蜜桃传媒鈥檚 theatre arts department continues to push the boundaries of theatrical space with 鈥淭he Car Play Project,鈥� Thursday, Nov. 30, through Saturday, Dec. 2, at 7 p.m. at Hubbard Hall parking lot. About 40 students will perform 16 original plays simultaneously inside 16 parked vehicles. Each play is less than 12 minutes and the entire show will last two hours.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a real experiment,鈥� says Mitchell Thomas, assistant professor of theatre arts. 鈥淚t鈥檚 wonderful to try and to see what it鈥檚 like for actors, audiences, directors and writers to have to work with a completely different structure.鈥�
It should be a real adventure for audiences as well. Each car offers a different play written, directed and acted by students. At the end of a play, guests will be able to pick another vehicle to enter, and can pick any car they wish to sit in.
Thomas says he gave students three rules: The plays have to be less than 12 minutes, a majority of the action must take place in an enclosed vehicle, and at least two audience members must be able to sit comfortably in the vehicle.
鈥淭he plays are so different,鈥� says Thomas. 鈥淲hen audiences get into these cars, they鈥檙e
stepping into wholly different worlds in term of what characters are like and what
the situation is.鈥�
In fact, the program for 鈥淭he Car Play Project鈥� will include a map and instruct audience
members where to sit in a particular vehicle. Casts range from one to four actors
with plays ranging from absurd farcical comedy to a terrifying drama.
Even if an audience member sits in for a play every 15 minutes, they鈥檇 only be able to see half of the shows in one evening. But Thomas says just because you鈥檙e in one vehicle watching one play, it doesn鈥檛 mean that you鈥檙e not aware of the other plays happening at the same time.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like the 鈥楥hoose Your Own Adventure鈥� books from childhood,鈥� Thomas says. 鈥淵ou read the page and at the bottom it says now turn to either 21, 51 or 87. And depending on where you turned it was a totally different story.鈥�
He says because audience members will be choosing which cars to sit in, everyone鈥檚 experience will be unique.
鈥淭he sum total of one鈥檚 theatrical journey as an audience member will be different for each individual. Most of the plays don鈥檛 have any direct connection, but because we鈥檙e seeing them in sequence, there may actually be some sort of sub-story we take with us consciously or subconsciously.鈥�
This fall the theatre arts department has been working with the theme of transforming theatrical space. 鈥淜ing Richard II鈥� was performed in two different locations inside Trinity Church and Thomas performed 鈥淭he Earthquake Predictor鈥� inside a moving bus as part of Off-Axis, Santa Barbara鈥檚 month-long tribute to contemporary art.
Tickets are $10 general admission, $5 for seniors and students. Coffee, cider and dessert will be provided for free.