News & Stories

Explore

Department

Media or Press Inquiries?

Reach out to:

Jaime DeJong
Director of Marketing & Communications (949) 824-2189
jdejong@uci.edu

Four actors perform a musical scene from 'The Merry Wives of Windsor Cove,' with a woman playing bass guitar in denim overalls and boots, alongside three men in beachy costumes, in front of set pieces reading 'Quickly's Banana Stand' and 'Shallow's Surf Shack

Drama

New Swan Shakespeare Festival Happening on Summer Nights

July 20, 2026

The 15-ton portable Elizabethan-style theater returns this summer for its 14th season

Evan Lugo, wearing a teal polo shirt, smiles while standing in front of the New Swan Theater's curved slat exterior, which features a stylized red swan design, on a sunny day.

Drama

Q&A: New Swan returns to UC Irvine

July 20, 2026

Department of Drama alumnus Evan Lugo, M.F.A. '22, featured in the Irvine Standard

New Swan Shakespeare Festival theater at UC Irvine, with audience encircling the stage during a nighttime performance under colorful lighting

Drama

11 Enchanting Places to See Outdoor Theater in Southern California

July 20, 2026

There are few places that can generate as much Southern California bliss as outdoor theater

Sepideh Moafi poses in a black satin blouse against a neutral gray background, hands clasped in front of her.

Drama

Sepideh Moafi, M.F.A. '13, Earns Historic Emmy Nomination for The Pitt

July 13, 2026

Moafi becomes the first Iranian woman and first woman from the Middle East to be recognized in the supporting actress in a drama series category

Music

The Symphony’s New Movement

July 13, 2026

Geoffrey Pope conducts a growing sense of community as UC Irvine's director of orchestral studies

Dance

As L.A. Dance Spaces Shutter, Dancers Keep Moving Through a Funding Drought

July 7, 2026

UCI Dance Alum Andrew Pearson featured in Los Angeles Times report on L.A.'s shifting dance landscape

Esther Cheang in a white dress stands on a pathway beneath an arched underpass inscribed with the words 'Love of Learning is the Guide of Life,' with green landscaping and trees visible in the background.

Drama

Music

2026 UCI Arts Graduates Receive Chancellor's Award of Distinction

July 1, 2026

Award recognizes academic excellence, research, leadership and service

Juliette Carrillo smiles at the camera, wearing tortoiseshell glasses and a teal linen jacket over a black top, her long dark wavy hair falling past her shoulders against a warm wood-paneled background.

Drama

Juliette Carrillo Named Ojai Playwrights Writer-in-Residence

June 26, 2026

The award-winning director and playwright and professor of drama will develop new work at the July 30–Aug. 2 New Works Festival

About a dozen students and faculty stand smiling in a row in front of a large screen reading "Boundless Entertainment."

Drama

Research

School

Drama Students Reimagine La Llorona in an Immersive Experience designed for Noguchi Gardens

June 23, 2026

Lighting and scenic designers in the Digital Imaging course collaborated on a digitally rendered installation that honors the legend's cultural roots and the Costa Mesa sculpture garden that inspired it

Overhead view of audience members seated in the round of the New Swan Theater, a circular performance space with railings and vivid blue, pink and purple theatrical lighting - photo by Steve Zylius

Drama

Research

Shakespeare with a twist

June 16, 2026

New Swan’s summer festival reimagines ‘Romeo & Juliet’ and ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor’ through distinctly 20th-century American settings