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…
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…
‘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…
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…
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…
Student director adapts pivotal film to SF State stage
Stephan McGrue, 22, is making history by producing and directing the first all-black leading musical cast at SF State with “That Jones Gal.” As a theater arts major, McGrue was inspired to have…
THE SWAMP: ‘The Room’ Recap
Now that the weekend is over and we all have a case of the Mondays, it is time to reflect on the more enjoyable time that was two days ago. Please allow me…
SF State alumnus’ hunt leads to ‘The Institute,’ Slamdance acclaim
Spencer McCall embarked on a peculiar scavenger hunt through San Francisco four years ago. His experience set the foundation for “The Institute,” his first feature-length film, that last month screened to great acclaim…
VIDEO: SF State student director revamps Greek classic, ‘Eurydice’
Ben Calabrese is captivated by the action unfolding on stage; two star-crossed lovers, one on a table and the other on a chair, lean in for a passionate kiss when suddenly the table…
PHOTOS: Musical theatre and dance student conquers stress through performing arts
Balancing classes, homework, a job or two, extracurricular activities, friends, and family can be stressful. It can be especially difficult coping with the anxiety that comes from having a close family member who…
VIDEO: SF State takes on romantic tragedy ‘Lorenzaccio’
The stage of SF State’s Little Theatre is an arena of manufactured shadows. Giant mirror-plated pillars surround the stage and can be rotated on command to bounce the ominous lighting in any direction….
“Shotgun!” displays off-the-cuff student acts
Most college students understand the feelings associated with having to produce decent work under duress and intense time constraints, but believe it or not, a large group of student directors, writers and actors…
SF State graduate Patrick O’Sullivan revitalizes acting career
Right after graduating from the theatre arts program at SF State in 1999, Patrick Celtic O’Sullivan began his professional career immediately, when he landed a job — at the Olive Garden. O’Sullivan, 33, was…
Original student plays to hit big stage at One-Act Fringe
This fall, the biannual One-Act Fringe series expands as students are challenged in adapting their performances to a larger format at McKenna Theatre, the main stage in the Creative Arts Building. Every semester for…
One-woman show ‘Fortunate Daughter’ juggles family values, sexual identity
There is no perfect way to say, “I am gay.” SF State graduate student Thao P. Nguyen plans to show her parents that she is gay instead of telling them. “My plan is to…
99 Stock Productions to present “Edward Gant’s Amazing Feats of Loneliness” at SF State
As if the first couple weeks of school were not crazy enough, 99 Stock Productions is bringing their performance of “Edward Gant’s Amazing Feats of Loneliness” to SF State’s Studio Theatre Sept. 7…
VIDEO: “A Pinoy Midsummer” recreates Shakespeare comedy with Filipino twist
The dry percussive sounds of the kulintang punctuated every graceful leap and sweeping movement as Hermia tried to escape from the unyielding clutch of Demetrius. At Bindlestiff Studio on Sixth and Howard Streets,…
SF State cinema student Chandra Reyes takes another glance ‘through the looking glass’ with winning film
A young woman with painted-black hair awakens inside a square, checkerboard room — and she is not alone. She is being watched by an anthropomorphic hare, a young man wearing a white waistcoat…
PHOTOS, VIDEO: SF State’s retelling of “Othello” kicks off theatre arts season Aug. 30
For the people of Venice and Cyprus — the survivors at least — only a void existed. Civilization was abandoned and brutalized by a catastrophe capsizing everything familiar. In this post-apocalyptic world, hope…
SF State’s Got Talent engages incoming student community
Welcome Days serve to get new SF State students acquainted with the campus, but only SF State’s Got Talent yields a fast track to on-campus fame. With everything from kung fu to beatboxing, the…
SF State makes strong showing at San Francisco International Film Festival
Shining stars as well as up-and-coming talent from the film industry gathered at cinematic landmarks around the bay April 19-May 3 for the International Film Festival, and local talent from SF State made…
SF State cinema students to showcase talent at 52nd Film Finals
Film industry giants like Danny Glover and Dana Carvey attended SF State, and this Friday a new class of possible stars will get their time to shine on the silver screen. The 52nd…
SF State’s “Spring Awakening” play showcases students’ musical and theatrical talents
An hour and a half before the show, between having makeup artists apply heavy liner to their eyes, even heavier blush to their cheeks and dashing onto the stage for brief sound checks,…
“CockTales” facilitates open expression of masculinity and fatherhood
In Latin cultures, machismo is defined by pride, physical strength and power, but 22-year-old Abel Gomez Jr. takes pride in something else: his queer identity. It wasn’t always this way, Gomez kept his…
Sf State theatre arts extends annual One-Act Fringe Festival
Most playwriting students at SF State never get to see their creations come to life on stage with actors, design or sound. This is exactly why Roy Conboy, head of the playwriting program…
San Francisco nonprofit theater group 42nd Steet Moon stays open with help of donations
In a city filled to the brim with theatrical and musical talent, 42nd Street Moon stands alone in opening its curtains to the lesser-known but ever-lovable musicals of the 1920s to the 1970s….
PHOTOS: SF State poetry organization creates room for student expression
For junior Imani Cezanne, writing poetry is like saying a prayer. She likes it to be completely silent, so she can feel the words come to her as she puts them down on…
SF State graduate Nicole Maxali leads acting workshop “SoulWork”
Tucked away in the SoMa District lies a studio where you’re encouraged to speak in gibberish, perform wacky gestures and even project the alphabet with otherworldly intonations. In Nicole Maxali’s workshop at Bindlestiff…
SF State’s annual Vagina Monologues production aims to entertain and inform
Fourteen women plan to get down to the dirty, dramatic and droll details of womanhood in SF State’s third annual production of The Vagina Monologues, which begins April 4. Due to the sell-out…
