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Lilia Abadjieva directs �Ļ�ӰԺ actors Nolan Hamlin (left) and Justin Davis (far right), and Lit Moon actor as well as �Ļ�ӰԺ professor Mitchell Thomas (center) and alumnus Casey Caldwell '08

Theater students and faculty worked with artists from across the globe this fall in the second biannual Lit Moon World Shakespeare Festival held in Santa Barbara. �Ļ�ӰԺ professor and Lit Moon Theatre Company director John Blondell founded and organizes the international celebration. The only festival of its kind in the United States — and one of seven in the world — the event brought professionals from Macedonia, Bulgaria, Finland and the European Republic of Georgia to town for two weeks in October.

“It’s a kind of immersion experience, but here in Santa Barbara,” says Blondell, who directed an all-female cast of �Ļ�ӰԺ and Lit Moon actors in a joint production of “Julius Caesar” with the Young Open Theatre Festival of Skopje, Macedonia. Guest artist Lilia Abadjieva of the Bulgarian National Theater directed an all-male cast of �Ļ�ӰԺ students, alumni and department chair Mitchell Thomas in a hybrid performance of “Othello” and “Measure for Measure.”

“I really can’t talk about my �Ļ�ӰԺ experience without mentioning my involvement in both the 2006 and 2008 festivals,” says senior Nolan Hamlin. “Acting with Lilia has left a stamp on my imagination, and I am so thankful for the opportunity to have worked with her.”

“I think all the students felt professional,” says senior Diana Small about working with members of the Macedonia (Bitola) National Theatre. “It also got us thinking more globally about the play; John would talk about the differences between an older culture like Macedonia and the relatively new traditions of the United States and how that correlated with some of the themes in this political play.”

Such interactions demonstrate why Blondell created the festival. One distinction of a �Ļ�ӰԺ education is encouraging students to develop a global outlook so they’ll become thoughtful world citizens. Observing and interacting with leading artists from other cultures makes an impact on the student actors. “They are inspired and excited to understand how theater works in the world — and to participate in it as well,” Blondell says. “They see that they not only have access to a broader global community, but are actually part of it!”

“�Ļ�ӰԺ’s commitment to ‘think globally’ couldn’t be lived out any better for a theater artist than in the International Shakespeare Festival,” Small says. “It helps us see the impact of theater arts in the world, and we are always so glad to share our discoveries and passions with the rest of the Santa Barbara and �Ļ�ӰԺ communities.”

Looking back at the festival, Blondell recalls a performance of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by the Marjanishvili State Drama Theatre from Tbilisi, Georgia. The actors hadn’t had a chance to rehearse in the space before, so the first moments of the play were noticeably tight and awkward. “Then they started to warm up,” Blondell remembers, “and the audience started to warm up too, and an open strain of communication and vitality emerged.”

The evening concluded with a thundering standing ovation. “Although we’re from different places and radically different cultures, that faded away in the recognition of an ultimate human oneness,” Blondell says. “That’s the reason I do this — and why it’s such a valuable experience for our students.”