Animal Farm at Santa Barbara High School

Santa Barbara High School Theater Department in collaboration with HappySad Theatre Company are excited to announce their production of Animal Farm. Come join us on the farm this fall!

This year, SBHS Theater department head, Gioia Marchese, created the unique opportunity for her students to work in collaboration with local non-profit theatre companies. She says, “This year the SBHS Theater Department will embark on an educational theater opportunity that is unprecedented in the public school system. Participants will have the opportunity to engage in professional level theater training and performance experience with professional theater teachers, directors, actors, and technical theater mentors.”

Up-and-coming Santa Barbara theatre company, HappySad Theatre, will partner with SBHS Theater to produce the Fall production of George Orwell's, Animal Farm. HappySad cofounder, Robert Rodarte, will direct and production design this exciting production, while cofounder Riley Rodarte will produce and mentor marketing and producing students. This show will lean into the dark and creepy aspects of Animal Farm, with its use of lights, sound, and 12 foot puppets!

Director, Robert Rodarte says, “Your character’s biggest want boils down to two things: love or power. This is a philosophy that I’ve adopted as an actor and director, and this is one of the first questions I asked the students when working on their character. I think this question and this show couldn’t be any more relevant. There is a big conversation happening in the world right now and I think it’s important we allow the youth to be a part of it - to come at the show from their current experience and to take them seriously. Theatre is community, so I also wanted to involve as many kids as I could in this production. We were thrilled to get the sculpture class at SBHS involved to make our (nearly) 12 foot puppets for the shows!”

Dates/Times

October 23, 24 & 30 at 7:00pm

October 25, 31 & November 1 at 2:00pm