THOUSAND OAKS, CA. - The Lit Moon Theatre Company will spend three weeks at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks working with students to create a unique new show.

The Santa Barbara-based company will take up residency at CLU from Nov. 20 through Dec. 11 as part of the university’s Artists and Speakers Series. Free public performances of “Once, a Traveler…” will be presented at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10, and Saturday, Dec. 11, in the Kwan Fong Gallery of Art and Culture. Another performance will take place at Trinity Episcopal Church in Santa Barbara on the occasion of the winter solstice at 7 and 9 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 21.

Founded in 1991, Lit Moon creates original productions with international collaborators and produces an annual international theater festival. The company has produced 25 original shows, seven artistic residencies with artists from six different European countries, and 11 international theater festivals featuring 50 productions from 12 countries.

After Lit Moon Artistic Director John Blondell returns in November from directing performances in Finland, the company will conclude its 2010 season by working with CLU art and theater students on all aspects of its most unusual co-production. Students will create visual art inspired by the “Carmina Gedelica,” a collection of Gaelic hymns and poems that were first published in the 19th century. CLU lecturer Russell Jaeger, a motion picture art director, and assistant professor Nate Sinnott, a theatrical designer, will assist.

The company will then work with theater students to weave the visual material into a loosely constructed narrative that evokes the movement of seasons, from the darkening of winter to the promise of spring. They will incorporate music and movement into a performance of charms and incantations celebrating the winter season. Audience members will move around the gallery and be involved in the unfolding performance.

“The unique fusion of space, material, student artists, and student and professional performers makes this a unique and exhilarating project,” Blondell said. “It will be an example of ‘Total Theatre,’ which relies on atmosphere, music, visual impression, poetic association, and physical performance.”

The Kwan Fong Gallery is in Soiland Humanities Center, which is on the south side of Memorial Parkway between Regent and Pioneer avenues. It is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Visitor parking is available in the lot on Mountclef Boulevard south of Olsen Road. Trinity Episcopal Church is located at 1500 State St.

CLU’s Artists and Speakers Committee is sponsoring the residency program. For more information, call Michael Pearce at (805) 444-7716 or visit http://www.callutheran.edu/kwan_fong.