The Theatre Group at SBCC picks up ‘Dead Man’s Cell Phone’

Jenna Scanlon, right, is one of Santa Barbara's top actors, having performed with several local companies. Leona Paraminski is a star in her home country of Croatia. Ben Crop
Jenna Scanlon, right, is one of Santa Barbara’s top actors, having performed with several local companies. Leona Paraminski is a star in her home country of Croatia.
Ben Crop

In Sarah Ruhl’s plays, the subject matters may change, but one thing stays constant: nothing is what it seems, and even our closest friends and family, in the end, are unknowable. That conceit, with a technological edge, is the focus of “Dead Man’s Cell Phone,” opening tonight at SBCC’s Jurkowitz Theatre. Directed by Katherine Laris, this 2007 play cocks an eyebrow at the faith we put in our online selves, and takes its protagonist on a journey of self-discovery.

Jenna Scanlon, who has risen through the ranks of several local companies and productions to land starring roles, plays Jean, a shy and retiring woman who retrieves an incessantly ringing cell phone from a nearby cafe customer only to discover he’s dead. The corpse is played by another one of Santa Barbara’s top actors, Brian Harwell — also Ms. Scanlon’s boyfriend in real life — so we know that while this character may be dead, he hasn’t begun to have his say.

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Shawn of the Dead – Maurie Lord’s Genesis West company resurfaces for ‘The Designated Mourner’

Jenna Scanlon has performed in several local productions around Santa Barbara, from Circle Bar B to SBCC Dana Sherlock photo
Jenna Scanlon has performed in several local productions around Santa Barbara, from Circle Bar B to SBCC
Dana Sherlock photo

Maurie Lord has a few things to say about his job as the head of theater company Genesis West.

“Doing a play is a giant pain in the butt. It’s hard, it’s expensive, it wrecks your health, you lose a lot of money, you lose friends. It’s a horrible, horrible experience to go through. It’s the worst thing a human being can ever do.”

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