Film and theater students collaborate on short film
Photos by Virginia Tieman / Xpress Narrative directing is a class that brings together writers, performers and cinema majors who collaborate for one main goal — to make a short film. For this…
Pretentious posers taint San Francisco’s food scene
Giants won the second World Series in three years. Niners went to the Super Bowl. Warriors are in the playoffs. There has been a lot of smack talk about bandwagoning and Bay Area…
SF State professor hones novelty art in glass blowing
After graduating art school, Nathan Watson has managed to stay busy and keep his creative endeavors going at full force. With a master’s in fine arts and bachelor’s in history, Watson says that…
Cannes Festival showcases SF State film graduate’s work
While waiting to learn if he was accepted into the Cannes Film Festival, Joey Izzo received an unexpected email from the festival requesting more information. Having submitted his short film for a slot in…
Bangladesh safety monitor trumpets workers rights at SF State
The collapse of a Bangladeshi garment factory building, which produced American and European retail clothing, reverberated around the world. The tragedy left 1127 low-wage workers dead and thousands injured caused by neglect of…
Diatribe advances legacy of female artists
Establishing an artistic medium for creative output is of utmost importance to artists. For Diatribe, a group composed of local female artists, they have found theirs. “Technically, Diatribe means a forceful, bitter attack…
Costly Rhythms Music Festival attracts low student turnout
With a headliner as prominent as Big Boi, of the Grammy award-winning hip-hop duo OutKast, and a price tag of $30,000, one might expect Thursday night’s Rhythms Music Festival to be a jam-packed affair….
Korean American artist sculpts dual identity
A young man in clay-smudged jeans sits on a stool, steps on a pedal and molds a heap of clay with quiet finesse. The wheel spins the now curvy tower of clay like…
SF State’s music scene fosters vibrant community
By Kristen Martz and Lovelie Faustino As new students living in the dorms at SF State, Gregory DiMartino and Julian Borrego weren’t allowed to practice their music in their rooms. Instead, they would…
Broadway’s hit ‘Avenue Q’ graces Little Theatre stage
“Avenue Q” could be described as Broadway’s little engine that could. In 2004, the show reached legendary status when it unexpectedly won the Tony award for best musical over the mega-blockbuster, “Wicked.” Since then the show…
Vocal performance student discovers lost Filipino love songs
Standing at a mere 5-foot-3, 22-year-old Rachel Larsen is packed with passion and — surprisingly — one of the biggest voices you’ve ever heard. As a graduating senior this May, pursuing a degree…
Bay Area punk musician sustains activist lifestyle
With smoke slowly floating out of his mouth as he sits on the legendary stage that he built at Burnt Ramen, the former underground venue inside the iron triangle of Richmond, John Eppard…
MFA Thesis Exhibition spotlights students’ unique art
The professor sits in front of his art students and discusses the status of their upcoming exhibition. As soon as he dismisses them from their meeting they disperse into sections of the room….
‘CockTales’ series aims to reshape view of masculinity
Eduardo Benitez has always had to be silent. As a child he wasn’t allowed to cry during a sad movie. As a teenager he wasn’t allowed to show any affection toward his wounded…
PACE promotes Filipino performing artists with ‘Talentado’
From an original spoken word piece dedicated to an ading (Tagalog for younger sibling), to a performance by an Internet sensation with over one million views on a single video, the Filipino American…
Alum launches Tiburon International Film Festival for emerging filmmakers
Saeed Shafa has never been one to follow the crowd. In 1972, he was just one of a few journalism students at SF State when suddenly the political floodgates burst wide open with…
UpCycling exhibition displays waste transformed into art
Tablecloths as dresses, wire hangers as a lighting fixture and leftover scraps of lumber used to build a stool may look like ordinary do-it-yourself projects, but together they make up SF State’s latest…
SF State alum forges innovative art form
What may appear to be junk or random items can be the inspiration to a new art mechanism for artist Doron Fishman. Fishman, 43, has made a career for himself combining his two…
The Bay Bridge becomes canvas for massive light sculpture
Billed as the largest light sculpture in the world, The Bay Lights officially illuminated over the San Francisco Bay two weeks ago, bringing a bright new addition to the city’s skyline. The massive…
Alumni Hall of Fame at SF State honors graduates’ major accomplishments
Hundreds of alumni and guests, including SF State State graduate and senior editor for Rolling Stone, Ben Fong-Torres, gathered in their swankiest attire to watch the newest alumni get inducted into the coveted SF…
SF State showcases Asian inspired gallery, ‘The Moment for Ink’
Lucy Arai, 57, became enthralled with ink art while she was experimenting with her calligraphy brushes, sumi ink and handmade paper. Now she sees ink as a medium of art that tells the…
SF State’s guide to St. Patrick’s Day events
St. Patrick’s Day is almost here again and the events are endless. Since the early 1800s, San Francisco has bathed itself in green clothing and pints of Guinness to celebrate this Irish holiday. As…
Iconic production ‘Our Town’ hits SF State’s Little Theatre
Click Here To See Photo Gallery Grover’s Corner is a small town populated by 2,642 regular folks. They’re mostly a God-fearing people with 85 percent identified as Protestant, 12 percent Catholic and the rest “indifferent.” As one…
SF State film graduate achieves dream job as director for CAAMFest
Masachi Niwano knew he wanted a career in film early on when, as a young boy, he’d revel in the company of Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers while his parents worked late nights. As…
Down and Outlaws fires off rock roots in new EP
A common love for Bulleit Bourbon and a shared idolization of David Bowie united members of Down and Outlaws on a smoke-screened journey toward raw, bluesy rockstardom. On a summer night in 2012 at the SUB-Mission…
President Wong’s Harlem Shake appearance makes impression on SF State
A crowd of SF State administration and students adorned in colorful costumes stood in a circle cheering for President Leslie E. Wong, Feb. 22, as he danced at the center of Malcolm X Plaza….
Before the Brave joins Noise Pop Festival lineup, plays Depot
Philosophy major Kyle Teese finishes a day of classes, hops on his bike, and rides out to the Mission to practice with his band. Though many students are members of local bands, few…
Oscar-nominated alumni anticipate award night
It’s hard to imagine what being stranded in a boat with a Bengal tiger has to do with the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis. It turns out their connection runs straight through the Creative…
‘Humans vs. Zombies’ game infests SF State
The zombie virus has recently infected pop culture and has since successfully spread to SF State. From comic books to video games, students can’t seem to get enough of the undead. For some…
Music alumna finds niche in teaching, performing
Alexandra Sessler has just finished a day at the office teaching students and, while most working people are heading home for the night, she is now rushing to her nighttime performance. Teacher by day…
