JUST ANNOUNCED: An Evening With Peter Sagal - February 3rd at 7:00PM
Get your tickets now and celebrate 20 years of The Marjorie Luke Theatre!
Our Newest Addition to our Virtual Series
Michael Downey, a participant in PPF’s Lavender Elders group, collaborated with filmmaker Rod Lathim to produce a film that explores the backstory of creating the play The War Shirt. It explores the guidance of ancestral messages from African and Native American cultures in the creation of the play and this film.
A panel discussion follows. The Film is Open Captioned and discussion interpreted in Sign Language.
The seed for the creation of this 45-minute documentary was planted in 2022, when Santa Barbara based actor-dancer Michael Downey wrote and performed a one-person play titled The War Shirt. His story explored his circumstances as a gay man, his relationship with a disapproving father, and the reconciliation that occurred hours before his father’s passing. Downey sensed that something larger had been set in motion that needed to continue beyond the play to fulfill itself. The War Shirt: A Dialogue With the Ancestors is the result. It is a documentary that brings new light to various historical and cultural events that were suggested but not explored in his original script.
Various Downey ancestors were born into slavery, and the documentary examines the horrors of the Middle Passage—that trans-Atlantic voyage that carried millions of captives from West Africa to the North American continent. The film is particularly focused on the continuing influence of those African ancestors and the significance of honoring them.
Director/Producer Rod Lathim views both the play The War Shirt and this documentary as a direct results of intangible influences that he feels are guiding and impacting events in our physical world. Lathim asserts that these influences enhanced his intuitive sense as a director and illuminated the development of the play script and subsequent documentary. Both Downey and Lathim acknowledge a guiding presence of African and Native American Ancestors and felt strongly that this film needed to be made to celebrate and honor them.
The film includes perspectives that draw from American Indian belief systems and South African Zulu healing practices. Featured personalities include Dr. Jeanne Eder, a Dakota Sioux and adopted member of the Crow tribe, Dr. David Cumes, a South African surgeon and Sangoma practitioner, Davies King, UCSB Distinguished Professor of Theater/Dance, and Aaron Jones, Director of UCSB’s Educational Opportunity Program and a former participant in an interfaith pilgrimage that traced the trans-Atlantic transport of West African captives to the Western Hemisphere. These various cultural points of view speak to Downey’s continuing journey into self-discovery and suggest a doorway of possibility that is open to the rest of us as well whenever we choose to embrace our own histories and inevitably uncover the timeless bonds that connect our lives to others.
The film is generously sponsored by the SBCC Foundation, Michael Downey, Marjorie Luke Theatre, Pacific Pride Foundation, Claude Raffin (In Memory of Jon Gathercole).
”Bravo to producer/director/ Rod Lathim and writer/performer Michael Downey on The War Shirt, A Dialogue with the Ancestors! Watch the moving personal play and then for further explanation and exploration, watch this companion documentary. Both films provide wisdom and encourage reflection on our own life journeys, after-life questions, and inspire us to explore our own ancestral dialogues.
Wendy KoutWriter/Producer
”A Dialogue with the Ancestors is a must-see documentary! My heart and soul opened and soared with the recognition of truth shared by the ancestors in this film. Thank you, Rod Lathim for a glorious awakening and reminder to listen to and acknowledge the ancestors around me.
Jenny SullivanDirector/Producer/Playwright
”I’m blown away by how well the film captures the many layers of stories that went into the making of Michael’s play—history and meaning, African American and Native American themes, and the political and cultural dialogues that engage us now.
William Davies KingDistinguished Professor of Theater and Dance University of California at Santa Barbara
”I came away thoroughly inspired, confirmed in my personal beliefs about the impact our ancestors have in our day to day lives and hopeful for our humanity. Thank you Rod Lathim for collaborating with Michael Downey to bring this important message of Michael’s journey to all of us. We must choose to be the light each and every day.
Vicki Klossner Ehlen
About the Virtual Concert Series
The Luke’s Virtual Concert Series has had over 600,000 + viewers, making it the largest and most successful outreach The Luke has had in its history. The Series is also the most extensive and professionally produced FREE streaming series in the South Coast area.
Over the past two years The Marjorie Luke Theatre has dedicated itself to creating new and artistic pieces of virtual art that helped many through the darkest period of the pandemics. The Luke Theatre was a pioneer in Santa Barbara as a theatrical space that offered free virtual events everyone could enjoy in during a period where life and society ultimately stopped. We at The Luke wanted to keep our commitment to the community by creating entertaining, enlightening, and educational content.
Thanks to the leadership of producer Rod Lathim and social media manager Henry Rosas, The Virtual Concert Series continues to be a huge success! It kept our stage lit and busy during 2020 and beyond! “As ‘The People’s Theatre’, we are proud to give stage to a broad spectrum of diverse artists in our community and reach audiences of many cultures,” commented Rod Lathim.
The War Shirt
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Michael Downey is a gay, African American man, and his play revolves around his life-long journey with his father, Bill Downey. While “The War Shirt” centers around Michael’s evolving relationship with his father, it also traces the unfolding and maturation of his identity as a gay man. The work also embraces the influence of African American ancestors and past events on Downey’s present life and includes a Native American perspective that influenced his father’s course of action, particularly in his later life.
Dakota Lotus – All In For Love
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Dakota Lotus comes back to The Luke stage for his first ever solo concert! Watch local Disney star sing his original song with the help of some amazing friends in this one of a kind concert filmed live on The Luke stage. This concert and the full Virtual Concert Series is entirely free thanks to our fantastic local sponsors!
The Santa Barbara Home Project
In Partnership with On The Verge Theatre Festival
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The Home Project: Showcasing new works by local playwrights, poets, and visual and spoken artists, this online event will examine the theme of ‘home’ from fresh angles in the beautiful and historic setting of The Marjorie Luke.
Seraphonium
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Filmed on The Luke stage in 2015, Seraphonium is a feast for the eyes and ears. Featuring 45 artists from Santa Barbara and beyond in a genre bending songs by Monte Schulz! A perfect gift to share with your family this New Years Eve!
Jackson Gillies In Concert
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We welcome back Jackson – a singer/songwriter/musician who recently gained national notoriety as a contestant on American Idol Season 2, reaching the top 68 of over 100,000, and won Teen Star USA in 2016. Jackson has appeared on The Luke stage many times and recently co-produced/directed the Emmy Award-winning “Teens Sing for Santa Barbara.” He has been mentored by Kenny Loggins and opened for Jim Messina at The Lobero Theatre. Jackson will perform new original songs and covers in a rousing celebration of his many talents.
Pianos at The Luke
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Santa Barbara Piano Artists play a diverse selection of improvisational, original works, jazz, classical and more, on whimsical pianos and our Yamaha C7 Grand, onstage at The Luke.
Resonance
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“Resonance” is a convergence of Santa Barbara artists to uplift, unite and inspire our spirits. Musicians, singers and speakers reflecting our diverse cultures will offer songs, music and spoken words that resonate with the times in which we live. Created to infuse our community with peace, togetherness and harmony, over 30 participants will contribute to this unique and transformative offering, direct from The Marjorie Luke stage. Not to be missed!
Mendeleyev in Concert
Full Video – Click to Watch!
Mendeleyev is a singer/songwriter born and raised in Santa Barbara and is best known from his eye and ear catching appearances on THE VOICE. His low, booming voice and guitar work turned every chair and he was a member of John Legend’s team. His diverse catalogue is filled with feverish finger picking, mellow to manic melodies, and lively, moving lyrical original songs. He will light up The Luke stage with his fresh, folk yet funky take on music.
Storm Reading
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The Marjorie Luke Theatre Virtual Concert Series proudly presents Access Theatre’s critically acclaimed stage production Storm Reading at www.luketheatre.org, with the support of Series Sponsors and Event Sponsorship by The Independent Living Resource Center celebrating its 45th anniversary. This vintage, ground-breaking play was developed in Santa Barbara and first premiered in 1988. The play was enthusiastically embraced by audiences and launched a six-year tour across the USA, to Canada and England, before being filmed for television in 1996.
Storm Reading is based on the life experiences of Neil Marcus – a poet, humorist, philosopher and, since the international tour of the play, a disability culture icon. Marcus lives with a neurological disorder called Dystonia, which impacts his ability to speak and control movement. His approach to life and disability is uniquely refreshing and progressive, and Storm Reading introduces audiences to his perspective on living one’s life as a truly bold and authentic journey.
To access the production with Audio Description, go to:
If you enjoyed this performance, please consider making a donation to keep the arts alive in our community during these trying times.
Thank you to our Series Sponsors who have made this possible!
Jean Kaplan
Andrew and Elizabeth Butcher
Rod Lathim
Dreier Family Rent Subsidy Fund
Anonymous
Larry and Gerrie Fausett
Gerd and Peter Jordano
Anne Towbes
Dr. Thomas Van Meter
Stephen & Kathleen Carmel
Dawn Ziemer
Phil and Pam McLendon
Sam and Sandra Tyler
Pamela Dillman Haskell
The Battle Family
