Justin Baldridge, Theatre Arts Instructor / Director 2020 - 2022

Prior to joining SBHS Theatre, Justin was a New York City based director, music director, teaching artist, and acting coach.  Having had the opportunity to direct and develop new works Off-Broadway, Off-Off Broadway, and in Festival Productions, he leans towards ensemble based, edgy, dramatic work, which provokes strong emotional responses from audiences.  He likes theatre to jolt an audience’s emotions, making them hyper aware of their reality and in turn forcing them to engage in figuring out how they fit into this reality.   

Justin taught Theatre in Southern California for 10 years prior to living on the East Coast.  ​He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Theater and English from California State University, Fullerton and studied Directing at Roosevelt University, Chicago earning his Masters Degree.

Justin was Director of The Iliad, The Odyssey, and all of Greek Mythology in 99 Minutes (2021), Carrie The Musical (2021), and Chicogo (2022).

Talitha Blackwell, Technical Director 2019 - 2022

Talitha Blackwell made her debut here with Head Over Heels. Having worked a large number of events in a wide variety of venues including PCPA, Talitha comes to Santa Barbara High School Theatre with a diverse and deep knowledge of set construction, audio, lighting, and more. Talitha also works with students during stagecraft class and after school, sharing this knowledge with the members of the technical crew. 

Gianna Burright, Choreographer 2017 - 2022

Gianna Burright completed her MFA in Choreography at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London England, where she was a Leverhulme scholar and the recipient of the Lesley-Anne Sayers Research Award. Gianna has showcased her work all over Europe and the United States, including the Turner Contemporary Gallery, Bonnie Bird Theatre, and Resolutions Dance Festival, she is passionate about choreographing, performing and being a dance educator. At SBHS Theatre, she has choreographed Head Over Heels (2019); Matilda, the Musical (2019); Urinetown the Musical (2018) and In The Heights (2018).

Otto Layman, Artistic Director 1996 - 2020

Otto headed the Theatre Department from 1996 to 2020.  In that time he directed more than 50 plays and musicals: Head Over Heels (2019, Music by the GoGo’s); The Last Five Years (2018); Matilda, the Musical (2019); In the Heights(2018); Urinetown, The Musical (2018); CryBaby (2017); Bullets Over Broadway (2017), Young Frankenstein (2016); Hair (2016), Pippin (2015), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (2015), Big Fish (2015), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (2014) Chicago (2013), Cabaret (2013), Spamalot (2013), The Glass Menagerie (2013), The Drowsy Chaperone (2013), God of Carnage (2012), Into the Woods (2012), Alice in Wonderland (which he also adapted); Anything Goes (2011); The Little Shop of Horrors (2010); Singin' in the Rain (2010) and Pinocchio  (2009)--which he also adapted with Christina McCarthy and Lise Lange, with original music by John Douglas; Footloose (2009); A Village Fable; Hair (at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, where it was selected as a Pick of the Festival); Beauty and the Beast (2008); Jeff Barry: Music for a New Generation (2008); Peter Pan and The Pajama Game  (2007); On the Town and Still Life with Iris (2006); The Wind in the Willows and Carnival (2005); The Ash Girl and Copacabana (2004); Mrs. McThing and The Wizard of Oz (2003); Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and A Tale of Two Cities (2002); Frightnight and Into the Woods (2001); Alice in Wonderland (which he also adapted), Once in a Lifetime and Durang, Durang (2000); A History of the American Film, On the Razzle, and At this Evening's Performance (1999); You Can't Take It With You, The Threepenny Opera, and A Night of One Acts (1998); Alice Underground, The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 (1997); and The Raven (1996).  Layman also has designed a number of sets including Into the Woods (2012), God of Carnage (2012), The Glass Menagerie (2013), Big Fish (2014), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (2015), Pippin (2015), Hair (2016), Young Frankenstein (2016), Bullets Over Broadway (2017), CryBaby (with Jonathan Mitchell, 2017), Urinetown, The Musical (2018), In The Heights (2018), The Last Five Years (2018), Matilda, the Musical (2019) and Head over Heels (2019). A longtime member of the Ensemble Theatre Company as an actor and Playwright in Residence, Mr. Layman received his A.A. in English Literature from San Diego Mesa College (1980); his B.A. in English Literature from UCSB (1982); an M.A. in Creative Writing from Boston University (1987) and a Master's in Education from UCSB (1996).

Christina McCarthy, Choreographer/Fight Coordinator/Puppet Designer/Aerial Trainer , 2003 - 2017

A graduate of Santa Barbara High School, she is currently the Acting Director of Acting Vice Chair of Theater and Dance and Director of Dance at UC Santa Barbara. She has taught ballet and modern dance at UCSB and in numerous private studios in Santa Barbara. Before the birth of her two sons, Malcom and Nolan, Ms. McCarthy worked as a dancer with Nina Wiener Dance Company in New York and was both a dancer and Assistant Artistic Director of Santa Barbara Dance Theater. In addition to her dance pursuits, she is a professional potter and puppet maker. Her puppets have been seen in productions by the Ensemble Theatre, Lit Moon Theatre, Genesis West Theatre Company, and Dos Pueblos High School.

Ms. McCarthy recently choreographed productions of Bullets Over Broadway (2017), Young Frankenstein (2016), Pippin (2015), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying(2014), Chicago (2013), Cabaret (2013), SPAMALOT (2013);The Drowsy Chaperone (2012), Into the Woods (for which she also designed Milky White (2012); Anything Goes and Alice in Wonderland (For which she also designed the puppets (2011); The Little Shop of Horrors (2010); Singin' in the Rain (2010) and Pinocchio (2009) Footloose (2009); HAIR! (at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland); Beauty and the Beast (2008);    The Pajama Game (2007), Peter Pan (2007), On the Town (2006), The Wind in the Willows (2005), The Ash Girl (2004), Copacabana (2004), and The Wizard of Oz (2003) at SBHS.

 

Bonnie Thor, Costume Designer, 2014 - 2018

Growing up in Goleta, Bonnie can't remember a time she wasn't doing something creative.  She was a member of Santa Barbara Children's Choir, Dos Pueblos band, choir, and multi dimensional visual arts including participation in SB Arts Fund Mentorship Program with Ron Robertson. Bonnie Thor is excited and honored to be part of the dynamic SBHS Theatre team.  She’s happy to be back in her hometown, after multiple years in Portland, Oregon.  She designed costumes and wardrobe for collaborative projects in Portland as well as assisting designer Sarah Gahagan on Oregon Children’s Theater productions of Gathering Blue and A Year with Frog and Toad (2013)

Bonnie worked on her first production with SBHS How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (2014), and since then has worked on Big Fish (2014), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (2015),  Pippin (2015), Hair (2016), Young Frankenstein (2016), Bullets Over Broadway (2017), Crybaby (2017), and Urinetown, The Musical (2018). Bonnie is a new member of the Costume Designers Guild Local 892 as a Costume Illustrator. Bonnie received her B.F.A in Illustration from California College of the Arts, San Francisco/Oakland M.F.A in Fashion and Costume from Academy of Art University, San Francisco.

Mike E. Madden, Light & Set Designer 2003 - 2019

Mike Madden has been in collaboration with the Santa Barbara High School Theatre for over a decade. His first set design at Santa Barbara High School was Mrs. McThing  (2003), followed by Copacabana!  (2004), The Ash Girl (2004), Carnival! (2005), The Wind in the Willows (2005), On the Town (2006), Still Life with Iris (2006), Pajama Game (2007), Peter Pan (2007), Beauty and the Beast (2008), our touring production of HAIR; A Village Fable (2008); Footloose and Pinocchio (2009); Singin' In the Rain (2010); The Little Shop of Horrors (2010) Anything Goes, Alice in Wonderland (2011) and Into the Woods (2012); The Drowsy Chaperone (2012) SPAMALOT (2013) Chicago (2013) (lighting design), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (2014), Big Fish (2014) (lighting design), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (2015), Pippin (2015) (lighting design), Hair (2015) (lighting design), Young Frankenstein (2016) (lighting design), Bullets Over Broadway (2017) (lighting design), Crybaby (2017) (lighting design), Urinetown, The Musical (2018) (lighting design), and In The Heights (2018) (lighting design).  Mr. Madden's entire professional life has revolved around technical theatre. Bit by the theatre bug in high school, he went to CSU, Chico, and earned his degree in Theatre Arts. Along the way, he has designed and teched live theatre all over Northern and Southern California, Ashland, Oregon, and London, England.  He has worked for roughly thirty different companies, and hundreds of shows as anything from deck hand to technical director, from designer to voice-over talent.