On Sept. 24 the Extreme Creativity class unmasked itself for the viewing pleasure of its audience. The five-week class, which met three times a week for three hours, culminated in a final project that showcased students’ various projects throughout the semester.

The hour and a half long show was held in Larison Dining Hall and began with a gallery-like experience. The audience was encouraged to walk around, observe the art around the room, and talk with the students who produced the pieces. Ranging from sculpture to writing to painting, the pieces showcased the artists’ understanding of themselves and their preferred medium.

“It really makes me appreciate the time that students put into things outside of class,” Vik Shenoy ’16 said. 

Following the half hour given to explore, the performance began with a dance by the whole class. The rest of the show was comprised of different pieces. Ranging from dance, music, spoken word, and prose, each installation was separate from the one before it. The untraditional staging, which required the audience to move around the room, enforced a commonality between each piece.  

“The staging was definitely different because each piece is so separate from the rest. Having the audience move and utilizing different spaces leant to the fluidity of the show and made it more powerful,” Lauren Scott ’17 said. 

Each piece focused on different aspects of the creator’s inner life, thus lending itself to the theme of unmasking. Audience members felt this common thread of “shedding the façade” throughout the night. From exposing insecurities to revealing deep emotions, the students fearlessly laid themselves bare for the audience.

“I loved it. The pieces really resonated with me,” Nicole Srbin ’16 said.

In addition to students, professors attended the showcase as well.

“I saw individual talent blended into a cohesive whole,” Professor of Theatre Elaine Williams said. 

When asked about their class experience, students had a similar response: a lot of work, but worth it.

“It was a humbling experience with a phenomenally uplifting and talented group of people,” Tom Grigg ’16 said. 

The show ended the way it began, with the whole class coming together for the final piece that encouraged audience members to take off their own masks through a song. After the final note the artists scattered around the room with artifacts from their lives and encouraged audience members to speak with them about what the objects represented.

“It made me proud to be myself and made me want to take my own mask off,” Tyler Julius ’16 said.