Department Of Theatre And Media Arts

“Skaterhood” tells compelling story of female skateboarders and their ties to motherhood

Coates addressed the role of the arts in furthering the cause of racial justice

“Suffrage” is a play about two polygamist women who fought for women’s rights and their families.

BYU theatre education graduate Summer Lewis brings her passion for live theatre to U.S. military families stationed in Asia

Celene Mitchell is already forging her own path to a successful career in film

Meet alumni enriching their communities through service.

Alumni explain challenges and blessings of being an artist during the pandemic

The documentary shorts series 'States of America,' created by BYU Theatre & Media Arts professor Brad Barber and his students, will have its nationwide public television broadcast premiere on WORLD Channel’s “Local, USA” program. 'States of America' features one person in each state exploring their sense of identity and belonging to the place where they live. Episode 1: “Relocation,” will be the first of two half-hour compilation episodes and will air on Monday July 6 at 9/8c. Episode 2: “Connection,” will air on Monday July 13 at 9/8c. Starting Monday July 6, LOCAL, USA: 'States of America' will also be available to stream on PBS.org, the PBS app, and WorldChannel.org, where new state films will be added between now and this fall, when the project will be featured in a national engagement campaign in advance of the 2020 election. Years ago Daniel, a former pre-med student and social worker, visited a friend in Moab, Utah. He decided to stay, committed to life without the use of money, and for a time took shelter in a cave. His thoughts on home: “Wherever we are, that’s who we are. That’s home.” Xong moved to Wisconsin as a child Hmong refugee after the Vietnam War. In the years that followed she experienced “a lot of racism, a lot of discrimination” there, but as an adult is determined to help her local Hmong community cope with trauma and rebuild and embrace their identity. Clay left his Tennessee home after his son’s suicide and found meaning in helping the people in his Nevada trailer park. “Nevada is my home now,” he said, “and it’s gonna be my home until Nevada kicks me out.” Daniel, Xong and Clay are three of the people featured in Brad Barber’s new short-documentary series, “States of America.” For the series, the Emmy-nominated theatre and media arts professor is featuring one person from every state in 50 four- to five-minute films. He launched the series online a year ago and has been releasing one documentary per month since. The short films “provide an opportunity to listen to and understand lots of different types of Americans in diverse corners of our country,” said Barber, who was named one of Variety’s 10 Documakers to Watch in 2015. “At a time where we are increasingly divided, this kind of empathic experience feels more urgent now than ever.” For the full article by Andrea Christensen, check out news.byu.edu. Also be sure to check out the trailer below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvL3n_BFJWw

Cooper Sutton, who now lives in Manhattan, New York, recalls his involvement in the Church project launched last year

TMA student Sophia Acedo shares how an experiential learning opportunity has enhanced her time at BYU

Jiménez recently received a Student Heritage Award from the American Society of Cinematographers and saw his work screened at Sundance

The pair performed together in the cast of Mean Girls after years of friendship

Adams shares career advice with student writers and recent graduates hoping to work in the industry

Earlier this year, Larson received the Smith-Pettit Foundation Award for Outstanding Contribution to Mormon LettersMelissa Leilani Larson discovered her talent and love for crafting words at an early age, writing her first short story in third grade.

For his 14th production at Tuacahn, Threlfall and his cast — which includes BYU alums — take a different approach to “The Sound of Music” BYU professor Tim Threlfall takes the stage at Tuacahn in St. George, Utah as director for the 14th time in his interpretation of “The Sound of Music.”

BYU Theatre and Media Arts professor Dennis Wright designed over 400 costumes for the 2019 China Spectacular! BYU Department of Theatre and Media Arts professor Dennis Wright developed a love for costume design while he was in junior high. What started out as a unique fashion sense and a knack for homemade Halloween costumes has turned into a successful career that has taken Wright all over the world. Mostly recently, costume designing took Wright to China on BYU’s China Spectacular! 40th anniversary tour. Inevitably on the largest tour BYU has ever done, there was a high demand for costumes — over 400. Wright alongside a small team of cutters, drapers and stitchers, was responsible for the costumes worn by 160 student performers in eight performing groups. “At times, the scale of this production was certainly overwhelming,” said Wright. “However, I truly enjoyed bringing the vision and purpose of this show to reality. China Spectacular! was a fantastic experience! Having the opportunity to work with eight different performing groups and their directors was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” Read the full story at tma.byu.edu.

In February, BYU media arts major Nathan Young was playing Dungeons and Dragons with some friends when one suggested that Young start a role-playing game (RPG) show and take on the role of Dungeon Master. Young said most of his friends laughed it off, but he stayed up all night thinking about the idea. Over the next few months, Young rounded up volunteers from the media arts major to help him with this project. Young said since the idea for the web series was sparked in February, all the grant deadlines had already passed. “We had no budget. Fortunately, we were able to scrape together enough willing people who think the idea is cool from all over campus to help put this together,” Young said. Young’s show ‘Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die’ was live-streamed on July 18 through Youtube. Read the full story at universe.byu.edu.

Few people can claim that a 3 a.m. prank phone call changed their life, but for La Donna Pratt Forsgren (MA ’05), heaven had the last laugh. La Donna and her sister, Monica, had seen a late-night ad for a free copy of the Book of Mormon.