by Cinthia Villarreal
As LEAP Ambassadors, we do our best to maximize our experiences. This means taking as many opportunities as possible in a given location. So, following a day of conference sessions, we took advantage of a free evening to see “Shear Madness” at the beautiful Kennedy Center.
As we entered the building, a majestic, jaw-dropping hall with worldwide flags hung from the tall ceiling greeted us…
…and at the end, windows from top to bottom with a red dragon on it allowed us to see into the Potomac River.
To add to it, the sun setting on the other side of the building gave us an amazing reflection inside the hall and an awesome view of the D.C. skyline.
While wandering around the building, we were able to recognize the artists of the various art pieces at the patio. Throughout the trip, we have seen numerous works of Lichtenstein so, even though not a fan favorite, we still felt proud to recognize his art.
This trip we have learned and gotten to know the work of Joel Shapiro. Using rectangular abstracts of human figures, Shapiro captures movement of the human body.
Olivia and I saw Debra Butterfield’s work on our Southwest trip at the Texas Tech campus and were ecstatic to see her work again, and in the other side of the country, too.
As we entered the Kennedy Center’s lobby, beautiful chandeliers showed the way into the theatre…
…and we were ready for the play to begin.
The play takes place in a present-day Georgetown in retro styled beauty salon where Tony Whitcomb and Barbara DeMarco, the hair stylists; Mrs. Shubert; Eddie Lawrence, an antique dealer; and Nick O’Brien, an undercover police officer, are introduced to the public.
As Tony and Barbara are at work, they get sidetracked and wrapped in current gossip, frequently unbothered about their costumer’s time or even safety. Suddenly a piano starts playing and Tony begins to complain about Isabel, the upstairs elderly neighbor who is also a worldwide recognized pianist.
Suddenly, the group is told that Isabel has been mysteriously murdered and everyone becomes a suspect to an open crime. As the interrogations begin, the crew starts acting suspiciously and begin to throw each other under the bus with the police in order to not be the main suspect.
What truly made this experience one-of-a-kind, is when Officer O’Brien turned to the public for their insight on the case. With this, the play became interactive, and the crowd begins calling the actors out for lying, covering each other, or acting suspicious. He then invited the public to ask questions, which forced the actors to come up with the answer impromptu, and consequently, start improvising with jokes about current affairs and even about the audience.
Being new to the theater world, I never thought I would find the theater so captivating and humorous. It was amazing to witness the true skills needed for improvisation and I seriously admire the actor’s professionalism and readiness for staying in character without knowing what was to come.
In a small way, it’s like being a LEAP Ambassador, grabbing opportunities as they come, even when we don’t know what might be around the corner!
Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics 