"Charisma!" Brings Emotions to Spotlight

By Philip Sykes

Six students' performances show the human spirit
Philip Sykes
Associate Reporter

With the Theatre and Dance Department's winter season opening fast approaching, the first show of the year, "Charisma!," looks promising. The Charisma group consists of six students within the department who created their own theatrical pieces based on the retreat experience they shared at the beginning of fall quarter.

The show, which is generally under an hour long, will feature dance, music and spoken word performed by students.
Senior lighting designer Nick Kumamoto described the show as "six triple threats (music, theatre and dance) get together and write and perform a show about life, art and the transcendental."

The show is in many ways drawn from the life experiences of the participants.

Senior Matt Lee described an overarching aspect of this year's show as having a central theme of "over coming fears, and realizing dreams."

Senior Briana Mitchell agreed, stating that all of the pieces deal with "the journey that an individual goes on, realizing their full potential and realizing the necessity of community and its relation to themselves as well as those around them."

"It's almost like a journey," Mitchell continued, "and this is the embodiment of that journey" adds Lee. "Charisma!" is also a story of the piritual embodiment of the journey that we all experience in our day-to-day lives.

"Even in the four years of 'Charisma!' that I've been here, every single one has explored that concept differently" said Mitchell. "Finding your center through your relationships and your art provide you with that strength."

Lee said, "it's not something religious. It's about finding your own spirit."

Kumamoto also pointed out that over the years, while each Charisma group is very different, there are things that come up "over and over again, beyond the obvious. It's not necessarily because of the content the students are asked to produce, but because it's a commonality to the human condition, to the arts and where we all are in our lives."

Faculty assistant Carolyn Silberman states that "Charisma!" is a unique experience in that everything is an original work in which the participants are "playing themselves. You never know where that is going to take you each year." Silberman states that for her, as a generation removed, it is fascinating to see how the students of today tackle the various challenges that present themselves.

"This presents an opportunity to see the next generation coming forward with conviction, determination and hope," said Silberman. "For me, the arts have always been that place, and that's a spiritual experience."

Junior Savannah Foulz-Colhour hopes that people coming to "Charisma!" will be able to come with an open heart and mind and be willing to be fully present in experiencing the performance. The show deals with a wide spectrum of human experiences in just a short time.

The show opens this Thursday and will run through Saturday, with shows starting at 8:00 p.m. at the Fess Parker Studio Theatre. Tickets are $5 and are available at SCU Presents online or at the box office. "Charisma!" has done nothing but impress its audience over the last several years and will surely do the same once more, so don't miss your chance to check it out.

Contact Philip Sykes at psykes@scu.edu.