Author Archives: Fay Gordon

When telling a fairy tale, it’s just as fun setting the stage as it is describing the characters’ zany adventures. The design team of “Into the Woods,” the final Ray Bolger Musical Theater Program production of the year, relished the idea. In this Jeremy Mann-directed production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s musical about what […]

They don’t call it the University of Construction at Los Angeles for nothing. The allure of architectural face-lifts strikes again at Geffen Playhouse. Within the next year, the playhouse will undergo detailed structural upgrades that even ABC’s “Extreme Makeover” cannot compete with. The playhouse is undergoing a $17.5 million structural renovation, which should be completed […]

With his latest work “Cannonball,” graduate playwrighting student Jed Hayes aims not only to update Sophocles’ Theban trilogy (in much the way “West Side Story” breathed new life into “Romeo and Juliet”), but also to overcome his fear of failure. “What (the Department of Theater) tries to do is provide a comfortable environment where it’s […]

It’s safe to say that Abhiman Kaushal was obsessed with mastering the tabla, an Indian drum. “I gave up everything and learned tabla; I gave up education. … I totally focused on tabla,” said Kaushal, an assistant adjunct professor in the ethnomusicology department. As the department’s tabla instructor, Kaushal doesn’t believe in forcing students to […]

Spring, the unofficial season of culture nights, will add another event to its repertoire this weekend with A Night of Cultura production. “The Last American Bar” is the first-ever Chicano/Raza/Latino/Hispanic culture night and will take place at the Northwest Campus Auditorium this Friday and Saturday. Rocio Lopez, a third-year Latin American studies student, thought of […]

Girl meets boy, boy meets another girl, girl kills new girl ““ all choreographed into an eight-minute dance performance set to upbeat music. The 14-member Hindi Film Dance Team wrote and choreographed this dance, which will be performed as part of UCLA Fowler Museum’s “Family Festival: India!” The festival also will feature a print-making workshop, […]

The idea of a student-produced production conjures up visions of frenzied performers, strewn together stages and power-tripping producers. But during the final few rehearsals before opening night, the vibe around the dancers of WAC Smash, a student-created undergraduate showcase, is one of professional cool. “I just had my last rehearsal, and I feel good about […]