Nov. 1, 2021—CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) students will perform a series of vignettes about the history of the campus with “Camarillo Tales: Echoes in the Hills,” which opens Nov. 4 and runs through Nov. 13.
“It’s a collection of original short plays written and performed by the students,” said Performing Arts/Theater Lecturer Laura Covault. “It’s a story of Cal State Channel Islands inspired by the history and lore of the land—the Chumash, the hospital, the people and the campus.
Professional playwright Marisela Treviño Orta coached the students as they wrote the 13-vignette play. Orta has won numerous awards including the 2006 Chicano/Latino Literary Prize in Drama and the 2009 Pen Center USA Literary Award in Drama for her first play, “Braided Sorrow.”
“Camarillo Tales” is co-directed by Covault and Performing Arts/Theater Lecturer Hugo Carbajal. Carbajal was inspired to do a show about the multi-layered history of the campus during Convocation in August, when he saw the traditional Chumash blessing performed by former CSUCI staff member and Chumash descendant Raudel Bañuleos.
“I was inspired by the Chumash ceremony and just walking around the campus, I could sense the energy of the space,” Carbajal said. “I thought, why not work with it and have the students create a story around that space?”
Covault loved the idea and they recruited Orta to coach the students about playwriting each week via Zoom. As they worked with Orta, they researched the history of the campus with help from Library Specialist and Archivist Evelyn Taylor.
“I play a character named Roy in a scene called ‘Crazy World,’” said Performing Arts major Griffin Giboney, who plays five parts in the play. “It tells his life story about how when he was young his parents were killed in a car accident and he gets put into the orphanage program at Camarillo State Hospital. When we met with Evelyn Taylor she told us about a man with a similar experience.”
The scene, called “Crazy World,” was written by Performing Arts major Brianna Csellak, who was intrigued to find out Camarillo State Hospital had a program in which they cared for orphans.
“I wanted to focus more on the children at Camarillo State Hospital,” Csellak said. “When I heard the story of this person who spent his whole life in the state hospital, I started wondering what it would feel like to be one of those kids and the story wrote itself.”
The show includes a scene based on the actual diary of a nurse at Camarillo State Hospital, a scene from the future which involves aliens, and a scene about the now crumbling dairy across the street from the campus.
“There’s a scene where the students come up upon a haunted cow, who’s going to be played by none other than myself,” Covault said. “The cow has some anger issues.”
There is also a scene involving a mural in a hallway of Camarillo State Hospital that featured movie stars such as Marilyn Monroe, Clint Eastwood and Clark Gable. Orta herself wrote a scene in which the characters come to life and speak to one another.
“There was so much creative potential in terms of what happened on campus,” Carbajal said. “As they started doing research, some of these plays just poured out of the students.”
Orta, Carbajal and Covault were all delighted with the finished play, and are looking forward to this year’s production, which will be on the outdoor stage across from Malibu Hall.
Shows are at 8 p.m. Nov. 4, 5, 6, 12 and 13 with an additional matinee Nov. 13 at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $5 to $15, and free to CSUCI students. In accordance with COVID protocols, reservations must be made ahead of time including free tickets. No walk-ups will be permitted.
Get tickets at https://camarillotales.bpt.me & follow us on IG @camarillotales.