedy ’06 published a review of Neighbors and Other Stories by Diane Oliver in The Washington Post.

Visual Arts alum Jaqueline Cedar's ’09 work was featured at NADA Miami.

Jocelyn Bioh ’08 received five Tony Award nominations including Best Play for her play, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding.

Theatre alum Marc Atkinson Borrull ’16 directed the first major revival of Enda Walsh's Bedbound, which was listed by The Guardian as one of the best pieces of theatre to stream internationally for the month of December, and named one of the top shows of 2023 in the UK and Ireland by The Stage.

Theatre alum Nick Hadikwa Mwaluko ’09 published a book titled Str8 Up Queer African.

Theatre alum Othello Pratt Jr ’00 played The Proprietor in Sondheim’s Assassins at The Spot.

Theatre alum Rachel Chavkin ’08 had two musicals running simultaneously on the same block—Hadestown and Lempicka occupying Broadway's Walter Kerr and Longacre Theatres, respectively, on either side of 48th St. 

Growing Up Godless, an essay by Writing alum Robert Isaacs ’02, won Reed Magazine’s Gabrielle Rico Challenge for Nonfiction.

Theatre alum Saheem Ali ’07 developed and directed Buena Vista Social Club, which ran from November 17, 2023—January 21, 2024 at the Atlantic Theater Company.

Bob Trevino Likes It, produced by Sean Mullin ’06, won the Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature at the SXSW Film Festival.

Theatre alum C. Quintana's ’13 has released a new Audible Emerging Playwrights commissioned play, The 126-Year-Old Artist, which is now available on Audible. 

Writing alum Chris Molnar '18 published two reviews in The Los Angeles Review titled “No Monuments: On Ian Penman’s 'Fassbinder Thousands of Mirrors'" and “Someone Always Takes Me Home: On Howard Fishman’s 'To Anyone Who Ever Asks.'”

Film alum Claire Fowler’s '11 US TV directorial debut dropped on Netflix on June 2 as part of Manifest S4 Pt 2 (Episode is 414).

Writing alum Dennard Dayle '17 published a humor piece titled “Profiling the Profile Writer Profiling Me” in The New Yorker.  

Visual arts alum Dineo Seshee Bopape’s '10 first solo museum exhibition in New York is on view at The Museum of Modern Art in the Museum’s street-level gallery from July 1 through October 9, 2023.

Writing alum Erin Pesut '15 published an essay titled “Tailored Congruence” in Raft Magazine. The essay is a part of The Paddle, Raft's series of personal essays about the ups and downs of the creative life.

Visual arts alum Esteban Cabeza de Baca's ’14 exhibition Alma ran June 8-July 21 at Garth Greenan Gallery in NYC.  

Francisco Gonzálezm '19 was awarded a Steinbeck Fellowship, which offers writers of any age and background a $15,000 fellowship to finish a significant writing project. Named in honor of author John Steinbeck, the program is guided by his lifetime of work in literature, the media, and environmental activism.

Grayson Cox '10 was featured in the group exhibition FEEDER at Good Naked (Catskill, NY). FEEDER circled around ideas of exchange and offering, consumption and participation.

Work by Jackson Polys '15 was at Counterpublic in St. Louis, MO until July 15. Counterpublic 2023 was one of the nation's largest public art platforms, bringing 30+ new artist commissions to life in public parks, gardens, historic houses and museums around St. Louis. 

James Gortner's '10 exhibition Terra Incognita was at Atamian Hovsepian Curatorial Practice (New York, NY) May 18–August 12, 2023. 

Writing alum Jenessa Abrams '17 was named an Emerging Critics Fellow for the National Book Critics Circle’s 2023-2024 cohort. 

Writing alum Kristi DiLallo Osorio ‘17 was named the winner of the Indiana Review 2023 Creative Nonfiction Prize for her essay “The Sound of Burning.”

Annex, written and directed by Writing alum Maddox Pennington '15, is having its World Premiere at the 2023 Hollywood Fringe Festival.

As part of the Autry Museum of the American West's Native Voices New Plays Festival, Central Standard Time by Writing alum Maddox Pennington '15 will receive a public reading in Los Angeles at the Autry on June 10th, then a week of workshopping and revision, and a reading at the La Jolla Playhouse on June 18, 2023.

Winner of the Tupelo Press Snowbound Chapbook Prize, Writing alum Matthew Gellman '18, published his chapbook titled Night Logic with Tupelo Press in August 2023. 

Writing alum Samantha Childs '14 published Henri and the Magnificent Snort : A Children's Book about Bullying, Belonging, and Love, in July 2023, with Sea Lavender Publishing. 

Smoking Tigers, screenwritten and directed by film alum So Young Shelly Yo '18, won Best Screenplay in a U.S. Narrative Feature, Best Performance in a U.S. Narrative, and a Nora Ephron Award Special Jury Mention at Tribeca Film Festival 2023.

Film alum So Young Shelly Yo’s '18 feature debut Smoking Tigers is among Variety's 9 Must-See Movies at Tribeca Festival. According to Variety, "What makes Tribeca so exciting is that it’s a springboard for bold new voices (keep your eyes on So Young Shelly Yo, making her feature directorial debut)."

Writing alum Stephen Cicirelli '10 published a flash fiction piece titled “Adversity is the Parent of Virtue (in Bed)” in Okay Donkey Magazine.

Theater alum Tiffany Vega-Gibson '12 launched Evolution Management Consultants (EMC) as partner & co-founder. 

Canusa Street, a sitcom television pilot written & directed by Film alum Zack Morrison '18 and produced by Film alum Carver Diserens '17 had its world premiere at Dances With Films in Hollywood, on July 1, 2023 at the Chinese Theater.

In the Spirit of Àṣẹ, a solo exhibition by Visual Arts alum Adama Delphine Fawundu ’18, is running until March 10, 2024 at The Newark Museum of Art.

Room, Room, Room, in the many Mansions of eternal glory for Thee and for everyone, an acoustic hyperpop folk opera written and performed by Theatre alums Andy Boyd ’18 and Philip Santos Schaffer ’18 as part of the trio Friend of Friend, ran October 12–28, 2023 at The Brick in New York.

Writing alum Annabelle Larsen ’15 published a short story in the Spout Press anthology Locker Room Talk: Women in Private Spaces. 

Film alum Apoorva Charan '18 served as a guest speaker at Film Independent's Producing Lab. 

Theatre alum Ashley Tata ’12 directed Ted Hearne’s Dorothea. 

Visual Arts alum Bat-Ami Rivlin’s ’19 sculpture Untitled (12 tubs) was featured as a part of the exhibit The Socrates Matter, which runs until March 24, 2024.

Film alum Brian McAuley ’13 authored Candy Cain Kills, a Christmas slasher novella.

Theatre alum Catherine Copplestone ’11 had a supporting role in Obliterated, a Netflix original series by the creators of Cobra Cai.

Film alum Celine Song ’14 was announced as the recipient of the annual Vanguard Award presented by Acura at the Sundance Film Festival 2024. 

Theatre alum Chas LiBretto's ’16 workshop of his new play Poisonville was performed at 59E59 in New York on September 10, 2023.

Theatre alum Chas LiBretto's ’16's Pulitzer-nominated Cyclops: A Rock Opera ran October 20–November 3, 2023 at The Tank in New York.

Visual Arts alum Daria Irincheeva's ’18's exhibition Piling Wreckage was on view at big screen in Brooklyn, NY.

Our Father, The Devil, a France-set thriller written and directed by Film alum Ellie Foumbi ’17, was released and ran in select theaters nationwide.

Writing alum Emily Skillings ’17 was awarded a 2023 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship in Poetry.

Writing alum and faculty member Emma Cline ’13 published the national bestseller novel The Guest.

Writing alum Gina Rider '17 published an essay titled “A Superintendent Becomes a Lifeline for Senior Tenants” in The New York Times.

Visual Arts alums Heidi Howard ’14 & Esteban Cabeza de Baca’s ’14's exhibition Light from Water ran August 19—November 26, 2023 at Wave Hill in the Bronx, NY.

Visual Arts alums Heidi Howard ’14 & Esteban Cabeza de Baca’s ’14 did a talk at Wave Hill as a part of its Meet the Artist series. 

Visual Arts alum Ilana Harris-Babou’s '16's exhibition Needy Machines was featured in The New Yorker. 

Writing alums Jenessa Abrams ’17, D.L. Lee ’18, and Garen Torikian ’22 read their work at Columbia Selects—an alumni reading series hosted at KGB Bar by the MFA Writing Program. 

Writing alum Joni Marie Iraci ’17 published a flash fiction titled “Up All Night” in Quartz Literary. 

Visual Arts alum Kambui Olujimi’s ’13's work was featured in the group exhibition Inheritance at the Whitney Museum of American Art. The exhibition is on view until February 2024.

Theatre alum Kim Katzberg ’09 co-wrote and acted in the short film Like Going to a Hardware Store for Lunch, which premiered in the Official Selection of the 2023 New York Shorts International Film Festival. 

Film alum Laurence Vannicelli ’15 wrote and directed the psychological thriller film Mother May I?, executive produced by Film alum Raj Trivedi ’17 and edited by Film alum Keola Racela ’15.

Writing alum Mandy Berman ’15 published a story titled "The Emily Problem" in Joyland.

Writing alum Matt Alston '14 published an essay titled “Your Project Management Software Can't Save You” in WIRED.

Writing alum Matthew Gellman ’18 published a chapbook titled Night Logic with Tupelo Press. 

Theatre alum Mikhaela Mahony ’19 directed the play Redwood, which ran October 18–November 12, 2023 at the Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York. 

Visual Arts alum Nadja Verena Marcin's ’10's app #SOPHYGRAY was released earlier this year and is available for download. 

Theatre alum Nana Dakin '18 directed The Chinese Lady by Lloyd Suh at Everyman Theatre in Baltimore. 

Visual Arts alum Pablo Barba’s ’16's exhibition Genre Paintings was on view October 12–November 11, 2023 at A Hug From The Art World in New York.

Writing alum Paul McArdory '19 published an essay titled “The Garden” in Metrograph.

Film alum Rob Cristiano '13 was chosen to participate in Film Independent's Producing Lab.

Theatre alum Robert Christopher Maxwell ’19 stage managed As Much As I Can, a fully immersive, multi-sensory experience presented by ViiV Healthcare. Performances ran November 3–18, 2023 at The Georgia Freight Depot in Atlanta.

Theatre alum Rory McGregor ’17 directed No Good Things Dwell in the Flesh, named a New York Times Critic Pick.

Visual Arts alum Ruhee Maknojia’s ’19's debut solo exhibition, Pattern and Power, was on view at the Anya Tish Gallery in Houston, TX September 8—November 4,2023. 

Theatre alum Scott Ebersold ’14 directed Amy Crossman's The Great Divide at Here Arts Center in New York. The show ran October 5—22, 2023. 

Theatre alum Shayok Misha Chowdhury ’16 received commissions through Manhattan Theatre Club's Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Initiative for theatrical works on STEM themes.

Writing alum Shoshana Akabas ’19 founded and currently serves as the director of New Neighbors Partnership, an organization that matches refugee, asylee, and asylum-seeking families with local NYC families who have older kids and can pass on hand-me-down clothing from season to season.

And, Or, Not, Visual Arts alum Vivian Chiu’s ’19's debut solo exhibition, was on view at FLXST Contemporary in Chicago September 23–October 29, 2023.

Film alum Zack Morrison’s '18's pilot Canusa Street screened at the Big Apple Film Festival in New York. 

Sound Arts alum Alice Baird ’16 published papers on sound, facial expressions, and emotion as part of her work at Hume AI.

Theatre alum Amber Chardae Robinson ’15 starred in the Geffen Playhouse world premiere of Black Cypress Bayou, which opened in February 2024, and was part of the star-studded ensemble in the Apple TV series Palm Royale, playing alongside Kristen Wiig and Laura Dern.

Gun & Powder, featuring a book and lyrics by Angelica Chéri ’13, ran at Paper Mill Playhouse from April 4 to May 5, 2024.

Sound Arts alum Ashley Grier ’17 presented Love Letters for Solidarity at Creativetime HQ in February.

Theatre alum Ashley Melone ’14 is lead producer on the Broadway transfer of David Adjmi's play Stereophonic.

Theatre alum Benita de Wit ’16 was the U.S. associate director for the Broadway revival Sunset Boulevard starring Nicole Scherzinger.

Sound Arts alums Cameron Fraser ’16 and Chatori Shimizu ’16 presented Ebi Revolution at Crossroads in Salzburg, Austria.

Sound Arts alum Carla Cisno ’15 wrote an article for Medium on web3 art ownership.

Writing alum Carlie Hoffman ’16 was awarded The National Jewish Book Award in Poetry for her poetry collection When There Was Light.

Writing alum Carrie Mullins ’10 published a book titled The Book of Mothers: How Literature Can Help Us Reinvent Modern Motherhood.

Sound Arts alum Chatori Shimizu ’16 had a piece featured on Score Follower.

Writing alum Erin Pesut ’15 received a Pushcart Prize nomination from Chautauqua for her essay, "Endings," which appeared in their 20.1 Chance Encounters Issue. 

Sound Arts alum Dani Dobkin ’17 released an album with Matt Sargent and toured the northeast U.S.

Writing alum Daniel Felsenthal ’15 published an essay titled "Hipsters Were Always Hypocrites. Ask Frank Zappa" in The Atlantic.

Theatre alum Danielle Karliner Naish ’13 was named the co-lead of RCI Theatricals, the Broadway general management company behind shows like Hadestown, American Buffalo, Oklahoma! and more. 

Theatre alum Danny Rocco ’12 hosted a demonstration of his Script Writing Score (SWS) at Judson Memorial Church, introducing a new way to compose theater, live events, immersive experiences, and more.

Sound Arts alum Ethan Edwards ’18 presented a talk on the flaws of LLMs and Universal Translation in AI.

Sound Arts alum Frank Spigner ’16 became the A/V Network & Audio Production Manager at the Lenfest Center for the Arts at Columbia.

Theatre alum Freddie Fulton ’18 was a cast member in National Geographic’s television series Genius: MLK/X.

Theatre alum Ito Aghayere ’12 played a political reporter in POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive at the Geffen Playhouse.

Writing alum Jane Marchant ’18 was awarded the 2024 National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship, and published a personal travel essay in the Columbia Journal titled The End of the Ends.

Visual arts alum Jeffrey Meris ’19 takes part in the group exhibition And Ever an Edge as a Studio Museum Artist in Residence at the MoMA PS1. Meris’ work was on view through April 8, 2024. 

Theatre alum Jeffrey Page ’19 directed the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Cost of Living at Suzanne Roberts Theatre.

Film alum John Foss ’15 line produced the Netflix holiday comedy Best. Christmas. Ever!

Writing alum Julia Cooke ’13 published the books of nonfiction Come Fly the World in 2021 and The Other SIde of Paradise in 2014.

Sound Arts alum Kamari Carter ’19 exhibited Dark Blue, Almost Black at Spaces in Cleveland through May 10th.

Sound Arts alum Lee Gilboa ’19 gave a dissertation performance at Brown.

Writing alum Magdalena Zyzak ’11 published a novel, The Lady Waiting, on May 7th, 2024.

Theatre alum Melis Aker ’18 was selected as a Theatre503 503Five Resident Writer. 

Theatre alum Marcel Spears ’15 starred in the West Coast premiere of Fat Ham at the Geffen Playhouse.

Theatre alum Marcel Spears ’15 stars in the now-6th season of CBS’s The Neighborhood. 

Sound Arts alums Mengtai Zhang ’19 and Lemon Guo ’18 presented Diagnosia at the Doc Edge Festival.

Sound Arts alum Nolan Lem ’15 exhibited Double Blind at Riises Landsted in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The Last Movie They Ever Made, a narrative feature film directed by Film alum Scott Riehs ’15, made its world premiere in May at the Big Apple Film Festival in Manhattan. In addition to Riehs, who also served as co-writer, co-star, and co-producer for the movie, the film featured several other Film alums in major roles: Micah Paisner ’16 as co-writer, co-producer, and co-star; Alice Shindelar ’16 as co-producer and co-star; Thomas Mentel ’18 as director of photography; and cameos by Hernán Jiménez ’17, Nick Weiss-Richmond ’17, and Michael Castelaz ’17.

Theatre alum Shayok Misha Chowdhury ’16 received an Obie Award for Direction for his play Public Obscenities, produced by Soho Rep and National Asian American Theatre Company.

Writing alum Nathan Osorio ’17 received the 2024 Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize for his poetry collection, Querida.

Visual arts alum Vivian Chiu ’19 was an exhibiting artist in THIS SIDE UP, a group exhibition at the Houston Center for Contemporary Art that ran from January 24 to May 4, 2024.

Adrián Pérez ’20 published a short story titled “The Sinkhole” in Booth. 

Theatre alum Alle Mims ’23 did a reading of a new work in progress, The Strip Club Manifesto, at Pete's Candy Store on June 19, 2023. The reading was a part of the reading series Play Date at Pete's. 

Congrats to Writing alum Ariel So '23 for publishing a poem titled “Tender White Desk” in Sinking City.

Theatre alum Colm Summers '22 directed Every Brilliant Thing at Geffen Playhouse.

The 8th Annual National Women's Theatre Festival runs from June 21 to July 1, 2023 in Raleigh, NC. Theater alum Emily Boyd Dahab '20 serves as the artistic producer of the festival. Zizi Majid '20 will give a talk at the Conference called "Elevating Women Playwrights of Color."

Tending to change, a solo show by Visual Arts alum Jacq Groves '22, opened June 17, 2023 and ran until August 6. In this exhibition, Groves honors processes of transformation and the care to incite change. 

Visual Arts alum Kevin Cobb ’23 had work featured in The I Has to Travel at Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery. This exhibition explored whether we are doomed to replicate the past or if we can take stock of our history and begin anew.

Sound Art alum Lauren Covey '21 led a symposium where she discusses her new work, “a sonic family portrait,” and shares her process of working with sound as a mental health tool. 

Writing alum Mark Lopez '20 published Laura from the Valley, a short novel about a little girl whose parents die, and she's forced to live with her Uncle Hector, who surrounds her with drugs and prostitution.

As part of the Center for Book Arts’s 2023 group exhibition Visual Volumes: Contemporary Explorations in Book Arts, visual arts alum Roni Aviv ‘21 displayed work embodying interdisciplinary approaches to creative book practices.

Visual Arts alum Susan Chen's ‘20 exhibition Purell Night & Day was at Rachel Uffner Gallery (New York, NY) July 13–August 18, 2023. With Purell Night & Day, Chen continued a long-standing tradition of artists exploring a seemingly mundane subject in seriality and in the process, uncovering undiscovered meaning below the surface. 

Dominus, a debut poetry collection by Writing alum Tiffany Troy ’22, is forthcoming with BlazeVox in September 2023. The book challenges the inner workings of the capitalist bureaucracy with what Cyrus Cassells calls the “irreverence and snap-crackle-pop allusiveness of Alan Dugan’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning first book.

Film alum Tony Yang ’20 was selected to participate in Sundance Institute's Producers Intensive. The Producers Intensive provides early career rising producers from traditionally underrepresented communities the opportunity to enhance their craft in a two-day concentrated workshop by offering creative, strategic, and professional development support. 

Writing alum Abhigna Mooraka ’22 published a story titled “Storytellers” in The Rumpus. 

Theatre alums Ada Zhang ’20, Annie Wang ’20, and current student Yining Cao ’24 were part of the creative team on the premiere of Jeremy Tiang's SALESMAN 之死, an all-Asian, women-led bilingual play inspired by Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman in China. It ran October 10—28, 2023 at the Yangtze Repertory Theatre in New York. 

Film alum Aiman Mimiko ’22 was awarded the Princess Grace Foundation's Sir Roger Moore Film Honor. 

Dishwasher Dreams, which Theatre alum Alaudin Ullah ’22 wrote and performed in, premiered on the West Coast. It was produced by The Old Globe.

Visual Arts alum Anna Ting Möller’s ’23's exhibition Fantasy of the Fabrication was on view at Urban Glass's Window Gallery August 9—September 29, 2023. 

Visual Arts alum Calvin Kim's ’23's work was part of the Welcome Collective exhibition Sarang: Conversation on Love November 10—December 1, 2023. 

Writing alum Catherine Fisher ’23 hosted a translation event called Colloquy #8: New Directions, featuring translations from New Directions. 

Film alum Christina Wood’s ’20's films Close To You and The Dead Don’t Hurt played at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. 

Writing alum Claudia Arevalo ’22 was a Tupelo Press 30/30 Project-featured poet during the month of October. The 30/30 Project challenges selected poets to write 30 poems in 30 days while helping them build their readership base. 

Writing alum Elliott Eglash ’22 published an essay titled “Putting My Foot In It” in The Smart Set.

Visual Arts alum Elzie Williams III ’22 curated What A Fool Believes, a group exhibition featuring 13 contemporary artists, which was on view at Subtitled NYC November 9—December 3, 2023. 

Theatre alum Greg T. Nanni ’21 wrote Love (Among Dreamers), the inaugural production of The House, a production lab by Broadway for All. 

Film alums Hazel McKibbin ’23 and Lauren Goetzman’s ’22's short film Border Line was a “Daily Pick” on Film Shortage.

Writing alum Jared Jackson ’20 was awarded a MacDowell Fellowship, the nation’s preeminent artist residency program. His short story "Bebo," initially published in The Kenyon Review, was selected by series editor Heidi Pitlor and guest editor Min Jin Lee to be featured in the book anthology The Best American Short Stories 2023.

Visual Arts alum Jenn Hassin's ’20 Project Raha Exhibition and Charity Auction was open November 2—30, 2023. The exhibit told the stories of a group who served in the Female Tactical Platoon in Afghanistan and came to the US as refugees in 2021.

Film alum Jon Lazar ’20 was chosen to participate in Circle of Confusion's Writer Discovery Fellowship.

Visual Arts alum Katherine Blackburne ’22 was featured in the group show Earthly Pleasures at Deli Gallery.  

A Lamp is Not the Only Sign of Glass, an exhibition of paintings by Visual Arts alum Kelsey Shwetz ’22, was on view at the Half Gallery in Los Angeles September 21—October 14, 2023.

Bag Lady, directed by Film alum Max McGillivray ’22, co-written by Film alum Kristin Kurtis  ’20, and produced by Film alum Kinder Labatt  ’22 screened at the Newport Beach Film Festival, and the Eastern Oregon Film Festival in October 2023.

The Cheapest France in Town, a poetry collection by Seo Jung Hak, was translated from Korean into English by Writing alum Megan Sungyoon ’20.

Visual Arts alum Lau Wai ’20 was a part of the group show Offworlds, which ran October—December, 2023 at YvuYANG Gallery in New York City. 

Writing alum Pablo Castro ’23 published a short story titled “Dead Ringer” in Chicago Review.

Theatre alum Paola Alexandra Soto ’20 was a recipient of the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance Individual Artist Grant for her thesis play La Sosa Sisters. 

Theatre alum Rebecca Miller Kratzer ’22 assistant directed Grounded, a play produced by Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center. Performances ran October 28 through November 13, 2023.

Visual Arts alum Roni Aviv's ’21's work was featured in the group exhibition Visual Volumes: Contemporary Explorations in Book Arts at Center for Book Arts in New York which ran July 14—September 9, 2023.

Writing alum Ryan Cook ’22 published four poems in The Poetry Project.

Theatre alum Sam Grabiner ’20 was commissioned through Manhattan Theatre Club's Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Initiative for theatrical works on STEM themes.

Coral, written & directed by Film alum Sonia Oleniak ’21 and co-produced by Film alum Constanza Majluf ’21, screened at the New York Film Festival in October, 2023. 

Hesitation Wound, written and directed by Film alum Selman Nacar ’21 and co-edited by Film alum Melik Kuru ’21, was selected to screen as part of the Orizzonti (Horizons) Feature Competition at the 2023 Venice Film Festival.

Theatre alums Tayler Everts ’23 co-produced the 20th Annual Prelude Festival. Artists included alums Jess Applebaum ’12, Anne Gridley ’06, Robert Johanson ’05, Pavol Liska ’06, April Sweeney ’00, and Ashley Tata ’12. Performances ran throughout New York City in October. 

Theatre alum Thomas Swayne ’20 produced Merrily We Roll Along starring Daniel Radcliffe, currently running on Broadway.

Film alum Valeria Contreras ’23 was chosen to participate in Film Independent's Producing Lab.

Film alum Wes Andre Goodrich ’23 was named one of Filmmaker Magazine's 25 New Faces of Independent Film. 

Sound Arts alum Anthony Sertel Dean ’22 was part of an oral history project through The Brown Center for Media Innovation at Stanford.

Sound Arts alum Avishag Cohen-Rodrigues ’21 performed for a show by Visual Arts alum Naama Tsabar ’10 at Hamburger Bahnhof and toured with their band.

Motherland, directed by Film alum Christina Yoon ’21, co-written by Christina & Film alum Minkyu Kang ’22, and produced by Film alums Jungyoon Kim ’20 and Grace Merriman ’21, won the award for Best Narrative Short Film at the Provincetown International Film Festival, making it Oscar eligible. 

Sound Arts alum Gladstone Butler ’23 presented new work at Carnegie Hill Concerts.

Northern Lights, a narrative short film directed by Film alum Hangcheng Xu ’24 and produced by Film alum Emily Xiaoyue Ruan ’23, was screened at UnionDocs as part of the film series Memories of Southern China.

Sound Arts alum Joan Hacker ’21 had a track on a compilation produced by The Wire magazine.

Sound Arts alum John Thomas Levee ’22 presented Surface Depth Reception at Champlain College.

Sound Arts alum Jonathan Harris ’22 showed in Natural Manipulation at the CREATE Council on the Arts in Catskill, NY.

Film alum Jordan Anstatt’s ’23 short film Nobody Skates but Me had its West Coast premiere at Culver City Film Festival earlier this month. The film is produced by Film alum Holly Andrews ’23.

Visual Arts alum Kelsey Shwetz ’22 was a featured artist in the group exhibition Collapsed Narratives at Dinner Gallery from March 14 to April 27, 2024.

Sound Arts alum Lauren Covey ’21 presented Sonic Portraits at Fountain House Gallery.

Wall Plates, a solo show by Visual Arts alum Lizzie Zelter ’22, opened at Sala de Espera in Tijuana, B.C., Mexico on March 16, 2024.

Theatre alum Luz Lorenzana Twigg ’23 was published in Decentered Playwriting: Alternative Techniques for the Stage by Routledge Press. 

Michael Khalid Karadsheh ’22 starred in the world premiere of The Ally at The Public Theater, which opened on February 15, 2024 in New York.

So They Say (Así Dicen), directed by Film alum Natalia Luque Barrios ’22, written by Natalia and Film alum Cecilia Otero ’22 and produced by Cecilia and Film alum Donovan Tolledo ’22, screened at the PÖFF Shorts Film Festival, the Guadalajara Film Festival and the Temecula Film Festival.

Sound Arts alum Rosana Cabán ’21 won a national search for a position teaching creative collaboration at Stevens Institute and was interviewed by We Make Noise.

BOYS ON THE VERGE OF TEARS, a play by Theatre alum Sam Grabiner ’21, premiered at Soho Theatre in London and ran from April 11 to May 18, 2024.

Plan B, a solo exhibition by Susan Chen ’20, opened at Rachel Uffner Gallery on March 8 and was on view until April 20, 2024.

Sound Arts alum Tim Kwasny ’21 co-edited Volume 5 of the Video Game Art Reader for UMich Press.

Writing alum Zachary Issenberg ’20 published an essay titled "José Donoso Saw the Future of Latin American Literature" in The Millions.