Arts & Culture

Headin’ to New York: Actor Daveed Diggs Visits Cornell for a Masterclass on Adaptation

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“I’ll give you one hint: Thomas Jefferson’s coming home.” 

These words from Performing and Media Arts Department Chair Dr. Samantha Sheppard left the audience buzzing with excitement at the department’s Projects and Participation Kick-off for Fall 2024. Could it really be true? Was Daveed Diggs, the Tony Award-winning actor who originated the roles of the Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in Hamilton, coming to Cornell? On Sept. 25, that excitement became reality when Diggs arrived on campus as the 2024 Heermans-McCalmon Distinguished Guest Artist.

Arts & Culture

The Counter-Factual: A Danced Definition of the Unusual

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By BRYNN RICHTER

For 42 minutes, five dancers danced, acted and reacted as they and their audience examined the concept of the counterfactual. Through modern choreography and interaction with the audience, the dancers of The Counter-Factual presented a compelling performance that drew the audience in from the first note of music. The Counter-Factual dance concert this past Thursday at the Schwartz Center’s black box theatre, was directed by Zoe Jackson ’16 and co-choreographed by Jackson and Brooke Wilson ’16. It consisted of eight pieces, separated by the music to which they were set, and featured five dancers, Aubrey Akers ’19, Juliana Batista ’16, Hannah Fuller ’19, Grace Mitchell ’17 and Ariana Otto ’19. The small, intimate venue fit the theme of the counterfactual well, as it contradicted, the traditional experience of a dance performance.