The USC Annenberg School for Communication and the National Endowment of the Arts launch the 4th annual Arts Journalism Institute in Theater and Musical Theater on Feb. 5.

This is a 10-day intensive arts journalism program for 25 theater writers and editors from across the United States. Participants meet theater professionals ranging from directors and administrators of Los Angeles’ primary theater companies to critics of national stature, who engage them individually for writing instruction and exercises.  Sessions held on campus are open to all who wish to attend.

"It is incredible to realize that 100 theater journalists will have passed through our gates at USC Annenberg as fellows on this NEA program," said Sasha Anawalt, founding director. "When they leave, they stay in touch with each other and the impact of their common educational experience ripples through the nation and has, according to many theater artists, made a big difference to the way theater is received and respected. Thrilling, indeed, and the whole point, of course."

Said past fellow Bridgette Redman of Michigan's Lansing State Journal: “Amazing, inspiring and career-changing. The days spent at the NEA Institute were a highlight of my professional career thus far. I am confident it will serve as a launching pad – not to leave my community, but to be a more active and effective arts journalist and advocate.”

Below is a partial list of key events:

Thursday, Feb. 7

Annenberg/NEA Arts Journalism Institute in Theater and Musical Theater presents: Digital Media: Changing Your Mindset
The USC Annenberg/NEA Arts Journalism Institute in Theater and Musical Theater presents Doug McLennan, arts journalist and founder and editor of ArtsJournal.com, the leading aggregator of arts journalism on the Internet, in a discussion with the Institute’s 25 Fellows about the importance of "thinking online." McLennan aims to remove the mental obstacles that may keep journalists from fully embracing, and practicing, online journalism. Seating is limited.

11:00 am. Annenberg Room G34.

Annenberg/NEA Arts Journalism Institute in Theater and Musical Theater presents: Writing in the Flyover States
The USC Annenberg/NEA Arts Journalism Institute in Theater and Musical Theater presents Joe Nickell, arts and entertainment reporter for The Missoulian and co-founder of Flyover: Arts from the American Outback, a blog community for theater writers in the flyover states. Nickell will talk about the importance and virtues of critics from the flyover states using on-the-ground, local culture, rather than texts and traditions and national trends as their starting-point for writing about theater. He will be joined by Doug McLennan, arts journalist and founder and editor of ArtsJournal.com. Seating is limited.

1:30 pm. Annenberg Room G34.

Annenberg/NEA Arts Journalism Institute in Theater and Musical Theater presents: Critic’s Confidential: The Nitty-Gritty Things That Plague Us
The USC Annenberg/NEA Arts Journalism Institute in Theater and Musical Theater presents a discussion led by Misha Berson, chief theater critic for the Seattle Times.  Steven Leigh Morris, theater editor for the L.A. Weekly, and Michael Phillips, former theater critic for the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune and currently Tribune film critic, join her to address the Institute’s 25 Fellows on the subject of ethics, shrinking  print space and other challenges facing critics today.

3:00 pm. Andrus Gerontology Center Gerontology Auditorium.

 

Friday, Feb. 8

Annenberg/NEA Arts Journalism Institute in Theater and Musical Theater presents: Putting Your Digital Media Skills into Practice
The USC Annenberg/NEA Arts Journalism Institute in Theater and Musical Theater presents a digital workshop by Doug McLennan, arts journalist and founder and editor of ArtsJournal.com, the leading aggregator of arts journalism on the internet. McLennan puts the Institute’s 25 Fellows through the paces of basic blogging, podcasting, and other digital tools and toys. He also shares useful sites for arts reporters. Seating is limited.

4:30 pm. Annenberg Digital Lab Room G40.

 

Thursday, Feb. 13

Johnson Communication Leadership Center presents “Representations of African Americans in the Arts: The Color Purple”
USC Annenberg’s Johnson Communication Leadership Center invites you to a panel discussion on “Representations of African Americans in the Arts: The Color Purple” following a Visions and Voices-sponsored viewing of the musical. Panelists include Christopher Smith, USC Annenberg professor of communication; Elizabeth Bell-Haynes, Theatre Director and USC School of Theatre adjunct faculty; and Annenberg NEA fellows Beverly Lindsay-Johnson, field producer and director, WHUT-TV; Francis Ma, assistant arts editor, Community Newspaper Company; and Wendy Rosenfield, affiliated freelancer, The Philadelphia Inquirer. This panel will be moderated by Sophia Wachholtz, USC Annenberg alumna and member of the Johnson Center Board. Refreshments will be served.

RSVP for this event »

 

Thursday, Feb. 14

Annenberg/NEA Arts Journalism Institute in Theater and Musical Theater presents: Standing at the Crossroads: Facing An Uncertain Future
The USC Annenberg/NEA Arts Journalism Institute in Theater and Musical Theater presents Ben Cameron, program director, Arts at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, who will discuss his view of the state of the arts in America. There are few, possibly none, who know as much about the inner and outer workings of national performing arts life as it affects artists, audiences and journalists. A true authority, Cameron electrifies and invigorates his audiences, and is an especially important voice in our tumultuous digital age.

11:00 am. Museum of Contemporary Art. Ahmanson Auditorium. 250 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA.