Student spirituality on display in 'Charisma!'

By Tasia Endo

Spirituality would seem ubiquitous on a Jesuit campus like Santa Clara, yet the seventh annual student-created production, "Charisma!," an exploration of spirituality through the performing arts, exemplifies the long-standing necessity of searching for grace. Opening last Friday night, the black box arrangement intimately set the modest stage for the nondenominational, non-proselytizing performance, personalized by students Lauren Baines, Julia Canavese, Angela Harrington, Francesca McKenzie and Skye Wilson.

"The message is to explore these things for yourselves," said Baines, the student director. "Among the five of us, there's diverse expressions and diverse beliefsâ?¦ it's not a concrete message, but it's more of a message that we encourage you to explore these ideas and be grateful for what is meaningful to you."

"Charisma!" is a multidiscipline production, featuring students' soulful and original artistic expressions of their spirituality through dance, song, spoken word and theater.

It's also the culmination of the creative and inquisitive process of an independent study class from fall. "The process (of the class) is a chance for (the students) to explore, to see what's going on for them spiritually," said "Charisma!" faculty advisor, Michael Zampelli, S.J., of the theater and dance department.

"The performance is a capstone, where they present to an audience what the fruit of their journey thus far has been. It invites an audience into a moment of understanding, to experience what this intersection between art and spirituality is for them."

The course fuels creativity and fosters discussion through twice-weekly class meetings, an outreach volunteer experience -- this year serving breakfast at an InnVision homeless shelter in San Jose -- and a retreat in Aptos, where the students bond in their joint efforts.

"On the first night we cooked the meal together," said Baines. "Seeing everyone come together brought to life the community aspect: These are five individuals pulling together, creating a dinner, creating a show. This is what we're supposed to do."

Baines follows in the footsteps of seven former "Charisma!" student directors, a tradition established by Melissa Hudson, who graduated in 2001. Hudson created the annual performance as a proposed independent study project under theater and dance lecturer Carolyn Silberman.

"'Charisma!' became a wonderful opportunity for time out to reflect in a very high-pressured academic and performing community," said Silberman.

"I think that there was wonderful refreshment when students were actually asked to carve out time to reflect on the process of spirituality and art. I think that was attractive to students because of the high-stress lives that we all lead. "

Regardless of one's spirituality, "Charisma!" is a worthy show because it is accessible. The hour-long show was a brave and honest revelation of the students' spiritual journey.

With conversational transitions that discuss how spirituality affected each performer and with the musical score of recognizable contemporary works, like that of popular Christian band Relient K, it is obvious to the viewer that "Charisma!" is a reflection from today's student perspective.

Themes addressed ranged from facing life's unanswered questions to the definition of grace. The most tangible, though, was the literal acknowledgement of brokenness and finding strength in a moment of weakness.

Both Baines and Canavese suffered from knee and foot injuries, respectively, yet they incorporated their physical challenges into the show. Through Baines' spoken monologue and a remarkably fluid dance employing Canavese's cumbersome crutches as props, the cast profoundly showed the possibility of overcoming life's challenges through sustained spirituality.

"I am always moved by the distance the students come from the beginning to the first showing because always something important bubbled up from the group, something alive," said Zampelli, who, like Silberman, has been a faculty mentor since the beginning.

"Even against all odds, (this year's students) made something happen, and that is stunning."

Contact Tasia Endo at tendo@scu.edu.