Malibu Stage Co. presents Mamet’s provocative play, ‘Oleanna.’
Malibu Times Staff
Actress Darby Stanchfield, who plays the student, Carol, in David Mamet’s “Oleanna,” directed by Taylor Nichols, comes to Malibu Stage Co. originally from the remote Aleutian island of Dutch Harbor, a village of less than 1,000 citizens off the coast of Western Alaska. Her father was a commercial fisherman engaged in the dangerous pursuit of crab fishing, which became the subject of a recent TV documentary.
At 16, Darby and her family left the isolated community of one-TV-station Dutch Harbor for the cultural shock of ultra liberal Seattle. Here, the awed teenager attended the University of Puget Sound studying “women’s issues” and theater. Following graduation, Stanchfield went on to study acting at the American Conservatory of Theatre in San Francisco. When the family moved to Los Angeles, she began getting offers to appear in network television. Stanchfield has appeared in feature parts in more than 12 TV productions and also works in television commercials. She is also signed to play the recurring role of Kenneth Mitchell’s wife in the new CBS hour-long series “Jericho” that airs in the fall.
Stanchfield’s interest in women’s issues was a factor in her decision to accept the role of the student who accuses her professor of sexual harassment in “Oleanna.”
Asked what she thought of her role in Mamet’s taut, explosive play, the redhead replied, “I don’t try to create what I think the role should be; I try to inhabit the role that Mamet wrote.
“He [Mamet] is an art form that is unique and his dialogue can be very challenging for an actor,” Stanchfield added. “Every word counts. I love the play. It provokes and engages.”
Steven Caffrey costars with Stanchfield in the role of the professor.
Stanfield last appeared on the stage as Poly Simpson in “Hanging Alice” at the Elephant Lab in Hollywood. Her other stage credits include Ursula in “Much Ado About Nothing” with LA Shakespeare Festival, the role of Masha in “The Three Sisters,” Darlene in “Hurlyburly” and Avril in “Purple Dust.”
The Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, David Mamet, chose his title “Oleanna” from a late 19th century Boston spiritual cult established by the world famous Swedish violinist, Ole Bull. The name came to represent in time “the hopeless pursuit of an idealistic, even Utopian dream, where all things are possible.”
“Oleanna” opens Friday at 8 p.m. and runs through July 9. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets are $25 and can be obtained by calling 310.589.1998. Malibu Stage Co. is located at 29243 Pacific Coast Highway, just north of Kanan Dume.