MONTECITO — The Westmont Theater Arts Department has announced its new Justice and Global Engagement in the Theatre Arts Initiative.
The effort will be headed by award-winning director and Westmont professor John Blondell.
According to a news release from the Montecito college, the new initiative will expand the theater department’s focus on “diversity, justice, global engagement and intercultural competency.” The initiative will also establish a new artist/scholar-in-residence for “diversity, equity and inclusion in theater arts.”
“I am delighted and honored,” Dr. Blondell said in a statement. “These positions reflect the department’s commitment to seek change and transformation relative to local, national and global conversations and movements.”
Dr. Blondell will spend one semester at Westmont teaching and directing before spending the following semester working in international theater.
“John has developed a stellar and altogether unique professional career directing international theater all over the globe,” Mitchell Thomas, theater arts professor and department chair, said. “His experiences, connections and professional work directly benefit our theater arts students and provide a distinct lens into global theater-making.”
— Madison Hirneisen
