Quick! What do a glittery singer on the rise, a water-dice-devising artist, an ascending classical-music composer, a feature-film hit maker, and a genre-bending juggler have in common? A Swarthmore degree, of course.

Known as an incubator for free and creative thinkers, the College has long provided a solid foundation for traditional artists and performers as well as those who are regarded as outliers. The following pages offer a sampling of those on the fringe and those working in a more traditional framework. Enjoy!

Gigging with Gaga

Chevonne (aka Lauren Ianuzzi ’07) Makes a Break for Pop Stardom

By Danielle Charette ’14

Chevonne, the artist formerly known as Lauren Ianuzzi ’07, has gone from staging a musical at Swarthmore to sharing a stage with international pop stars Estelle and Lady Gaga. Her flexibility, talent, and big hair, not to mention her adoption of a single stage name, will help further propel her career in the music industry, she hopes. Read more …

The Joys of Juggling

Jen Slaw ’00 keeps balls, knives—even hair dryers—in the air

By Sherri Kimmel

With a winning grin, a tilt of her head and a sambalike slither, Jen Slaw ’00 moves around Central Park catching smiles as easily as she catches her three spinning yellow balls. Tourists swivel their heads and point. The engineer turned professional juggler strolls from the park to West 72nd Street, gathering more smiles and comments while huggling … Read more …

Compelled to Compose

Although music was always part of James Matheson ’92’s life, he got his start as a composer at Swarthmore

By Carol Brévart-Demm

James Matheson ’92 is driven to write music. He works out of his Brooklyn apartment, where he has a tiny studio containing an electric keyboard and a computer. A picture of modern American composer Charles Ives hangs on the wall. “It’s kind of cramped,” Matheson says. But not so his creative urge. Ideas for works originate at the keyboard or during walks through the streets close to his apartment, near Prospect Park. “I have been known to wander around looking a bit nuts, humming to myself,” he says. Read more …

A Chance Encounter

Artist Max Mulhern ’84 rolls the dice on the high seas

By Carrie Compton

At night amid a merciless gale and at placid sunrise on calm seas, Max Mulhern ’84’s Aqua Dice haunt the ocean. Now lost in the Atlantic, the bright-orange, blue-dotted dice randomly drift, waves lapping and cresting against their right angles. Mulhern ponders the wayward 8-foot sculptures every day, often vicariously, sketching them on paper where he imagines them to be. Read more …

Eyes Wide Open

Studio chairman and independent film pioneer David Linde ’82 shares thoughts on charting a future in film

By David Fialkow ’15

David Linde ’82 is living proof that a little bit of moxie and a lot of hard work can lead to a career in the creative arts—as he has demonstrated so powerfully in the film industry. Linde, CEO of Lava Bear Films and former head of several Hollywood studios, has overseen the production and distribution of multiple Oscar-winning films, like Inglourious Basterds and The Pianist as well has having been a key player in such seminal independent companies as Miramax International, Good Machine, and Focus Features. Read more …