Playwright Bertolt Brecht mimicked the tactics of early Nazis in his gangster play, but UCLA cast members grounded their characters in modern-day parallels. “The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui” was written in 1941 in Germany as an allegory for Hitler’s rise to power and follows gangster Arturo Ui’s treacherous ascent to becoming head of a Chicago cauliflower mob. Read more...

Photo: Robert Arriaga (pictured), a third-year theater student, stars in “The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui” alongside third-year theater student Michael Bauer. (Courtesy of Michael Lamont)

Jane Kim makes art about moments that make her cry. Though she works as a graphic designer, the alumna said she considers herself an artist at her core. Read more...

Photo: Alumna Jane Kim makes art about moments that make her cry. The artist said she taps into her feelings for each of her pieces but goes into creation without any specific visual aesthetic in mind. (Courtesy of Jane Kim)

An attempt to create a Thanksgiving pageant without any Native American performers leads to chaos and commotion in “The Thanksgiving Play.” The 90-minute production features four adult nonindigenous characters attempting to construct a pageant in honor of both the holiday and Native American Heritage Month for an elementary school. Read more...

Photo: (Courtesy of Jeff Lorch)

This post was updated Nov. 12 at 4:02 p.m. Costumes and film are combining to tell the story behind Egyptian military uniforms. Jasmina Metwaly, an artist and activist, will have her installation “Anbar” on display at the Hammer Museum until Jan. Read more...

Photo: Artist Jasmina Metwaly has her installation “Anbar” on display at the Hammer Museum until January 19. Her work consists of three 15-minute documentary clips alongside costumes to tell a story about Egyptian military uniforms. (Tanmay Shankar/Assistant Photo editor)