Celebrated actress and playwright Liza Colón-Zayas and television writer, showrunner and executive producer Anthony Sparks will be the keynote speakers for the USC School of Dramatic Arts during two commencement ceremonies on Friday, May 10, at the Bing Theatre at the University of Southern California.
Colón-Zayas will speak at the first ceremony, scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., and Sparks will speak at the second ceremony, scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. Please note, the commencement ceremonies are ticketed events and not open to the public.
Liza Colón-Zayas
Liza Colón-Zayas is best known for her portrayal of Tina Marrero on the critically acclaimed FX series The Bear. Winner of 10 Emmy Awards, The Bear also picked up an additional 55 awards and 81 nominations. Liza received the Screen Actors Guild and the Imagen Awards for her portrayal of Marrero.
She recurred on the HBO series In Treatment opposite Uzo Aduba, and the Peabody Award-winning series David Makes Man by Academy Award-winning writer Tarell Alvin McCraney.
Liza is a proud Puerto Rican from The Bronx. She attended Albany State University and earned a B.A. in Theater before returning to NYC, where she pursued her acting career performing on and off-Broadway and in Europe.
She was an original member of The LAByrinth Theater Company in New York City, which became her artistic home. There she originated roles in numerous new works, including eight plays by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis. Her New York theater awards include The Drama Desk, OBIE, Lucille Lortel, Audelco, Outer Critics Circle, HOLA, The Lilly and Kingsley Awards.
Anthony Sparks
Anthony Sparks, Ph.D., hails from Chicago’s South Side. As an artist-scholar, Anthony enjoys a distinguished career in television, theatre and academia. He has worked in the television industry over the last 20+ years, including serving as the longtime showrunner, executive producer and head writer of the acclaimed Oprah Winfrey/Ava DuVernay drama Queen Sugar. Other credits include: Bel-Air (Peacock, Executive Producer); Mike (Hulu, writer & Executive Producer); The Blacklist (NBC); the J.J. Abrams’ series Undercovers (NBC); Lincoln Heights (Freeform); and The District (CBS). In addition, Anthony has had 1st Look overall deals and/or sold pilots to Disney+, Blumhouse, BET and HBO Max. He is currently engaged to create new drama series with studios, networks and companies such as Lionsgate, Legendary, Netflix, the New York Times and Harpo Productions.
A Humanitas Prize nominee, some of the awards he has received include the 2022 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Drama series and the Television Academy’s Honors Award, among others.
A proud USC Triple Trojan, having earned his BFA in Theatre from the USC School of Dramatic Arts and his M.A. and Ph.D. in American Studies & Ethnicity from Dornsife, Sparks is a longtime advocate for increased diversity and inclusion in theatre, film and television. He and his wife—Broadway veteran performer and USC George Burns Professor/Associate Dean Anita Dashiell-Sparks—were recently honored for their work in the arts and arts education with the naming and opening of The Sparks DEI Center at the USC School of Dramatic Arts.