Dyson College of Arts and Sciences

D Y S O N Y E A R I N R E V I E W • 2 0 1 9 – 2 0 2 0 24 Actors Studio Drama School: Stage and Screen Credits It was inspiring and informative for Pace students who heard directly from several well- known players in the worlds of film, television, and theater. In the fall, the Actors Studio Drama School welcomed Oscar and BAFTA winner for Best Actress Ellen Burstyn for a special segment of Inside the Actors Studio. She was joined by Actors Studio alumnus and co-president, screen legend Al Pacino. Additionally, the Pace School of Performing Arts Masters Series presented award-winning actress and author Candice Bergen, and Hawk Koch, producer, author, and former president of both the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Producers Guild. Other guests included Hilary Leavitt '10, BA Theater Arts/BA Film and Screen Studies, now working with Hulu to develop original content, and Christina Papagjika, a Tony and Olivier Award–winning producer of independent film and theater productions, including Kinky Boots and Lee Daniel's The Butler. In the spring, actress, comedian, and writer Rachel Dratch shared her experience in a virtual conversation with professor Jonathan Danziger's television writing class. Dratch is perhaps best known for her work on NBC's long-running Saturday Night Live and her iconic "Debbie Downer" character. "It was a great, candid, funny, freewheeling discussion," said Danziger, clinical assistant professor in the film and screen studies department. "Many of my students are aspiring writers for film and television; I also get a lot of filmmakers, and a lot of actors, so they had questions from several different vantages—obstacles for women in comedy; what writers can do to make their scripts more actor-friendly; and what makes for a good Saturday Night Live host." EYE ON ARTS News & Notes Actress and producer Kathleen Simmonds '16, MFA Acting, served as line producer for the Emmy Award–nominated Netflix documentary Reversing Roe. The Break Thru Films production is a deep, unrestrained look at abortion and women's rights in the US. Noteworthy Nominees Victor Almanzar '16, MFA Acting, was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play, for his performance in Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven, by Pulitzer Prize winner Stephen Adly Guirgis.

• Cover