How the West Was Won

While world domination might be a bit ambitious, members of the NYU Tisch School of the Arts (TSOA) West Alumni Council are making strides in their attempt to make TSOA West, an alliance of Tisch alumni working and living in L.A., the preeminent alumni network in L.A.. In just two short years, the group, which now includes actors, producers, directors, writers, and agents, has grown from a circle of 14 to a network that boasts over 1,500 alumni.

Tisch alumni and friends cheer at the NYU Tisch Alumni West’s Tisch Actors West Monologue Slam. The event crowned Daheli Hall (TSOA ’98) “Slam Champion” awarding her a $300 cash prize and a host of other gifts.

“We are extremely pleased by the energy, enthusiasm, dedication, and hard work of our TSOA West members,” said Mary Schmidt Campbell, dean of the Tisch School of the Arts. “This is a perfect way for all of our alumni on the West coast to connect with each other while developing their careers through networking, panels, guest speakers, and a wide array of other events, both social and professional.”

Last spring, TSOA West hosted numerous activities including an Oscar watching party at which attendees cheered as fellow alumni Michael Arndt (TSOA ’87), Philip Seymour Hoffman (TSOA ’89) and Martin Scorsese (WSC ’64, TSOA ’68) appeared onstage. Some other popular events included the TV Writers & Actors Showcase, which worked to connect TSOA Alumni writers, directors, and actors to the television industry, and the New from NYU New Work Festival, which was a six night affair packed with readings of new plays and panel sessions. In addition, on March 27, TSOA West premiered a new speaker series, Intimate Conversations, with the first featured guest being Phil Rosenthal (executive producer, Everybody Loves Raymond).

“An invitation to TSOA West events is becoming the hot ‘insider’ experience,” noted the current chair of the TSOA West Alumni Council, Susan Johnston (TSOA ’00). In fact, for many events, ticket demand is so high that alumni can only RSVP by calling TSOA West’s phone line during specified times.

TSOA West Council members now have to meet once a month to work on upcoming events. “We plan parties, swap contacts for speaking engagements, run down leads for gift bags, and plot the Tisch takeover of Hollywood,” said Johnston.

To learn more about TSOA West, visit www.tisch.nyu.edu/object/tsoa_west. html. To get involved, register for the TSOA West e-mail listserve, click on the registration link and complete the online submission form.

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