Moorpark College Professor Al Miller is lending his booming voice to bring God to life in an original one-act play.
The 30-minute play called, “Kevis Katon,” is followed by a discussion by a panel of religious leaders on the struggle in the Middle East. Richard Buckner, Millers former student, wrote and produced the one-act play about a little black sheep that could.
“The theme of the play is kindness,” said Buckner. “Children will enjoy the antics of adult actors playing sheep and their parents will enjoy the panel discussion to follow,” he said.
Buckner wrote the play as an exercise in script writing and decided it might be good enough to show an audience. He brought it to an acting troop in Hollywood called First Stage to perform before a test audience.
“They laughed out of their chairs,” said Buckner.
He added the panel discussion to illuminate some of the play’s more serious elements.
“The discussion is designed to show what is being done in a positive sense and what can continue to be done by the inter-faith community, government, the military, and the individual,” explained Buckner. The last 30 minutes of the panel discussion will be left for questions from the audience.
Members of the panel are Hammand Zaidi, a Moorpark College alumnus originally from Pakistan; Rabbi Chiam Bryski of Thousand Oaks Chabad; retired Episcopal Bishop of Fillmore Harvey Guthri; Imam Ahmed Patel of the Islamic Center for the Conejo Valley, and Father Alexie Smith, a Greek Russian Orthodox priest from Los Angeles.
Also included on the panel are two of the shows actors, Iman Ghiam and Jamil Hodaly. Both Ghiam and Hodaly are from the Middle East (Iran and the West Bank). Ghiam appears as Zebedee, a salt merchant and camel driver. Hodaly performs the role of the “conservative fold sheep”.
Elisa Eliot, a professional actor, plays Katon, the title role and female lead. The show’s director, Gregory Fawcett, does double duty as the male lead of Moses. The premier performances are at 3:30 & 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 25 at the Sherr Forum Theater in the Thousand Oaks Civics Arts Plaza. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster.
