Wednesday, November 11

Concert review: KIIS FM’s Jingle Ball at The Forum

Los Angeles rang in the holiday season with KIIS FM’s Jingle Ball, which highlighted some of the biggest hits of the year. The sold-out show, which lasted four and a half hours and was hosted by Ryan Seacrest, featured musicians such as Halsey and Taylor Swift who performed alongside pyrotechnics, confetti, and theatrical smoke effects.The dozens of singers at the show brought a light-hearted and festive energy to the stage. Read more...

Photo: KIIS FM’s Jingle Ball concert Friday night was filled with festive and captivating performances that set a cheery mood for the holiday season. Highlights of the night included Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran’s first live performance of “End Game” and Charlie Puth’s rendition of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.” (Eli Countryman/Daily Bruin)


Modern version of Greek classic aims to highlight future of women

The cast and crew of “Trojan Barbie” prepared for their first dress rehearsal on a stage littered with dismembered doll parts. Directed by Beth Lopes and written by Christine Evans, “Trojan Barbie” is a reinvention of Euripides’ “The Trojan Women” starring a cast of primarily female UCLA students. Read more...

Photo: “Trojan Barbie,” inspired by Euripides’ classic “The Trojan Women,” features a primarily female cast of UCLA students who re-enact the travesty of war across various eras. (Quanzhao “Ari” He/Daily Bruin)


‘The Visit’ provides comedic yet dark take on relationships, morality

Relationship drama reaches a new high in “The Visit.” The 1956 play by Friedrich Durrenmatt tells the story of Claire Zachanassian, a wealthy woman who returns to her hometown in an unspecified country, promising to donate a billion marks to the financially struggling community on the condition that the townspeople murder her ex-boyfriend, Anton Schill. Read more...

Photo: Graduate acting student Annalise Staudt plays a wealthy woman, Claire Zachanassian, who returns to her hometown to exact revenge on her ex-boyfriend Anton Schill, played by graduate acting student Brett Calo. (Nick Kardan/Daily Bruin)


Movie review: ‘The Disaster Artist’

James Franco should teach a UCLA course on the art of impersonating Tommy Wiseau. In “The Disaster Artist,” Franco co-stars for the first time alongside his younger brother, Dave Franco, to re-enact the filmmaking process behind the infamous film “The Room.” Based on actor Greg Sestero’s book “The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made,” James Franco’s film explains the reasons behind the unintentionally comedic details of the cult classic and shows how success can come from unexpected places. Read more...

Photo: (Courtesy of A24)


Professor directs radio plays about problems low-income families face

Several audience members at “Pang!,” a series of three live radio plays, sit around a kitchen table onstage instead of in their seats. Before, during and after the show, the play’s director sits down at the table and encourages the audience members to discuss food insecurity, housing issues and other core themes of the play. Read more...

Photo: Actors Donna Simone Johnson, Christopher Rivas and Natalie Camunas play all of the parts in “Pang!”, a series of live radio plays directed by UCLA professor Dan Froot. The show is based on the real experiences of three families across the United States who have dealt with food insecurity, discrimination toward immigrants, the foreclosure crisis and gun violence. (Courtesy of Dan Froot)


UCLA alumnus develops simulator game where dads date dads

When given the choice between seven eligible bachelors only one question remains – who’s your daddy? In the visual novel-style game “Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator,” users play as a personalized dad character intent on romantically pursuing other eligible dads in his new neighborhood. Read more...

Photo: (Claire Sun/Daily Bruin, Angela Song/Daily Bruin)


Professor’s sculptural video installation to illuminate Philadelphia

Jennifer Steinkamp was, like Benjamin Franklin, intrigued by electricity. For her latest art piece, Steinkamp, a design media arts professor, created a sculptural video installation, titled “Winter Fountains,” which will be illuminated sunset to midnight from Thursday to March 18 as a part of the centennial celebration of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. Read more...

Photo: (Rachel Bai/Daily Bruin)