Friday Night Faith & Follies

Yet the disparate groups all came together later in the afternoon for a highly anticipated talk — “Art & Beauty,” given by TAC tutor Dr. John Nieto in preparation for this weekend’s visit to the Getty Center museum in Los Angeles. Students listened raptly as Dr. Nieto began by sharing an anecdote about one of his first experiences of higher art — the Venus de Milo — and how it led to his appreciation of art today. He unpacked a series of principles about what makes art beautiful: wholeness, clarity, and particularly proportion. “There is something very spiritual in a work of art,” Dr. Nieto observed. “You must meet the art itself and see the beauty it achieves.”

At the ensuing dinner in St. Joseph Commons, students discussed Dr. Nieto’s lecture as well as the evening’s planned events over their choice of veggie eggrolls or honey-walnut shrimp with mango-fried rice and salad. They then returned to St. Cecilia Hall, where another tutor, Dr. Phillip Wodzinski, gave a brief explanation of Wagner’s Die Walküre, the third act of which students will see performed at Sunday’s concert at the Hollywood Bowl.

With that, it was time for the first of the night’s theatrical productions to begin! Scripts in hand, programmers boldly stepped onstage for The Importance of Being Earnest — after just two days’ rehearsal! The actors put their all into their performance, flying through their scenes with verve. The audience howled as the antics of Wilde’s opus unfolded: a story of not one, but two, instances of mistaken identity, keeping the crowd fully engaged and highly entertained.

During a brief interlude, another group of students performed Romeo and Juliet with a twist: within five minutes instead of five acts and all according to the notorious Sparknotes summary. The laughter didn’t abate a moment as the performers propelled themselves through the tragic, yet now hilariously performed, narrative. The two performances warranted a standing ovation for all performers as well as their amazing directors: for Earnest, prefect Anna van Wijk (’24) and TAC senior Reuben Trull (’24); for Romeo and Juliet, prefect Maria Brittain (’24).

After the curtain fell, students left the auditorium and reconvened on the Chapel steps for a welcome period of prayer and contemplation. Led by Fr. Sebastian, the prefects and programmers prayed at the College’s outdoor Stations of the Cross. Bearing candles and prayer booklets, the procession stopped in front of each of the 14 statues depicting scenes from the passion and death of Christ. Flanked by towering pines, the divine perspective was strikingly clear as students contemplated God’s taking on flesh and dying for their sins. A reverent stillness filled the moments between prayer and somber song.

Afterward, the group gathered in front of the Our Lady of Guadalupe fountain on the academic quadrangle, where Maria Brittain led a joyful sing-along session made all the sweeter by an abundance of ice-cream sandwiches. Having spent the past week together and sharing powerful experiences, both intellectual and spiritual, the students — only recently strangers — had grown into a community of their own. They laughed and sang into the night, delighting in each other’s company.

When the extended curfew finally struck, the programmers made their way back to their residence halls and bed. A full weekend of adventures awaits!