THOUSAND OAKS, CA - California Lutheran University will present the comedy “Sir Patient Fancy” in full Restoration style with extravagant period costumes and seats on the stage.

The Theatre Arts Department Mainstage Production directed by Michael J. Arndt will begin at 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays Nov. 13 through 22 and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 23, in the Preus-Brandt Forum on the Thousand Oaks campus.

“Sir Patient Fancy” was written in 1678 by Aphra Behn, the first Englishwoman to make a living as a playwright. The bawdy play has a complex plot featuring intrigue, mistaken identity and misunderstandings. The names of characters like Lady Knowell and Sir Credulous Easy give clues to their nature.

The most innovative and provocative element of Restoration Theatre was that women were introduced to the English stage as actresses for the first time. In “Sir Patient Fancy” and other Behn plays, female characters dominate the action and are brighter and wittier than the men.

During this time period, plays were performed primarily for the upper class and nobility, who often sat on stage so they could be seen. In the Cal Lutheran production, audience members will be invited to sit in box seats on the stage and don Restoration clothing.

Costume designer and assistant professor Noelle Raffy assembled authentic-looking Restoration clothing including corsets and huge skirts for the women and high-heeled shoes, shoulder-length wigs and lots of lace for the men. Assistant professor Erik Diaz modeled the stage after a Restoration playhouse complete with a decorative proscenium arch featuring doors. Ailish Riggins provided English dialect coaching and Jeff Wallach created period choreography. Brett Elliott, associate artistic director for the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company of Cal Lutheran, staged combat scenes and composer Christopher Hoag wrote an original baroque score.

The leads are theatre arts major Christopher Clyne of Camarillo; theatre arts major Annika Dybevik of Issaquah, Washington; theatre arts major Maryann Good of Loomis; communication major Mario Granados of Van Nuys; theatre arts major John Marino of West Hills; theatre arts and communication major Kevin Repich of Simi Valley; theatre arts major Seta Wainiqolo of Moorpark; and theatre arts major Alison Waxman of Simi Valley.

Admission is $10 at the door. The forum is located south of Olsen Road between Campus Drive and Mountclef Boulevard.

For more information, call 805-493-3415.