Encore: Fall 2024

Given the enduring popularity of the Harry Potter franchise, a sendup was inevitable, and the Periwig Club was there to make it happen. Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic hit the stage of the Kirby Arts Center’s Black Box theater in May. The play satirizes J. K. Rowling’s iconic Hogwarts School series, but from the perspective of the “Puffs,” who were inspired by Hogwarts’ Hufflepuff house.

Directed by English teaching fellow Gabrielle Lescadre, the production followed the story of three young wizards trying to make it through their time at a magical school. Periwig veteran Sofia Carlisi ’24, who played the bubbly and energetic Leanne, said that “even if you don’t know everything about Harry Potter, you can still enjoy the show.” To Carlisi, Puffs is about the underdogs of a story, and how the non-heroes can be even more interesting than the main characters. That’s important, she said, because “often we want to be the main characters of our own stories, but the rest of us are just … here. And that’s something that can be kind of scary.”

Carlisi’s first experience in performing arts at Lawrenceville was playing Puck in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2021, staged outside in the Bowl due to COVID-19 restrictions. Since then, she has been a part of every show, whether she was acting or stage managing. In Puffs, Carlisi’s Leanne performs a monologue she says was particularly resonant to her, when the Puffs must decide whether they are willing to fight for an important cause.

“It’s awesome because […] I convince everyone to stay and do what’s right,” she explains. “It’s one of those moments that you really wouldn’t expect from my character.”

As she prepared to graduate from Lawrenceville, Carlisi said she hopes all students would consider trying their hands at theatre.

“I’ve had such an amazing experience with this show and theatre here in general,” she said. “Even if you don’t consider yourself a theatre person, it’s a bonding experience and a moment to break out of your shell and try something you’ve never done before.”

— Story Taylor ’27

Hutchins Galleries presented photography that set the visual template for hip-hop.

Years before he died in 2021, Chi Modu ’84 helped shape the visual identity of rap and hip-hop music with his photographs of the genre’s 1990s icons. Modu’s images were showcased in “Chi Modu: Fortune Favors the Bold” in Lawrenceville’s Hutchins Galleries during May and June.

Working as a photographer and director of photography for The Source, which The New York Times called “the definitive digest of hip-hop’s commercial and creative ascendance,” Modu captured what are considered the quintessential images of artists such as Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, Easy-E, Wu Tang Clan, and the Notorious B.I.G. Later in his career, Modu chronicled school children in Nigeria, as well as life in Yemen, Morocco, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and elsewhere.

At Lawrenceville’s Community Day on May 8, Getty Images staff entertainment photographer Arturo Holmes told students that Modu’s photography was “all about storytelling.”

No matter what or who was in front of Modu’s lens, the honesty of his images reveals the relationship between the photographer and his subject. Modu was described by a fellow Lawrentian from the Class of 1984 as “a beloved classmate with a huge smile and kind heart.” The exhibit celebrated the artistry and life of an amazing documentarian and creator.

Hutchins Galleries also presented “Views of Florence,” an exhibit of paintings from the collection of Philip Ellis Foster ’56 this spring.

Are you a K-pop fan? Well, if not, then who in the United States generated 9.2 billion streams in 2023? It would be easy to say K-pop – or Korean popular music – peaked here in 2020 when K-pop sensation BTS was named Time magazine’s Entertainer of the Year, but its popularity hasn’t waned.

So, when Isaac Moon ’26 arrived at Lawrenceville last fall and learned about the School’s dance programs, he knew his next move.

“That’s what pushed me to create the K-Dance Crew,” said Moon, who has more than five years of experience as a dancer. Derrick Wilder H’78, director of dance, appointed Moon captain, and the troupe was off and dancing.

A mix of Afro, hip-hop, and R&B music, the style acts as a bridge for cultural exchange and unity, so the K-Dance Crew grants Lawrentians the opportunity to experience a range of cultural
dances and backgrounds.

“The K-Dance Crew is more than just K-pop,” Wilder explained. “It’s another way for this community to come together and inspire other people and groups to represent their culture here
on campus.”

K-Dance made its debut at November 2023’s Fall Dance Series. “Everyone was nervous, but we performed well to my standards,” Moon said. “It was really [my] core memory of everything that happened on campus.”

— Kaci Treasure