Category Archives: Alumni News

Owls flock to Arden Theatre stage in recent show

During the Arden Theatre Company’s recent run of Clybourne Park, the 2nd Street venue could have been renamed “Temple Theaters South.”

The show, which ran from Jan. 26 to March 25, was directed by Assistant Professor Ed Sobel and starred Associate Professor David Ingram; Josh Tower, THEA ’95, and former theater student Maggie Lakis.

Watch the SCT-ers involved in the production talk about performing in Philadelphia and how the Theater Department prepares its students for the professional world.

Video by Ryan Geffert

Clybourne Park footage courtesy of Jorge Cousineau and Arden Theatre Company

RTF alumnus appears on ‘World Cafe’

Aaron Luis Levinson, RTF ’89, who has been overseeing Bell Tower Music and teaching the class around which the label is built, Recording Industry Practicum, appeared Jan. 12 on WXPN’s “World Cafe” as part of host David Dye’s “Latin Roots” series.

Click here for more information.

SCT alumni, faculty earn Barrymore glory

Six Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre went to Temple University School of Communications alumni and faculty Oct. 2. The awards are presented annually by the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia.

The SCT winners are:

OUTSTANDING OVERALL PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL
The Flea and the Professor — Arden Theatre Company
(Assistant Professor Ed Sobel is associate artistic director)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A PLAY
James Ijames, THEA ’06 — Superior Donuts — Arden Theatre Company

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Krista Apple, THEA ’09 — In the Next Room, or the vibrator play — The Wilma Theater

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE IN A PLAY
In the Next Room, or the vibrator play — The Wilma Theater
(featured former student Kate Czajkowski; Krista Apple, THEA ’09; and Luigi Sottile, THEA ’07)

F. OTTO HAAS AWARD FOR AN EMERGING PHILADELPHIA THEATRE ARTIST
James Ijames, THEA ’06

TED AND STEVIE WOLF AWARD FOR NEW APPROACHES TO COLLABORATIONS
Adjunct Professor Robert Smythe and the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia — Stravinsky’s l’Histoire du Soldat — Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

SCT alumni, faculty earn Barrymore glory

The SCT winners are:

OUTSTANDING OVERALL PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL
The Flea and the Professor — Arden Theatre Company
(Assistant Professor Ed Sobel is associate artistic director)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A PLAY
James Ijames, THEA ’06 — Superior Donuts — Arden Theatre Company

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Krista Apple, THEA ’09 — In the Next Room, or the vibrator play — The Wilma Theater

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE IN A PLAY
In the Next Room, or the vibrator play — The Wilma Theater
(featured former student Kate Czajkowski; Krista Apple, THEA ’09; and Luigi Sottile, THEA ’07)

F. OTTO HAAS AWARD FOR AN EMERGING PHILADELPHIA THEATRE ARTIST
James Ijames, THEA ’06

SCT well represented at international conference

Many School of Communications and Theater representatives presented their work at the International Association for Media and Communciation Research (IAMCR) conference in July 2011 in Istanbul, Turkey. SCT attendance at this large international communications conference included Interim Dean Tom Jacobson; faculty members Susan Jacobson, John Lent, Nancy Morris, Patrick Murphy and Karen Turner; Banu Akdenizli, MMC ’06, Leanne Chang, MMC ’07, Warat (Sudjai) Karuchit, MMC ’05, and Selcan Kaynak, MMC ’03; and MMC student Satarupa Dasgupta.

The 2012 IAMCR conference will be held in Durban, South Africa.

Click here for more information.

Alumna, Professor Lombard have article published

An article by Melissa E. Markaridian Selverian, BTMM ’99, MMC ’05, and Professor Matthew Lombard titled “Telepresence: A ‘Real’ Component in a Model to Make Human-Computer Interface Factors Meaningful in the Virtual Learning Environment” has been published in the journal Themes in Science and Technology Education. The article appears in a special issue (volume 2, number 1-2) on Virtual Reality in Education.

MMC alumnus Karl Horvath, Professor Lombard have article published

An article by Karl Horvath, TYL ’93, MMC ’06, and Professor Matthew Lombard, BTMM, MMC, has been published in PsychNology Journal. The article, ”Social and Spatial Presence: An Application to Optimize Human-Computer Interaction,” is in a special issue that features work originally presented at PRESENCE 2009, the 12th International Workshop on Presence, and includes an editorial introduction by Lombard.

The issue is online at http://www.psychnology.org/328.php.

MMC students, faculty, alumni to present work at International Communication Association conference in Singapore

Many Mass Media & Communication students, faculty and alumni will present their work at the 2010 International Communication Association conference June 22-26 in Singapore.

• “Dialogue in Public Information Campaigns: A Communicative Action Approach to Evaluating Citizen Voice,” Interim Dean Thomas Jacobson; Leanne Chang, National University of Singapore

• “Ummah, Islam, and Nationalism: Dilemmas of Identity Negotiation in Contemporary Pakistan,” Satarupa Dasgupta, MMC

• “Urban Planning Unplugged: How Wireless Mobile Technology Is Influencing Design Elements in Seven Major U.S. Cities.” Associate Professor Jan Fernback; Gwen Lisa Shaffer, MMC

• “Combating Middle East Stereotypes Through Media Literacy Education in Elementary School,” Professor Renee Hobbs; Nuala Cabral, BTMM; Aggie Ebrahimi, FMA; Jiwon Yoon, MMC ’10; Rawia Al Humaidan, Kuwait University

• “Look at Us: Collective Narcissism in College Student Facebook Photo Galleries,” Associate Professor Andrew L. Mendelson; Zizi A. Papacharissi, University of Illinois

• “Media Literacy as a Constructive Intervention in Development Communication,” Jiwon Yoon, MMC ’10

• Panel: “Media Literacy Education in Asia: New Developments,” Jiwon Yoon, MMC ’10; Professor Renee Hobbs

• “The Function of Storysharing in Rebuilding Wenchuan Earthquake-Damaged Communities,” Assistant Professor Kaibin Xu