Communication Studies graduate, Kurt Garrett, who will give the keynote address at the COMM Studies graduation ceremony on May 23, 2013, was featured on NBC Bay Area News. Kurt received a liver transplant last year and will be honored as a Magna Cum Laude graduate from SJSU. Watch the clip here! Congratulations on your graduation Kurt!

Dr. Matthew Spangler’s article “Adapting T.C. Boyle’s The Tortilla Curtain and Subsequent Production by the San Diego Repertory Theatre” appears in the most recent issue of Text and Performance Quarterly.  The article explores performance theory, some of the recent history pertaining to undocumented migrants living in the United States, and the development process behind Dr. Spangler’s play, which tells the story of two undocumented migrants from Mexico camping outside a gated community in Southern California.

Dr. Spangler’s article is accompanied by four reviews of the San Diego Repertory Theatre’s production of the play.

* “Collisions in the Canyon: Matthew Spangler’s Adaptation of T.C. Boyle’s The Tortilla Curtain” by Christie Logan (CSU Northridge)

* “The Tortilla Curtain and California’s Nativist Heritage” by Glen Gendzel (SJSU)

* “Performing the Border: A Queer of Color Artist-Scholar and Ally Response to Tortilla Curtain” by Brittany Chávez (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a former MA student at SJSU)

* “I Saw Cándido at the Home Depot: A Review of Tortilla Curtain” by Yarma Velázquez Vargas & George B. Sánchez-Tello (CSU Northridge)

The Tortilla Curtain was produced by San José State University in 2010, received an Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award in 2011, and was produced by the San Diego Repertory Theatre in 2012, where it was a finalist for the San Diego Theatre Critics’ Circle Award for Best New Play.

Promotional Poster for Matthew Spangler’s “Tortilla Curtain” at the San Diego Repertory Theatre, Spring 2012

Congratulations Dr. Spangler!

Dr. Spangler’s stage adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner opened last week at the Nottingham Playhouse in the UK.  This is the European Premiere of the play.  So far, reviews have been great.  It will also be produced at the Brighton Festival and the Liverpool Playhouse.  It runs through the middle of July.

BBC TV (2 min, contains a short interview with Spangler)

Daily Telegraph (London) ”This show, a European premiere, stands shoulder to shoulder with the best work in the regions and judging by the thronging auditorium, the theatre has a hit on his hands that deserves to travel the country beyond its scheduled stops of Brighton and Liverpool.”

Daily Mail (London) ”This play is worthy of Hosseini’s bestseller.”

The Stage (London) ”Magical moments that still the house”

Left Lion (Nottingham) ”This is a great production of a great adaptation of a great novel, and it’s probably one of the best plays you are going to see performed in the city this year, so whether or not you’ve read the book, you really shouldn’t miss it.”

Dr. Anne Marie Todd received the College of Social Sciences’ Teaching Excellence Award. This award for outstanding teaching was created in 2012 to honor a faculty member who has distinguished him/herself as an inspiring teacher and mentor. Each year the chairs review the nominations and vote to select the person they consider to have demonstrated the qualities of excellence and creativity in teaching that embody the ideals of CoSS and the University. This award recognizes a distinguished contribution to SJSU’s primary mission: teaching and mentoring the students to whose development faculty dedicate their professional lives.

Congratulations to two Communication Studies students who received scholarship awards from the College of Social Sciences. Valerie Gonzales received the COSS Dean’s Study ABroad Scholarship. Lisa Graser received the Charles Burdick Scholarship. Kudos to both Valerie and Lisa for this recognition!