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Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Arts

Illustration by Rachel Choi

Emerson alumni talk visual effects on Spike Lee’s ‘Highest 2 Lowest’

By Max Ardrey, Dept. Living Arts Editor / June 5, 2025

Emerson alumni can be found working throughout the film industry in a variety of roles. This year, their work will appear in one of the summer’s most...

Djo performing at Roadrunner on May 2nd, 2025. (Sam Shipman/ Beacon Staff)

Photos: Mass local “Djo” and Post Animal rock a sold-out show at Roadrunner.

By Sam Shipman, Living Arts Editor / June 3, 2025

Stranger Things superstar Joe Keery has placed acting on the back burner, returning to the limelight under his Musical alias “Djo.” Djo is celebrating...

Church Street during the People's Party on May 17, 2025 (Nick Peace/ Beacon Staff).

The People’s Party packs Church Street in Cambridge with Fashion, Music, and colossal clothing piles

By Nick Peace, Dept. Photo Editor & Video Editor / May 31, 2025

Crowded around a multi-colored mountain of shirts and pants, thrifters of all ages, each with their own unique style, sifted through piles of clothes at...

From left: (foreground) Crystin Gilmore, Dru Sky Berrian, and Catia. (Background) MarHadoo Effeh, Hampton Richards and Kwezi Shongwe. Courtesy of Nile Scott Studios.

‘JaJa’s African Hair Braiding’ exemplifies why immigrant stories matter

By Rosa Morales-Simmons, Beacon Correspondent / May 30, 2025

A hair salon can be a place of hot topics, personal drama, and a clamor of opinions. However, for West African immigrant women in Harlem, an African...

John Filo on Blanket Hill, by Beacon photographer Fiona McMahon

The Emerson connection to the 1970 Kent State shootings

By Meg Richards, Editor-in-Chief / May 17, 2025

At the height of the Vietnam War in 1970, America was divided into political camps that went beyond party lines. Students made up the bulk of anti-war...

Courtesy of Alexys Morera

Alexys Morera talks self-care, social media, and playing Janis in ‘Mean Girls’

By Hannah Hughes, Staff Writer / April 28, 2025

Be prepared to put on your pink and meet the plastics, because “Mean Girls” is coming to The Colonial for a week, starting April 29. Adapted from...

Mamalarky (Courtesy Vlonery)

Mamalarky is mobile—musically and literally on ‘Hex Key’

By Sam Shipman, Living Arts Editor / April 23, 2025

Most bands are inspired by where they first came together. Whether it be a college dorm, a flashy record studio, or a local venue, all of these locations...

Illustration by Rachel Choi

An all-trans and nonbinary ‘Peanuts’ musical teaches us to be ‘good men’

By Ryan Yau, Editor-at-Large / April 23, 2025

Though many know “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” as a 1985 animated film based on Charles Schultz’s “Peanuts” characters, the film was adapted...

A still from Mayeni Kpenge's thesis film "Babyface." (Courtesy of Mayeni Kpenge)

Kasteel Well lends its medieval backdrop to ‘Babyface’ BFA

By Annie Sarlin, Dept. Living Arts Editor / April 23, 2025

Content warning: This article contains mentions of sexual assault. After spending this summer as a student at Kasteel Well, Mayeni Kpenge, a senior...

(Bryce Heilmann / Beacon Correspondent)

Half Alive reinvigorates Roadrunner on ‘Persona World Tour’

By Bryce Heilmann, Senior Living Arts Reporter / April 23, 2025

With a stage full of billowing smoke, two blue and green personas—Sonny and Cher—greeted the audience. It was easy to forget about the wind chills...

Four Cat Stew play with musical guest, Caroline Ranucci. (Max Ardrey / Beacon Staff)

Emerson and Berklee band brings Tiny Desk from NPR to PR (Piano Row)

By Max Ardrey, Dept. Living Arts Editor / April 16, 2025

If you live on the lower floors of Piano Row, you might have heard a mellow beat and groove seeping out of a fourth-floor suite last Sunday. These sounds...

A visitor views a self-portrait by Amy Giess, from her project "My Head is Too Heavy." (Isabella Gemma / Beacon Correspondent)

How many Emerson students does it take to curate an exhibition?

By Ryan Yau, Editor-at-Large / April 16, 2025

Movement/s, a student-curated exhibition, will be displayed at the Media Arts Gallery until May 3. The exhibition features photographs and visual art by...

Illustration Ben Putney

Review: ‘A Minecraft Movie’ is not just for miners

By Meg Richards, Editor-in-Chief / April 16, 2025

I got a ticket to see "A Minecraft Movie” last Thursday at the AMC. Despite making me one of millions to have achieved this feat, it is in and of itself...

(Courtesy of Marc J. Franklin)

Review: Dynamic, raw, and real—‘Don’t Eat The Mangos’ tells a flawed story of sisterhood

By Hannah Hughes, Staff Writer / April 13, 2025

Despite the large fruit tree standing tall over their home for nearly all their lives, sisters Ismelda, Yinolle, and Wicha grew up with a longstanding...

Erin Stotts (squatting right) on set. (Courtesy Terry Hou)

Meet Emerson’s intimacy coordinators

By Max Ardrey, Dept. Living Arts Editor / April 9, 2025

Film sets are stressful, but when the crew is made up of exhausted students, they run the risk of being panic-inducing. Visual media arts students learn...

From left to right: Maria San Filippo, Sarah Secunda, and Cristina Kotz Cornejo. (Ryan Yau / Beacon Staff)

Eight months after Bright Lights, the screening room remains important for discourse

By Ryan Yau, Editor-at-Large / April 9, 2025

On Tuesday, VMA Presents programmed a special advanced screening of three short films by faculty members, which featured women-centric films about issues...

(Courtesy of Michelle Carpenter)

NFTs explained for liberal arts students: Pellas Art Gallery welcomes women in blockchain

By Bryan Liu, Managing Editor / April 9, 2025

NFTs are misunderstood. For most, they’re just money. For others, they’re overrated. But for one night at the Pellas Art Gallery on 73 Newbury Street...

Illustration by Rachel Choi

Review: Mumford and Sons shows their restless heart with ‘Rushmere’

By Danielle Bartholet, Asst. Magazine Editor / April 9, 2025

“For years we’ve been secretly dreaming,” the caption read on Mumford and Sons’ January Instagram post, announcing a new and long awaited album...

(Courtesy of Neil Krug)

Review: Djo ascends to the height of his career on ‘The Crux’

By Sam Shipman, Living Arts Editor / April 4, 2025

Following his lead role as Steve Harrington in Netflix’s hit show “Stranger Things,” and the TikTok megahit “End of The Beginning,” created under...

(Courtesy of the Huntington Theatre Company)

‘Don’t Eat The Mangos’ arrives at the Huntington

By Hannah Hughes, Staff Writer / April 2, 2025

“Don’t Eat The Mangos,” takes the stage at the Huntington on April 3. It’s a story of dark secrets, wicked humor, and honest truths, all with a...