Death within family, setbacks spur on alumnus’ film production

Creating the film “Sandy Beach” was no walk on the beach for Thanos Papastergiou. But after hospital visits, multiple delays and a thunderstorm, “Sandy Beach” has gone on to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival and was shortlisted for a British Academy of Film and Television Arts Student Film Award. Papastergiou, a UCLA alumnus, […]

Alumnus releases book based on different places, personal experiences

Orlando Ortega-Medina’s characters explore far-flung places such as the bustling streets of Tokyo and the coast of Oregon. But for alumnus Ortega-Medina, the global destinations in his short stories are not just locations for his characters to visit; they are also places he has lived himself. Ortega-Medina will release his newest book, “Jerusalem Ablaze: Stories […]

UCLA lecturer directs dysfunctional family comedy ‘The Lyons’

The set of “The Lyons” has just 10 seconds to change from a private hospital room to an empty apartment. But the quick set changes are just one of the many challenges that the play presented, said UCLA lecturer and director Scott Alan Smith. The Road Theatre Company’s production of “The Lyons” will run at […]

Student-formed Shakespeare theater company aims for audience engagement

Muse of Fire will perform “Henry IV” in a renovated liquor store in Koreatown. Muse of Fire, a classical theater company with a focus on Shakespeare’s works, was formed over the course of the 2016-2017 school year by fourth-year theater students Will Block, Margaret Starbuck and Renee MacDonald. By performing their play in the small […]

UCLA music lecturer thrives on collaborative process of film scoring

Movie soundtracks sometimes fall into the background for movie viewers, but for Jonathan Beard they’re all he can focus on. Beard, a lecturer in the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, helps create soundtracks for films and television shows. He orchestrated soundtracks for works including “The Handmaid’s Tale,” and “Despicable Me 3” and also composed […]

The Courage to be Me club empowers students to conquer self-doubts

Brook Li began making YouTube videos about courage and confidence by telling personal stories such as learning to surfboard on her 21st birthday. After others told her that her videos resonated with them, the fifth-year sociology student said she was inspired to take her knowledge off the internet and into the real world by creating […]