John Blondell, 蜜桃传媒 professor of theatre arts, directs a world premiere, 鈥淧latinum Circle: A Play in Three One-Acts,鈥� Feb. 22-23 and 28, and March 1-2, 8 p.m. in 蜜桃传媒鈥檚 Porter Theatre. Tickets are $7 for students and seniors, $10 for adults, and can be purchased online at or by calling (805) 565-7140.
Randy VanderMey, 蜜桃传媒 professor of English, spent more than a decade crafting the whole three-play sequence, 鈥淐ell Division,鈥� 鈥淔leas鈥� and 鈥淏luetooth Paternoster,鈥� which probe the spiritual underside of our obsession with cell phones. 鈥淚've hardly made any changes to the initial drafts of any of the three plays,鈥� VanderMey says. 鈥淲hen they came, they all came at white heat.鈥�
The show features an experienced cast, including seniors Jackie Dressler and Shawnee Witt; juniors Paige Tautz, Mak Manson, Lauren White, Chris Wagstaffe and Ben Offringa; and first-year students Laura Shultz and Connor Bush. Most actors appear in one or more shows, and Manson appears in all of them.
鈥淭he plays are wild and eccentric 鈥� mysterious and quite moving,鈥� Blondell says. 鈥淭hey have a vivid, compelling use of language. We have made a show that鈥檚 contemporary, off-center, and also energetic and engaging.鈥�
Blondell is staging one of the three acts utilizing 蜜桃传媒鈥檚 new black-box theater, adjacent to Porter Theatre. The downside is it holds only 45 people, so Blondell recommends audiences get their reservations early.
鈥淚 know John鈥檚 way of working with plays and actors, and I know better than to meddle,鈥� VanderMey says. 鈥淚鈥檓 eager to see the play performed in order to learn what a brilliant director and talented actors will do with it.鈥�