Dig Deep Theatre will present a special one-night-only benefit reading of Clare Barron’s Obie-winning play “You Got Older” on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 8 p.m. at CalArts.   The event is pay-what-you-can, with proceeds going toward replacing the costumes, props and equipment destroyed in the fire that consumed The MAIN in Old Town Newhall on Aug. 24.   Pay-what-you-can tickets ...

On Aug. 27, 1964, Walt Disney Productions debuted “The CalArts Story,” a short film presenting the vision for what would become the California Institute of the Arts, seven years before the school opened its permanent campus in Valencia. The film first screened at the Hollywood premiere of “Mary Poppins,” offering a glimpse of an ambitious future for the arts in ...

On Aug. 21, 1961, Stephen Hillenburg, artist, animator, and creator of the cultural phenomenon “SpongeBob SquarePants,” was born in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Raised in Anaheim, Hillenburg’s early love of the ocean led him to Humboldt State University, where he graduated in 1984 with a degree in natural-resource planning and interpretation, with an emphasis in marine biology. He went on to ...

Two alumni from Santa Clarita’s California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) both co-wrote and directed Pixar’s newest film, “Toy Story 5.” Andrew Stanton and Kenna Harris co-wrote and directed the newest installment in Pixar’s biggest and most beloved franchise, working closely with Pixar’s Chief Creative Officer and fellow CalArts alumni Pete Docter as an executive producer. The film follows the ...

Adam Nagai, a 19-year-old CalArts student and former America’s Got Talent semifinalist, has secured a spot in the finals of the international J-pop audition program “Produce 101 Japan Shinsekai,” with voting open globally ahead of the June 5 finale. Produce 101 Japan Shinsekai is a reality television competition series that follows 101 contestants as they undergo K-pop-style vocal and dance ...

Adam Nagai, a 19-year-old CalArts student, has proceeded to the semifinal round on the international J-pop audition program “Produce 101 Japan Shinsekai.” “Produce 101 Japan Shinsekai” is a reality competition show that follows 101 contestants as they undergo K-pop style training and compete to be in a 12-member boy group. Coaches include Kevin Woo, the singing voice of Mystery Saja ...

On May 3, 1969, the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) broke ground on its Valencia campus, known as “The Great Ground Breaking.” Although CalArts was formed in 1961 through the merger of the Chouinard Art Institute and the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music, its permanent campus was not constructed until nearly a decade later.  The merger, led by Walt ...

On this day in SCV history, “Become Ocean” by John Luther Adams, a member of the first graduating class from California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in Valencia, won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize in Music. “Become Ocean,” a 42-minute-13-second composition commissioned by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, is described by the Pulitzer judging board as “A haunting orchestral work that suggests ...

On Feb. 13, 1998, legendary animator and California Institute of the Arts founding director Jules Engel received the prestigious “Friz” Lifetime Achievement Award at the fourth annual Santa Clarita International Film Festival Awards Banquet. The honor recognized Engel’s decades-long impact on the art of animation, both as a pioneering filmmaker and as an influential educator who helped shape generations of ...

On February 12, 1923, Mel Powell, first dean of the music college at CalArts and an American Pulitzer Prize winner, was born in New York City. Born Melvin Epstein, he grew up in the Bronx as the middle child of Russian Jewish parents with two other siblings. He became a child prodigy, learning to play the piano at age four, ...