RUONLINE? /theroundupnews @roundupnews @roundupnews @roundupnews
A FIRST AMENDMENT PUBLICATION
/roundupnews
“Top Girls” go for top prize Woodland Hills, California Volume 130 - Issue 1
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
One copy free, each additional copy $1.00
KCATF honors cast and crew of Pierce production CHRISTOPHER TORRES Photo & Sports Editor @chris_t_torres
I
n 2001, the president of the United States was George W. Bush and the first film of the Harry Potter series was released. It was also the last time a Pierce College production was selected to compete at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF). The Pierce Theater program has been chosen as one of the six productions to be showcased from region VIII of the KCACTF. The production being highlighted at the festival is Caryl Churchill’s “Top Girls” directed by Shaheen Vaaz, a professor of theater arts. Vaaz compared the event to one of the most famous music festivals of all time but with different personnel. “Just think of Coachella but filled with theater nerds,” Vaaz said. “Everyone’s wreally excited to go there and do workshops and see plays and interact with other people. It’s quite exciting.” In addition to “Top Girls” being selected to compete at the KCACTF, Pierce sent eight acting students to participate in the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship competition. According to the KCACTF webpage, the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarships provide recognition, honor and financial assistance to outstanding student performers wishing to pursue a further education and career in acting. As of Feb. 14, Actors Trevor Alkazian, Trevor Figueroa and Justine Gorry all advanced to the semi-final round of the of the acting competition. Jon Michael Villagomez, assistant director for “Top Girls,” was selected to participate in the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) Student Directing Fellowship competition. Villagomez won first place for his SDC directing scene at the KCACTF
Natalie Miranda / Roundup
Alexa Maris portrays a concubine to the Emperor of Japan in the 13th Century alongside Justine "J.C." Brandy's character during dress rehearsal for Top Girls on Oct. 15, 2018, in Woodland Hills, Calif.
this year and he became the first Pierce student to ever advance to the finals and win this national competition. The theater department also sent Sarah Webster, set designer for “Top Girls,” to partake in the Allied Design and Technology competition where she was also a finalist for her scenic design presentation for “Top Girls.” Region VIII of the KCACTF is comprised of both community colleges and four-year universities from Arizona, Central and Southern California, Hawai’i, Southern
Nevada, Utah and Guam. Despite the play being set in the early 1980s, Vaaz believes the message of “Top Girls” can be applicable in today’s society due to the fact that the whole theme is about women empowerment. “Currently it’s the time of ‘Me Too’ and I think we felt that in the air as we were all working together,” Vaaz said. “We all had a really deep personal connection to it.” Department Chair of Performing Arts Michael Gend said the play was written as a response to the women’s liberation movement in the
workplace that was happening in 1970s Britain. “It really is about women’s rise to power and the lead character is a female CEO,” Gend said. “With all the movements that have been happening lately, it feels like the story has become relevant again because of what is happening in society now.” Gend said by being selected to this well-renowned festival, it is a great way to promote themselves as a department to colleges across the nation and show what they bring to the table.
Enrollment numbers on the rise
“They can see the quality of our work and become aware of us,” Gend said. “It’s also a great opportunity for our students that are planning to transfer because they will be able to meet with representatives from fouryear colleges.” Theater Manager Michael Sande said this competition gives the student actors the golden moment to showcase their skills to not only universities but to professionals as well. “It gives [the students] a chance to attend workshops, go to seminars, and even meet with casting agents,”
Sande said. “It really is an incredible opportunity for students.” Vaaz hopes that by having a play selected to compete at the KCACTF, it gives the theater department a boost of confidence going forward. “I hope the theater department sees how strong it is and that it can take itself seriously,” Vaaz said. “Right now it feels like we are much bigger and more established as a department. I want us to notice that we have real talent and amazing people who work here.” [For the full story visit theroundupnews.com]
GRAPHIC by Cam Kern / Roundup
Pierce College enrollment numbers are up by 3 percent this spring
HARLEY DAVIS Reporter @ht_davis If you have seen a Pierce College ad on your social media feed this winter, it wasn’t an accident. From Jan. 10 to Feb. 4 ,several departments at Pierce ran boosted social media posts about registering for open classes for spring semester. This was a beta test aimed to increase enrollment numbers in multiple departments. In that time, the classes advertised saw an increase of 106 percent in number of students enrolled, according to Dean of
Academic Affairs Mary Ann Gavarra-Oh. Gavarra-Oh added that out of a set of 300 classes with low enrollment, below the point where the class would be canceled for lack of students, 50 were chosen from various departments. “We can’t yet say there’s a true correlative effect between the posts and enrollment,” said Public Relations Manager Doreen Clay. “It was an impressive beta test, but we need to continue testing to find out if it’s really the way we want to go.” Clay also said that the classes chosen were a mix of academic and arts related departments, including but not limited to: art, English,
dance, journalism, health finance, music, Spanish, and theater. “What these boosted posts do is, for a fee, they will make the post appear in the feeds of people who have interests in the areas you specify in the boost,” Michael Gend, the chairman of the performing arts department explained. “I come up with keywords for theater ads that include words like ‘acting’ or ‘theater’. I even use names of other colleges that might have similar programs to ours,” Gend said. Gend said he created motion graphics posts for some classes and observed a definite improvement in enrollment.
“Motion graphics attract the eyes more,” Gend said. “I took classes to learn how to make effective posts, and then had to learn how to make motion graphics from video and still images.” Gend said it was a lot of work to put together, which might require a dedicated person or persons other than teachers to handle on a regular basis. Clay said hiring a social media manager would be beneficial, but requires funding. “It’s a matter of resources and having the money to hire new people,” Clay said hdavis.roundupnews@gmail.com
Opinions .................2 News..........................3 Features.......................4 Campus Life...................5 Photo Essay ....................6 Sports................................7 Sports..................................8