A night of live performances and shades of violet, nearly 500 guests congregated at Cipriani South Street to celebrate New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts’ 60th anniversary on April 13. The festivities centered Theatre Mitu Founding Artistic Director and Tisch’s newest Dean, Rubén Polendo and two honorees — Runway co-founder and Tisch alum, Cristóbal Valenzuela (‘18) and Pulitzer Prize winning writer and Tisch faculty member, Suzan- Lori Parks.
Rubén Polendo (Courtesy NYU)
The event kicked off with photos on the purple carpet where The Knockturnal was able to catch up with Dean Polendo who has transitioned from Chair of the Drama Department, to creating the Innovation Studio as of one his first acts as Dean.
“Innovation Studio brings students together to work across disciplines in live performance and technology,” Dean Polendo explains. “It’s a new approach to bring people together to creative and learn.” A sign of the times, the Innovation Studio will serve as the catalyst for creatives to evolve with technology.
Cristóbal Valenzuela (Courtesy NYU)
A testimony to the idea that the journey is just as important as the destination, Valenzuela noted three lessons from his path to becoming a leading innovator. In addition to learning that “not fitting in can be a form of direction,” and that “great work usually happens when someone ignores the borderline,” he also reflected on what Tisch offers: “This school taught me many things, but maybe the biggest was that learning how to learn is the most important skill.”
While Runway is leading students to the future of AI generative tools with initiatives such as the Hundred Film Fund, it’s necessary to champion those who innovated with less technology and more guidance and collaboration from legends such as James Baldwin, Ron Howard and Oprah Winfrey.
Since writing one play every day for a year to serving as The Public Theatre’s Writer-In-Residence, as of late, Suzan- Lori Parks is a beacon to her Tisch community. “Everything I do when I work in the field, I bring back into the classroom, and share with my students,” Parks beamed. “I share my light with the Tisch community, and the Tisch community shares their lights with me.”
Suzan- Lori Parks (Courtesy NYU)
From start to finish, the evening both reflected Tisch School of the Arts’ legacy and set the tone for its future of artistic innovation.