NEW MEXICO IS A POPULAR DRAW
for Hollywood heavies such as actors and directors.

For the average New Mexican, knowing a film crew is in the vicinity means little more than a slim chance to spot a celebrity or be cast as an extra. For Associate Professor Dorothy Baca’s students, however, it represents an opportunity to gain valuable information about an exciting and competitive field of work.

Baca, who has been on the UNM College of Fine Arts faculty for eight years, serves as head of design for performance in the Department of Theatre and Dance. She “fell into” costume design while an undergraduate student here. After graduation she moved to Los Angeles and worked as a costume designer for more than 25 years. Her many design credits include Bette Midler’s “Divine Madness” tour, the television shows “Murder, She Wrote” and “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” as well as extensive album cover and music video work. Baca uses her industry contacts as a resource to invite actors, designers and other artists to the University.

“All students going into the arts need to have a realistic view of what it takes to become a professional in their field,” she says. “These great artists offer a non-academic perspective that helps students analyze career choices, career preparation and what they can expect after they leave UNM.”

Over the past year, Baca has lured four prominent artists to UNM to talk to acting and design students. Josh Lucas, a former television actor who has had roles in such films as “A Beautiful Mind,” “Sweet Home Alabama,” and “Secondhand Lions,” spoke to acting students last December on a day off from shooting “Around the Bend” with Michael Caine and Christopher Walken.

“Josh was good about answering all the students’ questions: how to get into the business, how to prepare for an audition – practical matters,” Baca says. “He also talked about separating yourself from your ego, thinking about yourself as an artist. That’s important because especially with film and television, there’s so much going on that it’s easy to get distracted.”

Walken, who Baca describes as a “very natural actor,” held court in The Cell Theater in Albuquerque, fielding questions from the audience on a number of acting topics. Jim Tynes, lighting designer for “Gangs of New York” and “Something’s Gotta Give,” spoke to design students last fall. But in Baca’s opinion, the most successful star visit has been Sir Ben Kingsley’s.

Kingsley, star of such films as “Ghandi” and “House of Sand and Fog,” taught a master class to advanced acting students last year.

He asked six groups of UNM students to prepare scenes from Shakespearean plays, then studied, directed and fine-tuned the actors’ work.

“Sir Ben’s visit was really advantageous for the acting students,” notes Baca. “He is a very dedicated actor, and he taught them about the craft that he loves.”

Baca also takes her upper-level design students to movie sets to observe professional costume designers and to fully understand the role of costume in a production. Her students spent a day on the sets of “Around the Bend” and “Suspect Zero.”

Baca admits that it takes certain etiquette to communicate with prominent artists and their agents. However, the attractions to New Mexico and UNM are numerous.

“We have an outstanding program here,” she says.

“And I am selling them a good commodity: eager, young, moldable minds of people who didn’t grow up in Hollywood. That’s a product the visiting artists can invest in.”