The Brigham Young University BRAVO! Professional Performing Arts series presents Kelli O’Hara, Tony Award—winning Broadway star of “The King and I,” in the de Jong Concert Hall on Friday, Sept. 4, at 7:30 p.m.Tickets are $25-55, with discounts available for alumni, seniors and students.

BYU faculty Brad Barber and Scott Christopherson directed and produced Peace Officer, a documentary about the militarization of American police. The documentary follows the story of a former sheriff who started his state’s first SWAT but struggles 30 years later with what it has become. He investigates officer-involved shootings, as well as the shooting of his son-in-law, to discover the truth behind seemingly unrelated events. The film won the 2015 Documentary Feature Competition Grand Jury and Audience awards at the South by Southwest Film Festival, the David Carr award and Audience Award Best Documentary Feature at the Montclair film festival, the Kathleen Bryan Edwards Award for Human Rights at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival and is featured as an exclusive on Apple trailers. The film will have its theatrical premieres in New York on September 16 and Los Angeles on September 18. After the premieres, the documentary will open in select cities. The film teaser is featured on Apple Trailers.

Incoming BYU faculty Robert Machoian’s film God Bless the Child was featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Filmmaker magazine and was made an official selection for South by Southwest. The film follows a family of five children ranging from age one to 13 years old over the course of a day after their mother abandoned them, forcing the eldest and only girl to handle her four younger brothers. Although the film is scripted, it has the style of a documentary. A scene from ‘God Bless the Child’ - PHOTO: ROBERT MACHOIAN Machoian’s film has a five star rating on iTunes and glowing reviews in The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. The New York Times praises the filmmakers for using their own children as the actors and letting their internal dynamics drive the action instead of creating characters, stating “their blooming personalities come through with a warm and wonderful immediacy.” Filmmaker magazine sat down with Machoian and his co-director Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck to discuss the challenges of making this film. Read more about the interview here.

Shelley Graham was recently awarded the Gold Medallion of Excellence for her extraordinary dedication to teaching, mentoring, and service at the Region 8 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) in Las Vegas.

Brad Barber was approached by producers at New Jersey’s PBS station after the premiere of his national project States of America to collaborate on a similar concept for New Jersey.

The Theatre department hosted one last goodbye to the HFAC for its alumni on December 10. The joint Christmas and HFAC celebration started with the idea of giving alumni the chance to come and see the building one last time.