Off-Campus/On-Screen: Cornell Life in the Time of COVID-19 Program

The Department of Performing and Media Arts (PMA) 

presents

Off-Campus/On-Screen: Cornell Life in the Time of COVID-19

A Collage of Short Films led by theatre director Rebekah Maggor, and filmmakers Jeffrey Palmer and Youngsun Palmer

December 18, 7:00 p.m. EST
December 19, 8:00 a.m. EST
December 20, 2:00 p.m. EST
January 24, 2:00 p.m. EST

Off-Campus/On-Screen is a collage of student-initiated short films created in collaboration with faculty and production staff in the Department of Performing and Media Arts, Cornell University. The nine shorts open windows onto the tumultuous lives of students scattered across the globe—from Ithaca to Iowa City, and Beijing to Novosibirsk—as they struggle with economic hardship, social distancing, depression, and political upheaval catalyzed by pandemic.

Reserve your free ticket at schwartztickets.com. A link will be emailed to you prior to showtime.

This project is funded in part by the Cornell Council for the Arts.

Some films contain strong language.

As depicted in these films, the pandemic has affected many aspects of our lives, including mental health. If you are struggling, help is available:

Cornell Health: Coping During COVID-19

CDC: Coping with Stress

Dear community members,

In a more typical year, you would be reading this note in a physical program while gathering in a public space. As you well know, there is nothing typical about this year, and so this note must also depart from the conventions that have tended to govern it in the past. Ordinarily I might describe particular projects with confidence that they would materialize in ways of which we could be basically certain. But not now; the very digital program in which this note appears could change before the end of the semester—and could change even more dramatically for the coming spring.

Indeed, what we were intending as a year’s worth of programming in our immediately prior spring has already been radically reimagined. I am proud of students, staff, and faculty who have responded with inventiveness and imagination to making virtual work in socially distanced ways. I am proud that the majority of this work is centering perspectives on systemic racism and white supremacist ideology, of which the Department of Performing and Media Arts must take urgent stock, for which we must be accountable, and whose dismantling we must actively undertake. I am proud that numerous BIPOC guest artists and scholars will visit classes and make public presentations via Zoom. And I am proud that all of this activity is free to our publics, who now more than ever need access to art and intellection that we hope will sustain us through the anxieties and exhaustions of our current political and historical circumstances.

I look forward to a time when we may all convene again in the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts and communally enjoy film, dance, theater, performance art, installation, public lectures, and more. In the meantime, I wish everyone reading this note physical health and emotional and spiritual well-being.

—Nick Salvato

COVID-19 has created immense hardship in our community, but it’s also pushed us to work together in unexpected ways. Off-Campus/On-Screen is a product of just such a beautiful collaboration. It’s a unique project for PMA in many ways, and marks a string of firsts for our department. As our Chair, Nick Salvato, mentions in his program letter, it’s part of a radically reimagined season of virtual and socially distanced productions. You’re about to see a full-length screening of short films created through virtual rehearsals, socially distanced shoots, and long-distance critiques. We were ambitious in our attempt to form nine “production pods,” one for each film, each with performers, authors, cinematographers, and editors. Many students took on several of these roles simultaneously. We held devising sessions over Zoom, tutored students on camera settings during DIY shoots, designed, built, and dressed an entire set in the Schwartz Center for socially distanced filming, worked painstakingly on editing, music, and soundscapes, and then brought everything together into what you’re about to see today. Most of the PMA team never left our homes, conducting all work virtually, while others, like the incomparable Steven Blasberg, more or less camped out in the Schwartz Center to make this project a reality. Wherever we were in the world, the PMA faculty and staff have never worked harder, or longer, on a departmental production. It was a grueling semester-long process that started with a call for actor-storytellers in August and ended at a bleary 5 o’clock in the morning mid-December when Jeff and Youngsun uploaded the final cut to Box. We’d like to thank all of the faculty and staff involved in this groundbreaking project for your inspirational work and dedication. The train has left the station.  

Beyond the extraordinary inventiveness and unrelenting sweat and determination of this COVID-era project, Off-Campus/On-Screen marks the first time PMA faculty and staff from theatre and film have collaborated on a mainstage season production. When COVID-19 shuttered our theatre season, Rebekah, a theatre director, approached Jeff, a filmmaker, with an idea to work together. She proposed using theatre devising techniques to create a tapestry of screenplays around Cornell life during the pandemic. Most of these shorts started with an idea, or a dilemma, which students transformed into screenplays through improvisation sessions. Despite the differences in our approaches and vocabulary, this process showed us that theatre and film artists ultimately speak the same language: we are storytellers. Dramatic structure and compelling characters stand at the heart of each journey you’re about to see. Throughout the process, we have learned from each other in humbling and enlightening ways. Jeff and Youngsun inspired Rebekah with the conciseness and meticulousness of their visual storytelling, while Rebekah deployed techniques to help actors enliven their performances and raise the stakes of each moment.

Last, but certainly not least, this project marks the first time PMA has dedicated a mainstage production to a collection of student stories. Rather than producing a conventional play, in which students memorize and interpret an established author’s text, our project began with a call for actor-storytellers. We asked students to propose their own ideas in any form—written, audio, or visual.

Are you an actor? A performer? A playwright? A composer? A visual artist? A poet? Do you have an urgent story to tell about COVID-19 and the ‘off-campus/on-screen' experience? We’re looking for you!

We received submissions from individual students and from student groups, students with serious filmmaking credentials, others with a wealth of theatre experience. Most importantly, an incredibly diverse ensemble of student artists stepped forward to tell their stories. The students who created this project are scattered across the globe— from Ithaca, to Iowa City, Beijing, and Novosibirsk—and their shorts open windows onto tumultuous struggles with economic hardship, social distancing, depression, and political upheaval catalyzed by pandemic.

In order to help students codify their ideas, PMA faculty and staff provided rigorous mentoring on every aspect, including devising, screenwriting, acting, cinematography, design, and editing.  It was an experiment in teacher-student collaboration, which we see as a new model for helping students develop the skill sets they will need to tackle this type of provocative storytelling in the future. Through this process with each other, we also came to question our own approach to teaching through creative practice. This project pushed us to ask ourselves difficult questions. How do we mentor students in a way that creates equality and helps disadvantaged students succeed? What does that mentorship look like and how is it different from our past practices? How can we develop teaching models that challenge entrenched power structures? How can we assemble diverse teams of teaching artists? How can we support narratives instigated and chosen by students? By pushing us to examine and transform how we teach and mentor, we hope this project will help bring untold stories to the table.  

—Rebekah Maggor and Jeffrey Palmer

By Duoer Jia (DJ), devised with P.A. Angelopoulos, Carolyn Goelzer, Rebekah Maggor, Sara Pistono, and Linshuang (Lynn) Wu, directed by Rebekah Maggor and Jeffrey Palmer. 

A computer science major from China, facing an imminent travel ban to the US after COVID-19 shuts down her study-abroad program in London, has less than 24 hours to get back to Ithaca, or possibly never return to Cornell and the United States.

By Rebekah Maggor, devised with P.A. Angelopoulos and Carolyn Goelzer, directed by Rebekah Maggor. 

When the pandemic hits, a Cornell professor of theatre battles with technology during online teaching, while trying to support her recently laid-off partner. The three short episodes of Introduction to Acting bring the student-protagonists of all the short films together for a fictitious Cornell acting class in the Department of Performing and Media Arts. 

Written and directed by Anna Evtushenko. 

When a PhD student in information science returns home to Russia to find peace and concentrate on her studies, her mother sucks her into a bold and time-consuming political campaign against the ruling party.

Written and directed by The Skits.

When Cornell enlists student volunteers to enforce the behavioral compact on campus, Harold takes his job a little too seriously, abusing his power and unleashing his wrath on Collegetown. 

By Noah Harrelson, directed by Jordan Ferrell.

A troubled A&S senior from Alabama, and member of a once-bustling fraternity, must come to terms with his own isolation. With no music to fill the halls, he creates his own melody. 

By Rebekah Maggor, devised with P.A. Angelopoulos and Carolyn Goelzer, directed by Rebekah Maggor. 

By Euna Park, directed by Rebekah Maggor and Youngsun Palmer.

An ILR student returns a check-in call from her mother, painting a pretty picture that masks her declining mental health.

Choreographed by members of Amber Dance, directed by Bruce Mi, written by Linshuang (Lynn) Wu, with dance consultant Jumay Chu, and executive producer Jane Xie. 

After three years at Cornell, Samantha suddenly finds herself back in her home country of China, studying remotely for her senior year. A dance-on-film short, Lifting Pas explores Samantha’s alienation from her own culture and her attempt to find freedom by bringing together traditional Chinese and modern Western dance.

By Sahara Ellis, devised with P.A. Angelopoulos, Dan Domingues, Rebekah Maggor, and Linshuang (Lynn) Wu, directed by Rebekah Maggor. 

On the final day of her virtual internship, desperate ILR student Grace tries to secure an interview for a paying job from her oblivious supervisor.

By Rebekah Maggor and Ana Carmona-Pereda, devised with P.A. Angelopoulos and Carolyn Goelzer, directed by Rebekah Maggor. 

By Ana Carmona-Pereda, directed by Crystal Navellier.

When financial hardship forces an incoming A&S freshman to attend her first semester at Cornell online in a cramped one-bedroom apartment in the Bronx, she dreams of visiting the Cornell campus and building a new life. 

P.A. Angelopoulos trained and worked as an actor and theatre and TV director in Greece before launching a career as a theatre director and educator in Barcelona. His passion is directing and training actors for the stage in the seemingly unteachable and elusive art of dramatic interpretation. He directed numerous professional productions in Barcelona, ranging from classic dramas such as Euripides' The Bacchae in Spanish translation, to world premieres of new plays in Catalan. From 1997–2013 Angelopoulos was Director of Studies for the Víctor Hernando Theatre Studio, where he was professor of acting, directing, and theatre theory and history. Angelopoulos also has extensive experience as a dramatic translator from Catalan/Spanish/Greek. He holds the Greek equivalent of an MFA in acting from the prestigious Art Drama School of Athens, and a PhD-ADB degree from the Theatre Institute of Barcelona. He dedicates this project to Chadwick and Sean. This coming spring, Angelopoulos will be teaching a course in Spanish Drama, which will undoubtedly be "la leche."

Steven Blasberg

Great & #3 Office Hours: Videographer

You Can't Return: Video Call Recording Technician

Overall Project: Video Streaming Technician, Camera & Lighting Advisor

Ana Carmona-Pereda (writer and actor of Dreamer on Campus and Introduction to Acting: Office Hours) is an incoming freshman from the Bronx, NY, with an anticipated major in PMA. Ana is deeply passionate about storytelling through the arts; she enjoys the process of doing so with photography, the craft of theatre, and writing in particular. This past summer, Ana’s work during quarantine was published by both BBC News and The Washington Post. She plans to continue her college career in finding ways to advocate through the art of storytelling and exploring other mediums, thus bringing forth narratives hidden in the shadows.

Jumay Chu (Dance Advisor) danced in companies in New York and Paris. In 1989 she joined the dance faculty at Cornell, where she teaches dance technique, composition, choreography, and dance studies in PMA. She is currently working with her dancers of Atelier 320 choreographing for the next Locally Grown Dance concert in March 2021.

Warren Cross is the Resident Sound Designer for the Department of Performing and Media Arts at Cornell University, joining the department in 1990. In addition to designing sound for department productions, Warren teaches courses in Sound Design, Post Production, and Interactive Performance Technology. He attended Five Towns College for Music Technology, Manhattan School of Music for Composition, and SUNY Stony Brook for Technical Theatre, and is designer/builder of acoustic and electronic musical instruments.

Dan Domingues (actor and guest teaching artist in The Work Etiquette of My Living Room) is an actor, teaching artist, producer, and podcaster. He’s worked at numerous off-Broadway and regional theatres including BAM, The Public Theater, Atlantic Theater Company, Guthrie, Arena Stage, The Goodman, and ART, among others. His film work ranges from the features Run All Night, starring Liam Neeson and Joel Kinnaman, and Future ’38 with Betty Gilpin, to the award-winning short Suffer the Little Children based on a Stephen King story. On television, he’s been seen on Blacklist, Law & Order, Royal Pains, and Gossip Girl, and award-winning web series 5A5B and West 40s. Dan has an MFA from the ART at Harvard, is an associate artist with the investigative theater company The Civilians, produces and co-hosts the podcast Hod Date, and works with the non-profit Only Make Believe, which brings live interactive theater to children with medically fragile conditions and developmental disabilities.  

Sahara Ellis (writer and actor of The Work Etiquette of My Living Room) is a junior Communication major. She has previously performed this semester in the production Jodeci for White Girls by Kristen Wright in the 10-Minute Play Festival. Sahara has worked in numerous high school and local theatrical productions in her hometown and continues to indulge in her theatre passion by taking many PMA courses at Cornell. When she finds herself offstage, Sahara pursues her passions in other creative activities such as singing, dance, and drawing. She is grateful to have participated in the writing, acting, and filming process of this production, and hopes you enjoy the results of the show!

Anna Evtushenko (writer and director, Run, Mama, Run) is originally from Russia and is a graduate student at Cornell. She studies how large numbers of people behave online, a nice counterpart to exploring the lives of just a few characters in her stories for the stage and the screen.

Jordan Ferrell ’22 (cinematographer and director on How’s Ithaca?) is majoring in PMA with a minor in Film from Westchester, NY. An avid writer, he performs with the Midnight Comedy Troupe and works as a freelance photographer and line producer in his spare time. 

Hanrui Fu (Freya) (dancer in Lifting Pas) is a sophomore majoring in Landscape Architecture. She learns and performs ballet dance and Chinese classical dance. She loves watching movies of any kind, and she thinks it is great to have an opportunity that combines both dance and movies together. She is very grateful for everyone in this production who supported her for the script, filming, and acting.

Carolyn Goelzer was an acting specialist for Off-Campus/On-Screen, devised on You Can't Return, The Workplace Etiquette of My Living Room, and devised and acted in Introduction to Acting. Goelzer was a Minneapolis-based theater artist for 25 years, performing roles in most Twin Cities theaters (the Guthrie, Jungle Theater, Children’s Theatre, Illusion, etc.) as well as on stages in Kansas City, Milwaukee, Chicago, New York, and L.A. She received a NY Innovative Theater Award for Outstanding Actress in a Lead Role for her portrayal of Clytemnestra in Theodora Skipitares’ Iphigenia at LaMama ETC in NYC. Carolyn’s original interdisciplinary performance works (The Plant Society, Vicarious Thrills, Peas) have been commissioned and presented at the Walker Art Center, Intermedia Arts, and numerous other venues.  She is a three-time recipient of the McKnight Individual Artist Fellowship (in Playwriting; Interdisciplinary Arts; and Theater Arts) and a Core alumna of the Playwrights’ Center. She currently teaches acting in Cornell’s Department of Performing and Media Arts.

Noah Harrelson (screenwriter and actor in How’s Ithaca?) was born in Mobile, Alabama, educated in Ithaca, New York, and will die on November 17th, 2054.  

Duoer Jia (DJ) (writer and actor of You Can’t Return) is a senior double majoring in PMA and Information Science. Previously, she played #00 in The Wolves by Sara DeLappe, assist directed Spill by Leigh Fondakowski, and directed Rumors by Neil Simon. She has also acted in 10-Minute Play Festival and Festival 24. She is very grateful for everyone in this production who supported her during the writing, filming, and acting process. 

Howard Klein is the Stage Manager for the Department of Performing and Media Arts. He has worked for many years as a professional AEA production stage manager off-Broadway, regionally, and on tour around the USA. He has worked in more than 300 venues in 11 countries and counting, as Production Manager and Lighting Designer of the dance company, Galumpha. Howard worked at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts as Producing Coordinator in the Theatrical Production department and stage managed more than 30 productions for the NYU Graduate Acting Program. Other favorite credits include The Lincoln Center Institute, WP Theatre, and The Cider Mill Playhouse. Howard has also taught Stage Management at SUNY Binghamton, where he received his BA in Technical Theatre.

Pamela Lillard (Director of Productions & Events). Prior to receiving her MFA in Stage Management from Virginia Tech, Pam earned her membership in Actors’ Equity Association as a Stage Manager for the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. She went on to stage manage at many regional theatres throughout the country, including The Alaska Rep, Tacoma Actors’ Guild, Willamette Rep, and Ft. Worth’s Shakespeare in the Park. She has been at Cornell since 1987, serving the department as Production Stage Manager, Production Manager, and in her current position.

Jiali Liu (dancer in Lifting Pas) is a senior double majoring in Economics and Statistical Sciences. She is very excited to participate in this production and grateful for everyone’s effort!

Rebekah Maggor (PMA Assistant Professor) co-conceived this project and devised and directed on You Can't Return, Great, The Workplace Etiquette of My Living Room, and Introduction to Acting. She is a translator, theatre director and deviser, and academic. Her research centers on political theatre and drama in translation, with an emphasis on recent Arabic drama from Egypt, Palestine, and Syria. She co-edited Tahrir Tales: Plays from the Egyptian Revolution (Seagull Books) and her forthcoming anthology New Plays from Palestine: Theatre Between Home and Exile, co-edited with Marvin Carlson and Mas’ud Hamdan, will be published by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications. As a director, Maggor has staged performances at venues across the U.S. including the Huntington Theatre Company, Golden Thread Theatre, PEN World Voices Festival, the Segal Theatre Centre, Harvard University, and others. She has received grants from the NEA, Fulbright, Doris Duke Foundation, the Mellon Foundation (TCG Global Connections), and the Radcliffe Institute, among others. She has enjoyed every moment of collaboration on the Off-Campus/On-Screen project with her PMA film colleagues, and the entire company and production staff! 

Yuxuan Man (dancer in Lifting Pas) is a freshman majoring in Human Development and this is the first production that she has participated in. She developed an interest in dancing from Chinese traditional dance, but also recently became interested in modern dance. Participating in acting and choreography for this production was a new experience and she had a great time participating in this play. Hope you will enjoy this video!

Jingyao Mi (Bruce) finished his first year at Wesleyan University, double majoring in Film Studies and Computer Science. Now he is in his gap year. He has directed several short films with different genres, including music videos, thrillers, and experimental essay films. He is passionate about contemporary dance and took two dance classes in the dance department of Wesleyan. He also acted as Arthur, one of the main characters, in a theater thesis, Phoebe in Winter, at Wesleyan. While he enjoys not only scripted acting but also improv, his biggest passion is still watching films and writing reviews for marvelous movies.  

Crystal Navellier, director and editor for Dreamer on Campus along with producer and editor for You Can’t Return, is a junior majoring in PMA with a business and creative writing minor. She is an aspiring filmmaker, directing and producing multiple short films, co-organized the Centrally Isolated Film Festival, and holds multiple positions for her cinematic society Delta Kappa Alpha. She has enjoyed working as an assistant editor and graphic designer for the Cornell SEAP department and is thrilled to continue her involvement with Cornell’s PMA department. Through all her work she hopes to inspire and give a voice to those who cannot be heard. 

Jeffrey Palmer is an award-winning filmmaker and media artist. As a Kiowa director and producer, he describes his work as an exploration of Indigenous people's lives in twenty-first-century America. He tries to achieve this aesthetic by documenting experiences within Indian Country, focusing on the creation of place, Indigenous languages, music, and subsistence practices. Furthermore, he visually connects the land as a conduit of tribal memory, origin, and ceremony. He recently completed his first feature film, N. Scott Momaday: Words from a Bear, examining the life of Momaday, the first and only Native American writer to win the Pulitzer Prize for literature. The film premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and aired nationally on the PBS series American Masters in 2019. His short film Isabelle's Garden was a winner of the Bill and Melinda Gates Short Film Challenge at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. His films have also screened at Hot Docs, The Seattle International Film Festival, The Berlinale European Market, and many others around the world. Academically, as a Dean's Fellow at the University of Iowa, he received his Master of Fine Arts in Film and Video Production, with an emphasis in documentary film. Palmer has also received numerous awards and recognition from the Sundance Institute, ITVS, Ford Foundation, and Firelight Media Documentary Lab. He is a member of the Directors Guild of America, and is an Assistant Professor of Film at Cornell University.

Youngsun Palmer (Editor, Great and The Workplace Etiquette of My Living Room) is a documentary filmmaker and photographer originally from Cheongju, South Korea. Since 2013, she has been working on various film productions. This includes directing, producing, cinematography, lighting, sound design, and editing. ​Her short films Isabelle’s Garden and Escape premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and Slamdance Film Festival simultaneously in 2015, both winning the Bill and Melinda Gates Short Film Initiative and the Fusion Documentary Film Challenge. She is the co-producer and cinematographer for the feature film Words from a Bear for the PBS series American Masters. Words from a Bear premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.

Euna Park (writer, actor, and composer in Great) is a senior hailing from Walnut Creek, CA. She's an English and Music double major and a Performing and Media Arts minor, and has found that this combination works beautifully in film, allowing her to contribute in screenwriting, film scoring, and acting. You can find Euna in singing groups such as After Eight A Cappella, Measureless A Cappella, and the CU Chorus (where she’s affectionately known as the pitch pipe), and surrounded by fellow creatives in the professional cinematic society Delta Kappa Alpha and Cornell Creatives. Outside of Cornell, she enjoys indulging in books, Netflix, music, socially distanced hangouts, and sleep. She’s doing great (promise!).

Sara Pistono (actor in You Can’t Return) is a senior double majoring in PMA and Psychology, concentrating in theater production and performance. She has previously played #07 in The Wolves, Shelley Anderson in Spill, Martha Bessel in The Awakening of Spring, and has been involved in numerous play festivals. While most often seen performing on stage, she has recently developed a liking for administrative/production roles, including producer and stage manager, having previously produced the seventh-annual 10-Minute Play Festival. She and her fellow collaborator DJ will be co-directing a show titled Asiamnesia in the spring. She had a wonderful time acting in this piece and hopes you enjoy the show!  

Jason Simms (Production Designer) (he/him) is an award-winning scenographer for theatre, opera, musicals, and film and has designed over 150 productions. Born and raised in Carson City, NV, Simms started designing for theatre at the age of fifteen. He designs in New York City as well as at regional theaters across the United States. Jason is thrilled to be joining the faculty of PMA this year. 

The Skits (actors, writers, directors of Razor Scooter) are Cornell's original sketch comedy group founded in 1993. Every semester we write and perform a completely original sketch comedy show. We've performed at college comedy festivals across the country and the world! 2020–2021 members include Talia Lefkowitz '21, TJ Sheppard '22, Robert Frank '21, Aliyah Geer '21, Gaby Furman '22, Rhea Sinha '23, Ben Grass '23, Olivia Breitkopf '23, Joey Welsh '21, Ariel Stern '24, and Stephanie Gallent '24. 

Shichen Sun (dancer in Lifting Pas) is a junior majoring in Applied Economics and Management and Information Science. She has eleven years of experience dancing ballet and passed the Intermediate Foundation level of Royal Academy of Dance. On campus, she is also actively involved in Jingyuan Drama Society as an actor and stage designer. Outside of class, she enjoys jogging or cycling in nature and picnicing with friends when the weather is nice.

Ruoyu Tian (dancer and co-choreographer in Lifting Pas) is a junior majoring in Operations Research and Information Engineering, with a minor in Architecture. She started to learn Chinese classical dance, contemporary dance, and jazz two years ago. She is also an actor in Jingyuan Drama Society. This is her first time performing in a filmed production and she is really excited to work with everyone involved. She is very grateful for everyone who helped to make this production wonderful.

Linshuang Wu (Lynn) participated in three of the short films: she was deviser, actor, and co-editor on You Can’t Return, actor and deviser in The Work Etiquette of My Living Room, and script writer for Lifting Pas. She is a senior double majoring in Psychology and PMA. She has been a part of the Cornell Chinese Drama Society for the past three years, working as a director, assistant director, actor, or stage manager for five different Chinese plays performed in Risley Theater. Never officially involved in any public PMA theater productions, she's enjoyed all PMA classes she's taken across different fields. Through them, she wrote several screenplays, made a few short films, acted in class productions, and co-organized the Centrally Isolated Film Festival with other committee members. She's excited to support and help some of the production projects and genuinely hopes everyone can enjoy art while being safe!

Jane Xie (producer and dancer in Lifting Pas) is a sophomore in the Cornell College of Arts & Sciences. Her major is Informational Science, with a minor in Business and Media Studies. This is her first time trying to perform modern dance and she feels grateful to see the wonderful choreography performed by Amber dancers.

Aurora Zhang (co-choreographer and dancer in Lifting Pas) is a junior majoring in Information Science and a second undecided humanities major. She has many years of experience in Chinese classical dance. And she always feels grateful for the diverse dance culture at Cornell, which allows her to learn modern, contemporary, hip-hop, and jazz for the past two years. Though she had some stage experience in Amber Dance’s performances and “24-Hour-Theater,” the choreography is a new realm for her. She’s thrilled by the opportunity to explore and experiment with movements that could convey emotions under quarantine. The highlight of the process is certainly the collaboration with the scriptwriter, director, other fellow dancers, Professor Chu, and other contributors.

Yibo Zhang (co-choreographer and dancer in Lifting Pas) is a junior majoring in Architecture. She has been practicing Chinese traditional dance and ballet for many years. When she arrived in America for high school, she participated in her school's dance program for four years. In many shows, she has been the lead and choreographed her solos. She always shares her passion to reach out using different genres of dance: modern, jazz, and African dance. Even though she has a lot of stage experience, this is her first time trying to perform and act in film. She is deeply humbled about this opportunity and feels excited to play the main character, Samantha. She will use body language and dance movements to express the intense emotions. She is very grateful for the whole production team, professors, and advisors.

Kitchen Theatre Company

The Journey to 30

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