Powerful Trinity

A young person has committed an act as unexplainable as it is unspeakable, and it’s up to a psychiatrist to figure out why. Set that outline of a plot in a stable and you’ve got “Equus.” Set in a convent, it’s “Agnes of God,” John Pielmeier’s intense play now being performed at the Ojai Center for the Arts.

“Nunsense!” it’s not.

A baby, recently born, is discovered dead in the living quarters of Agnes, a novice. Agnes claims no knowledge of what happened to the baby--hers, evidently, but by whom? And who killed the infant?

Dr. Martha Livingstone, a court psychiatrist, is assigned to the case. Mother Miriam Ruth, the convent’s mother superior, is on hand to, um, assist with the investigation.

Given the characters and the setting, one can pretty well bet that the philosophical issues raised are more significant than the mystery, such as it is--which makes the play no less engrossing over a rather brief two hours, thanks in great part to a uniformly strong trio of actresses under Tom Eubanks’ direction.

Shana Manion, who plays Agnes; J. Reni Peqa, who plays Dr. Livingstone; and Marion Scherer, who plays the ominous mother superior, are all evidently making their local community theater debuts, although Manion has appeared in several Nordhoff High School shows. There isn’t a flat note in any of their performances.

One observation, though: In part due to the functional but sparse stage set, and despite the fact that all three actors project well, the Arts Center auditorium is rather “live” and echo-laden, causing some of the dialogue to reverberate into the ether. Sitting close to the stage would probably help.

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DETAILS

“Agnes of God” continues through Aug. 1 at the Ojai Center for the Arts, 113 S. Montgomery St. in Ojai. Performances are Thursdays and Sundays at 7 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Tickets for all shows are $12; $10 for seniors and Arts Center members. For reservations or more information, call 649-9443.

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Ken Ludwig’s farce, “Moon Over Buffalo,” is set in a theater during the 1950s, where the actors are performing productions of “Cyrano de Bergerac” and Noel Coward’s “Private Lives” in repertory--which means that three distinct sets of costumes (24 for the seven actors) are required for the show, now playing at the Santa Paula Theater Center. It’s quite a challenge for costume director Teri Hulbert, who had to assemble them on a moderate, three-figure budget.

“I considered renting because the show is so costume-intensive,” Hulbert said last week, “and I really needed a hat for Cyrano, and you can’t find them just everywhere. So I called Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, and they let me loose in a big warehouse in Marina del Rey. They had 20 boxes full of 17th century pirate-type hats, but it would have cost too much to rent the costumes for the run of the show, so I made a mental picture of what I needed and came home and tried to recreate it.”

Hulbert, who grew up in Ojai and Ventura and lives in a classic Victorian home in Santa Paula, is director of advertising for the 37-store Daniel’s Jewelers chain.

Her first assignment with the Santa Paula Theater Center was working lights for “To Kill a Mockingbird” several years ago; she soon found herself on the group’s board of directors and moved from lighting--she found it “too intense” and disliked having to attend every performance--to costumes.

“I come from a family that is not privileged,” she said, “and we sewed most of our own clothes. My mother taught me to sew when I was 5 or 6.”

Later, she worked for a local couturier “who taught me how to handle a piece of cloth without a pattern. I rarely use patterns, because material is too expensive by the yard. [Instead], I live in the thrift shops, finding things that I can cut up and rework and make costumes of.”

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DETAILS

“Moon Over Buffalo” continues through Aug. 29 at the Santa Paula Theater Center, 125 S. Seventh St. in Santa Paula. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Tickets to all shows are $12.50 for adults; $10 for seniors and students; and $6 for ages 12 and under. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. For reservations or more information, call 525-4645.

Todd Everett can be reached at teverett@concentric.net.