A real-world prison escape inspired writer and director Daniel Lafrentz’s film “Noble Creatures.” Lafrentz, a graduate student in film, based his film off an article he read in 2015 about two prisoners who escaped a maximum security prison in New York. He even included some details from the article as scenes, including the prisoners’ collaborative […]
Category Archives: Arts
Students’ inaugural music festival bears fruit in Shanghai
This post was updated Aug. 23 at 9:50 a.m. The Watermelone Music Festival was born in Bruin Plate. It was there that second-year statistics student Sheila Wang and second-year undeclared student David Jiaye Pan first discussed the idea of putting together their own music festival and later held planning meetings in the same UCLA dining […]
Alumni use electronic billboards as digital art to reach audience
Gareth Walsh wanted to put a glitch in Sunset Boulevard’s typical landscape of billboards and advertisements. He visualized a moving installation that would disrupt the strip’s static signage and make passers-by reconsider their political and urban surroundings. “You have to create something that is a surprise to see in that context,” Walsh said. “I wanted […]
Emmys 2017: Alumna portrays, grows alongside ever-evolving Bart Simpson
UCLA alumni and faculty have lent their acting, writing and directing talents to several series nominated for the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards. Contributing to nominations in categories such as Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Limited Series, Bruins have showcased their skills in both acting and production as parts of the casts and […]
Theater Review: ‘Hamilton: An American Musical’
Angelenos don’t have to “wait for it” any longer – “Hamilton: An American Musical” has arrived at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre, and it is breathtaking. From its intricately crafted lyrics and melodies to its nuanced performances and spellbinding choreography, “Hamilton” serves up a captivating experience only made more poignant given the country’s current political climate. […]
UCLA alumna channels, overcomes struggles through songwriting, singing
Maria Tuadi was in the middle of an emotional breakdown when the chorus to her award-winning song “Still” materialized in her mind. The alumna’s single “Still” is a 2016 Grand Prize Winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, and received the 2016 Lennon Award for R&B in May. Tuadi said she wrote the song during […]
Alumna’s jewelry business fashions handmade crystal crowns
Adaeze Njaka repaired her mother’s necklaces using only her fingernails and teeth when she was a child. The UCLA alumna now creates her own jewelry – crystal crowns – for clients ranging from Renaissance fairgoers to Grammy-nominated Australian singer Sam Sparro. “It’s really cool that different types of people enjoy my crowns considering I didn’t […]