Drama News

That’s Show Biz

Don Hill makes his final curtain call after 20 years with CTSA By Christine Byrd Theater is a risky business. No one knows that better than veteran stage manager and producer Don Hill, who left the Nebraska cornfields to ultimately work with legends like Carol Burnett and Patti Lupone....

Arts Advocates: Reza Jahangiri

RISK TAKER Q&A with Reza Jahangiri Reza Jahangiri ’00 is the founder of American Advisors Group, a pioneer in the reverse mortgage industry. A lifelong music lover, he serves on the Dean’s Arts Board in the Claire Trevor School of the Arts as well as the board of the Pacific Symphony. He...

CTSA Awards the 2023-24 Research & Innovation Grants

The Research and Innovation Advisory Committee (RI Committee), composed of esteemed faculty members representing each department within the Claire Trevor School of the Arts (CTSA), rigorously evaluated an influx of 33 research proposals requesting a total of $152,000 for the 2023-2024 academic...

UC Irvine’s Department of Drama presents “The Brothers Paranormal”

Prince Gomolvilas’ ghost-hunting play explores the intersection of genre, race and displacement  Irvine, Calif., April 18, 2024 — UC Irvine’s Claire Trevor School of the Arts Department of Drama presents The Brothers Paranormal, a story about two Thai American brothers who set out to launch...

Celebrating Diversity in the Arts

Johanna Sophia Romo honored at the Latino Excellence Awards Dinner The Claire Trevor School of the Arts is pleased to announce that M.F.A. student Johanna Sophia Romo received the Graduate Student Excellence Award at the Latino Excellence and Achievement Awards Dinner (LEAD). The LEAD is...

Doubling Down

CTSA students embrace risk as they pursue careers in arts and other fields By Christine Byrd Living the artist’s life requires embracing risk. Unlike medicine or business, there is no clear-cut pathway to a successful and stable career in the arts. But in the quest to create art by taking...

Launching into the Arts

Drama's annual Santley Showcase is a springboard for UCI actors By Christine Byrd The Claire Trevor School of  the Arts’ annual Santley Showcase puts the work of graduating actors in front of countless casting directors, agents and managers who hold the potential to make an aspiring star...

UCI Drama Students Connect with Broadway's Jeremy Jordan

Music theatre students engaged with the star during a Segerstrom sponsored event By Professor Myrona DeLaney The Jeremy Jordan – as one student remarked – is an icon to the current generation. UC Irvine's Department of Drama music theatre students engaged in an interview and talkback...

Undergrad Meili Monk receives 2024 Cody Renard Richard Scholarship

Third-year Drama major Meili Monk has been awarded the 2024 Cody Renard Richard Scholarship, joining a cohort of ten students selected for this year. Each recipient will receive a $10,000 grant for the academic spring semester, along with opportunities for networking, mentoring, and team-building....

Celebrating Black Artists

UCI’s African American faculty members have made creative contributions to culture in dance, drama, art and music With its roots dating to the 1910s, Black History Month was first officially recognized by the U.S. government in 1976 to celebrate the contributions of African Americans to this...

UCI names three CTSA Newkirk Fellows for 2024

CTSA scholars emerge as Newkirk Fellows, amplifying impact on science and society The University of California, Irvine (UCI) named the Newkirk Fellows for the 2024 academic year. Three Claire Trevor School of the Arts (CTSA) faculty members have been selected, including Annie Loui, professor of...

Masters of Production

Meet the Creatives Behind Every Theatrical Production By Christine Byrd Behind the scenes of every musical, play, opera and dance production put on by Claire Trevor School of the Arts is a hardworking team of production professionals. They sew the costumes, build the sets, create the props,...

In Memoriam: Professor Emeritus Keith Fowler

With profound sadness, we announce the passing of Professor Emeritus Keith Fowler from the UC Irvine Claire Trevor School of the Arts Department of Drama. On the evening of Dec. 30, 2023, we lost an esteemed educator and a visionary leader who left an indelible mark on the world of theatre; he was...

Intersection of Art and Education

In November, the Claire Trevor School of the Arts collaborated with the Segerstrom Center for the Arts to present "Creative Wayfinding: Teaching Artist Panel." The event illuminated new pathways for CTSA students in their creative journeys. Dean Tiffany López expressed, "The night was more than a...

Colin Mochrie & Brad Sherwood: A Masterclass in Comedy Brain Magic

  By Professor Joel Veenstra, Department of Drama   On December 1, 2023, the Irvine Barclay Theatre transformed into a hub of laughter and creativity with Colin Mochrie & Brad Sherwood’s nearly sold-out improvisational comedy show, Scared Scriptless. The duo, renowned...

Revisiting ‘Cabaret’

Provocative musical is part of UCI’s Year of Free Speech lineup By Roy Rivenberg, UCI Dressed in a sleeveless fishnet shirt, striped pants and a crop-top suit jacket, Robert Zelaya will slink onto the stage Nov. 11 to begin a one-week run of “Cabaret,” a carnivalesque musical adapted from a...

Chantrell M. Lewis to be honored at Orange County Arts Awards

By Mia Hammett At 26, Chantrell M. Lewis (M.F.A. ’22, Drama) has built a strong arts career in service of other people. A creative polymath devoted to all things arts and education, Lewis is a multi-talented performer, author and teaching artist who treats the impact of her work with sincere...

Creative Wayfinding

Roadmaps in the Claire Trevor School of the Arts guide students to artistic success By Christine Byrd When emerging artists come to the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, they encounter more than an art school. Students find themselves at a top-10 public research university nestled in Orange...