Vanessa Anspaugh’s ‘The End of Men; An Ode to Ocean’ Comes to Strider Theater
By Roujia Zhong ’22
On Thursday February 7th and Friday February 8th, The Department of Theater and Dance presented the show The End of Men; An Ode to Ocean in Strider Theater.
With Visiting Assistant Professor Vanessa Anspaugh serving as the director Artistic Director, The End of Men; An Ode to Ocean included five male artists: Tsiambwom Akuchu, Massimiliano Balduzzi, Tristan Koepke, Simon ThomasTrain, Connor Voss, and Brandon Washington. Interweaving demanding physicality with spoken dialogue, sonic religiosity, and sublime virtuosity, creator and Colby Theater and Anspaugh investigates masculine vulnerability and the historical and unyielding dynamics of cultural domination. From her subject position as a lesbian choreographer and mother to a young son, Anspaugh, along with an all male cast, explores how power lives in, and between, all of the participating bodies.
Besides the performances put on by the male artists, they have also offered workshops to promote in-depth understanding towards theater performances in Colby community. On Thursday February 7th, Massimiliano Balduzzi, Brandon Washington and Connor Voss have provided the workshop, Performing Presence: Voice in the Body Master Class, for the Colby community. The workshop has drawn of the rich and various backgrounds of each of these performers as actors, dancers, and singers and will touch on their differing and intersecting practices. On Friday February 8th, Tristan Koepke and Simon Thomas-Train led a workshop that seek to reclaim physical contact as a simple exploration of empathy and possibility. Community members of Colby College received fruitful skills in performing arts.
Guests enjoyed the show very much!. They were impressed by the extraordinary performances of the artists and the show directed by Vanessa Anspaugh. Our community members have also gained more in-depth understanding towards performing arts through workshops.
Thanks to everyone who joined us.
(Performance and workshop photos credit: Yixuan Qiu ’22 and Mandela Gardner)
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