THEATER COMPANY

By Sarah Hammill

Discouraged by the lack of young adult
themes in current Santa Barbara theater — as in relationships, sex,
and finding your way, as opposed to the “young adult” genre for
teens and pre-teens — Sara Martinovich, Brendon Flemming, Michael
Conrad Jr., and Kate Paulsen (pictured, left to right) teamed up to
form The Loose Affiliation of Artists. And after months of
planning, the brand-spanking- new theater company is kicking off
its inaugural season with Neil LaBute’s The Shape of Things.

The four-person play — about a student who drifts into a
complicated relationship with an art major while his best friend’s
engagement crumbles — forces the audience to ask the questions: How
far would you go for love? For art? The answer to the latter, at
least for Loose Affiliation, is as far as it takes. In order to
draw a younger crowd to the performance last week, the group
presented a free preview show, a risky endeavor for any struggling
theater company merely hoping to break even with each production.
For each of the remaining six performances, the company will hold a
beer and wine cocktail hour before the start of the shows. And
ticket prices, which elsewhere can range from $20-$40, are selling
at a mere $10 a pop for anyone 30 or younger. For those older than
30, tickets go for $15.

“We really wanted to find a way to make theater relevant to our
generation,” Conrad explained. “And we figured, hey, just because
you aren’t a student anymore doesn’t mean you should have to pay 30
bucks to see a good play.”

The Shape of Things runs September 28-30 and October 5-7 at
Center Stage Theater at 8 p.m., with cocktails at 7 p.m. So do
yourself a favor — break out of your weekend movie rut, and get
yourself a healthy dose of bona fide culture.