Sharing the stage: Celebrating Chapman’s creatives

Photo by Maddie Wang.

Art is not limited to a single form, and neither is Chapman’s creative community. 

The performing arts can range from salsa dancing to improv — and Delta Kappa Alpha (DKA) and Women in Film (WIF) brought it all to the Attalah Piazza stage on Oct. 14. 

DKA hosted its inaugural Performing Arts Festival in collaboration with WIF showcasing a number of different artists across campus. 

DKA is a co-ed cinematic arts society that is open to all majors and fosters creatives. The recent festival aimed to provide visibility to more than just cinematic arts, and that it did. 

The performing arts festival found an intersection of these different artistry forms by incorporating the Chaptones, Chapman Salsa Dancing, Roomtone Band, Improv Inc., Chapman on Broadway and many more. 

Each act offered a different reminder that performing can take form in all different arts, whether that is singing, dancing, improv and all that comes in between. 

Junior electrical engineering major Shishir Gomatham was one of the main organizers of this event. 

“The reason I created this event was because I want to show the campus the amount of artistry we have here,” said Gomatham. 

Photo by Maddie Wang.

For one night, the event made that artistry visible, showing that Chapman’s creative community is not defined by one department, one major or just one art form. 

“Everyone's an artist for a different reason,” said Gomatham.

Sophomore animation and visual effects major Claire Brigman is the financial chair for WIF and also assisted in planning this event while pledging for DKA this semester.

“(Women In Film) is an organization dedicated to advancing and promoting the roles of women in the film industry,” said Brigman.

At the event, Brigman emphasized the importance of involving the broader community into spaces of artistry. 

“We are grateful for this school and everything they have to offer,” said Brigman. “It is important to highlight why we create not just what we create.” 

Art is more than just the final product. Students are compelled to create in all different processes. 

Across campus, students from every discipline carry creative passions worth celebrating. This festival not only puts a spotlight on the hardworking students in many art forms, but also brings together creatives that might not otherwise share the same stage. 

“Many people who have creative talents got to share their art with the rest of the Chapman community,” said senior broadcast journalism major and DKA President Ainsley Savant. 

With DKA being open to all majors, different backgrounds at Chapman are given the opportunity to intersect and create what they desire.

“There are definitely many facets for people to express themselves,” said Savant. “The goal of DKA is to foster creativity and allow people to explore what they want to create.”

Photo by Maddie Wang.

The festival exhibits that creative ambition is not only made possible within traditional arts programs, but through all of the highlighted student-led societies and organizations that performed. 

“The arts (are) a place where people can find community,” said Brigman. “I think creative people need other creatives to be able to celebrate each other.” 

After the first Performing Arts Festival, DKA hopes to provide more events as such to feature even more of the arts that Chapman has and to provide our campus an outlet to explore creativity.

“I've met so many people who are also passionate about the same things,” said Savant. “But overall, at DKA, if you want to go after something, you will have the people to support your dreams and foster that creativity.” 

Gomatham noted his hopes to implement this festival each academic year. The opportunity for the arts to be showcased annually would provide the community a recurring space to share their talents and serve as a reminder that the arts are more interconnected than we may see. 

“We have so many artists from so many different backgrounds that are geared towards creation,” said Gomatham. “We're able to pool these resources together, come together and use our different creativities to make art.”