The Highs and Low of Making a Thesis Film
I am six weeks away from shooting my thesis film and seem to have reached the point where every bit of good news is quickly accompanied by a setback. It’s a time that’s difficult to process due to how busy it is. In addition to the thesis, I also have classes, an internship, a job and a life (sort of). Time management becomes your end-all and be-all, and self care is definitely important too.
It’s European, It’s Devised, It’s Performance
I had the opportunity to chat with the current cohort of graduate students in the European Devised Performance Practice program (shortened to EDPP for obvious reasons) about their experiences. For context, the EDPP MFA program is two years in length. The first year takes place in Berlin, Germany studying at arthaus.berlin. Students then return to Chicago for their final year of study on Columbia’s campus. I asked some of the cohort a few questions about the program to give you all the inside scoop! Check it out below:
Tips on How to Prepare for a Reading
Roughly a week ago, I did a reading at the Poetry Foundation as part of their Open-Door Series alongside poets Lani T. Montreal, Shina Davis, and Columbia College Chicago’s very own Tony Trigilio. While the experience was incredible—and a bit surreal as I look back on it—there was plenty of preparation I needed to do beforehand.
The Producer Slate
The second year of my MFA program has officially begun. The semester is now in full swing, and it’s very busy. I’d thought my focus this semester would be class, thesis, and internship. I’m realizing a producer is always working on multiple projects and juggling them efficiently is the key to success.
What’s new, Year 2?
Hey all! The best cohort around is back, back, back again!
Here is the End
Two years, it has been. And now I’m writing my last blog post. In this one, I will try to summarize my years at Columbia: where I was and where I am right now.
Back to Life, Back to Reality
Are y’all ready for the back-to-school bonanza?? I sure hope so, because I’m not entirely convinced that I am. Excited? Totally! Ready? Absolutely not.
Ideating
According to knowwithoutborders.org, “Ideate is the space in design thinking where individuals and teams elevate and celebrate the power of possibility. It is the transition from identifying a particular question or problem to generating a wide variety of potential answers and solutions.” For a film student, ideating can often be defined as the few hours spent staring at a blank sheet of paper or word document, trying to come up with a film idea in order to have something to pitch in class the following day.
Welcome to the *Real World*?
Happy August, all! Even though I’m a Leo baby, August really snuck up on me this year. In a month, my internship with Steppenwolf will be over. I’ll be back in the grind of school and on the road to graduation. And with the internship coming to a close, I am increasingly thankful that this experience at Steppenwolf worked out. Intern life has been a major shift away from the life of a first year grad student, but I’m just now finally getting to dive into how and why it feels like I’ve stepped out of the safety net of school and into the real world.
Places to Check Out This Summer: the Poetry Foundation
Last month, I wrote about how I had slacked a bit when it came to writing. While I took strides to get myself out of this rut through Virgil Abloh’s art, I realized that was not enough. I read some more poems and penned a few things, but I was not quite there yet—whenever I raised my pen and opened my journal, I could still feel that I was a bit out of my element. I knew I should probably venture out and find somewhere to build off the momentum I had started. That’s when the light bulb in my head turned on—I knew I needed to go to the Poetry Foundation.