After finding out about NLE Choppa’s withdrawal, almost two weeks before the event, the Spring Fling committee scrambled to find a replacement act. Despite this last-minute line-up change, the committee is still confident that Ken Carson is the “right choice for the student body,” said Morris Raskin ’26.  

“Carson’s music is stylistically very different from NLE. It’s so energetic,” said Raskin, talent chair of the Spring Fling committee. “They’re both rappers, but on two very opposite sides of the rapper continuum.”

Even before his arrival to Yale, Ken Carson had already associated himself with the school through the eponymous single, “Yale.” This made Carson an “exciting and immediate choice,” Raskin said.  

Carson, whose real name is Kenyatta Lee Frazier Jr., is an Atlanta rapper and producer known for his high-intensity music, electrifying performance style and unique blend of musical styles. 

He rose to fame in 2015 after signing to 808 Mafia, and later solidified his fame after signing with Opium — a label owned by Playboi Carti, who performed at Yale’s Spring Fling in 2019. 

“It was very surprising and disappointing because we were very excited to have NLE come, but now that we have a new option, we are excited,” Raskin said. 

Finding and securing an artist usually takes months of work, but committee members expedited this process to select Ken Carson in a matter of days. 

The process of recruiting Ken Carson was an “uphill battle,” according to Raskin, especially as late April marks a busy time for college music festivals. 

“We’ve already had a lot of reps and experience of trying to figure out who to book, so it was just about getting right back into the flow of thinking about who our school would want to see and who would please the most people,” Raskin said. “I’m very proud that we were able to pull this off.” 

With the new lineup locked in and the event fast approaching, the committee looks forward to seeing the campus’s reaction. The concert has been a “long time coming,” said Raskin. 

Yale’s Spring Fling will take place on April 26 on Old Campus. 

The post Ken Carson to replace NLE Choppa as Spring Fling 2025 headliner appeared first on Yale Daily News.

The 14-person directing board and 19-person programming team worked to bring students and community members together for four full days of events. This year, the festival received over 500 submissions from 47 countries, and 51 films were selected for screening. 11 of the selected films will be recognized at an award ceremony.

“Since a lot of people who attend the festival might not have actually considered film before as something that they might want to do, it makes film at Yale more accessible to everyone here, not just film majors,” said Thomasin Schmults ’26, one of the festival’s co-directors.

The selected films span a wide range of genres — narrative, documentary, experimental and animation. Starting last year, an additional category was specifically created for films made by high school students.

Florence Barillas ’27, the festival’s outreach coordinator, solicited submissions from university film departments and clubs and high schools in the New Haven and Fairfield areas.

Barillas also used FilmFreeway, a website for filmmakers to submit their work to festivals, to connect with international student filmmakers.

“I’m from El Salvador and wanting to pursue film was a bit scary at first, because back home, we don’t have an entertainment industry,” said Barillas. “But when I came to Yale, the community was so incredible and supportive.”

Alongside student films, the festival will feature two spotlight screenings: “Gladiator II” and “Hell of a Summer.” Producers of “Gladiator II,” Doug Wick ’78 and Lucy Fisher, will be present for the screening.

This year’s panels and workshops also encompass numerous student interests — production, business, law, journalism and screenwriting.

Speakers include Matt Thunell ’07, president of Skydance Television; Erin McDonough ’14, senior vice president of global strategy and insights at Paramount Pictures; and Bilge Ebiri, film critic for “New York Magazine” and “Vulture.” 

The Yale Center for Collaborative Arts and Media will also host a filmmaker workshop for students of all levels of experience. The workshop will be led by students whose films are featured in the festival and will showcase filmmaking techniques used in their films.

“Our goal with picking our speakers was focusing on a mix of projects and people that would be exciting, having a practical idea of what people are interested in, and bringing different communities together,” said Abby Asmuth ’26, co-director of the festival and a WKND editor for the News. 

Director of programming Robert Gao ’27 was responsible for choosing the student films that would be screened.

Selected films did not need to have the biggest budget or the most polished final presentation, said Gao. Rather, alongside the programming team, Gao looked for films with “ideas and vision.”

Additionally, Gao wanted to showcase stories that will be “relatable to our audience.” Many of the films revolve around themes of being a college student.

One film Gao highlighted is “Visa” by Chi Tran, which tells the story of an Asian employee who tries to become a victim of a hate crime to obtain a green card. Gao said that the film “shocked everyone” upon their first watch.

“There’s something for everyone, and the audience will have fun at the screenings,” said Gao. 

Free tickets and a list of the festival’s events can be found on the Yale Student Film Festival website.

The post “Something for everyone:” Yale Student Film Festival welcomes film-lovers and student-directors alike appeared first on Yale Daily News.

Organized and choreographed entirely by Veronica Paez-Deggeller ’25, the performance is composed of seven dances: two skirt dances, two partner dances, two hat dances and Paez-Deggeller’s solo performance. Funded by Berkeley College’s Creative and Performing Arts Award, Paez-Deggeller’s project aims to introduce her audience to the Paraguayan art style through a combination of her favorite songs and dances, she said. 

“I was ok with straying from tradition,” said Paez-Deggeller. “I think a lot of cross-cultural collaboration is happening within these performances, so maybe the Paraguayan who is a seasoned folk dancer would look at this and be like ‘That’s not necessarily how we do it,’ but that’s kind of what I was going for.” 

Paez-Deggeller discovered her own love for dance when she joined Ballet Folklórico Mexicano de Yale after transferring to the university last year. Inspired, she turned to Paraguayan folk dance as a means to connect to her own culture. 

While in Paraguay last summer to conduct research for her senior thesis, Paez-Deggeller decided to take dance classes with the goal of showcasing the dance form at Yale’s annual LatinExcellence showcase. When this event was cancelled, she began developing an idea that eventually became her “Tierra y Tradición” performance.

“From the beginning I wanted this to be a really collaborative process,” said Paez-Deggeller. “Along the way I always asked for feedback, I always asked people what they thought and if there was another step they wanted to do or incorporate.”

Many of the dancers performing in “Tierra y Tradición” are also members of Ballet Folklórico, introducing an element of cultural exchange to the showcase. 

While Mexican and Paraguayan styles of folk dance share many similarities, the Paraguayan variety tends to be bouncier and more lively, according to Paez-Deggeller. The performance maintains the spirit of Paraguayan folk dance but also incorporates a few less traditional steps.

“The skirt’s role for Paraguayan dances is a lot more feminine and not as harsh. The skirts don’t stomp like they do in BF,” said Karla Leyva ’27, one of the performers. “A lot of it for me was research outside trying to understand what the role of the skirt was in this dance.”

Leyva is performing a skirt dance titled “Fantasía Guaraní” at the showcase. This piece is a slower, solemn dance with a nationalist theme, she said. This somber tone contrasts with most Mexican folk dances, in which performers are expected to smile throughout. 

Leyva said that she hoped to choreograph pieces with more melancholic moods in the future, particularly in the style of Veracruz dance.    

“It’s really nice when you hear one of your friends talking about a project that they’re super passionate about and super excited about,” said Leyva about choreographer Paez-Deggeller. “Prior to all of us joining, she gave us a presentation of the history of each dance and how she chose each dance for us. It felt very personal.”

This personal touch was partially a result of the smaller group environment fostered by Paez-Deggeller. Her project was open to dancers of all levels, from beginners to seasoned folk performers. 

“It was my first time dancing formally, and Veronica created a really comfortable and welcoming environment where I felt like I could make mistakes and ask questions,” wrote Andrea Terrero ’27, another performer. “It was definitely challenging at first, but Veronica helped me through it, and it was really satisfying to be able to get the steps.”

Terrero is performing in one of the hat dances, “Alamos al viento.” The piece is a traditional Paraguayan dance symbolizing a love story between a hat and a skirt. 

Paez-Deggeller expressed her excitement at being able to share her culture with Yale students, particularly given the limited representation of Paraguayans at the university and more generally in the United States.  

“While we’re a small community, I feel like being able to bring this even to people who aren’t necessarily Paraguayan has been able to fill a lot of love in my heart and create this small community that can appreciate an art style that I feel is so underappreciated,” said Paez-Deggeller.

Paez-Degeller and her fellow dancers will be performing at the Lighten Theater tonight at 8 p.m.

The post Veronica Paez-Deggeller’s ’25 “Tierra Y Tradición” brings Paraguayan dance to Yale appeared first on Yale Daily News.

Friday’s program opens with Carlos Simon’s “Holy Dance” from “Four Black American Dances,” followed by the Mozart and Brahms’ Fourth Symphony in the second half. “Four Black American Dancers” reflects Simon’s engagement with Black musical traditions through contemporary classical music. 

“We just had our first rehearsals this week, and Tobias and Erin sound amazing,” said Keeley Brooks ’25, president of YSO. “I think the orchestra is really excited to get to play with them on Friday, and on tour as well.” 

Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante was written for violin, viola and orchestra and has remained one of the most celebrated fusions between symphony and concerto.

According to Liu, the piece is special because it is not merely an arrangement for two solo parts and an orchestra accompaniment; it fosters a “passionate” dialogue between violinist, violist and orchestra. 

“The piece is able to capture such a deep range of emotions in the way that’s almost more like his operas — really pushing the boundaries of what the concerto was at the time,” Liu said. “Mozart really takes the piece away from a pure virtuosic show-off to a way of storytelling that is evident in the piece.” 

While Nishi and Liu first performed the concerto together last year for the annual William Waite Concerto Competition, their connection with the piece and to each other spans many years. 

Despite playing viola in the concerto, Nishi’s primary instrument is not viola. Over the past month, she has juggled preparations for her upcoming viola performances alongside auditions for master’s programs on the violin. 

“I definitely think that playing viola makes my violin playing better: it teaches me to listen for a bigger sound and a warmer sound,” she said. “It makes me use the violin in a way that’s not for granted, making me think about the constraints and balances of the instrument, and how to listen.”

Nishi first picked up the viola for her first-year class, “The Performance of Chamber Music,” when there was a shortage of violists. She was first introduced to the Mozart piece when she was invited to perform it with the Berkeley College Orchestra that same year.

As a first year in YSO, Nishi grew close to Liu’s sister, Phoebe Liu ’23, a former managing editor at the News, her stand partner who became a mentor for her musical journey at Yale. 

“She left a super strong impression on me because she was super kind and welcoming,” said Nishi. “Tobias is the same way.” 

Liu called Nishi his mentor and described her as someone to look up to at both a musical and personal level. Rehearsing for a duet performance in Woolsey and preparing for the upcoming tour, Nishi and Liu have been rehearsing together frequently. 

Throughout his time at Yale, Liu said that he has grappled with the challenge of finding time to rehearse while managing a rigorous academic course load. 

“Sometimes in music, you can spend eight hours in the practice room and feel like you get worse. One of the strategies my teacher taught me was to force yourself to set aside at least one hour every day and commit to that hour regardless of what else is going on in my life,” he said. 

Recently, said Nishi, the group has been doing a lot of slow intonation work, which “lets their musical preferences come out” and allows them to listen to each other more closely. 

While the soloists have been working particularly intensely, the entire orchestra has been rehearsing to prepare an extensive amount of repertoire for the upcoming tour.

After the competition last year, the programming committee and Boughton decided to take two separate programs, including the three pieces at Friday’s concert. 

The first program, which they will perform in Skopje and Volos, consists of Richard Strauss’ “Don Juan,” the Sinfonia Concertante, John Williams’ “Star Wars,” Aaron Copland’s “Billy the Kid” and encores by Simon, Duke Ellington and Erich Wolfgang Korngold. 

The second program, to be performed in Thessaloniki, Giannitsa and Athens, includes Korngold’s “Sea Hawk Overture,” Simon’s “Four Black American Dances – Waltz,” Duke Ellington’s “River Suite” and the Brahms symphony from Friday’s concert. 

According to Boughton, the repertoire is a diverse mixture of American and European music. 

“As an ambassador of Yale and an American university, I think it’s important to take American music, and I’m interested to see how that’s received in Greece,” he said. 

The orchestra’s goal of bringing American music to more audiences seems to be working. On Wednesday morning, the orchestra received news that the concert in Giannitsa was sold out. 

The performance is set to be displayed on a large screen in the city square. Proceeds from the ticket sales will be used to buy a new piano for the local music school. The orchestra also plans to invite over 150 school children to attend the dress rehearsal of the concert. 

In addition to playing at larger music venues, the orchestra will perform at least three outreach concerts, including one for children. 

“It’s great for the Yale students because they will get to learn more about Greek culture and get to know people, rather than just performing in big concert halls and staying in hotels and visiting tourist sights,” Boughton said. 

YSO returns from tour on March 21. 

The post Competition winners Erin Nishi ’25 and Tobias Liu ’26 to perform Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with YSO appeared first on Yale Daily News.

Known for multiple bestselling young adult, or YA, fantasy series, including “Shadow and Bone,” “Six of Crows” and “Ninth House,” Bardugo returned to her alma mater to conduct research for the third book of the “Ninth House” trilogy, which takes place at Yale. While on campus, Pauli Murray College hosted Bardugo for tea on March 5.

Speaking to a packed room, Bardugo offered advice for aspiring writers and shared insights into her creative process and the setbacks that have shaped her personal growth. 

“Especially when it comes to making art, you have to fail at it. You have to sit with the discomfort of that everyday,” Bardugo said.

Bardugo admitted that she did not publish her first book until 15 years after she graduated, and she spent much of that time “trying to write a book and failing.” Yet Bardugo believes this experience of failing is essential to the creative journey.

Bardugo emphasized the process of writing rather than the result. She saw failure as “a sign that I was trying to do something big and difficult and exciting.”

Although Bardugo admitted she wasn’t the best student at Yale — often cramming the night before exams — she said that her process as a writer differs. Writing, she said, is a process that cannot be rushed.

“I think that anything worth doing, you can’t do it the night before it’s due,” Bardugo said.

Bardugo’s time at Yale allowed her to build the foundations for her future expertise, she told students. According to Bardugo, the learning process for artists — years of practice, false starts and mistakes — is less talked about than the final product.

During her time at Yale, Bardugo was involved in the performing arts. A self-dubbed “theater nerd,” Bardugo acted in various plays and participated in a campus improv group, which “brought me out of my shell.”

“I had been a really outgoing kid, and then junior high and high school beat that out of me,” said Bardugo. “I became much more nervous, and I feel like being in that improv group gave my audacity back to me, and it really turned out to be an amazing skill for being an author.”

Her time at Yale influenced the plot of “Ninth House,” a dark fantasy novel that takes readers on an occult journey through Yale’s secret societies. Bardugo did not know about the existence of societies until she was a student at Yale, where she was a member of the secret society, Wolf’s Head.

As someone “obsessed with magic,” she said, Bardugo had a gut feeling about attending Yale. Throughout her time at Yale, she was fascinated by the secrets of the institution that reveal themselves “if you’re willing to dig a little bit deeper.” 

“I visited Yale in the dead of winter when I was figuring out where to go to school, and it was cold and miserable, and I absolutely loved it,” Bardugo said.

Bardugo fondly remembers that everyone she met was “full of passion.” Being in a secret society allowed her to meet people from various backgrounds, she said. 

Apart from the “fancy dinners and fancy house,” Bardugo cherishes the friends she has made through society, some of whom she is still in close contact with.

This process of forming a community through telling stories is deeply important to Bardugo.

“We live in a world that is largely devoid of ritual and these sort of shared communal moments where we come together and we celebrate together,” reflected Bardugo.

Yet Bardugo does not solely depict a rose-tinted image of Yale. Bardugo’s novel “Ninth House” grapples with the elitism, class division and injustices that undergird Yale’s institutional privilege.

Describing feelings of “class anxiety,” Bardugo remembered being overwhelmed by the extent of wealth and power that she encountered.

“When I came here, I really felt like there was a language that everyone else spoke that I didn’t, and I still feel the echoes of that today,” said Bardugo.

Bardugo seeks to capture both the positive and negative sides of Yale’s “history, lore, and enchantment” in her novels, so she regularly returns to campus to conduct research.

Bardugo had been an associate fellow of Pauli Murray since 2021. Bardugo was researching for the “Ninth House” series during the pandemic, and the staff of Pauli Murray aided her through restrictions that were in place due to COVID-19, said Suzette Courtmanche, senior administrative assistant of Pauli Murray College.

Professor Tina Lu, head of Pauli Murray College and a fan of Bardugo’s works, praised Bardugo for her creativity.

“There’s a constant stream of amazing things falling out of her pen from her brain,” Lu said.

Many attendees were also long-time fans of Bardugo’s works. Julia Levy ’25, a staff reporter at the News, said that she first read Bardugo’s novel “Six of Crows” when it was published in 2015.

“‘Six of Crows’ was on the list for my city’s Troybery program for middle school students. It’s lovely seeing her now that I go to Yale and knowing that she went here too,” Levy said. 

According to Levy, the genre of young adult fantasy started to receive more mainstream attention when she was in middle school. Young adult novels published at this time marked a shift in stories and themes presented to younger audiences. 

“Six of Crows” was “fundamental in redefining the [young adult] genre,” said Levy.

Theresa Fu ’28, who grew up reading Bardugo’s books and watching the Netflix adaptations, said that it was “invigorating” for her to see the creative force behind these works.

“Learning about her timeline as a writer was inspiring because she’s felt like such a constant throughout my childhood, but she also faced setbacks and had to persevere for her craft,” Fu said.

Currently, Bardugo is working on the third and final installment of the “Ninth House” series.

“We’re going to be pivoting back to the societies and to a new location that is tied deeply to the history of this place,” said Bardugo, about her upcoming book. “It’s going to be a big book, and it’s gonna have a pretty, I guess the Hollywood term would be explosive.

Pauli Murray College is located on 130 Prospect St.

The post “Embrace discomfort” and brace for the extraordinary: Leigh Bardugo ’97 speaks at Pauli Murray College Tea appeared first on Yale Daily News.

Lopez, best known for his work in “Frozen” and the “Book of Mormon,” has won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards — all at least twice. In a light-hearted, laughter-filled evening on campus, Lopez discussed his hit songs, including “Let It Go” from Frozen and Coco’s “Remember Me,” as well as his creative process.

“I try to confront ugly truths in all these shows, like difficult things, but I didn’t want to leave people with this impression of ugliness,” he told the audience. “I do believe that the world is essentially a place where you can be happy.”

Lopez aims to bring humor and sincerity to his songs. During the talk, he serenaded the audience with one of the first riffs he worked on in his childhood.

Lopez said he strives to strike a balance between comedy and storytelling in musical theater. In the “Book of Mormon,” he combines outrageous humor with deeper themes, like faith and doubt.

“I thought if I could write a show that makes people feel something and make them laugh, bringing elements of spoof and a serious, emotional story, then I could do something that hasn’t been done yet,” said Lopez.

Lopez emphasized the importance of being involved in the storytelling process to create songs that feel natural and fresh. He said that being part of the core production team has enabled him to make decisions about characters and the storyline to produce meaningful songs.

He shared the process of developing characters and stories and discussed the evolution of Elsa and Anna in “Frozen.”

“We made Anna the wild child. She’s the younger one anyway. It makes more sense,” he joked. “The younger siblings are always a little less looked after.”

Dramatalk coordinator Adam Buchsbaum ’27, who moderated the conversation, prepared questions that centered on Lopez’s distinct skill sets as a composer. Buchsbaum said he wanted to provide students with Lopez’s “unique perspective” and insight into the process of musical theater writing and composition.

Lopez recalled fond memories of his Yale days. His connection to his alma mater remains strong as he mentors undergraduate students for the Shen Curriculum for Musical Theater at Yale’s Department of Music. 

In an interview with the News, Lopez urged Yale students to learn to work collaboratively with others. Much of his projects are jointly produced: he has worked on projects like “South Park” and “Book of Mormon” with creators Matt Stone and Trey Partner, as well as “Frozen” with his wife Kristen Anderson-Lopez.

“Yale students tend to be very high achievers and fiercely individual, and there might be some sense that you have to do everything yourself,” Lopez said. “But in terms of the arts, and especially in theater and film, it’s all about … having the kind of relationships where the whole is bigger than the sum of the parts.”

Lopez is also a proud alumni of the a cappella group, Spizzwinks. Following the talk, Lopez attended a Spizzwink rehearsal.

Clark Wu ‘27, a member of the Spizzwinks, said that he gained more appreciation for the art of musical composition after listening to Lopez’s talk.

“Hearing Robert Lopez actually speak and crack jokes and all that gave me a deeper appreciation for his own process and his views on the power of music and the power of his ideas about heart,” Wu said.

Lopez is the only double Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards winner in history. 

The post The brain behind musical hits in Frozen, Coco and more: Robert Lopez ’97 speaks at Dramatalk appeared first on Yale Daily News.

The conversation, moderated by film journalist Kevin McCarthy, offered a glimpse into Levy and Reynolds’s collaborative relationship and insights from their experiences in the film industry. Shawn Levy and Ryan Reynolds are frequent collaborators, known for joint projects, such as “Free Guy,” “The Adam Project” and “Deadpool and Wolverine.”

“These are two people so in sync with each other that they are the testament to the true idea of cinema,” McCarthy said during his introduction of Levy and Reynolds.

The line for entry stretched from the Schwarzman Center to Cross Campus. Woolsey Hall, which seats over 2,600 people, was at full capacity.

When Yale registration opened on Jan. 24, the event was completely booked within seven minutes of opening. Similarly, registration for the general public reached its limit quickly, and the event ended up having a waitlist.

“I went because I’m a big fan of Ryan Reynolds and wanted to hear from him and Shawn Levy about their work together,” wrote Carim Jalloh ’28. “I really enjoyed getting to see Ryan’s personality in real life, as well as the connection between Reynolds and Levy and how that played into their work.”

From Deadpool to Blue Shirt Guy from “Free Guy,” many audience members were dressed up as different characters that Reynolds had played. 

New Haven residents and cousins Davey Lozano and Julian Shadeck dressed up as Deadpool and Wolverine. The pair sat in the very front and received attention from Reynolds, who walked over and offered them a water bottle so they could stay hydrated in their costumes.

The talk began with a screening of the opening scene of “Deadpool and Wolverine,” which features Reynolds as Deadpool battling his enemies while dancing to NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye.”

McCarthy described the clip as one of the “best openings seen in film” and a scene that encapsulated Levy and Reynolds’s collaboration.

Returning to the origins of their collaborative relationship, McCarthy displayed a text conversation from 2018 in which Reynolds asked Levy to sign onto “Free Guy.”

“Emotionally, what does that text mean to you?” McCarthy asked.

According to Reynolds, “it was like a feeling.” He urged the audience to believe in themselves and go with a “feeling.”

“I had a feeling about Shawn,” Reynolds said. “We would have a creative love that would work somehow.” 

According to Levy, Hugh Jackman predicted the duo’s strong collaborative dynamic when he starred in Levy’s film “Real Steel.”

Upon their first encounter, Levy and Reynolds were instantly very comfortable with each other, Levy said.

“Maybe it was because we’re both Canadian,” Levy joked.

Reynolds noted that what stuck out to him about Levy’s films is that they all contain the theme of joy. Existing in many forms — from the “subversive” to the “totally gnarly” — joy is Levy and Reynolds’s “north star,” he said.

Levy recounted how he and Reynolds would take the Acela between Boston and New York City. During the journey, the two would pass a laptop back and forth, rewriting the scenes they planned to shoot the following week.

“When we’re making a movie, we’re not always thinking about the theme, rather the feeling,” said Levy. “Ryan and I want to put this feeling into the world because feeling matters most.”

Levy and Reynolds seek to create films that bring joy, connect audiences and evoke the feeling of togetherness that the duo experiences while collaborating.

Reynolds and Levy said that the current times are “divisive” and expressed their desire to make films that provide a “memory, escape and connected moment.”

“Films, concerts and sports are the great bastions of togetherness,” said Reynolds.

Throughout the night, audience members heard about the creative processes behind specific scenes of the three movies Reynolds and Levy collaborated on. Teamwork is essential to bringing their vision to life, they said.

“You can’t make anything great without enthusiasm. We want everyone on our crew to have their best time of their lives,” said Reynolds.

Following the moderated questions, McCarthy turned to the audience. Before anyone could raise their hand, he shared that someone had already sent in a question.

To much surprise, Hugh Jackman appeared on the screen. Jokingly, he expressed his disappointment over not receiving an invite to join the conversation. While the audience responded to Jackman’s sudden appearance, Reynolds and Levy expressed their surprise at Jackman’s mustache.

“I have lunch with him on Saturday and I would love for him to not bring that,” Reynolds joked.

Following the video, Reynolds and Levy fielded questions from the audience. One audience member asked Levy and Reynolds about how they get into their creative flow when writing their scenes.

Levy highlighted the ever-present possibility of creativity. One of the final scenes from one of his movies was inspired by an art history class he took at Yale.

“You don’t know where the next great idea is going to come from,” Levy said.

Reynold and Levy’s 2021 film “Free Guy” includes a reference to the Beinecke Library.

The post Shawn Levy and Ryan Reynolds delve into years of collaboration, filmmaking appeared first on Yale Daily News.

In addition to performing songs from the musical, the concert is set to feature student-arranged pieces from “Les Miserables” and “Kiki’s Delivery Service.” The group is expecting a significant alumni turnout for the event, with the group’s first-ever conductor returning to conduct “Africa” by Toto at the concert.

“The vibe is very unserious — you get to break some rules of what a concert looks like. Are you supposed to sit there, completely still and not say anything?” said DPops co-president Kira Tang ’27. “That’s not the point, the point is to have fun and invite your friends, it feels like a party.”

DPops’ specialty as an orchestra is its focus on pop songs, including music from films, musicals and even video games. 

This fall, for their “DPops To Go” concert in the Davenport Dining Hall, they performed pop hits from the summer, including Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” and Chappell Roan’s “HOT TO GO,” after which the event was named. 

“DPops felt full of life and love for music but also love for being a bit unserious, while also having this appreciation for music itself and the technicality of it,” said co-president Genevieve Kim ’26. “We call it DPops spirit, and it’s just this joy of existing in this space where we can all make music together that we love.”

For Kim, who plays the trumpet, DPops is a creative outlet and allows her to explore something completely unrelated to her career trajectory. She described her excitement about the possibility of joining the orchestra even before arriving at Yale. 

Additionally, Kim said that DPops has allowed her to share her love of orchestral music with friends who are unfamiliar with classical music.

“It’s this great way to be able to connect your joy in a space of music with someone else who might not be accustomed to that joy but definitely can tap into that when you are performing a song that they love already and also can recognize,” said Kim. 

When the planning committee set out to select pieces for the upcoming concert, they realized that many of the pieces shared a “witchy” motif, said Tang. This guided them to the theme of “Wicked,” especially given the re-popularization of the musical due to the recent movie starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. 

The medley that DPops will be performing from the musical is an arrangement from the group’s archives. Kim said that the group was excited to perform the piece for alumni. 

“I love that there’s both a piece of music that has been so beloved for so long and also a group of people who have loved this music that is persistent but has also had a recent resurgence,” said Kim.

In efforts to increase youth engagement in orchestral music, particularly through pop music, DPops is inviting children and their families from New Haven to Saturday’s concert.

Over the days leading up to the concert, DPops members have posted fliers around New Haven and sent emails to local public schools to advertise the event. 

“As a musician, there is so much emphasis on the canon, as in pieces that everyone should know or play within classical music,” said Tang. “While that’s great, there’s something really nice and accessible about pop.”

Tang, a cellist, highlighted DPops’ emphasis on student-arranged pieces as a factor that drew her to join the group. The composition process is led by two head arrangers and one assistant, who also mentor other group members interested in learning to arrange music. 

Tang began arranging music for her friends in high school and was excited to continue this in college. 

In addition to student-composed pieces, the orchestra is also conducted by a student. This year, DPops is conducted by Mitchell Dubin. According to Dubin, this facet of Dpops distinguishes the group from Glee Club, Yale Band and YSO, which are all led by professional conductors. 

“My role as a conductor is to provide feedback throughout the arranging process — I like to be as hands on and involved as appropriate,” said Dubin. “My job ultimately when it comes to arranging is to make sure that the thing we present to the orchestra is a mix of challenging, interesting and fun.”

The “DPops Defies Gravity” concert will be held in Woolsey Hall at 3 p.m. on March 1.

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The story follows the cons and hijinks of a town rife with corruption, as its citizens attempt to hide their questionable activities from a visiting government inspector. These attempts don’t fully succeed, and when true intentions are revealed, the town is plunged into chaos. According to Kordonsky, his adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s play strives to remain true to the play’s original themes while still being relatable for a modern audience. 

“We all watch the same news and read the same papers, and that collective sense shouldn’t be ignored,” Kordonsky said. “So in that regard, the parts that excite me most will be the parts that will [stay true to the original]. A lot of it is driven by hunch and by an emotional, intellectual and philosophical connection with the text.”

Kordonsky said that working on the Yale Repertory Theatre’s adaptation felt similarly to working on a new play. The text acts as a starting point, said Kordonsky, and the rehearsal room becomes a space of creation and experimentation. 

According to actress Annelise Lawson DRA ’16, the ensemble’s connection with each other and Kordonsky facilitated the experimental nature of Kordonsky’s creative processes. The cast members are all graduates of the David Geffen School of Drama. Lawson elaborated that this shared educational background gave the actors a “common language” that contributed to a comfortable and exploratory environment.

According to Lawson, Kordonsky’s expertise as a director also played a significant role in the development of community within the ensemble. 

“He’s sensitive and insightful and playful and irreverent in his vision,” Lawson said. “He’s a really lovely person, and he trusts his collaborators to know how to do their work and is curious about what they have to offer.” 

The resulting vision, according to castmates, is a satirical and nuanced story of corruption, community and the pursuit of happiness. Despite being written over 200 years ago, the work has continued to be a theatrical favorite for its representation of the absurdity of human nature. 

The comedic elements of the play don’t detract from the serious consequences of corruption, which the play centers on. Are repercussions limited to the individuals involved, or do its  negative influences permeate all crevices of society?

To actor Brandon E. Burton ART ’20, the answer is the latter.

“It’s the people that suffer. Even if the people in power are in some way punished, the long term effects of corruption affect the people,” said Burton. 

Burton finds this production to be deeply relevant, considering the modern political climate of the United States. However, the connections are not explicit, said Burton, and it remains the audience’s decision to see ties between the happenings on stage and their current social landscape. 

While some members of the production find hope and a morbid sense of humor in the show’s continued relevance, some said that they felt disappointed in the fact that these issues are still pertinent and unresolved today. 

Despite this, the play does not establish moral superiority. Within the morally gray actions of the characters, empathy is cultivated. For better or for worse, the actors said that they hope audience members will be able to empathize and identify with the characters. 

“[The characters] are just making a moment to moment decision that seems best for them,” said Lawson. “These people are scared and sometimes stupid and hopeful and aspiring for a good life. Sometimes good things happen when people move that way, and sometimes bad things happen.”

From the postmaster secretly peeking at people’s mails to a government official taking bribes, every character’s motivations are fleshed out and, to a certain degree, understandable. 

But while corruption is essential to human nature, so is the desire for love and community, the play argues.  

“Society is being destroyed constantly by corruption and lack of morals, but then there is this countering force of love and hope for a better life,” said Kordonsky.

A timeless piece, Kordonsky’s adaptation of “The Inspector” will be performed at the Yale Repertory Theatre March 7-29.

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The keynote panel was part of the larger symposium “Building a Planetary Solution: Regenerative Architectural Strategies for a Planet in Crisis,” which took place from Feb. 20-22 at the School of Architecture.

“We are really trying to get at the ways in which the material means and methods … that are engaged when we make buildings and, more importantly, cities might be transformed from forces of planetary damage and predation into mean of restoring the climate, social equality and opportunity,” said architect Alan Organschi ARC ’88, senior critic at the School of Architecture. 

Organized by Organschi, the symposium consisted of a series of panels and lectures on the social, economic and environmental impacts of the building sector.

Organschi acted as the panel moderator, directing questions at Berke, McInnis and Julie Zimmerman, the inaugural vice provost for Planetary Solutions.

The University’s own sustainability efforts were also at the center of the panel discussion and became a subject of critique. 

As a professor of green engineering, Zimmerman emphasized the importance of forming lasting connections across disciplines in order to promote innovations in sustainable technologies. Her work established the “Twelve Principles of Green Engineering,” a framework that outlines how to make chemical processes greener. 

“Anyone who’s been around Yale knows the saying, ‘Yale is full of lots of stars, but no constellations.’ We talked about Planetary Solutions as a constellation factory. Not only do we want to connect people on campus across disciplines, but we want to connect people on campus to people that are off campus,” said Zimmerman.

Forming “constellations” — meaningful and productive conversations — across disciplines was a major theme in the panel and symposium at large.

Organschi said he wanted the symposium to encompass the social and economic impacts of the building industry to create a “much broader discussion about society.”

“We could have a conference that really, putatively was about building materials, and the next thing we knew it was about the planet,” said Organschi.

According to Berke, Yale could do more to catch “low-hanging fruit.” Berke pointed to the wasted energy and money spent heating empty buildings.

“I don’t think we are careful enough, cautious enough, wise enough when we plan the buildings we are going to build,” said Berke.

Organschi expressed a similar concern for the “growth-oriented” and “consumption-oriented” economy under which the University operates.

Many of the questions regarding the University’s sustainability efforts were directed towards McInnis.

One audience member asked McInnis how cuts in federal funding could potentially impact upcoming plans to construct additional lab spaces and a Thermal Utilities Plant on Science Hill, as well as other sustainable efforts currently in the works. 

McInnis responded by addressing the potential impact of recent federal funding cuts and proposed increased taxation to the University endowment. She predicted that there may be projects that do not come to fruition due to funding issues. 

“We’re not gonna stop buildings mid-course. But of our 10 to 15 year plan, probably some things are gonna have to get delayed, and there might be some things we ultimately can’t afford to do. So you have to make choices,” said McInnis.

Nevertheless, Organschi remains hopeful for the future of sustainability at Yale. He praised the “enormous capacity” and “incredible programs” of professors and researchers.

According to Organschi, recent challenges to sustainability are opportunities for the University to grow and lead the effort.

“I think this new political crisis we are facing is an incredible opportunity for Yale to pull itself together as an institution with this incredible breadth of capacity, knowledge, research power, all of these things, to start to really push back against these forces we see as really deleterious to the planet,” said Organschi.

The Yale School of Architecture is located at 180 York St.

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