SHANNON URTNOWSKI
A&E Editor
Because of last week’s wildfires, Sunday and Monday performances scheduled at Smothers Theatre were canceled.
The Malibu fire began early Sunday at about 5 a.m., and David Barber, the technical director for the theater, said he was unsure whether the performance of “Luma: Theater of Light” would be able to show.
“If nothing more happened, our goal was to put on a performance that afternoon,” Barber said. “It was just not meant to be.”
This became apparent at about 9 a.m., just 5 hours before the performance was set to begin.
Setup for the show began at about 6 a.m., when Barber arrived on campus. He noticed that the power was out at the theater and around Malibu, and realized that this was not a good sign.
“I went into the building using only a flashlight to see,” Barber said.
The theater company arrived at 7 a.m., a little late because the van had been diverted off of Malibu Canyon Road.
Pepperdine Chief of Staff Marnie Mitze said Barber, the company and the rest of the technical crew handled the situation very well.
“Our crew was very steady,” Mitze said. “The Luma: Theater Company was very professional and cooperative. Theater folks are used to working under pressure, so we just reacted as calmly as possible.”
In addition to the Sunday “Luma: Theater of Light” performance being rescheduled, Monday’s performance of “Luma Theater of Light” for the ARTSReach program was cancelled.
“Each year our center for the arts guild hosts over 10,000 local schoolchildren, many from underserved communities, in free shows and museum tours,” Mitze said of the ARTSReach program.
The 900 schoolchildren were scheduled to see the performance for free Monday, but due to the road and campus closures, they were not able to be bused to campus.
Rebecca Carson, the newly appointed director for the Center of the Arts, said more ARTSReach programs for the local schoolchildren are scheduled during the school year.
Coordinator of ARTSReach Carol Kmiec said the next program is scheduled for late November.
The official dates of when “Luma: Theater of Light” will show on campus is still unknown, but Carson said the program will most likely appear in the schedule for the 2008-2009 Center for the Arts season. She said the decision should be made within the week.
11-01-2007
