SBCC Presents SOMETHING ROTTEN!

The Theatre Group at SBCC is excited to announce the first show of the 2022-23 season will be the exuberant musical, SOMETHING ROTTEN! Book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O'Farrell, Music and Lyrics by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick, Conceived by Karey Kirkpatrick and Wayne Kirkpatrick. SOMETHING ROTTEN! will run July 6-23, 2022 in the Garvin Theatre and will be directed by Katie Laris, musical direction by David Potter and choreography by Christina McCarthy.

THE STORY

Set in the 1590s, brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom are desperate to write a hit play but are stuck in the shadow of that Renaissance rockstar known as "The Bard." When a local soothsayer foretells that the future of theatre involves singing, dancing and acting at the same time, Nick and Nigel set out to write the world's very first musical. But amidst the scandalous excitement of opening night, the Bottom Brothers realize that reaching the top means being true to thine own self...and all that jazz.

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Performances will be July 6-23, 2022 in the Garvin Theatre on SBCC's West Campus, 900 block of Cliff Dr. Performance times are Thursday through Saturday @ 7:30pm,

Sunday @ 2pm, Previews on July 6 & 7 @ 7:30pm.

The Sunday, July 10, 2pm performance will be live-captioned for the hearing impaired.

Prices: Previews $18 general/$15 seniors & SBCC staff/$10 students, Thursday evening and Sunday matinee $24 general/$19 seniors & SBCC Staff/$14 students,

Friday & Saturday evening $26 general/$21 seniors & SBCCC staff/$17 students.

Tickets will be available beginning June 21, 2022 and can be purchased by calling the Box Office at 805-965-5935 or online at www.theatregroupsbcc.com.

COVID PROTOCOL

The current covid protocol for ages 5 and above is to provide proof of vaccination or a negative covid test taken within 72 hours for the performance upon entry to the theatre. Masks are required inside at all times, N95 or KN95 recommended. This may be subject to change.

THE CAST

SOMETHING ROTTEN! will feature Leesa Beck, Roz Borah, Hannah Brudney, Milo Bustany, Lizzy Butler, Jenni Coletta, Bridget DeVine, Nick Ehlen, Austin Escamilla, Tristan Fleming, Sarah Kondas, Marilee Larned, Rod Lathim, Isaac Lewis, Andrew Miller, Will Muse, Stuart Orenstein, Robby Pallad, Will Roberts, Hannah Robinson,, Daniel Sabraw, Nicholis Sheley, Willie Simpson, Lucia Ramirez Solano, CJ Smith, Madeira Thomas, Madeleine Thomas and Ben Watkins.

LEESA BECK (Lady Clapham/Ensemble) is excited to return to the Garvin stage after having last appeared in Murder on the Orient Express. Favorite SB credits include Elvira in Blithe Spirit (The Theatre Group at SBCC), Mrs. Rowland in Before Breakfast (Theatre Eclectic), and Maggie in Red Herring (Circle Bar B). Favorite LA credits include Portia/">Portia in The Merchant of Venice (MET Theatre) and Natasha in Three Sisters (Vanguard Theatre). Leesa has also appeared in independent films, TV shows, and commercials.

ROZ BORAH (Ensemble) is a chemistry student at Smith College. Previously, they appeared in Mamma Mia!, The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged), Catch Me if You Can, and Almost, Maine with the San Marcos Theatre Department as well as How to Transcend a Happy Marriage with the Producing Unit. Something Rotten! is their first show with The Theatre Group at SBCC.

HANNAH BRUDNEY (Portia/">Portia) is so excited to be a part of this wonderful cast! Hannah just finished her Theatre Arts AA at SBCC, and is excited to announce that she will be receiving her BFA in Musical Theatre from CSU Fullerton. Hannah was most recently seen on stage in The Theatre Group at SBCC's musical revue: Here We Go Again. She sang the classic Broadway songs I Could Have Danced All Night and Suddenly Seymour.

MILO BUSTANY (Ensemble-Troupe) is a sophomore at San Marcos High School, and excited to be performing in his first show for The Theatre Group at SBCC. Recently, he has been seen as Mr. Mushnik in San Marcos's production of Little Shop of Horrors in the spring, and Mr. Green in Clue in the fall. Last year, he played The Cat in the Hat in Stage Left's production of Seussical, and Pepper in San Marcos's production of Mamma Mia.

LIZZY BUTLER (Ensemble) is going into her freshman year of college at Seattle Pacific University and hopes to pursue acting, opera and music. She has been in various plays and musicals, most recently in Chicago as Liz and A Midsummer Night's Dream as Helena.

JENNI COLETTA (Ensemble) is so excited to be in her first musical with The Theatre Group at SBCC! Some of her favorite past roles include Veronica Sawyer in Heathers and Rona Lisa Peretti in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

BRIDGET DEVINE (Ensemble) just graduated from Santa Barbara High School and is off to Emerson College this fall to earn her BFA in Musical Theatre. Bridget loves the performing arts and is so grateful to be in her second show with the The Theatre Group at SBCC. She has also been a part of numerous productions at SBHS, including Carrie as Carrie White and Matilda as Matilda Wormwood.

NICK EHLEN (William Shakespeare) is a local actor and carpenter. Nick studied drama for two years at SBCC before transferring to UC Irvine to earn his BFA in Musical Theatre. Previous credits with The Theatre Group at SBCC: Here We Go Again!; Looking Back, Looking Forward and The Music Man (Barbershop Quartet).

AUSTIN ESCAMILLA (Peter Quince/Ensemble-Troupe) is thrilled to be returning to the Garvin stage in Something Rotten!. Austin recently finished directing James and the Giant Peach for Providence School and assistant directing Tick, Tick, Boom! for Out of the Box.

TRISTAN FLEMING (Ensemble-Troupe) is making his debut with the Theatre Group at SBCC in Something Rotten!

SARAH KONDAS (Puritan Woman/Ensemble) just completed her first year at SBCC and is thrilled to be in her first musical with The Theatre Group at SBCC. Out of the 15+ shows she has been in, her favorite roles were The Witch in Into the Woods and Morticia in The Addams Family.

ROD LATHIM (Nostradamus) is a director/producer/playwright and founder of Access Theatre which toured internationally with original works. He appeared on the Garvin stage in Man of La Mancha, Hello Dolly!, Spitfire Grill, Gross Indecency, and directed Children of a Lesser God. Most recently, he wrote and directed Unfinished Business at the Lobero and directed Michael Downey's The War Shirt (virtual play at luketheatre.org). He is the Board President Emeritus of the Marjorie Luke Theatre, and now creates LightWorks - neon sculptures at rodlathim.com.

MARILEE LARNED (Ensemble) is currently a dual enrollment student at San Marcos High School and is making her debut appearance for The Theatre Group at SBCC in Something Rotten!. At San Marcos she has been in musicals such as Mamma Mia (Ensemble) and most recently Little Shop of Horrors (Ensemble & Co Dance Captain). She was also a part of Stage Left Productions for several years, her favorite role being Mayzie in Seussical.

ISAAC LEWIS (Francis Flute/Ensemble-Troupe) is a first-year student at SBCC, majoring in theatre. You may have recently seen Isaac in Mamma Mia where he played Bill Austin. This is his first performance with The Theatre Group at SBCC.

Andrew Miller (Ensemble-Troupe) is an Accounting major enrolled at SBCC. He has always had a deep love for theatre and has grown acting his whole life. Seen most recently as Harry in San Marcos High School's Mamma Mia, he is elated to be returning to the stage in his first The Theatre Group at SBCC show.

WILL MUSE (Tom Snout/Ensemble-Troupe) is returning for his fourth production with The Theatre Group at SBCC. After transferring from SBCC in 2020, he recently graduated from UCSB where he received a degree in Theatre. He was last seen earlier this year as the Head Waiter in Murder on the Orient Express and as Hamlet in Not Necessarily Shakespeare in the Park's production of Hamlet's Big Adventure (A Prequel).

STUART ORENSTEIN (Shylock) is appearing in his 12th show for SBCC including: The Thin Man (6 roles), Antigone (Tiresias), SBCC Stories (self) A Flea in Her Ear (Rugby), Light up the Sky (Max), Trojan Barbie (Officer in Blue), Tartuff (M. Loyale), Machinal (The Judge and The Doctor), In Their Eyes (The Atheist), Closet Madness (Sam), and Moonchildren (Officer Bream). Stuart directed his own original one act play ZT'L for the the Theatre Arts Department Advanced Acting class, and had another of his original plays published in the SB Literary Journal, Volume One.

William Roberts (Ensemble) is currently a junior at San Marcos High School. He was in their most recent musical Little Shop of Horrors where he played Skip Snip. This will be his second appearance in a musical.

HANNAH ROBINSON (Ensemble) is thrilled to be part of Something Rotten! which is her fourth show with The Theatre Group at SBCC. She attended the University of North Carolina, and now has since been living between New York and Santa Barbara. Since the age of 4, Hannah has been in a variety of musicals, recitals, and concerts.

LUCIA RAMIREZ SOLANO (Ensemble) will be a senior this fall at San Marcos High School. Lucia was last seen in the school production of Little Shop of Horror. Outside of theatre, Lucia is involved in a dance company called State Street Young Dancer. Lucia also volunteers her time at Cottage Hospital and is involved in the SMHS Health Career Academy.

Nicholis Sheley (Nick Bottom) is extremely proud to be part of The Theatre Group at SBCC's summer production of Something Rotten!. You may have also seen him on the Garvin stage in Ripcord as Scotty, and in It's A Wonderful Life as Freddie Filmore for the SBCC Theatre Arts Department. His singing abilities started at the ripe old age of 9, alongside his passion for acting, and finds musical theatre to be the best of both worlds. Nicholis grew up in Santa Maria where he graduated from the two-year acting program at The Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts. He is best known for his roles as Donalbain in Macbeth and Edmund in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.

WILLIE SIMPSON (Brother Jeremiah) made his Santa Barbara debut in the hit Avenue Q at the grand re-opening of the Garvin Theatre, and also appeared in Ensemble Theatre Company's premiere of Tom Wait's musical Woyzeck. Favorite performance credits include American Psycho, Amélie, High Fidelity, and 35MM with Out of the Box; Cabaret La Zaca featuring Shaun Cassidy; Live concert recording with Stan Kenton's band; Backing vocalist for Diane Schuur, Tommy Newsom, and Don Shelton at the Berkeley and Playboy jazz festivals; and Among The Chosen Few with California Repertory Company. You can often find Willie performing in musical fundraising events around the Santa Barbara area.

DANIEL SABRAW (Nigel Bottom-Troupe) is thrilled to be in his fifth production with The Theatre Group at SBCC. You may have seen him in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (Christopher), How to Succeed, Grease, and Here We Go Again. Locally, he has also been in numerous Santa Barbara High School Theatre productions including Urinetown (Bobby Strong) and The Last Five Years (Jamie). Daniel just completed his freshman year at Texas State University, where he is pursuing his BFA in Musical Theatre.

CJ SMITH (Robin/Ensemble-Troupe) is stoked to be a part of Something Rotten! with The Theatre Group at SBCC! This is his first theatre production since 2017 and his first show with The Theatre Group. He has been a part of various plays and musicals since 2009. Some favorite previous credits include Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, Grease, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Boyfriend, and Our Town with Cabrillo High School Theatre in Lompoc, as well as Legally Blonde, Jr., Hairspray, Jr., Beauty and the Beast, Jr., The Music Man, Jr., and The Sound of Music with Lompoc Youth Theatre.

MADELEINE THOMAS (she/her) (Bea) is so excited to be doing her first show with The Theatre Group at SBCC. She is a sophomore at Chapman University pursuing a BFA in acting and minoring in Sociology and Musical Theatre. Her recent credits in theatre include Memory of Time (Nina), Mamma Mia (Tanya), Drowsy Chaperone (Drowsy), Into the Woods (Little Red), and you can catch her in Metamorphoses at Chapman in the fall. Her credits in film include Potting Soil (Hope), and Projections (Marianne).

MADEIRA THOMAS (Ensemble) is a junior at San Marcos and has been a part of theatre since 7th grade. She was recently seen playing Ronnette in Little Shop Of Horrors! Madeira has performed in productions such as Clue! (Yvette), Mamma Mia (Dance Corps), Once On This Island (Ensemble), and The Drowsy Chaperone (Dance Corps). She is also a part of the Euphony Show choir.

BEN WATKINS (Minstrel/Chef/Ensemble) is delighted to return to the stage with the The Theatre Group at SBCC. Favorite roles include Musidorus in Head Over Heels and Bruce Bogtrotter in Matilda at Santa Barbara High School. He is entering his freshman year at Santa Barbara City College.

PRODUCTION STAFF

KATIE LARIS (Director) is Co-Chair, stage director and an associate professor of acting for The Theatre Arts Department at SBCC. Recent productions include Murder on the Orient Express, Ripcord, Here We Go Again, The Thin Man, Looking Back, Looking Forward, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Sense and Sensibility, Significant Other, The Game's Afoot, Grease, Communicating Doors, It's a Wonderful Life, Rabbit Hole, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, and Dead Man's Cell Phone. Katie received her B.A. in Theatre/Literature from Reed College and her M.F.A. in Theatre Directing from Columbia University.

David Potter (Musical Director) has conducted, musically directed and played in over 247 musical productions, and is celebrating his 50th year working with The Theatre Group at SBCC. He was musical director for Jesus Christ Superstar starring Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson at the Concord Pavilion. He musically directed the West Coast premiere of The Baker's Wife with Wanda Richert. In Los Angeles, They're Playing Our Song with Joyce Dewitt and Richard Kline, and Bells Are Ringing with Nancy Dussault. For the Rubicon Theatre Company, David has musically directed Man of La Mancha, Old Wicked Songs, Tintypes, High Button Shoes with Jason Grae and Susan Egan. He accompanied Tyne Daly in the opening of the New Vic Theatre and musically directed A Little Night Music for the Ensemble Theatre's opening production at the New Vic Theatre. Other shows for the Ensemble Theatre have been Gun Metal Blues and Fantasticks. For The Theatre Group at SBCC he has recently musically directed productions of Looking Back, Looking Forward, Grease, Bat Boy: the Musical, Violet, The Rocky Horror Show, The Spitfire Grill, The World Goes 'Round, Avenue Q., Spelling Bee, Music Man, and High Society. He has been musical director for SBCC Theatre Group since 1972 starting with the Alhecama Players. He was music director of the UCSB's production of Appoggiatura. He composed the music for the musical drama Joan of Arc performed locally in Santa Barbara and also at New York's Westside Theatre. David attended California Institute of the Arts and Music Academy of the West, where he accompanied for Martial Singher. He was the organ soloist with the Santa Barbara Symphony with their performance of the Saint-Saens Organ Symphony. David is presently the Director of Music and Liturgy for San Roque Catholic Church. David has won several Drama-Logue Awards, five Independent Theatre Awards and the local Hero Award from the Independent.

CHRISTINA MCCARTHY (Choreographer) is a Lecture SOE at UC Santa Barbara where she teaches contemporary dance technique, choreography, dance on film and puppet design. Ms. McCarthy often collaborates with her colleagues in theatre as a dance/movement advisor for the plays staged at UCSB. She creates new concert dance works for the students in the dance department and her choreography has been part of the international touring repertory for the UCSB Dance Company. She has choreographed over forty musicals and her contemporary choreography often includes video projection, aerial dance and puppets. Recently she collaborated on a dance/puppet interpretation of the opera The Magic Flute with Isabel Bayrakdarian from the Department of Music at UCSB, performed at Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall in Santa Barbara and for New York City k-12 students in Manhattan this spring. Her sixteen foot tall dragon was featured in State Street Ballet's Sleeping Beauty in March 2022. Her new projects for next year will include movement for the opera Lucinda y los Flores de la Nochebuena in fall 2022 and a new concert dance work in collaboration with the UCSB Percussion Ensemble in spring 2023. She is thrilled to be back at The Theatre Group at SBCC with this production after choreographing last summer's Here We Go Again and Grease in summer 2018.

PATRICIA L. FRANK (Scenic & Lighting Designer) is the Co-Chair and Director of Design and Technology for the Theatre Arts Department, also serving as the resident scenic and lighting designer for The Theatre Group at SBCC. She continues her 37th year at SBCC as the Scenic/Lighting Designer for Something Rotten. Pat has designed countless shows at SBCC and is very happy to return to design this production since it is one of her favorites. Pat earned an MFA in Visual Arts from UND and an MA in Dramatic Arts from UCSB.

Pamela Shaw (Costume Designer) is resident costume designer for The Theatre Group at SBCC, recently designing Something Rotten!, Murder on the Orient Express, Ripcord, The Thin Man, Looking Back, Looking Forward, Sense & Sensibility, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, The Game's Afoot, Grease, One Man, Two Guvnors and Significant Other among many other productions. Ms. Shaw was Costume Designer for The Forbidden Planet, Fuddy Meers and South Pacific at The Rubicon Theater, The Curious Case of the Watson Intelligence and the premiere of San Patricios at PCPA, the off-Broadway show Lonesome Traveler, Assistant Costume Designer for TV sensation Vampire Diaries. She is the 2017-2023 Chair for the Western Region Board of United Scenic Artists, Local 829.

ASHLEY KAUK (Stage Manager) is thrilled to be back stage-managing with The Theatre Group at SBCC. SBCC gave Ashley her first theatre job as part of the costume crews for Significant Other and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. She then went on to stage manage the Theatre Arts Departments Sense and Sensibility and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time for The Theatre Group at SBCC. More recently, she stage managed Tick, Tick...BOOM! for Out of the Box Theatre Company and assistant directed Kismet at the Granada Theatre with Tony Award nominated director, Lonny Price.

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