An Interview with Musician Jacob Davich When Jacob Davich was 12, he went to the Rose Bowl Flea Market in Pasadena, CA. What started out as a morning of tagging along while his mom shopped turned into the day that would kickstart Jacob’s music career. Right outside this flea market, casting directors were auditioning for a new TV commercial project. …
CSSSA People – Leslie Fraser
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
“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 …
Along the Way with Concept Artist Eliott Lilly
Eliott Lilly gets personal. 1. What was your first job? I’ve had a lot of first jobs over the years. When I was 13 years old I started a cleaning service in my neighborhood. That job grew into a much larger business and by the time I stopped working on it (4 years later to focus on school and my …
Artist Noah Scalin More Than a Skull-A-Day
Artist Noah Scalin is probably best known for his project Skull-A-Day, but Artzray contributing writer Joshua Berg spoke with his longtime friend to discuss Noah’s creative journey and some of his thoughts on how to make your way in the world as an artist. Let’s start from the beginning . . . when did you know you wanted to be an artist …
CSSSA People – Phoebe Schenker
Meet Phoebe! Architect Phoebe Schenker attended the California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA) Visual Arts program in 1995 where she studied photography. Coming from a small town where she attended public school, she had a hard time finding like-minded artists. But the current of her life changed dramatically when she attended CSSSA because for first time she was …
What do UCLA and The Simpsons Have in Common? Chuck Sheetz
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 …
CSSSA People Mollie Luria-Roberson
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. “It’s …
Daydreaming With Indie Folk Singer Juliet Piper
Juliet Piper was destined to become a musician. 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 …