A Handy Guide to TRFT

Hello from the Department of Television, Radio, Film and Theatre,

Welcome to Fall 2008. You can sign up for classes. You can also audition for plays and films. See the production season for times And we urge you to attend our fall welcome convocation, a chance to learn about the year ahead, to meet new and old majors. The Fall Welcome Back Convocation is Wed Sep 3rd, at Noon, University Theatre Get all your questions answered.

Here is some of what we have been up to in the past year:

Film Successes: The most significant film event of this past year is the acceptance of the TRFT student production "Glory Boy Days" into the 2008 Slamdance Film Festival, the indie companion to Sundance. This is the highest festival honor ever received for one of our films. Meanwhile, our summer 2005 feature film, "Drifting Elegant" is complete and in distribution, and we are finishing two features, "Generic Thriller,"and, "Bye, Bye Bin Laden," and our summer 2007 feature, "All About Dad." is awaiting distribution news.

Scholarship: We have a very interesting and eclectic MA program . This is where you go after you graduate but want a more academic and research focus, possibly leading to a doctorate and a teaching career. Our students have won several recent writing and research awards: M.A. Graduate, Marcus Torres received the Outstanding Thesis Award from the College of Humanities and the Arts, for his thesis Sanctifying Queerdom:  Religious Identity in New Queer Cinema.

Live Theatre: Spring 2008 was a spectacular year for theatre with the northern California premier of Luis Valdez’s Mummified Deer, directed by his son Kinan Valdez.  The making of a documentary of the production will highlight an unusual experience for the Department.  The theatre season ended on a high note with the exciting staging of The Lieutenant of Inishmore, directed by Matt Spangler. We have an ambitious schedule of plays for the 2008/2009 season. There are many more opportunities for performance been busy with summer film making students to get involved. If you want to make films, if you want a career as an actor or as a technical specialist, we are the department that can help make it happen.

Radio Too: The world's oldest electronic mass media began in 1909 in San Jose at a tiny wireless school on the corner of San Fernando and First. It was called the Herrold College and its students were the first radio broadcasters. Nearly a century later, KSJS 90.5 FM continues the tradition of students broadcasting ideas and music from Hugh Gillis Hall to all of the Bay Area. It is one of the best things about the department. This year will be the 45th year of broadcasting to the Bay Area by KSJS.

Do you want to spend two weeks in China? We have an exchange program with the Shanghai Theatre Academy School of Television Arts. Please see or email Babak Sarrafan if you are interested in a Fall trip.

As always, the best way to get up to date information about TRFT is this Website.

Ethel

Ethel Walker, Chair
Department of TV-Radio-Film-Theatre
San Jose State University
http://www.TVRadioFilmTheatre.com