"The Donner Party Cycle, Part One" at CSU Channel Islands
CI to present original play by faculty member

Camarillo, CA. - CSU Channel Islands (CI) has announced the fourth annual spring production, an original play written and directed by CI faculty member Bob Mayberry, Associate Professor of English. Performances will be held Wednesday, March 9 through Saturday, March 12 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, March 13 at 2 p.m.

The play, entitled The Donner Party Cycle, Part One, is the first of a two-part dramatic work completed during Mayberry’s recent sabbatical. Set in 1846, the play focuses on the ill-fated journey of the Donner Party as the settlers leave Springfield, Illinois and cross the western desert only to get stranded in the winter snows of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and Donner Lake. After struggling to survive, the party faced starvation. There were tales of cannibalism among the party before half the company ultimately perished.

Mayberry grew up in Reno, Nevada and had always had a fascination with the history of the Donner Party tragedy. In creating the play cycle he drew from historical materials and diaries kept by party members to reveal the key decisions the company made along the California Trail.

The production will include performances by the students of Performing Arts / Art 391. Music has been arranged and will be performed by Ina Veli and Nicolas Deuson, a lecturer in Performing Arts. The play is partially sponsored by the Martin V. Smith School of Business & Economics.

Tickets for the performance are available through Brown Paper Tickets at 800-838-3006, by visiting http://performingarts.csuci.edu/events.html, or can be purchased at the door with cash. Tickets for CI students are free, non-CI students $5, CI faculty and staff, $10 and $15 for the general public.

Limited complimentary parking is available on campus in designated spaces only. Upon arriving at the campus, please follow event parking signs. Free parking is available at the Camarillo Metrolink Station/Lewis Road parking lot in Camarillo with bus service to and from the campus. Riders should board the VISTA Bus to the campus; the fare is $1.25 each way. Buses arrive and depart from the Camarillo Metrolink Station every 30 minutes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday. For exact times, check the schedule at www.goventura.org.

For additional information contact Catherine Burriss, Assistant Professor of Performing Arts, at CSU Channel Islands at 805-437-3126 or catherine.burriss@csuci.edu.

# # #

About California State University Channel Islands

CSU Channel Islands (CI) is the only four-year, public university in Ventura County and is known for its interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives, and its emphasis on experiential and service learning. CI’s strong academic programs focus on business, sciences, liberal studies, teaching credentials, and innovative master’s degrees. Students benefit from individual attention, up-to-date technology, and classroom instruction augmented by outstanding faculty research.