Campus Stories - Theater & Performance
Ali Namayandeh: Wildfire Impacts on California Farmworkers
Stanford’s new Doerr School of Sustainability is integrating theater and environmental justice with the premiere of “Hidden Strawberries,” a play by Ali Namayandeh. Debuting from October 16-19 at the Stanford Live Bing Studio, the production focuses on the experiences of California farmworkers affected by escalating wildfires. The inspiration for the play emerged from research in…
Student Arts Grants: A Year in Photos 2022-23
This year’s VPA Student Arts Grants supported a wide range of student-initiated collaborative projects across the Stanford campus. Projects included dance, conference programming, film, creative retreat, theater productions, wood carving, and shoe design work. AY23 Awarded Projects: Student Arts Grants for VSOs Student Arts Grants for Individual Students (Maker Micro Grant)
artsCatalyst Grants 2022-23
During the 2022-23 academic year, the Office of the Vice President for the Arts awarded 58 artsCatalyst Grants to faculty members from across the University. These grants foster arts experiences that enhance classroom experiences for undergraduate students. Activities included field trips to Bay Area arts venues, guest speakers (in-person and virtual), and workshops with guest artists. The grants…
Student Arts Grants: A Year in Photos 2021-22
This year’s VPA Student Arts Grants supported a wide range of virtual and remote student-initiated collaborative projects across the Stanford community. Projects ranged from photography, documentary and narrative film, zines, musical theater, dance, contemporary plays, and inviting renowned artists for exhibitions and artist talks serving the student community. Aligned with Stanford policies, the VPA continues…
2021 Denning virtual visiting artists announced
During the fall quarter, in the face of extended restrictions of on-campus activities due to the pandemic, the Office of the Vice President for the Arts announced an expedited round of grants available to Stanford staff and faculty in any academic department or program to support three virtual visiting artists for the winter and spring…
Keeping the Gaieties tradition alive, despite COVID-19
With the exception of a handful of lost years between 1968 and 1976, Ram’s Head Theatrical Society’s annual Gaieties production – performed before Stanford’s Big Game against Cal – has been a Stanford tradition since 1911. While this year presented unprecedented challenges to the diaspora theater company working primarily with videotelephony, 17 cast members and 29 company…
Visiting Artist Fund in Honor of Roberta Bowman Denning call for proposals: 2020-21 Virtual Visiting Artists
The Office of the Vice President for the Arts invites proposals for the Visiting Artist Fund in Honor of Roberta Bowman Denning, to support virtual visiting artists for the winter, spring, or summer quarters in 2021. All academic departments and programs at Stanford are invited to submit proposals; proposals that include two or more departments…
Theater in Stanford’s Roble Gym to be named the Harry J. Elam, Jr. Theater in honor of the former professor and arts and education leader
The black box theater in Roble Gym, home of the Department of Theater and Performance Studies (TAPS), has been named the Harry J. Elam, Jr. Theater. Earlier this year, after a distinguished three-decade tenure at Stanford, the university announced that Elam had been named the 16th president of Occidental College. His career at Stanford left…
Stanford alums again nominated for Emmy awards
Once again, the remarkable screen stars and Stanford alums STERLING K. BROWN, ’98, and ISSA RAE, ’07, have earned Emmy nominations for their roles in television series. ANDRE BRAUGHER, ’84, joins their ranks this year and AMY ANIOBI, ’06, shares a series nomination with Rae. The four alums have earned multiple awards and nominations before for their work on the…
artsCatalyst Grants 2019-20
This past academic year, the Office of the Vice President for the Arts awarded 33 artsCatalyst Grants to faculty members from across the University. These grants foster arts experiences that enhance classroom experiences for undergraduate students. Activities included field trips to Bay Area cultural organizations, workshops with visiting artists, and attending performances. 2019-20 artsCatalyst Grant Recipients Why is Climate Change…
Student Arts Grants: A Year in Photos 2019-20
This year’s VPA Student Arts Grants supported a wide range of student-initiated collaborative projects across the Stanford campus. Projects ranged from photography, documentary and narrative film, zines, musical theater, dance, contemporary plays, and inviting renowned artists for exhibitions and artist talks serving the student community. Students and their project teams represented a wide range of…
Stanford Repertory Theater commemorates Juneteenth with livestreamed reading of Vincent Terrell Durham play
Stanford Repertory Theater (SRT) is one of three dozen theater companies co-presenting a Juneteenth reading of Vincent Terrell Durham’s play Polar Bears, Black Boys & Prairie Fringed Orchids. The reading will be livestreamed via Zoom at 7 p.m. PT on June 19 in recognition of Juneteenth, which commemorates the ending of slavery in the United States. Polar Bears,…
Honors in the Arts seniors present capstone projects to the public via video essays
This year’s cohort of 16 Stanford Honors in the Arts (HIA) students presented their capstone projects by way of publicly accessible video essays, fulfilling the final requirement for the year-long interdisciplinary program. The projects employ a wide range of artistic media and genres, including creative writing, studio art, film and theater. They also demonstrate the inspiration…
The Faculty Women’s Forum presented its Outstanding Leader Award to Jisha Menon
The Faculty Women’s Forum, which acts to enable women faculty members to thrive at Stanford, presented its inaugural awards – for outstanding leadership and outstanding sponsorship – to two faculty members on Monday at a virtual ceremony. The Faculty Women’s Forum presented its Outstanding Leader Award to Jisha Menon, an associate professor of theater and performance studies in…
COVID-19’s impact on Stanford arts events
Stanford University has been closely monitoring the rapidly evolving events surrounding COVID-19, also known as novel coronavirus. The university is working to take steps that inhibit, rather than accelerate, the ability of infection to spread. Events that bring participants to campus have been canceled or postponed. This includes a range of arts performances, public lectures,…
How two Stanford students turned mental health struggles into art
One night in the spring of 2017, geology PhD student Zack Burton’s graduate career was derailed after a series of delusions led him to the top of a campus parking garage, where he seriously considered hurting himself. PhD student Zack Burton and Elisa Hofmeister, ’18, are the creators of The Manic Monologues. (Image credit: Dr. Matthew Malkowski)…
