Connect Week 2015 Panel Explores Intersection of Art and Technology

Marshall Ayers Events, Performing Arts, Sponsors, Visual Arts

DO ART AND TECHNOLOGY GO TOGETHER? Should artists embrace technology, or stick to pen and paper? Once you involve a computer, is it really even art any more? Is technology ruining art, or making it better? “Get Art Out of Technology” was a roundtable panel discussion held last week as part of the Innovate Pasadena Connect Week 2015. Convened by Echo-Factory, …

CSSSA People – Leslie Fraser

Heidi Kershaw Artist Profiles, Dance, Performing Arts, Sponsors

Meet Leslie Leslie Fraser is a 2003 CSSSA (California State Summer School for the Arts) dance alum who now enjoys working in her field of interest, dance! She reflects on her life as a CSSSA student and credits it with being the bedrock of her work ethic. The intense time commitment charged Fraser to rehearse eight hours per day in class, …

Nancy Bennett Virtual Reality Producer and Creative Mind

Christine Griswold Artist Profiles, Career Advice, Music, Performing Arts, Visual Arts

“Trust your heart and listen to it.  It takes you to what you’re good at.” Nancy Bennett has worked on the cutting edge of numerous media and tech advances over the past three decades, so it’s no surprise that she’s involved in the developing world of Virtual Reality storytelling. From starting in music videos as they were emerging in the …

Do You Have A Digital Strategy for Your Arts Career?

Marshall Ayers Branding, Career Advice, Digital Media, Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Writing

You’re a young artist (or dancer, actor, musician, animator) and you have a Facebook page, a Twitter account, you’re on Instagram and blog sporadically on Tumblr, maybe you’ve even shot a few You Tube videos. You don’t always remember to update your website and you feel kind of conflicted about “marketing” yourself, but you know you have to have one …

About The Bots

Jacqueline Abelson Career Advice, Music, Songwriting, Uncategorized

Can you name any other band that has performed at The Festival Circuit, Coachella, Outside Lands, Bonnaroo, Riotfest, Shindig, Afropunk, Japan’s Summer Sonic, Sasquatch, Fun Fun Fun Fest, as well as National Dates with Dropkick Murphys, all while being under the age of 21? Didn’t think so. The answer to “name that band”? The Bots. Brothers and bandmates Mikaiah Lei (vocals …

CSSSA People – Pablo Lopez

Heidi Kershaw Acting, College, Conservatory, High School, Performing Arts, Performing Arts, Playwriting, Sponsors, Summer Program

“Being an artist is such a lucky thing to be.” Meet Pablo! Pablo Lopez attended the California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA) Theater program in 2012. As a high school student, he didn’t know what to expect from the experience, but he was open to whatever was going to happen that summer. He admits, “Little did I know …

4 Things to Know About Marketing Your Band

Marshall Ayers Beyond, Branding, Getting Started, Getting Started, Music, music management, Performing Arts, Practical Advice, Tips

The New Rockwells share four things they have learned about effectively marketing your band. This article is being published in partnership with Soundfly in celebration of #BetterBand week! Friends from college, musicians, composers and now out in the world making their way, with their indie-rock band The New Rockwells, Ben Muller and Marty Boyle got together and drilled down their …

What do UCLA and The Simpsons Have in Common? Chuck Sheetz

Christine Griswold Animation, Artist Profiles, Career Advice, Education, Film, Media Arts, Practical Advice, Television, Tips, Visual Arts

Emmy Award-winning Director of The Simpsons and UCLA Theater Film and Television Professor Chuck Sheetz gives advice on “How to get into Film School” (and a few other things.) Full disclosure, I had the privilege of working with Chuck Sheetz over a number of seasons on The Simpsons, and for a bit of time on Disney’s Recess. Among the things …