Theater has long been known for its transformative power, while journalism has the ability to shift perspectives at every level, from local to global. But what happens when these two powerful mediums come together? Mendocino College Theater explores that question in its upcoming production, Mendocino Stories: Instructions for Living in a Broken World.
The play, running for two weekends beginning Thursday, March 13th, at the Mendocino College Center Theater on the Ukiah campus, is the culmination of a three-year project. Under the guidance of Mendocino College Theater Director Reid Edelman, Artistic Director of the Mendocino Theater Company Lucas Verbrugghe, and renowned playwright, performer, and journalistic theater pioneer Dan Hoyle, students of the theater program have crafted a production that is as much by and about the community as it is for the community.
The subtitle, "Instructions for Living in a Broken World," reflects a core theme: resilience and the power of community in difficult times. As Edelman explains, the play brings to life real stories gathered from Mendocino County residents, making the community both the subject and the central character of the performance.
“Live theater as an art form is about sharing stories with the community,” Edelman said in a recent interview on KZYX with broadcaster Julie McGovern. “But in this project, our community is the story and is the character.”
Mendocino Stories is composed of monologues and ensemble pieces derived from interviews with local residents. The narratives range from a migrant worker’s romance in a pear orchard to a Vietnam veteran’s moral dilemma and the experiences of a young trans person navigating life in a small town. Though the play explores many difficult themes, Edelman describes the final result as profoundly hopeful.
“When you look at the stories in the script, a lot of really hard stories get told, a lot of pain is revealed,” Edelman noted. “But the beauty of the show is that it doesn’t feel that way. It feels uplifting and hopeful. It’s a play about struggles, about living in a broken world. But the magic of it is that it doesn’t feel demoralizing. It’s a love story to our community and to the connections that sustain us.”
For Lucas Verbrugghe, the production is more than just a series of personal narratives—it’s a call to action. “We have this amazing, uncanny ability to land on our feet,” he said. “And the thing that all these stories have in common is that people can’t do it alone. You need community to do that. That’s what community is for.”
Verbrugghe also challenges audiences to rethink their approach to brokenness, whether in relationships, communities, or the world at large.
“There’s this sense in our culture that when something is broken, we throw it away,” he reflected. “But we can’t do that with relationships, and we can’t do that with communities. If something starts to break down, it demands our attention to repair it."
In many ways, that is what this play is about—about coming together as a community and mending what’s broken.
