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Bob Newhart, Comedy Icon, Dies at 94
Bob Newhart, the genteel but sharply satirical comic whose TV series “The Bob Newhart Show” and “Newhart” were huge hits throughout the 1970s and ’80s, died Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 94. - Variety
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In Memoriam: Jonathan Wilson
We are deeply saddened by the death of Professor of Theatre Jonathan Wilson, who passed away suddenly on Sunday, June 23. Professor Wilson’s contributions to Loyola Theatre, to generations of theatre students and theater artists here and across the nation, as well as the world of American Theatre warrant tribute. Our thoughts are with Professor Wilson’s family, friends, and community.
Plans are underway for a memorial hosted by the Department of Fine and Performing Arts in the Fall. Click to read about Professor Wilson and sign up to receive details about the memorial when they are available.
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An Unexpected Calling
Bob Newhart's improbable journey from Loyola business student to American comedy icon
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<em>Fairview</em> sets stage for difficult discussions, dramatic impact
Loyola Today features Fairview in the Arts & Culture section.
"An antique dining table, an upholstered ottoman, and a blanket draped over an armchair with calculated effortlessness. It might look like your great aunt’s house, but it’s the set of Fairview, a Pulitzer prize-winning play by Jackie Sibblies Drury. DeRon Williams, PhD, is directing the show at Loyola this spring." - Vivian Ewing
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Art with Impact: Empathy on Stage
"The point of learning how to make theatre is to do it, and to do it in community, and to do it in service to the world"
READ"Remembering Jonathan Wilson 1949-2024": A Ghost Light tribute in the <em>Chicago Reader</em>
“The most epic human is now an ancestor. He taught me and so many actors. He was special not just because he was a talented director and tough ass professor. But because he held space for the black theatre students at Loyola to learn, grow, and thrive. I learned August Wilson from this man. I wouldn’t be the actor I am today without this man. There just aren’t enough words to describe what he means to me and so many others.” - Angela Alise, Chicago actor
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The Loyola Phoenix calls <em>Once</em> "Rhapsodically Raw"
"Loyola Theatre’s rendition of this story is entertaining as ever. Striking the perfect balance between humor and heart, the show demonstrated the cast’s skills in music and acting alike, as they managed to stay in character while singing in harmony and playing a wide array of instruments. " - Loyola Phoenix
Click to read the full review.
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Different Journeys Through The Performing Arts Landscape
The League of Chicago Theatres, in collaboration with Loyola Career Services and the Loyola Theatre Program, recently hosted a Theatre Industry Career Fair on the Lake Shore campus with over 400 attendees and 37 participating organizations. The day began with a robust panel discussion on the varied career paths possible in today's theatre industry. Click to watch a recording of this insightful conversation.
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Theatre alum LaNisa Frederick featured in Playbill
How Hashtag Booked's Danielle Pinnock and LaNisa Renee Frederick Are Using Comedy as Activism
While theatre has been on pause and auditions have been on Zoom, Danielle Pinnock and LaNisa Renee Frederick have taken their comedy-activism to new heights. Launched in 2018, Hashtag Booked is Pinnock and Frederick’s improvised sketch Instagram series that shares “a raw slice of the #actorslife,” diving into their experiences of being Black actors in show business.
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Black Ensemble Theatre awarded $5 million grant.
The MacKenzie Scott Foundation awards a $5 million grant to the Black Ensemble Theatre, founded by Loyola Theatre alumna Jackie Taylor ('68). The Black Ensemble Theatre along with the National Museum of Mexican Art are among the Chicago cultural institutions to receive sizable donations by the foundation.
READ MORELoyola Alum Works with Youth to Promote Diversity in Broadway
Founder Osh Ghanimah During a TedxBroadway Talk in 2015.
Loyola alum and actor Osh Ghanimah was in the seventh grade when he had his Tevye moment.
The Palestinian-American living in Chicago wanted desperately to play the Jewish Tevye in his school’s production of Fiddler on the Roof, much to his mother’s dismay. She told him she’d rather be mauled by lions than have her son be an actor. In her words, Arabs just didn’t act.
“Do you see anyone who looks like us?” she once asked him, pointing to a TV screen. “There is no room for us there.”
But Ghanimah’s teacher cast him as Tevye anyway, and he excelled in the part. It was what he later coined his “Tevye moment.”
“It’s that moment when someone’s sense of possibility is so strong, he feels he can be in any story and play any character.” He credits his teacher, and the Chicago Public School system, for giving it to him.
Today, he’s working to give the next generation of actors their Tevye moment as well.
Ghanimah (BA, BS 2006) is the founder of Broadway for All, a non-profit conservatory that offers tuition-free training to middle and high school students of all income levels and ethnicities.
The program began in 2012 when Ghanimah received the Presidential Public Service Fellowship from The Office of the President at Harvard University while he was working towards his MFA in Theater.
He sought to address the longstanding diversity problem in the theater industry. Although there are a handful of progressive casting directors today, and television is beginning to see more diversity, the Broadway stage still reflects mainly the white experience of its writers, directors, and actors.
“Our audiences are changing,” Ghanimah said during a TedxBroadway talk he gave earlier this year. “We need to respond to this if we want to do good business.”
Ghanimah, who has appeared on several network television shows himself, met directly with industry leaders to discuss this problem. He found that while many casting directors and producers liked the idea of diversity, they had a hard time finding minority talent and convincing writers to make changes.
Broadway for All sought to address this issue by developing a diverse talent pool, as well as inspiring more diverse storytelling. In fact, all participants in the program sign a pledge to work for inclusiveness in their future careers.
Students in the five-week conservatory spend six hours a day, five days a week working with a diverse faculty from the TV, film, and theater industries. They are also given the opportunity to attend Broadway productions to supplement their learning. In addition to studying technique and audition prep, students collaborate to produce a play and a musical by the end of the program.
Professor Sarah Gabel, Chair of the Department of Theater, attended the final showcase put on by students this past summer.
“What I found impressive was how empowered the students were about their future in the arts and the community that developed between the families and friends of students in the program,” Professor Gabel said.
The program has led to great success for several of its alumni. The organization has assisted students in gaining entrance to college theatre training programs, and several past participants have gone on to make professional acting debuts in The King and I, Matilda, and Finding Neverland.