Randall “Randy” Caspersen (BA 1995, Film) was the 2025 recipient of Northern Illinois University’s Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award. As an associate professor of Media Studies in NIU’s Communication’s Department, Caspersen was honored for his community filmmaking efforts and work …
Jesse Malmed (Assistant Professor, Film, Video, Animation, and New Genres) has been in the midst of a busy spring, presenting a variety of works. Malmed premiered two new archival photo projects as part of The Chicago Cluster exhibition “Don’t Make Photographs, …
On March 9, alum Kurt Ravenwood (BFA 2011, Film) spoke on a panel at media festival SXSW in Austin, Texas. Ravenwood discussed pursuing film production outside of New York and Los Angeles. Ravenwood was one of the minds behind 2024’s …
Master of Music student Alberto Daniel Quintanilla recently won First Prize at the prestigious Columbus Guitar Symposium. Quintanilla’s victory helps cement PSOA’s reputation as a leader in classical guitar education, as the Columbus Guitar Symposium is considered a “proving ground …
Scott Cary (BFA 2014, Film) composed the music and lyrics for ‘Tales of the Ten,’ an adaptation of Boccaccio’s The Decameron. The play premiered on Feb. 11 as part of the New Works Festival at the Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago. …
Alvaro Saar Rios (Associate Professor, Playwriting; Area Head, Theatre Practices) is premiering his latest play, “Quetzali and the Comic Book Queen vs. the Alebrije of Darkness: Live in the School Cafeteria” at Kentucky’s Lexington Children’s Theatre. American Theatre magazine profiled the work. …
Raeleen McMillion (Teaching Faculty II, Voice, Speech, and Dialects), former theatre faculty Jenny Wanasek, and former voice faculty Michelle Lopez-Rios were recognized at a recent Milwaukee Chamber Theatre reception. The trio are previous recipients of the Ruth Schudson Leading Lady Award. …
Janelle VanderKelen (MA 2014, MFA 2016) recently received a Creative Capital Award in the 2025 Film/Moving Image category. Former FVANG faculty member Lori Felker also received an award in the same category. The Creative Capital Awards recognized 49 projects from …
Laura Lofton (BFA 2000, Art Education) was recently awarded the Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA) Outstanding Educators Award for her work at MPS’s Escuela Vieau, a bilingual school for K3 – 8th grade. In a Milwaukee Public Schools article, Lofton …
Marcella Kearns (Lecturer, Acting) is preparing for a busy remainder of the 2024-25 theater season with three different productions, both in and out of Wisconsin. From Dec. 6 until Dec. 15, Kearns will direct a production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest …
Sean Kafer (Teaching Faculty II, Film, Video, Animation, and New Genres) recently received an honorary mention in the Spark the Vote Challenge by the Why Do You Vote? Social Action Campaign. This mention recognized “Don’t Tell Me Your Vote Doesn’t Matter,” …
From now until November 30th, an art installation about modern politics and voting from Kim Cosier (Professor Emeritus, Art) and the artist collective Art Build Workers is on display at the University YMCA. This piece, entitled This is What Democracy …
Claudia Lasareff-Mironoff (Adjunct Professor, Viola) performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City as principal viola of the Chicago Philharmonic. The October 24th concert featured New York premieres of two works written for the Chicago Philharmonic by American composers Nicholas …
Cecelia Condit (Professor Emerita, Film) was recently awarded the Stan Brakhage Vision Award at the 47th Denver Film Festival. This award followed her recent solo show at the Ewing Gallery of Art+Architecture at the University of Tennessee. Condit was the director …
Jennifer Bastian (MFA 2008, Art) was recently named a 2024-26 Thurber Park artist-in-residence. Bastian will participate in a two-year-long studio residency in Madison’s east side. This program utilizes an underused park storage shed to provide artists with rent-free studio space. …
