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Category:Alumni

Side-by-side portraits. On the left, Sepideh Moafi, with long brown hair and gold hoop earrings, wears a black satin blouse against a gray background. On the right, Jenn Colella, with short auburn hair, smiles in a navy sweater against a light background.

Dance

UCI Arts Names Sepideh Moafi, M.F.A. ’13, as the 2026 Lauds & Laurels Recipient

October 20, 2026

Broadway powerhouse, Jenn Colella, M.F.A. ’02, hosts this year’s celebration

On a sunlit wooden stage dressed as a beachside boardwalk, with signs for “Windsor Cove” and “Shallow’s Surf Shack,” a laughing man in an open white shirt dips a smiling woman in a yellow polka-dot top and full yellow skirt as she kicks one leg high. Audience members seated around the stage edge look on and smile.

Drama

Research

At New Swan Latine Artists Bring Themselves to Shakespeare

October 12, 2026

A fall panel looks back at The Merry Wives of Windsor Cove and the artists who shaped it

Emily Parise, in a white sweater and periwinkle dress, smiles beside a railing on the River Thames, with Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament in the background.

Drama

UCI Arts Alumna Emily Parise Joins Baylor University Faculty

October 9, 2026

The Shakespeare scholar and dramaturg begins a tenure-track position in theatre arts

An artist holding a bouquet of flowers smiles beside three framed works on a white gallery wall. The works are soft, layered abstractions in blue, gold and green that suggest water and sky.

Art

Tai Nguyen ’23 Presents Portraits of a Living Past at Heritage Museum of Orange County

October 8, 2026

UCI Arts alum explores the past and future of local environments in a new exhibition

Nine OC Arts Awards honorees in formal attire pose together on a staircase with glass railings in a bright, modern lobby. A grand piano is visible behind them.

Dance

Drama

OC Arts Awards Recognize 26 Years of Creativity and Community

October 7, 2026

Representatives from dozens of local arts organizations gather to honor Ann Phong, Eli Simon, Janet and Walke Ray and other influential arts figures and organizations

Lourdes Castillo as Juliet, arms outstretched and smiling on a balcony in a pale nightgown and robe, in New Swan Shakespeare Festival's Romeo & Juliet.

Drama

Three UCI Drama Artists Nominated for Orange Curtain Review Awards

September 29, 2026

Nominations recognize work at the UC Irvine Department of Drama and the New Swan Shakespeare Festival

Portrait of a man with short brown hair and light eyes, wearing a denim button-up shirt with a chain collar accessory, smiling slightly at the camera in front of a light paneled wall.

Music

UCI Arts Alumnus Paul David Flood Joins University of Tennessee Faculty

August 27, 2026

Musicology alumnus begins tenure-track position at the Natalie L. Haslam College of Music

Drama

Angel Castellanos ’22 Works on Benson Boone Music Video

August 25, 2026

The production coordinator shares his experience of almost filming at UC Irvine

Dance

Dance Alumna Megan Flynn, M.F.A. '12, Joins University of Cincinnati Faculty

August 21, 2026

Flynn begins her new appointment as Assistant Professor of Dance this fall

Music

Helping Others Find Their Voice

August 21, 2026

Creative Connections intern Bahar Alimohammadi and her commitment to arts education