From thought-provoking screenings to triumphant performances, September has an exciting lineup of events for the University community. Organizations from the School of Dramatic Arts, Roski School of Art and Design and School of Cinematic Arts invite students to a variety of artistic, immersive activities in the backyard of South Los Angeles.

L.A. Skins: “Bad Press” and “Frybread Face and Me”

L.A. Skins Fest is the largest Native American film festival in the United States and encourages Indigenous filmmakers through creative programming and workshops.

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“Bad Press” is a thrilling, Sundance-acclaimed political documentary detailing the struggle of a lone journalist representing the Muscogee Nation to expose government censorship and corruption.

The free screening will be followed by a discussion with directors Rebecca Landsberry-Baker and Joe Peeler. Landsberry-Baker is the executive director of the Native American Journalists Association. Peeler is an award-winning director and editor whose work is featured on Netflix  in the documentary “Flint Town.”

Presented by the L.A. Skins Film Festival in conjunction with the School of Cinematic Arts, the “Bad Press” screening will take place on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Ray Stark Family Theatre. L.A. Skins will present “Frybread Face and Me” on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Oct. 14, at the Norris Cinema Theatre.

Thornton Symphony

Lean back and listen to the melodic opener of Thornton’s season, led by principal conductor of the orchestra program Carl St. Clair. The pieces include Atlanta-based composer Joel Thompson’s “breathe/burn: an elegy,”  traditional Hebrew songs “Deux mélodies hébraïques” and musical narrative “Symphonie fantastique.”

The symphony will feature faculty member Seth Parker Woods, a trailblazer in both cello and fashion and USC’s Robert Mann Chair in Strings and Chamber Music.

Students can RSVP to watch the performance at Bovard Auditorium on Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m.

WE ARE: Explosion Event for PST Art

Commissioned by Getty, “WE ARE: Explosion Event” exhibits the interdisciplinary craft and scientific innovation of multimedia artist Cai Guo-Qiang.

Guo-Qiang is a multimedia creative who has combined traditional styles of performance art to contemporary technologies. He was awarded the first U.S. Department of State Medal of Arts in 2012 and was the Director of Visual Effects and Fireworks for the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Audience members will be immersed in a visual narrative in the sky above them, as the true stars of the show will be fireworks made of sustainable dyes and choreographed drones that present Guo-Qiang’s artwork innovations alongside his personal artificial intelligence creations.

While free tickets are limited, students can watch this unique exhibit at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum at 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 15.

A.I. and the Arts Symposium

Check out this daylong exploratory symposium that directly follows up the “WE ARE: Explosion Event.” Guest speakers and performers will discuss and showcase the relationships between artificial intelligence, artistry and humanity.

Speakers include Guo-Qiang, ‘choreorobotics’ engineer Catie Cuan, environmental designer Aroussiak Gabrielian and numerous other artists who are knowledgeable in the intersection of artificial intelligence, design, science and visual art.

All panels will take place in Bovard Auditorium on Sept. 16.

Roski Talks: Nadya Tolokonnikova

Roski will host Russian feminist and concept artist Nadya Tolokonnikova, who established performance art and activist group Pussy Riot. The group staged entertaining, politically resistant pieces that culminated in the song “Punk Prayer: Mother of God, Drive Putin Away.”

She will be joined onstage by Roski professors Suzanne Lacy and Jennifer West.

Tolokonnikova will speak in the Wong Auditorium on Sept. 17 at 7 p.m.

“Ghostly Labor”

“Ghostly Labor” is a vision to behold. From rhythmic dancing to musical ear-teases, this production features La Mezcla, an ensemble of Chicane, Latine and Indigenous cultures.

Their vibrant performance explores labor history and exploitation at the U.S.-Mexico border through the power of resistance.

Visions and Voices presents “Ghostly Labor” at 7 p.m. in Bovard Auditorium on Sept. 19.

“The Wormwood Star” and “Barbarella”

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, slated to open in 2025, presents a special double-feature of two genre-bending films that focus on an “othering,” a theme that is prevalent in the Lucas Museum and in the USC Fisher Museum of Art Exhibition “Sci-Fi, Magick, Queer L.A.: Sexual Science and the Imagi-Nation.”

This free screening requires online RSVPs and takes place in the Norris Cinema Theatre on Sept. 23 at 7:30 p.m.

“She Loves Me”

The SDA production “She Loves Me” is a witty, heartfelt romantic comedy musical that imagines a classic hidden identity storyline, brought to life by the “Cabaret” and “Fiddler on the Roof” visionaries Joe Masteroff and Sheldon Harnick.

The show will run from Sept. 26 through 29 in Bing Theatre. Digital tickets can be purchased at the USC Ticket Office. General admission is $25, faculty prices are $15 and student tickets are $10 each.

Jazz Night at Carson

On Sept. 30, the Afro-Latin American Jazz Ensemble will take center stage of Carson Soundstage to perform a variety of Latin genres of music.

The event will be led by faculty member Aarón Serfaty, who also serves on the L.A. Music Academy.