The Identity Show had its third and final run on Monday, January 19 in the Pan Athletic Center. The show was a culmination of individually written pieces surrounding unique aspects of the performers’ identities, originally debuted in the Fall Term. Performers workshopped to bring the show to Andover, channeling years of lived experiences into an emotional display of human stories.
One of the themes that stood out in this year’s Identity Show was the joys and perils of girlhood.
The all-female cast of the piece wore pink sweaters to represent how it is associated with femininity. Student Director Ashiq Kibria ‘26 touched on the motivation behind the theme’s end goal.
“Most of the cast identified as female, and as one of the guys who participated, I felt it was really important to help bring this message forward, as oftentimes their voices aren’t heard. We made sure to include many elements, specifically in the piece Girlhood, to encapsulate the feelings of what it means to be a girl,” said Kibria.
Many narratives resonated throughout the show, but one piece in particular left a lasting impression on both performers and audience members. Written and performed by Kamryn Cabrera ’28, the story centered on her experience grappling with the emotional aftermath of her brother’s suicide attempt. Performer Mila Fan ’28 appreciated the weight and vulnerability of Cabrera’s work.
“[Kamryn’s piece] is really raw, and that’s a really brave thing to do, especially [in] a performance where it’s about you. There’s not been a show where it hasn’t moved everyone to tears, and she’s very brave for sharing [and] writing it. To be able to have such an impactful moment in the show is really and I’m glad we were able to do that,“ said Fan.
The show was crafted around each cast member’s journey to where they stand in their identities today. These journeys included things like finding home, what they love, and themselves. Fan reflected on the process of bringing the skits and scripts to life and what the writing experience was like.
“Every time, they would give us a prompt, and then we would write a piece on the prompt. And so for me, I guess it was about thinking about what the prompt meant to me. We talked about where we’re from, and my first thought was the city, sounds of the city, and then it just grew from there. I know other people talked about their family, and their culture, and their background. So it’s interesting how one prompt can interact with all parts of identity, whether it’s race, gender, culture, where you’re raised, and language,” said Fan.
The effort and extensive workshopping was not in vain. The prompts translated well to stage performance, and the aforementioned themes and experiences they explored within their pieces moved many. With an all-lower cast, many lowerclassmen were drawn to the show to support their friends and classmates. Philip Molin ‘28 discussed his observations in the differences between this and last year’s Identity Show.
“In this year’s performance, with the cast being made up of five lower girls, their take on identity was super well done and centered around discussion. I found that compared to last year, there were many of them on stage at once interacting with one another, which really helped simulate real conversation. The themes of identity were very personal, but expressed civilized rage and being able to let oneself go and be truly authentic on stage,” said Molina.
Despite a stage relocation because of renovations in the Tang Theater, the hard work and preparation put in by cast, directors, and staff paid off. The open Friday show was met with raving reviews, and thunderous applause. The connection the performers made with the audience was apparent, according to audience member Penelope Jaramillo ‘28.
“The atmosphere was great. Everyone was really invested in listening to these stories. It felt very encouraging and non-judgmental. We were laughing along when they told a funny story… and listening when something harder for them was being shared,” said Jaramillo.
The Identity Show could portray many different messages to all audience members, leaving viewers with a range of interpretations. When asked about this, the director Kibria said he had one thing in particular for the audience to learn from the show.
“I hope the audience takes away that it’s okay to talk about your own identity, and no matter what the story is, they should be proud of it. I also hope that at least one person in the audience was able to sympathize or empathize and feels encouraged to share their story next year.” said Kibria.
