Contact: Geoffrey Baum, (213) 821-1491
LOS ANGELES, December 15, 2004 – Twenty five journalists have been chosen from 22 states to participate as fellows in the first
National Endowment for the Arts Journalism Institute in Theater and Musical Theater. Through the generous support of the NEA, the Institute will be organized and conducted by USC Annenberg’s School of Journalism from February 21 - March 4, 2005.
The groundbreaking program is part of a $1 million NEA initiative to offer intensive training for theater critics and their editors who work outside the country's top three major theater centers.
Fellows selected for the 2005 USC Annenberg NEA Arts Journalism Institute in Theater and Musical Theater are:
- Mary Barber, Jackson Citizen Patriot (Mich.). Arts & entertainment reporter.
- Christopher Blank, The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tenn.). Performing arts writer & critic.
- Jeffrey Bruner, Des Moines Register (Iowa). Film & theater critic.
- Kerry Clawson, Akron Beacon Journal (Ohio). Theater critic.
- Bob Fischbach, Omaha World Herald (Neb.). Film & theater writer.
- Trey Graham, Washington City Paper (D.C.). Contributing writer & copy editor.
- Brent Hallenbeck, Burlington Free Press (Vt.). Arts & entertainment writer.
- Donna Hartman, Bradenton Herald (Fla.). Performing arts & features writer.
- Curt Holman, Creative Loafing (Atlanta). Theater critic & columnist.
- Jessie Royce Hill, Cape Cod, Mass.-based freelance writer.
- Carl Hoover, Waco Herald-Tribune (Texas). Entertainment editor.
- Robert Keyes, Portland Press Herald (Maine). Arts writer.
- Pam Kragen, North County Times (Vista, Calif.). Arts & entertainment editor.
- John Lamb, The Forum (Fargo, N.D.). Reporter.
- Lisa Marie Millegan, Modesto Bee (Calif.). Staff reporter.
- Sarah Miller, Press & Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, N.Y.). Entertainment reporter & reviewer.
- Tim Miller, Cape Cod Times (Mass.). Entertainment editor & film critic.
- Jason Nix, Opelika-Auburn News (Ala.). Features editor & columnist.
- Robert Nott, The New Mexican (Santa Fe, N.M.). Staff writer.
- Brett Oppegaard, The Columbian (Vancouver, Wash.). Staff arts writer.
- Christopher Page, East Valley Tribune (Phoenix, Ariz.). Theater critic & editor.
- Lee Roberts, Racine Journal Times (Wis.). Feature writer.
- Steffen Silvis, Willamette Week (Ore.). Associate arts & culture editor.
- Tom Sime, Dallas Morning News. Staff critic.
- Anne Wilson, Salt Lake Tribune (Utah). Arts & entertainment editor.
These 25 fellows will participate in a rigorous 10-day program in Los Angeles that aims to improve theater coverage through writing workshops, history lectures, acting and directing classes, observation of rehearsals, encounters with theater professionals, and performances of plays and musicals by Lynn Ahrens, Edward Albee, Euripides, Arthur Miller, Molière and Shakespeare.
Guest faculty for the Institute include master teacher
Robert Brustein, founding director and creative consultant of American Repertory Theater and, since 1959, theater critic for
The New Republic. Other instructors include playwright
Luis Alfaro;
Misha Berson, chief theater critic,
Seattle Times; Ben Cameron, executive director, Theatre Communications Group;
Gordon Davidson, artistic director, Center Theatre Group;
Sylvie Drake, former theater critic,
Los Angeles Times;
Velina Hasu Houston, director of dramatic writing, USC School of Theatre;
Barbara Isenberg, arts journalist and author, "Making it Big: The Diary of a Broadway Musical";
Jean-Claude van Italie, playwright;
Thomas Leabhart, theater professor, Pomona College;
Judith Lewis, features editor,
L.A. Weekly;
Steven Leigh Morris, theater editor,
L.A. Weekly;
Mark Murphy, executive director, REDCAT theater;
Bill Rauch, artistic director, Cornerstone Theater;
Judith Rousuck, chief theater critic,
Baltimore Sun;
Leslie Tamaribuchi, co-producer, CalArts School of Theater; and
Jack Viertel, creative director, Broadway’s Jujamcyn Theaters and former dramaturg, Mark Taper Forum.
Sasha Anawalt, author, critic and founding director of the USC Annenberg/Getty Arts Journalism Program, will direct the NEA Institute in Theater and Musical Theater.
"We received 69 applications from 32 states, which demonstrates stunning interest in the advancement of arts journalism,"
she said. "The NEA Institute recognizes that American theater deserves good coverage and criticism. If thoughtful attention is paid to the current generation of critics who are curious to learn more, the rewards will be great."
The Theater and Musical Theater Institute at USC Annenberg is part of the NEA’s Journalism Institute initiative, which includes the Institute for Music and Opera at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and for dance at the American Dance Festival in Durham, N.C.
"The arts depend enormously on lively and knowledgeable criticism," said
Dana Gioia,
chairman, National Endowment for the Arts. "Providing access to the arts for all Americans in many ways begins with informed public coverage. Our new program at USC Annenberg will undoubtedly add more and experienced voices to guide those conversations
." The NEA Arts Journalism Institute in Theater and Musical Theater will be offered again in the 2005-06 academic year at the USC Annenberg School for Communication.
"First-rate arts criticism helps strengthen cultural institutions and the communities they serve," said
Geoffrey Cowan, dean of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and an award-winning playwright. "We have identified an outstanding group of inaugural fellows and are delighted to partner with the National Endowment for the Arts to offer this program to enrich the perspective that critics in every part of the country bring to their coverage of theater."
For more information about the NEA Arts Journalism Institute in Theater and Musical Theater, visit
http://annenberg.usc.edu/nea.
Located in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California, the USC Annenberg School for Communication (http://annenberg.usc.edu) is among the nation's leading institutions devoted to the study of journalism and communication, and their impact on politics, culture and society. With an enrollment of more than 1,700 graduate and undergraduate students, USC Annenberg offers B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in journalism, communication, and public relations.
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