The annual “Show Some Skin” production is set to premiere Thursday, Feb. 24. The show will be a performance of a collection of monologues written and submitted anonymously by members of the tri-campus community.
The monologues shared are stories about identity and difference in our community. Topics covered include race, gender, disability, sexual orientation and more.
The show will be performed at the Patricia George Decio Theatre in Debartolo Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24, Friday. Feb. 25 and Saturday, Feb. 26, and Sunday, Feb. 27 at 2 p.m. Tickets for the show are available for purchase on the Debartolo Performing Arts Center website or at the door as space permits.
Sophomore Sam Capodicci, an actor in this year’s show, said the actors are able to explore the stories and give voice to them.
“Honestly, I’ve never seen a production like this anywhere else,” Capodicci said. “It’s not a fictional script, [they are] real experiences that people go through on campus every day.”
The theme for this year’s show is Emerge. It hopes to reflect on how we are adapting physically, politically and emotionally after two years of immense change due to the pandemic. 
Senior Nandini Sadagopan, executive director of this year’s show, said the word “emerge” refers to not only coming out from the pandemic, but also to community members’ transformations from their experiences.
“We hope that people walk away from the show having emerged into a community that is more collectively interested in uplifting and celebrating different voices,” Sadagopan said.
“Show Some Skin” has run every year for over a decade. For the past two years, the show was virtual. The actors recorded their monologues, which were compiled into a video.
Sadagopan said the in-person performance is preferable to virtual because audience members are sitting right next to one another in person, which facilitates discussion of the stories presented and the issues they touch on.
Fourth-year junior Tony Perez serves as the stage manager for this year’s production and acted in the virtual performance in 2020. He said the in-person performance provides a very personal experience for the audience.
“I think one of the special things about ‘Show Some Skin’ is we get our actors to form such deep connections with their monologues,” Perez said. “I think that really shows when you’re in the audience of a ‘Show Some Skin’ performance.”
Capodicci said at the end of their Sunday rehearsals, the actors listen to a speaker and have a discussion on a topic related to identity.
“Having discussions on these topics helps us empathize with the writer more and do justice to the story,” Capodicci said.
Perez said many of the monologues are submitted by people of color, queer people and those from low income backgrounds.
“For me, ‘Show Some Skin’ is very special and wonderful because it’s one of the few times, especially on a campus like Notre Dame, that people who normally aren’t comfortable speaking out get to do so,” Perez said.
Sadagopan said the show gives the audience an opportunity to recognize their own blindspots and to gain perspectives on important topics they may not have had before.
“It allows for a collective sharing or holding of a story that may be too painful for a person to hold on,” Sadagopan.
