https://vimeo.com/131833679
Mollie Luria-Roberson attended the California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA) Animation program in 2009 when she was a junior in high school. She was thrilled to finally surround herself with like-minded artists. When she came home and began her senior year, she carefully prepared a portfolio that positioned her as a competitive candidate for an arts school.
Born into a musical family in Los Angeles, Juliet has been writing songs, singing and playing instruments including guitar and piano for as long as she could remember. In 2009, Juliet released 5 acclaimed EPs, then in 2010 she received her first major radio support from Rodney Bingenheimer at KROQ and Jim Nelson at KCSN. After graduating from UCLA in 2014 with a major in World Arts and Cultures with a minor in Performing Arts Education, Juliet teamed up with local musicians Jasper Yangchareon (lead guitar), Carmen Vizuette (bass) and Aaron Wittman (drums) to form the Indie Folk band, Juliet Piper and The Daydream. I was able to chat with Juliet at Make Music Pasadena in June, a free outside festival in Pasadena, California where Juliet’s band was playing on the Main Stage. As she guided me through her experience as a singer-songwriter as well as the best pieces of advice she has for young musicians, Juliet’s exhilarated and exciting voice was proof that she had come a long way to become the musician she’s always wanted to be. (Featured photo of Juliet Piper, by Amanda Adam)
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Across the US (and around the world) there are thousands of summer music festivals of every type and genre, from classical to jazz, from New England to the Southwest. If you are an aspiring musician, stage manager or production designer, a music festival looks like a dream summer job, right? Artzray followed violist and regular contributor Drew Alexander Forde, also known as ThatViolaKid, to his “summer gig” at the Colorado College Music Festival for a behind the scenes look at what it’s like to work at a summer music festival. (Featured photo Tanglewood Music Festival, Massachusetts, by Steve Rosenthal)
You’re from Atlanta right Drew? What’s it like being in Colorado? Ever been there before?
I am from the Atlanta area! I’m from Peachtree City, Georgia–land of the golf carts. Being in Colorado is amazing. It’s the complete opposite of Georgia in the summer: warm, extremely low humidity, cool in the evenings, and thin air! I’m currently in Colorado Springs, so the elevation is 6000+ feet! I’ve been here twice before. The first time was for this same festival, and the second time was to play for a fundraising gala! Both were amazing experiences, so I always enjoy coming back to this wonderful place!
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“…you just have to listen to that inner voice, that inner compass that’s pointing you in the right direction.”
Although she never took an art class until college, children’s book illustrator LeUyen (la-win) Pham has illustrated over 80 published books in a variety of styles and genres over the past fifteen years (and has even written a few as well). A unique combination of talent, humility, intelligence, passion, and an infectious laugh have helped propel her career in the competitive world of illustration. She strongly encourages you to follow your own compass, and to always draw in ink.
This is the second half of Artzray’s interview with LeUyen Pham. Interested in the first half? Check it out at Want to be a Children’s Book Illustrator? Part I
WORKING WITH MULTIPLE EDITORS AND DEVELOPING MULTIPLE STYLES
I think the old school method of children’s book illustrators is that you find one editor who kind of nourishes your career and keeps you going. But I think in this environment nowadays that it’s just impossible to have one editor, because that one editor can only get you so much work. So you end up doing one book every one or two years for them. It’s not enough to sustain yourself. (Living) in San Francisco, that’s gonna barely pay for two or three months. So, for me it was just a matter of, “I’m gonna broaden my net as much as I can,” and I think one of the ways I was able to do that was that I developed multiple styles. Most illustrators will advise you against that. They’ll say find a single style and develop it and get good at that and be known for that, but I just didn’t have the patience for it and it’s not in my nature to do one single thing.
So each time I got offered a new book I would adamantly argue, and this was in the beginning, I don’t argue anymore, I’d argue with each editor, “Look, I don’t want to use the style you’re hiring me for. I’m going to do this other style, and you can reject me if you want—just don’t pay me. But this is what I’m gonna do.”
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WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB IN THE BUSINESS?
I got into it by accident. I was working for a non-profit, researching extremist groups, and it was very depressing. I spent my days reading and writing about all kinds of skinheads, militias and white supremacists. A writer came in and wanted me to authenticate (fact-check) a script, and I really liked doing that. It was a really nice break and I realized that I needed to make a change.
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By Christine Witmer
Living the life of a freelance musician. Ahhhhhh. Sounds romantic, doesn’t it? Hopping from gig to gig, playing all sorts of different genres and types of music, and ultimately being able to contribute to multiple performances and artistic showcases sounds pretty great, right? And you can get PAID for it? But wait. What exactly goes into being a (successful) freelance musician? And what exactly do you need to do in the meantime to get started?
Luckily, our friend Ginger Murphy was willing to provide some insight. You may not know Ginger Murphy, but you’ve definitely HEARD her playing cello on shows such as American Idol, America’s Got Talent, How I Met Your Mother, and The Voice, among others. She’s also been out on the road with Josh Groban as the cellist on the “Straight to You” tour.
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Jully Lee began her performance career in sketch comedy and improv performing in Telemongol, her first theatrical production in 2006. Since then, Jully has continued to perform improv with Cold Tofu, and has received critical acclaim for her performances in over 25 productions on-stage. Most recently, she was seen in Tokyo Fish Story at South Coast Repertory, playing the role of Ama.
This article is part of a monthly series called “Get a Life in the Arts” by the Armory Center for the Arts.
I started on my path first by taking an ACTING FOR NON-ACTORS class with East West Players to get my feet wet. From there, I started taking beginning improv classes with Cold Tofu and continued through the program. I landed my first role in a staged comedy sketch show called Telemongol through Cold Tofu, and was offered a co-star role on Reno 911! on Comedy Central from performing in that sketch show. I’ve been working in stage and film/tv ever since.
California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA) is a four-week intensive residential program for motivated and talented high school students. It offers seven disciplines, including: Animation, Creative Writing, Dance, Film, Music, Theater, Visual Arts. All California students who qualify are awarded scholarships to attend by the CSSSA Foundation.
Busy composing, teaching, performing, it’s hard to catch up with musician Katie Levine who won a Herb Alpert Scholarship after attending the CSSSA 2009 summer session. We wanted to know about her CSSSA experience, how attending CSSSA shaped her journey, and where she is today.
When I went to CSSSA, the experience was so intense – I had four piano lessons per week, three classical and one jazz. It was amazing that the faculty was so willing to spend the time helping me. It really made me work harder and I discovered that putting so much energy into music was immensely gratifying.
By: Travis
The classes and ensembles at CSSSA also introduced me to the almost infinite possibilities of music. Some of these world-broadening experiences included: playing in a free improvisation ensemble, participating in African drumming and Gamelan ensembles, taking a music theory and ear training class, and playing a portion of and listening to Erik Satie’s 24-hour piece “Vexations”.
What do Microsoft Xbox, EA, Disney Interactive, Yahoo, Mattel, and Zynga have in common? They all share a place on the impressive client list held by Ayzenberg, a full-service advertising agency with a distinctly social and agile approach.
You’ve seen its award-winning ads in game trailers, TV and online advertisements, on phones – basically on any digital device and platform. Since its founding, it has grown to be one of the largest independent advertising agencies on the US West Coast.
Ray Ferri, a member of the Ayzenberg creative team, took a moment with Artzray to describe what he does and how he got there. From musician to Game Capture Director, he has become successful in a job that he notes is “off the beaten path.”
I asked him, “What do you do? Explain that title!” Sitting down in a room full of computers perched on desks, Ray wears shorts, a t-shirt, a blue hoodie with the hood pulled up over a cap and Nike shoes. He looks more New York than L.A., but the clue that identifies him properly as an L.A. resident for 11 years is the pair of sunglasses that rest on his face while sitting inside. When he takes them off, his eyes are smart, sharp, brilliant, clear, and creative.
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