One of the greatest parts of attending a school with over 1,400 student organizations is that there is always something to see or do on campus.
This past Sunday, I attended a performance of 12 Angry Men put on by BareStage, one of the many performance groups on campus. After a long afternoon of studying, it was the perfect study break. I’ve seen the play before (I’ve even been in it before) but this was by far the best performance of it I’ve ever seen. The show was put on entirely by students, including the directing, artwork and set design. That’s another thing I love about Berkeley – students fill every role in every student organization and you can dedicate yourself to absolutely anything you want – whether it’s acting, charity, volunteering or programming.
The play is about a jury that is a complete mess: no one can agree with anyone and they are constantly fighting, even coming close to physical fighting. Before the show began, they projected messages on the theater wall asking the audience to look into their own prejudices regarding race, sex and socioeconomic status before we began to watch the prejudices of each juror unfold on stage. It was great way to reflect and use what I’ve learned in classes here at UC Berkeley to think critically about prejudices.
Two of my sorority sisters and I went to see the show to support of our other sister who was in the production, but when the play started I was surprised to see a fellow campus ambassador in the production as well! It was a good reminder of how versatile Berkeley students are – I’m constantly surprised by how many activities everyone is involved with. And who knows – maybe one day I’ll audition for a play myself.
All photos courtesy of Alexander Kownatzki
