A r t s & C u ltu r e
March 11, 2022
ARTS & CULTURE Established 1874
Volume 151, Number 14
Senese-Grossberg’s At the End of the World Illuminates Jewish Identity, Hope in the Face of Apocalypse
At the End of the World, a play written and directed by College fourth-year Zoe Senese-Grossberg, opened Thursday in Wilder Main Space. Photo courtesy of Clarissa Heart Sierra Colbert Senior Staff Writer “How do we live when we feel like everything is being destroyed?” This is the question College fourth-year Zoe Senese-Grossberg has spent the last few years reflecting on while writing and directing their play, At the End of the World. Written during the pandemic, the play was initially produced as a radio play but premiered on stage for the first time Thursday in the Wilder Main Space, where it will run through Sunday. In Nov. 2019, Senese-Grossberg had a discussion with a friend about fears surrounding the end of
the world, and soon after, she began writing the play which would ultimately become a two-and-ahalf year endeavor. At the End of the World is set in New York City in 1938 and follows the lives of three characters: Ezra Lavinsky/Edward Llewelyn, Freyda Lavinsky, and Julia Ford, who grapple with questions of identity and family in the wake of an antisemetic attack. College fourth-year Justin Pelofsky, who plays Edward/Ezra, feels that despite the dark material of the play, it ultimately offers audiences a message of community and hope. “I think, really importantly, the connection we have to our loved ones, and how much that matters, … I think that that’s sort of a big message,” Pelof-
sky said. “To value these connections that we have even though sometimes things feel so hopeless.” Pelofsky’s castmates expressed similar thoughts on the play’s impact. College second-year Noa Shapiro-Tamir plays Ezra’s cousin Freyda, whose apartment serves as the backdrop for much of the play. “It’s a really beautiful play that, to me, speaks about how people struggle to connect with one another and with other people in a time of tragedy,” Shapiro-Tamir said. “Especially one that is outside the realm of control of these people.” As it explores the vitality of human connection, At the End of the World also examines the experiences associated with holding Jewish identity in See Student Play, page 13
Dance Majors Jewel Cameron and Analise LaRiviere to Perform in Capstone Recitals Jocelyn Blockinger Senior Staff Writer
College fourth-years Analise LaRiviere and Jewel Cameron will perform in their joint capstone dance recital March 11–12. Photo courtesy of Analise LaRiviere
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On March 11 and 12, fourth-year Dance majors Jewel Cameron and Analise LaRiviere will perform their capstone dance recitals in Warner Main Space. LaRiviere’s piece is titled Au Milieu and Cameron’s, Dance Stories. While the performances are the culmination of LaRiviere and Cameron’s dance careers at Oberlin, both performers also hope to communicate their love and dedication to the College’s Dance department. A labor of love that has taken months of preparation, the show is being put on with the help of a grant from XARTS, an Oberlin fund created to support the development and execution of collaborative, multi-disciplinary artistic projects. When asked about their preparative creative processes, LaRiviere and Cameron discussed the vital transformation of their choreographic skills. “This is very different from other shows because it’s not as much sitting back as it can be with other departments’ shows with a lot of shorter dances all by different people,” Cameron said. “This is almost an hour of my own choreography, which is like
nothing I’ve ever done before. So it was a little bit daunting. But it was a wonderful experience. I feel like I learned a lot.” Both Cameron and LaRiviere used experimental ideas to help form their final outcome. While LaRiviere prefers to showcase her work in non-trditional spaces, she highlighted the sentimental aspect of showcasing her capstone project in Warner Main Space. “I’ve always been interested in site-specific dance, which is dance that happens outside of a regular stage theater,” LaRiviere said. “But in my heart of hearts, I knew that I needed to dance my senior show in Main Space, which is just such a gorgeous, beautiful space that holds such a place in my heart.” LaRiviere chose to create an installation for her performance. A series of decorated cloth-like pieces will be draped around the stage for the duration of her performance, transforming the traditional stage in Warner into an otherworldly space. “I was craving a new and interesting space to create and move in,” LaRiviere said. “The installation mainly consists of large sheets of cheesecloth See Graduating, page 13
