The Los Osos High School Theater department’s production of the play, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, directed by Lauren Bell-Nagy, who is a LOHS alumnus from the class of 2006, provided a thought-provoking and engaging theatrical experience that combined humor, emotion, dedication, and teamwork to put on an amazing play for all who saw it. This production is different from all the others this year because it is a studio 

One of the strongest aspects of the play is how the actors were able to balance comedy with seriousness. Many senses of Dead Man’s Cellphone are humorous, especially those involving exaggerated misunderstandings or awkward conversations caused by the Cellphone. However, beneath the humor is a deeper message about how people can often use technology as a substitute for real emotional connection, providing a lesson; In the play and in real life, the cellphone acts as a symbol of constant communication and connection. but also a reminder of how disconnected or excluded people can feel

“What I hope people walk away with from this is that human connection is something that we should always fight for.” Said Director Bell-Nagy, “We should fight to connect with each other, not to isolate from each other. That we should do our best to find those that make us feel welcomed and give us a sense of belonging and to just onto them and fight for your relationships”

Written by Sarah Ruhl, Dead Man’s Cell Phone follows a woman named Jean, played by Senior Evynn Domenech, who is sitting alone in a café when she notices a cellphone ringing. The play quickly grows into a thoughtful representation of loneliness, identity, and the impact that an increasing digital influence has on the world.

The ringing of the phone continues, and is not answered, which leads Jean to eventually pick up the phone, only to realize that the owner of said phone, a man named Gordon, played by Junior Tristan Rodriguez, is dead. Jean’s state of loneliness or solitude at the beginning of the play validates her notion of answering the phone.

What began as a simple act of kindness or curiosity soon pulled Jean into Gordon’s life in unexpected ways; through the information on his phone and her interactions with the people who knew him, Jean slowly got entangled with Gordon’s life. 

Despite being dead, the character of Gordon raises questions about how well you truly know someone and what you can find out about them simply by going through their phone. 

“This was written in the early 2000s, before everyone was addicted to their phones,” Said Domenech, “I guess everyone still had them because of flip phones, but not everything was on their phones. It’s just interesting to see the differences in how people feel about phones and how society has changed because of phones.”

Other notable characters in the play are Gordon’s mother, Mrs. Gottleib, who is played by Ella Lyons, whose grief is portrayed as both heartbreaking and darkly humorous, and Gordon’s Wife, Hermia, played by Tori Watkins, who struggles to uphold her husband’s image while the truths about his life emerge after his death. All of these complex performances by students create emotional depth and contrast, highlighting the potential for different responses to loss and uncertainty.

Overall, the LOHS Theater’s production of Sarah Ruhl’s Dead Man’s Cell Phone succeeded in not only creating an entertaining performance but also succeeded in providing a meaningful lesson on the impact technology has had on society.