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For 26 years, the Occidental New Works Festival has paired student playwrights with LA performers, student actors and professional guest directors. Performed at Keck Theater Feb. 21-22, this year’s festival featured a comedic trifecta — “Early Days” by Eliana Joftus (junior), “The Water Cooler” by Quinn Patwardhan (sophomore) and “Oh, Clarence!” by Alexandria Wells (junior). Resident Professor of Theater & Performance Studies...
Dexter Story, ethnomusicologist, composer and producer, gave a guest lecture in Choi Auditorium to Assistant Professor Ramona Gonzalez’s class MUSC105: Topics in American Music Feb. 26. Gonzalez said while the course has been taught here at Occidental in the past, until now, no professor has brought in a guest lecturer to not only speak, but also perform live music. Story’s talk, titled “Day-O! Harry...
The annual Slamdance Film Festival concluded its 31st year Feb. 25, with past and present Occidental students helping to manage production needs for the festival. What started as a paid internship experience with the Slamdance Film Festival has become a full-time job for two Occidental alums. The Slamdance Film Festival, founded in 1995, started as a response to the Sundance Film...
Occidental College hosted a screening of the 2023 film "The Tuba Thieves" Feb. 22. The screening, co-presented by Oxy Arts and Oxy Disabled Student Union, is a part of Occidental College's Media Arts & Culture (MAC) Department's long-running MAC Cinematheque series. The screening was attended by the film's director, Alison O'Daniel, and producer, Maya E. Rudolph, who stayed for a Q&A hosted by...
Tony Tulathimutte visited Occidental for a reading and Q&A centered on his short story collection "Rejection," organized by the English department Feb. 28. The book follows a cast of deeply neurotic characters navigating humiliation, longing and social failure across the internet and beyond. "Rejection" began not with a grand thematic vision but with a collection of shorter pieces, Tulathimutte said,...
Eric Garcetti, mayor of Los Angeles from 2013–2022, President Biden's Ambassador to India and a former professor at Occidental, spoke about international relations and his career in Choi Auditorium Monday, Feb. 23. Garcetti discussed his LA roots, his experiences in India and his political evolution with Emeritus Chevalier Professor of Diplomacy and World Affairs Derek Shearer, who served as the...
As much as the Dodgers try to put a stop to the sport of baseball as we know it, life goes on. With spring training in full swing, everyone’s eyes are turning back to the diamond. As teams assemble and new acquisitions meet their teammates for the first time, another question looms: Who’s playing in the World Baseball Classic (WBC)? The...
The Occidental Dance Team (ODT) placed third in the 4-Year College Pom Division II/III category of the United Spirit Association (USA) National Championships Feb. 22. This was the first time ODT competed at the national level in program history, according to co-captain Kenna Mueller (junior). Mueller said the team had been preparing for this competition since October and spent around eight to ten...
Connor Grant Connor Grant (sophomore) broke his previous school record at the four-day SCIAC Swimming & Diving Championships Feb. 21, repeating as champion of the 200 freestyle. Recovering from a shoulder injury, Grant said he feels lucky to have been able to compete at a high level again. “With my injury it feels really good to get back to where I was," Grant said. “I...
