Michael Hatchett
A&E Editor
From Feb. 3 to Feb. 6, the College of Wooster Department of Theatre & Dance will be hosting Senior Weekend, featuring “original and innovative performance works by senior theatre & dance majors that explore territory outside of [the department’s] main stage productions in combinations with their theoretical research,” according to the department’s website.
The seniors featured in the performances are Emily Baird, Emily Donato, Summit Starr, James Lorenzin and Stephanie Castrejón.
Baird and Donato are producing dance pieces whereas Starr, Lorenzin and Castrejón are producing theatrical pieces.
Baird will present two dance pieces that she choreographed as a part of her I.S., which focuses on the interplay between musical composition and dance.
Donato’s piece, titled “In search of empathy,” is “a comment on empathy. It portrays five emotions — fear, empowerment, anger, hope and grief — in a series of solos with some interactions between the soloists,” said Donato. Donato’s piece, unlike Baird’s, is not part of her I.S. (which focuses on the use of hula dance in religious organizations) but rather her contribution as a senior in the theatre & dance department.
James Lorenzin’s performance, on the other hand, consists of a staged reading of a historical play Lorenzin wrote, titled “Chaos Reigned.” Lorenzin, a history/theatre & dance double major said that while he enjoyed the rehearsals for his performance, “the process was more difficult than I could have expected.”
While Lorenzin’s piece focuses on the past, Starr’s focuses on the present. Her piece, titled THIS IS NOT A PLAY//this is a GRRRL REVOLUTION is a one-woman show that utilizes her research of the Riot Grrrl Revolution, which is a girl-power feminist movement that uses underground DIY punk rock ideologies to empower young women. Starr, who wrote, directed and stars in her piece, found the process challenging but “found it best to split myself mentally to accomplish each of these components one at a time.”
Castrejón’s piece, “No Estoy Aquí,” is also a part of her I.S., which focuses on the everyday lives of undocumented Latina women in Chicago and the challenges they come across. The performance is based on interviews that Castrejón conducted over the summer and the beginning of fall semester. In Castrejón’s own words, “the purpose for devising this performance was to use this opportunity to tell the stories of these women and give them the voice that is needed and share it to a wider audience.”
The pieces will be performed in Freedlander and Sholroy Theatre on Feb. 3, 4, 5 and 6, at 7:30 p.m.. Tickets are free and available at the box office.