‘SEAWARD’ NEW PLAY DEBUTS WITH HELP FROM LOCAL THEATER ORGANIZATIONS

Center Stage Theater is excited to partner with UCSB’s Initiative for New & Reimagined Work to bring Cyrus Robert’s new play ‘Seaward’ to life. Center Stage has always been committed to helping develop young artists and mentor the theater-makers of tomorrow. Teri Ball, Executive Director of Center Stage Theater, says “performance is all about telling stories and sharing your vision with the community. We want to make sure that we bring as many diverse voices as possible to our stage. This means lifting playwrights, directors, actors, designers, technicians, and producers from all different backgrounds and allowing them to explore their artistic dreams. This production of ‘Seaward’ is part of that commitment.”

Under the guidance and encouragement of UCSB’s Initiative for New And Reimagined Work Founding Director, Vickie Scott, ‘Seaward’ is completely written, directed, acted, and designed by students studying their craft in UCSB’s Theater/Dance Department. To have the experience of producing a brand new play in downtown Santa Barbara, or anywhere for that matter, is an incredible opportunity that is rarely offered to undergraduate students.

So! What is the play about? ‘Seaward’ is an absurdist, dark comedy, exploring the issue of identity within the setting of a 1930s asylum for the mentally ill. Long-time F-Ward residents Carrie and Arthur endure various therapies inflicted by their less than empathetic wardens, Cassandra and Adam. When new patient Rick arrives, the strange mix of realities he faces rattle his confidence in his own. The play explores two questions. What is real and what makes it that way?

Playwright and Director, Cyrus Roberts is a poet, writer, actor, and director from Los Angeles, who is currently a senior BFA acting student at UCSB. As a former touring spoken word poet, he has had work commissioned by Toms Shoes, Adidas, March For Our Lives, the Golden Globes, the U.N. Peace Council, and others. Some of his recent acting credits include Cyrus in the nationally distributed film ‘Summertime,’ J in the film ‘The Siren’ which he co-wrote, co-directed, and co-produced, Hookman/Sean/Adam in ‘Hookman,’ Langston Hughes in ‘We Live On,’ and Brutus in ‘Julius Caesar.’ Cyrus is also the self-published author of his poetry books “carpe forma” (2018) and his upcoming book “& the Sun breathes & the Trees die.” This is the second of his plays to be produced and he is very thankful for Center Stage and UCSB’s Initiative for New & Reimagined Work for giving him this awesome opportunity.

Center Stage Theater exists to provide a professional, affordable, and accessible arts venue for the Santa Barbara community. The theater offers an environment where people of all ages, levels of expertise, and socio-economic backgrounds can participate in a hands-on experience as artists, technicians, and audience members. Center Stage Theater encourages work that celebrates new artists and the cultural diversity of our community. We are also pleased to serve the full spectrum of community events including dance, music, theater, lectures, meetings, and films with a breadth of types of performances from young dancers and actors appearing on stage for the first time to seasoned professionals.

The Initiative for New and Reimagined Work, supported by The University of California Santa Barbara, within the Department of Theater and Dance, The Initiative for New and Reimagined Work explores the past, the present, and the possible! Their mission is to encourage and support new and reimagined works while nurturing the next generation of choreographers, playwrights, directors, designers, administrators, and performers. The Initiative is led by Founding director Vickie Scott. CREATE FORWARD!

Seaward will be performed Thursday to Saturday, March 17, 18, and 19 at 7:00 PM and Sunday, March 20 at 2:00 PM. This production will feature Taylor Garcia, Matte Kranz, Gabriel O’Brien, Aivarey Sala, and Grace Wilken who is doing double duty as the costume designer for the show. The rest of the production team is Sophie Lynd and Alyssa Longwell as co-lighting designers, Maggie Welch as scenic designer, Cyrus Roberts designing sound, and Abby Stoiber as stage manager.

http://www.centerstagetheater.org/