Happy Founders Day!

Hello everyone and Happy Founders Day!

Today we honor the original foundation of Delta Kappa Alpha back on March 16th, 1936, as well as the eventual return and re-establishment of DKA in 2008! To honor this momentous occasion, we, as a Fraternity, would like to bring attention to the reason DKA was brought back - to encourage collaboration and inclusivity among those seeking to join the filmmaking industry.

We all know as filmmakers how difficult it can be to get our foot in the door and how, sometimes, it can feel like a competition between us and our peers to get that one rare chance to make it big. With this anniversary, Delta Kappa Alpha’s Theta Chapter and all of it’s members are committed to honoring that pledge and to encourage every budding filmmaker and dramatic arts student to work hand-in-hand with those around them to continue to build up an encouraging and welcoming space.

The Theta Chapter is continuously working on “Refounding” and examining our history and past traditions, knowing that we have plenty to honor while also allowing ourselves to chance to move on from what might have not worked in the past in the name of bringing creative opportunities to more people in the future. In the name of Founders Day, we as a Fraternity would like to encourage constant curiosity and for anyone, filmmaker or not, to continue to explore the world around them and see what lies outside of our comfortable circles.

Thank you everyone and Happy Founders Day!

New Networking Panels!

Hello everyone! We have an exciting series of announcements from our Networking Chair, Hannah Samson!

Over the next few weeks, a series of panels will be held across the month of February, all meant to help LMU students network and build connections with alumni and prepare their own careers!

Keep an eye out for these dates and if you’re interested, make sure to RSVP to them via Handshake! You can also check our Events page to check out times and dates for both these panels and for our Fraternity!

First off, learn how to build a professional online portfolio via a Wix Workshop on Tuesday, February 7th from 3 to 4 PM in St. Rob’s Auditorium. You’ll learn why a professional presence on the digital scene matters and how to quickly build an effective online presence.

The day after, on Wednesday, February 8th, check out a panel on Representation in the Arts from 3 to 4 PM and how to find agents or managers via Zoom! Make sure to RSVP via Handshake to get access to the Zoom link!

Lastly, check out an Alumni Networking Mixer on Thursday, February 9th from 7 to 9:30 PM in Roski’s Dining Hall. Meet with over fifty former Lions now working in the arts and entertainment industry with such major companies as the Walt Disney Company, Dreamworks Animation, or the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. You won’t want to miss this!

I hope these events prove useful to anyone who’s able to attend! Also, if you’re unable to attend the Wix Workshop, don’t worry! You can sign up for a 10-minute portfolio review with a coach via Handshake!

Best of luck everyone and have a great rest of your week, and make sure to thank Hannah for working so hard on getting these events rolling!

2023 Spring Rush!

Hello everyone, I hope your first few weeks of classes have been going well! And with a new semester of classes comes a new semester of rushing! If you’re interested in rushing for Delta Kappa Alpha, you’ll definitely want to remember these dates.

First off, we’ll be holding two info sessions anyone can attend, so if you’re still wondering what DKA is, what we do, and who we are, please check these out:

1. Our first info session will be on January 28th at 10:30 AM via Zoom.

2. Our second info session will be on January 31st at 10:15 PM via Zoom.

In-person, we’ll be hosting a few events so you can leave your mark on us! Meet us at these events to take your chance:

1. We’ll be hosting an Ice Cream Social on January 28th at 11:45 AM right after the first info session. You’ll find us all gathered up on the lawn outside St. Robert’s!

2. On February 4th at 3:30 PM, we’ll be hosting a Speed Dating event at the Sunken Gardens, giving you a great chance to meet many of our Actives in one setting! Be ready to open up and talk!

3. Finally, we’ll be hosting a Filmmaking Event on February 5th at 9:30 AM in Pereira 140. Keep calm and flex your creative minds with your peers and you’ll surely impress!

Most important of all, if you want to be seriously considered for Delta Kappa Alpha, make sure you submit your applications to recruitment@lmu.dka.org! You can find the application here or on our Join Us page.

Best of luck everyone and I hope to see all of you there!

PRODUCTION GRANTS 2022 AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

In the last Chapter of 2022, Theta Chapter voted to award a number of projects created and presented by Active Deka’s with production grants! These grants will be used to either help in the physical production of these projects, to cover festival fees, or to fund lengthy post-production processes.

The recipients of these grants, and their projects, are as follows:

1. Moxie 412.5 by Teagan So and Zoe Lin Cannon, with music by Jeremy Lee and starring Liliana Chomsky! Set in a zombie apocalypse, this radio drama follows an optimistic young girl who documents her travels as she searches for her missing siblings. Theta Chapter voted and chose to award Moxie 412.5 with $1,000 in production grants!

2. Meet Cute by Madison Lair, produced by Kirsten Osei-Bonsu and Meera Mack, with PD by Audrey Szot and Emmalyne Hvizdak, and sound by Rocky Jacobs! Portraying the difficulties of living as someone who either identifies as or was assigned female at birth, Meet Cute is a music video exploring the romantic comedy genre by illustrating two different point of views - the catcaller and the catcalled. Theta Chapter voted and chose to award Meet Cute with $500 in production grants!

3. Pretty Ugly Creature by Cody DeTurk, produced by Kirsten Osei-Bonsu, with costumes by Emmalyne Hvizdak, makeup by Alexandra Weary, and starring Jack Mayer, Harrison Hamm, Audrey Szot, and Macy Boren! A dark comedy following an insecure teenager and their deal with a mermaid, Pretty Ugly Creature had already finished production by the time Theta Chapter voted and chose to award the project $250 to cover festival fees!

4. Break Your Heart by Adelaide Burrows, a music video for artist Sabrina Who, a fellow LMU student! Spoofing romantic comedy tropes, Break Your Heart follows a young woman rejecting her ex’s cliché attempt to rekindle their romance! Having already been shot, Theta Chapter voted and chose to award the project $250 to cover reimbursement fees!

Theta Chapter is absolutely ecstatic and incredibly proud to help with the production of these projects and remain committed to our Actives and their artistic capabilities. Thank you for reading, and to everyone, a Happy New Year!

NEW OFFICERS! And Upcoming Updates

And with a new officer corps comes new updates to an aging website. Over the next few weeks, prepare to watch the Theta Chapter’s official website undergo a number of overhauls and changes in order to bring it into the 2020s! On top of these changes, the Spotlight tab will be continuously updated - weekly - in order to highlight the commitments of our Actives and Alumni.

Theta Chapter, here are your new officers:

Interchapter - Nicole Dwyer
Networking - Hannah Samson
Storage - Josie Spanier
Senior/Alumni - Piper Jones
Development - Eric Pastore
Culture Chair - MP Hayes
Pledge Sec - Shane Lavner
Pledge Ed - Cody DeTurk
Casting Liaison - Sydney Rothenburg
Cinema Literacy - Aviva Schwaiger
Production - Jordyn Pritsker
Screenwriting Circle - Parker Alexander
Fellowship - Tristan Auyang
Formals - Hayden Brown
Retreat - Pedro Guzman
Sustainability - Liliana Chomsky
Philanthropy - Aliyah Devane
Historian - Tapio Tokunaga
Social Media - Bailey Wertzberger
Webmaster - Brett Cornwell
Design - Rachel Dennin
Editor-in-Chief - Andrew Hilmes
Scholarship - Isa Coty
Risk Management - Patrick Hall
Sunshine - Emma Lenny

And to wrap up the first new Spotlight post of the 2020s (an entire decade!), let’s make sure to throw a quick shoutout to the PR Chair, Taylor Skorupa, and the rest of the Executive Board for their time and commitment. Thank you!

ACTIVE SPOTLIGHT: Update on Colton Van Til and Sophia Hoefle's "Aberdeen"

Colton Van Til and Sophia Hoefle’s feature film, Aberdeen, was selected to be featured at two film festivals in the past few months. The film was screened at the historic Blue Mouse Theatre in Tacoma on the 24th of February for the 2019 Destiny City Film Festival.

More recently, "Aberdeen" was selected to be included in the 2019 Port Orchard Film Festival. The film is all set to be screened on the 4th of May.

INAUGRAL 'PRODUCTION GRANT'

Over the course of the last few months, President Ben Bellevue and Cinematic Affairs Chair, Andrew York developed the ‘Production Grant’. Implementing the Grant was undertaken by Andrew York and the Production Chair, Jacob Lallas to bring into effect the chapter’s inaugural ‘Production Grant’. The objective of the grant is to give members an opportunity to make passion projects. The various awards of the Grant are $ 250 award, $ 500 award, and a $ 1000 award.

The winners of the first round of Production Grant are the following

1. Thank God For Girls by Summer Plair and Andrew York - $ 1000

2. Snack Attack by Alex Alford - $ 250

3. That Thing (On the Internet) by Alison Huntley - $ 250

In addition, the following have been selected by the chapter to represent the Grant committee:

Production Chair - Jacob Lallas

Jack McGill - Directing/Post-Production Specialist

Andrew York - Producing Specialist

Writing Specialist - Alex Falcon

Cinematography Specialist - Emily Stevenson

ACTIVE SPOTLIGHT: SUMMER PLAIR and Andrew York’s "THANK GOD FOR GIRLS"

This semester, our Recruitment Chair, Summer Plair and Cinematic Affairs chair co-created a web series titled, Thank God For Girls. Thank God For Girls is a comedic web series about an insecure, black, high school lesbian, who struggles with love, friendship, and coming out. Summer wrote the show in addition to taking on the directing responsibilities. Along with being a co-creator and co-director, Andrew York produced this web series. Bretta Lichtenwalner, our new active member, was the 1st AD and the Associate Producer. Kelly Muskat was the Director of Photography with two new active members Wendy Xi and Jacob Staudenmaier part of her camera team. Ellen Na was in charge of Hair and Make Up while Jared Fembleaux managed the Social Media. Last but not the least, Keiva Bradley, was one of the lead actress, playing the role of Christine.

Welcome Rush class Fall 2016!

Our new class of Rushees is excited to start the most amazing Pledge process ever conceived. We wish them the best on their endeavours!

The New DKA Members. Spring 2016!

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(left to right) Top Row: Mauricio Jauregui, Bolun Wei, Eden Russo, Jennifer Walton. Second Row: David Sireika, Mitchell Huckaby, Danica Dickison, Clark Eglinton, Catherine Collier, Val Taylor, Chris Cranston, Andrew York, Madison Quinton. Third Row: Jackson DeFreest, Neyah Barbee, Jasmin Riedel, Jane Chow, Taylor Raymond, Sofia Saharah. Bottow Row: Emily Teera, Megan Siu Lau, Jennifer Bohnert, Christine Gonzalez, Jordan Goodman

The newly initiated members of Delta Kappa Alpha Theta chapter are ready to take on the world of the cinematic arts. 

DKA Website

Hello Everyone PR Chair here!

Welcome to the brand new Delta Kappa Alpha Theta Chapter website. Please be free to navigate around and explore the website. If you have any questions or recommendations e-mail pr@lmu.dka.org. With that said, Enjoy!