Arts & Entertainment

Party with Romeo and Juliet at ‘The Capulet Black & White Ball’

Westmont’s Immersive Theater Experience Brings Shakespeare’s Star-Crossed Lovers to the Party at Santa Barbara Community Arts Workshop

Westmont College’s production of 'The Capulet Black & White Ball’ | Photo: Ciena Fitzgerald

For me, it was an obvious choice to take a red eye to NYC, spend the day in Brooklyn on four hours of sleep, and venture forth in the evening to the McKittrick Hotel for Sleep No More, Punchdrunk Theatre Company’s devised dramatic experience based on Macbeth. Set in a Chelsea warehouse with the interior adorned in the style of an old (potentially haunted?) 1930s hotel, Sleep No More, and shows like it, is fully immersive and full of fun.

In immersive theater, rather than separating the audience from the action on stage, the drama happens in the space amongst the viewers. (In case you’re wondering, I flew back to the West Coast the next afternoon…no regrets.)

This kind of theater experience is the inspiration for director John Blondell’s upcoming Capulet Black & White Ball, a deconstructed, immersive version of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The production is mounted at CAW (the Community Arts Workshop), which has been transformed into the Capulet villa for the masquerade party where Romeo and Juliet first meet. “That’s the immersive element,” says Blondell. “The audience is invited to a party. There will be stuff to eat, music, opportunities for dancing and games…Let the play spill out of that.”

Featuring the Westmont student actors, The Capulet Black & White Ball only has six performances between February 29–March 3, with 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. shows March 1–2. Blondell calls this kind of theater “visceral” and “edgy,” and describes the production as artistic experimentation and exploration. “I like taking these texts and carving them up,” he says. “The text is fragmented, telescoped. There are things that happen really fast and things that play out for a long time so we can explore them.”

The Capulet Black & White Ball is produced by the Westmont Theater Department. Don’t miss this unique immersive theatrical experience in the heart of Santa Barbara!

See westmont.edu/boxoffice to purchase tickets. Tickets are selling out quickly, so make sure to get yours soon!