With the chandeliers turned down low and microphones turned up, students and prefrosh alike filled every seat in Psi U’s first floor common room this past Wednesday night to see the annual performance of “The Invisible Man.” This year’s show included a variety of acts, including comedy, songs, poems, dance and a PowerPoint presentation.

The concept behind “The Invisible Man” is based on Ralph Ellison’s 1952 novel of the same name. The narrator of Ellison’s book, an African-American man, struggles to find a place in society as others define him by his appearance and surroundings, rather than by who he is as a person.

“Many men of color feel invisible in social institutions, especially in academic institutions,” said Earle Richards ’07.

The group was formed to address the various aspects of these issues, focusing especially on the academic world.

“There are few spaces in this school or in the media or in life where you see a group of men of color actually talking, or doing anything that’s expressive,” said Argenys Tazeras ’08, who performed a poem while Miles Tokunow ’10 danced. “We want to create a space where that’s encouraged and allowed, especially in a collaborative way.”

A new addition to the show this year was a PowerPoint presentation, assembled by Mike Bolds ’08, who also performed a song. The slideshow was based on an article entitled “The Invisible Men” by Ron Matus that appeared in the St. Petersburg Times in April 2005.

The PowerPoint presentation addressed the extent of the problems men of color face in higher education.

“Over the past two decades, the percentage of young Black men in college has increased, from 30 percent to 37 percent,” the slideshow read. “But during the same period, the rate for Black women has doubled.”

The show has been performed for the past 10 years or so, always around the time of WesFest. It used to be presented in conjunction with the now-defunct “The Essence of She,” the women of color show.

“A lot of people have come to see it as, ‘Oh, why should we give men of color their own show?’” Tazeras said. “The form for a corresponding show isn’t in action. Lots of things keep it from happening, but I don’t think it takes away from our show.”

Last year, when “The Invisible Man” fell on hard times, Tazeras and fellow performer Justin Douglas ’08, among others, revived the show and created the student group The Invisible Men.

“We formed the group to ensure that the show is performed every year and also as a venue for men of color to be more active in the student of color community,” Richards, who recited two poems during the performance, said.

Richards had memorized the poems, “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost and “If” by Rudyard Kipling, in eighth grade and was able to repeat them almost without pausing. When he did stumble, the crowd called out encouragingly and he continued confidently. Despite having been written by “two old white guys,” the poems’ messages meshed well with the overall theme of the show.

Since many of the group’s members are involved in other groups as well, the Invisible Men do a lot of collaborative work with groups. For example, they are currently working on a book drive in conjunction with Ujamaa to donate books to the children of Traverse Square.

Other performers included Chris Correa ’10 who opened the show with a comedy routine, Dave Harris ’08, Claude Moise ’09, Dipanker Acharya-Koirala ’08, Mark Leonida ’08, Axzyr De Leon ’07, Jason Lalor ’07, and Julius Hampton ’09.

Students felt that it was a good idea to have the event during WesFest.

“Prefrosh want to feel like they’re coming into a community that’s supportive of them,” Richards said. “Prefrosh respond very positively to the fact that there are groups on campus whose goal is to provide support.”

Dante Brown ’09, who attended the performance, felt that the performance touched on relevant subjects.

“I think the performance did a very good job of addressing issues and experiences of what men of color go through in academics and at Wesleyan,” he said.

The Invisible Men will continue to confront issues, like those that Brown discussed, as they stated clearly in one quote from Bolds’ PowerPoint presentation.

“Only through conscious and deliberate action can there be meaningful change,” the presentation read. “It is for this purpose that we come together, to make sure that someday our brothers will never again be Invisible Men.”