MORE Theater/S.B. presents Tea with Ganna, Pearl, and Beatrice, a new play developed by director Meg Kruszewska to celebrate legends of Santa Barbara: Ganna Walska, Pearl Chase, and Beatrice Wood. Tea with Ganna, Pearl, and Beatrice is a site-specific theatrical experience, so audience members will enjoy the women’s spirited conversation over tea against the local natural backdrop that all three women loved so dearly.
“When I went to see Lotusland, I became very interested in Ganna Walska,” says Kruszewska. “I started sketching out ideas about her, and I realized this was a much bigger story. There are several prominent (local) women here who made a name for themselves in different ways.” Pearl Chase helped mold Santa Barbara’s signature Spanish colonial look, while Beatrice Wood was an avante-garde artist in the 1920s who later became an acclaimed sculptor and potter. “I tracked the parallels in their lives. All were born out of the Victorian sensibilities, yet they were radical…. They led these amazing lives.”
Beyond the drama, Tea with Ganna, Pearl, and Beatrice includes a light tea service and a chance to explore the extraordinary settings for these unique productions. Five shows in Ojai (Mar. 5-9) take place at the Beatrice Woods Center for the Arts, the pottery studio overlooking the Ojai Valley where Wood lived and worked during her life. Shows in Santa Barbara (Mar. 12-13) will be at Aloes in Wonderland, a private, multiple-acre botanic garden and succulent collection.
The cast includes Ann Dusenberry as Beatrice Woods, Kathy Marden as Pearl Chase, and Meredith McMinn as Ganna Walska, with Alaina Dean as a young writer who invokes their presence. “These women were devoted to beauty,” says Kruszewska. “Creating beauty, maintaining beauty, preserving beauty, and sharing beauty.”
Enjoy the beauty with MORE Theater and learn about iconic S.B. women from the past. For more information and tickets, see moretheatersb.com.
