Westmont’s John Blondell discusses the world premiere play that will bring Santa Barbara’s silent film history to the stage in a Westmont Downtown Lecture Thursday, February 16, at 5:30 p.m. in the Community Arts Workshop (CAW), 631 Garden Street, in downtown Santa Barbara. “The Film Within a Play: Celebrating Santa Barbara’s Flying A Studios on Stage,” is free and open to the public; no tickets or reservations are required. Ample free parking is available. For more information, please call (805) 565-6051.

Blondell, director of “Diamond to Dust: a Flying A Fantasy,” will be joined by select cast members, who will perform a scene from “Diamond to Dust.”

“The talk promises to be a wide-ranging discussion about an important story in Santa Barbara’s history, the ins and outs of theatrical performance, sneak peeks into theatrical process, and how all these impact our students in the show, and ultimately our audience,” Blondell says.

Santa Barbara was one of the centers of American film from 1912-21 with the American Film Manufacturing Company, known as the Flying A, which made more than 1,000 films.

The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (SBMM) presents “Conquering the Pacific: An Unknown Mariner and the Final Great Voyage of the Age of Discovery ” with University of California-Davis history professor Andrés Reséndez on Thursday, February 16, 2023 at 7:00 pm. As part of his presentation Dr. Reséndez will discuss his latest book, Conquering the Pacific and tell the little-known story of the first trans-Pacific expedition. Cost is free for SBMM’s Navigator Circle Members, $10 for all other members, and $20 for members of the public. There will also be a pre-lecture reception for members only from 6:15-6:45pm. Register at: https://sbmm.org/santa-barbara-events/ and become a member at https://sbmm.org.