Share: On the opening night of the theater arts department’s spring main stage show, “The Book Club Play,” actors of varying backgrounds and experiences were surrounded by an audience in PCC’s CA Theatre. The audience wrapped around the disk-shaped seating area, on the stage was a carefully constructed set modeled after a modern home, further immersing the actors into the private world of a tight-knit group of friends. A little over a month before working together, all six main cast members waited in line for …
Local Muslim community balances joy of Ramadan with sorrow for Gaza
Share: As Ramadan continues, Hedab Tarifi finds herself struggling to observe the holiday as she ordinarily would. Tarifi is an active member of her community, a devout Muslim, and the first woman on the boards of the Southern California Islamic Center and the Muslim Public Affairs Council. However, as a Gaza City native, her anxiety is centered on home as war is waging and her people are dying. “It’s the month that we focus on spirituality; it’s a month that cleanses the body and soul, …
8-Bit comes to life in PCC orchestra’s video game concert
Share: As the lights dimmed in the Sexson Auditorium, the bright opening titles of “The Legend of Zelda” played on an overhead screen and the dazzled audience then looked to the PCC Orchestra, walking through some of the most beloved music scores in video games. The event, held on Mar. 23, was the group’s first concert of the 2024 spring semester and focused entirely on an idea presented by students, video games. Conductor and Orchestra professor Henry Shin wanted to act on this idea for …
Queerchata moves PCC students to dance beyond boundaries
Share: Latinx music blared from a PCC conference room as students gathered together and practiced the steps of bachata, carefree of any gender norms that interfered with the expression of dance. On Mar. 12, PCC’s Puente club hosted an event with Queerchata that offered a safe space for students to embrace their culture and sexual identity. The one-time event was held at the Creveling Lounge with Latinx music and food provided, welcoming all students interested. Discovering a community or organization within a college institution that …
‘The Mountaintop’ successfully spotlights MLK’s humanity
Share: On the sleek and spacious stage of the Westerbeck Recital Hall, an actor playing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. makes a number of flirty advances towards a young woman who is not his wife. Soon the actor playing the young woman begins to talk about the speech that she would make if she were in the shoes of Dr. King as he listens intently, encouraging her to share it with him. Follow:
Improving improv with jazz guitarist Larry Koonse
Share: Grammy nominated CalArts music professor Larry Koonse started and ended his two-day visit at PCC with a full house jazz concert at the Westerbeck Recital Hall, but what happened in between, the intimate interaction between the notorious musician and PCC jazz students, is what left its mark on campus. Follow:
‘In the Heights’ sets stage for high expectations
Share: In the weeks leading up to the production, darkness enveloped anyone who entered the Sexson Auditorium. It is quiet, one’s own footsteps could be heard reverberating throughout the room. Even so, the stage is lit; the only signs of life come from the men knocking away at an incomplete set, and a few actors rehearsing diligently while the director oversees. Follow:
Two new piano soloists rise from concert hall
Share: Last Saturday, two PCC students walked into a concert hall full of people and sat down in front of a nine-foot-long piano to perform their first solo piano concerts. Follow: