COMMENCEMENT 2016 June 10, 2016 C OMMEN C EMENT P ROGRAM PROCESSIONAL NATIONAL ANTHEM Demitra Alexis Pace Department of Theater Undergraduate WELCOME Teri Schwartz Dean, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television CLASS OF 2016 STUDENT REMARKS Nikki Lorraine D’Aprix Department of Theater Undergraduate Crystal Alexandria Hatch Department of Film, Television and Digital Media Undergraduate COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS Channing Dungey President, ABC Entertainment PRESENTATION OF 2016 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD IN THEATER Robert L. Freedman Dramatist and Screenwriter PRESENTATION OF 2016 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD IN FILM, TELEVISION AND DIGITAL MEDIA Gina Prince-Bythewood Writer, Director, Producer CONFERRAL OF THE DEGREES CLASS OF 2016 DEPARTMENT OF THEATER MUSICAL PERFORMANCE “You’ve Got a Friend” Music and Lyrics by Carole King Performed by Rebecca Nova Birstock, Kyle Michael Compton, Margaret Jane Darago, Catriona Joelle Fray, Tanner John Haynes, Miki Dawn Holmes, Elan Jonah Kramer, Demitra Alexis Pace, Laura Louise Richardson, Emily Goodwin Zetterberg A L M A M A T E R Tanner John Haynes Department of Theater Undergraduate FINAL REMARKS Teri Schwartz RECESSIONAL L ETTER F ROM T HE P RESIDENT Janet Napolitano University of California President Dear Graduates: Warmest congratulations and good wishes to the Class of 2016, and to their families and friends on Commencement Day 2016! Although one door is closing, innumerable others are opening before you, just waiting for you to step through them. Never before in our nation’s history have college graduates had more opportunities to contribute to the common good than now. Whether it be in the community, private industry or public service, to name but a few, your UC education and experiences have provided you with the knowledge and abilities to make a difference in the lives of many others. As Robert F. Kennedy once noted, “The future will be shaped in the arena of human activity, by those willing to commit their minds and their bodies to the task.” On this triumphal day, I challenge you to commit your newly earned UCLA degree and all that you have learned to bring hope, compassion and healing to a troubled world. You can shape the future and, from what I know of our graduates, if you put your mind to doing just that, the future will be a bright and hopeful one. Go Bruins — we know you’ll make us proud whatever door you choose! Most sincerely, Janet Napolitano President L ETTER F ROM T HE C HAN C E ll OR Gene Block UCLA Chancellor Dear UCLA Graduate: Congratulations! Today’s Commencement is a joyful day for each of you and your families, a celebration of all that you have accomplished in your time at UCLA. A UCLA degree is highly respected and will serve you well in whatever you choose to do in the future. As a graduate of UCLA, you are now counted among thousands of your fellow alumni who are exemplary leaders and tireless innovators dedicated to improving lives here at home and around the world. I encourage you to further the Bruin legacy of excellence and service, with the spirit of optimism that makes UCLA a special place. We look forward to what your future holds and will take great pride in your accomplishments. Thank you for the many contributions you have made to our campus that have advanced our mission of education, research and service to California and beyond. You and your fellow students have enriched me personally, providing fresh perspectives and insights. Your relationship with UCLA will continue throughout your life. I hope that you will take full advantage of the many resources available to our alumni and that you will remain engaged with our campus. Remember that you are one of UCLA’s best advocates and ambassadors. You are always welcome here. Today is special, unlike any other day in your life. Enjoy this time with your family and friends in memorable ways. I am enormously proud of you, and I wish you a lifetime of fulfillment and happiness. With very best wishes, Gene D. Block Chancellor L ETTER F ROM T HE D EAN Teri Schwartz Dean, School of Theater, Film and Television Dear Class of 2016, Congratulations on this auspicious culmination of your academic career with us at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. As your Dean, it makes me extremely proud to have witnessed your remarkable talent and dedication to your creative work and research. It has been thrilling to see how much you have achieved during your time here with us at UCLA TFT. On behalf of the faculty and staff, please allow me to extend our deepest respect and admiration for your outstanding accomplishments, and for having reached this landmark day — your graduation. As the next generation of artists, scholars and industry leaders, you are in a very fortunate position: You have the great potential to make a difference in the world through the power of story as expressed across the entire spectrum of entertainment and performing arts. Through the education and real-world experiences you have received as a result of your time at UCLA TFT, you now have the artistry, skills and thought leadership to not only delight and entertain, but to illuminate the human spirit and to help us make sense of our lives and the world around us. We hope that you actively stay connected not only to your alma mater as the newest members of our amazing UCLA TFT alumni community, but to each other as you build dynamic and profound careers throughout the entertainment and performing arts communities. Use your successes to make a difference in the world and pay it forward by helping the next generation of new alumni who will one day join you in this distinguished network of artists, scholars and industry leaders. I am honored to use this celebratory occasion to wish each of you the very best in the years ahead. I am convinced that you will use your wonderful, diverse voices to enlighten, engage and inspire change for a better world. Congratulations, once again, Class of 2016! All of us at UCLA TFT are very proud and excited for each of you! Warmest good wishes, Teri Schwartz Dean UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television C OMMEN C EMENT S P EAKER Channing Dungey President, ABC Entertainment C hanning Dungey was named president, ABC Entertainment, in February 2016. In this role she has oversight of all development, programming, marketing and scheduling operations for the ABC Television Network. Dungey most recently served as executive vice president, Drama Development, Movies & Miniseries, ABC Entertainment Group, where she oversaw the development and production of all drama pilots, movies and miniseries, and the launch of new series for ABC Entertainment. Serving in that role since 2013, she developed and launched dozens of series including Scandal, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., How to Get Away With Murder, American Crime, Once Upon a Time and Secrets and Lies. Previously, Dungey was vice president, drama development, ABC Studios. In that role she was responsible for the development and acquisition of drama programming. Her slate of programming included the award-winning and critically acclaimed ABC show Private Practice, CBS’s long-running drama Criminal Minds, the CW’s Reaper and Lifetime’s highest- rated series, Army Wives. Dungey joined ABC Studios in the summer of 2004. Dungey began her successful career in entertainment as a development assistant for Davis Entertainment at 20th Century Fox. She then became story editor at Steamroller Productions, where she worked on the development and production of films such as Under Siege and On Deadly Ground. Following that, she joined Warner Bros. as a production executive, where she helped develop and supervise a diverse range of commercially successful, critically acclaimed films, including Bridges of Madison County, Heat, The Matrix, Twister, Devil’s Advocate, City of Angels, Conspiracy Theory, Rosewood, Space Jam and Practical Magic. In the spring of 1998, Dungey became senior vice president at Material, a film production company with a first look deal at Warner Bros., which was responsible for 2000’s Red Planet as well as 2002’s remake of H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine. After being named president in 2001, Dungey co-produced Queen of the Damned, adapted from the best-selling novel by Anne Rice, and Showtime, starring Robert De Niro, Eddie Murphy and Rene Russo; and The Big Bounce, based on an Elmore Leonard novel. Dungey, who graduated magna cum laude from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, is a founding member of the Step Up Women’s Network, a national non-profit membership organization dedicated to strengthening community resources for women and girls. She also teaches the graduate-level course “Developing the Drama Pilot” at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. D ISTINGUISHED A L UMNI A WARD IN T HEATER Robert L. Freedman Dramatist and Screenwriter Robert L. Freedman won Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Book of a Musical for A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, the 2014 Best Musical Tony winner. He was also nominated for a Tony for Best Score with composer and co-lyricist Steven Lutvak, with whom he shared the 2014 Drama Desk Award for Best Lyrics, a 2015 Grammy nomination, the 2006 Kleban Award and a 2006 Fred Ebb Award. For his television work, Freedman won the Writers Guild Award for HBO’s A Deadly Secret, a drama about teenage suicide, and was nominated for an Emmy Award and a Writers Guild Award for the miniseries Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows.