Moving Theatrical Adventure Hits SB
You may want to fasten your seatbelt for this theatrical performance. Recent Indy-Award winning actor Mitchell Thomas performs the world-premiere of “The Earthquake Predictor Rides the Bus”, Friday, Sept. 22, and Friday, Sept. 29, at 7 p.m., 8 p.m., and 9 p.m. The entire performance takes place on a moving bus. Audiences will be picked up and dropped off at the entrance to Stearn’s Wharf, at the corner of State Street and Cabrillo Boulevard. The moving theatrical adventure is free and lasts about 30 minutes.
“The Earthquake Predictor” is the sole theatrical offering by Off-Axis, Santa Barbara’s month-long celebration of contemporary art. Thomas plays Hank the earthquake predictor, a confused tour guide in this dark comedy written by UC Santa Barbara doctoral candidate Hank Willenbrink.
Thomas, assistant professor of theatre arts, says one of the themes of Westmont’s theatre department this year is the transformation of space. In October, the wildly popular “King Richard II”, a co-production with Lit Moon Theatre Company, will once again transform Trinity Episcopal Church into an adaptable space. In November, Thomas will curate and produce “The Car Play Project”, which uses a parking lot as a theatre space.
“It’s fun for audiences,” says Thomas. “They have a new set of circumstances that they’re dealing with and so, in a way, it opens them up to new kinds of experiences that they’re not always used to having in the theatre.”
Thomas says “The Earthquake Predictor” starts out as an historical tour of Santa Barbara beginning with the Chumash Indians. But as the bus ride continues, the tour guide begins to have difficulty distinguishing reality and dreams and separating the past from the present.
“We’re blurring the boundaries of audience/performer because the people on the bus are in a sense participating in the play,” says Thomas. “Because of the moving quality of it and the live interaction with the environment around us, every tour will be unique. It’s a very unpredictable climate. So as an actor it’s a little unsettling, but also exciting.”