LIKE Me - Social Media & Digital Identity

Rhode Island College’s Department of Theatre & Dance presents LIKE Me: Social Media & Digital Connection, an original devised performance conceived and directed by Angelica Vessella & Bill Wilson. Blending dance, movement, song, and spoken word, LIKE Me explores how social media shapes identity, connection, and loneliness in a world increasingly obsessed with validation. Performed with a live band and an ensemble cast of 23 students, the production reveals the raw emotional landscape beneath our curated online lives.

Set in an alley-style stage with the audience seated on both sides, LIKE Me immerses viewers in the digital world of today’s youth—scrolling through stories of self-image, belonging, and the desire to be seen. From the chaos of online comments to the quiet ache of isolation, the show captures the rhythm of contemporary digital culture with honesty, humor, and humanity.

“This piece explores identity in a phone-obsessed world—not just online, but as a person. It’s about our search for connection in a world that keeps us scrolling instead of seeing.”

-Directors Angelica Vessella & William Willson

The performance, with music direction by Lila Kane. features original choreography and monologues developed collaboratively by the student ensemble, many inspired by their own experiences with social media. Through dance, gesture, stillness, confrontation, and vulnerability, the work mirrors the highs and lows of the online experience.

LIKE Me is part of Rhode Island College’s commitment to student-led creative inquiry through the arts—inviting audiences to reflect, question, and ultimately reconnect.

This performance is funded in part by the Performing and Fine Arts Commission at RIC.