The new executive director of Solvang Theaterfest is Chantel Green, its former assistant director. She has been working for Solvang Theaterfest for the past three years and is well acquainted with the inner workings of the organization.

Born in Santa Barbara and raised in Lompoc, Green attended Cabrillo High School and became deeply involved in sports, playing soccer, was on varsity track and enjoyed choir and drama. She attended Santa Barbara City College for two years then moved on to Colorado State University in Fort Collins, where she graduated with a degree in restaurant resort management with a minor in business. 

“I had a great childhood,” said Green. “I grew up camping at local beaches every summer, and played a lot of sports. My parents were both teachers; my dad taught history at Santa Ynez Valley Union High School for 35 years, and my mom was a kindergarten teacher in Lompoc who mainly taught English as a second language (ESL) classes for low-income students. Sadly, she passed away last year. She was originally from Chile and immigrated to the United States to escape from the socialist/communist political party in power at the time. I am fortunate to still have many relatives in Chile and have been able to visit them throughout the course of my life.”

After college Green moved back home to Lompoc.

“After graduating, I worked for Terravant Restaurant, first as wine club manager and house manager for four years andthen went to the corporate offices in Buellton and worked as an executive assistant, transitioning into sales, marketing, and production management where I worked for 11 years,” said Green. “When Terravant was sold, the new owners from back east didn’t see eye to eye with those of us who had been running the business for years, so we parted ways. That’s when I started working at Theaterfest.”

Green cites work ethic as one of her strongest traits.

“I’ve always been a self-starter,” she said. “If something needs to get done, I’m the one who always says, ’I’ll do it.’ That’s the way I’ve always been. To quote the old adage, ‘If you want something done, ask a busy person,’ and I seem to have always been the busiest person. 

“When I was in school in Colorado I worked at the Fort Collins Marriott Hotel and was in charge of organizing and preparing for the banquets that were daily events. It was a very hectic environment, which required being on my toes and in charge of most of the details. If a cake needed cutting, I would cut the cake — whatever I saw that needed to be done, I was on top of it. It’s just part of my nature, I guess, and I love entertaining.” 

Green recalls as a youth attending many of the plays that PCPA staged at Theaterfest.

“My parents were always big supporters of the arts,” she said. “I remember dressing up and coming into Solvang to Theaterfest to watch so many plays. I can truly say that never once when entering Theaterfest did I ever think that one day I would be running it.”

However, Green emphasizes that running Theaterfest is a family affair. Her family is very involved in helping her to accomplish all that needs to be done. Her father is a Theaterfest sponsor and does everything from pouring drinks to grilling hot dogs. Her husband, Casey Birthisel, her partner of 18 years, and daughter Cali, 10, also volunteer their time and help her with whatever needs to be done. “They are always there for me,” she said.

After her recent promotion, Green is putting together a performers’ lineup for next year.

“I am excited to put together my own 2025 season productions for Theaterfest, which will include the Queen cover band sometime next year and I have a lot of other exciting ideas that I hope will come to life,” she said. “One is ‘Movie Night’ at Solvang Theaterfest where we will be showing some cult movie classics like ‘The Princess Bride,’ among others. This year we are also going to do a Theaterfestival where the street in front of the theater will be closed to accommodate street vendors, games, jugglers — a really big event we hope to do on an annual basis.”

Ashley Esdaile will be taking over Green’s former position as the new assistant director of Solvang Theaterfest. She has been with Theaterfest for a year working as a bookkeeper. Green said that Esdaile is very versatile and eager to help with all the events. She does a lot of the ticketing set-up and processing, and marketing.

“We work well together and as a team we hope to make this theater an ongoing success and to incorporate new energy into the mix,” she said.

“We are always looking for people to join our volunteer program with the added benefit of seeing some great shows,” said Green. “If you’re interested, just give us a call.”

For more information, visit solvangtheaterfest.org or call (805) 686-1789 or info@solvangtheaterfest.org. 

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Solvang Parks and Recreation Director Fred Lageman says that he loves his department’s annual haunted house because it brings out more than just terrifying screams. It also brings out all the volunteers who put it together.

“One kid that started in high school has come back every year, even now as he is in medical school,” Lageman said.

Another local volunteer that Lageman can’t wait to see is Athena McCandlish, who he says always comes up with the most intricate costumes really gets into character.

The 26th annual community haunted house, with the theme of “Fright Farm” this year, will return Oct. 30-31 to the Solvang Festival Theater along with its Halloween Street Fest.

A more kid-friendly version for young children will be available from 6 to 6:30 p.m. each night. A scarier version for older children and adults will run from 6:30 to 9:30 pm.

The terrifying haunted house and friendly street festival are organized by Solvang and Buellton’s Parks and Recreation departments. For just over 25 years, it has been a valley tradition to brave the approximately 20-minute guided tour through the theater building and grounds. More than 2,000 people walk through the mysterious haunted house every year, raising around $20,000 for Parks and Rec programs.

Lageman is in charge of the theme, storyboard and set design of the event, which he usually spends the previous year in planning.

The haunted house does take Lageman away from spending the holiday with his family, as he has never gone trick or treating with his kids, but instead the kids love helping out behind the scenes, and making those memories are just as precious to him.

“This year, though, they want to just experience the tour as if they’ve never seen it, so I fully intend on scaring them,” he said with a laugh.

Lageman says he encourages his staff and volunteers to work the event in shifts so that no one else misses an opportunity to trick or treat with their families if they want.

This year’s haunted house still needs about 30 monsters (actors) and another 20 tour guides, as well as volunteers to help with the construction and dismantling of the set. Applications are available in the Solvang Parks and Recreation office or on www.cityofsolvang.com. For more information, call 805-688-PLAY.

Tickets are available online on the city’s website and BuelltonRec.com, as well as at the door.

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Contributing Writer

In front of a sold-out crowd to see country music legend Clint Black perform at the Solvang Festival Theater, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians announced a $100,000 matching grant to support the popular venue’s campaign to fund its renovation project.

For 45 years, the open-air Solvang Festival Theater has featured productions by the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts (PCPA), showcased music festivals and concerts by top talent, and hosted community events for local nonprofit organizations.

To sustain its vibrant legacy, the Solvang Theaterfest Board of Directors has launched Imagine! Building The Future, The $4.7 Million Capital Campaign for Solvang Festival Theater to improve infrastructure, increase accessibility and upgrade the technical capacity at the 700-seat venue.

“The Solvang Festival Theater provides a one-of-a-kind outdoor experience for Central Coast theatergoers, and its performances have been enriching lives in our community for nearly 50 years,” said Kenneth Kahn, tribal chairman of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.

“As the organization looks to the community to help fund needed renovations, our tribe is proud to support the Solvang Theaterfest board’s efforts and make sure the venue remains a source of quality entertainment in the Santa Ynez Valley,” he said.

The PCPA summer season is the theater’s primary attraction, with professional performances of plays and musicals performed nightly between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Since its first summer in the Solvang Festival Theater in 1974, PCPA has given 3,146 performances of 242 productions of plays and musicals for an estimated audience of more than 1.3 million.

“The small community of Solvang came together 45 years ago to build a 700-seat theater. Their goal was to enrich lives in the valley and to make the valley a destination for visitors,” said Ann Foxworthy Lewellen, vice president of the Solvang Theaterfest Board of Directors and chair of the capital campaign.

“The theater has more than fulfilled that promise with its ever-expanding and diversified role as a hub of entertainment and exciting attractions. From Halloween Haunted Houses, to My Fair Lady, to great performers such as Clint Black, the theater is more vital and reaches more lives than ever,” she said.

“Solvang Theaterfest, now in need of a renewed community investment, greatly appreciates the generous support of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians,” she said.

In 2018, some 29,000 patrons attended PCPA performances, and 10,000 attended Solvang Theaterfest concerts and other performances, including those presented by nonprofit organizations. Now, the 45-year-old facility requires structural improvements.

The renovation plans include a complete replacement of the rear wall and walkway of the theater surrounding audience seating, and construction of an 8-foot-higher wall behind the audience with cantilevered panels to block wind, capture more warmth and buffer external noise.

Plans also call for new stairs, a wheelchair ramp and a new entrance to audience seating, in addition to technological upgrades that will enhance the viewing experience. Once the funding goal is reached, construction time on the project is estimated at eight to 10 months.

For more information on the capital campaign and how to donate, call 805-686-1789 or email campaign@solvangtheaterfest.org.

The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians has donated more than $25 million to hundreds of groups, organizations and schools in the community and across the nation as part of the tribe’s long-standing tradition of giving.

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By Pamela Dozois

Contributing Writer

Photos by Devyn Marseilles

Solvang Theaterfest celebrated its 45^thanniversary of hosting live theater in the Santa Ynez Valley with a well-attended luncheon and back-stage tour of its 700-seat outdoor venue.

Solvang Theaterfest celebrated its 45th anniversary with a well-attended luncheon and back-stage tour of the outdoor venue.

Board chairman Chris Nielsen spoke not only of Theaterfest’s history but also of the nonprofit organization’s plans for the future — including a $4.7 million capital campaign “to strengthen and modernize, address aging infrastructure, improve accessibility, technical capability and audience amenities” and to provide long-term sustainability.

Theaterfest, he added, wants to preserve the theater “not only for the rest of our lives, but it will be a legacy for future generations.”

Nielsen recognized some of the original Theaterfest founding members who were in attendance: Erling and Sue Pohls, Delores Pedersen (wife of the late Earl Pedersen), Royce Lewellen, Ken and Lloyd Mills, Cathy Mullins, and Bob Raleigh. He also recognized not only the current board members and staff in attendance, but also the many former board members who turned out for the celebration.

“My personal recollection of the Theaterfest being envisioned and built was at a time when the Solvang markers at each end of the town on Highway 246 listed Solvang’s population as only 850 people. What a miracle its concept and creation truly was,” Nielsen added.

The idea of building a permanent outdoor theater in Solvang began in January 1974. Just eight months later, and only 58 days after breaking ground on June 11, the outdoor theater opened for its first performance, “Once Upon a Mattress” on Aug. 7, 1974.

The feat was accomplished by a group of local business leaders who raised funds and amassed a group of local artisans, craftspeople and community volunteers.

Donovan Marley, then the artistic director of PCPA, and local architect Earl Petersen designed the building in only two months. Local residents Erling Pohls and Johannes Jaeger led the construction team with crews of local workmen working seven days a week, sometimes as much as 16 hours a day, to complete the project on schedule, much of it done at cost or with time and materials that were donated outright.

The dressing rooms for the actors back-stage.

“Over 45 years ago, something sparked in the imagination of a group of people. They imagined something implausible — some would have said impossible — to build a theater, to make art a centerpiece of community life,” said Mark Booher, artistic director and associate dean of the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts (PCPA) in his speech to guests at the luncheon.

“For the last 45 years we’ve imagined the improbable kind of play-going experience that this beautiful open-air stage provides, and then we’ve worked to bring that experience to life. The improbability of Theaterfest is what makes it great. Our journey started out, and remains, inextricably and wonderfully intertwined.”

“To date 3,185 performances have graced the stage of Theaterfest since the first performance on August 7, 1974, featuring 245 different plays. More than 6,000 theatre professionals, some very seasoned, some in their early careers, have worked onstage and backstage on PCPA productions over the years. It is approximated that 1.3 million people have attended the theatrical performances at Theaterfest over the past 45 years,” Booher said.

Cagney Herrick spoke about what it was like to be a “spot operator” (lighting technician) atop the “C pole” for the plays. He talked about how lighting techs climb up and must remain there without descending, for any reason, until all the guests have left the grounds. She also talked about how cold and windy it gets up there, having to wear three coats along with safety gear over them. But she says she loves her job.

Erica Flores spoke of her love for the theater, which was instilled in her from childhood by her mother.

Erica Flores spoke of her love for the theater, which was instilled in her from childhood. Her father was a farm worker and the family didn’t have the money to attend the plays at Theaterfest, so her mother would pack the family in the car and park in “their alley” next to Theaterfest and listen to all the plays.

“I fell in love with the theater long before I ever saw a play,” she said.

On her 16^thbirthday, her grandmother gave her season tickets for Theaterfest so that both of them could attend the plays together. She died shortly thereafter, and in her honor Flores took her friends and family to the plays in her stead, beginning with her mother.

Lunch at the anniversary event was furnished by Morrell’s Farm Fresh Dining in Buellton, cookies by Solvang Bakery, and wine by Lucas & Lewellen. Music was provided by guitarist Greg LeRoy.

Guests were treated to a backstage tour of PCPA’s latest production of “The Addams Family” led by several PCPA’s actors.

Tours of the set for “The Addams Family” musical were part of the fun.

“It’s so wonderful to see such an inspired and appreciative crowd here today. I was on the board of Theaterfest during the original capital campaign, and I think this board is doing a wonderful job with this one,” said Peter Robbins.

Theaterfest is also used by the community for dozens of events each year, such as Friendship House’s “Nashville Nights,” Solvang Parks and Recreation’s “Haunted House, the Los Olivos Dance Gallery’s annual show, the Christmas Nativity play, and concerts with A-list artists.

It is estimated that 40,000 people attend the performances and community events annually.

“My husband and I were here for opening night in 1974,” said Carol Anders, a Solvang Theaterfest board member. “After 45 years we need to improve the venue’s infrastructure. If we didn’t have this venue, where would the nonprofits go to raise funds for their programs? The ‘Imagine’ capital campaign will help to preserve and restore this jewel of a venue.”

“I’ve been a Red Coat (usher) and patron since 1985,” said Leslie Franklin. “It’s a unique and beautiful setting, and I am very proud as a resident that we have this theater in our midst. Visitors are always amazed when they see the quality of the productions put on by PCPA. Theaterfest is a community treasure.”

Franklin recalled one night when she was working as a Red Coat at Theaterfest when the town experienced a blackout.

“Everyone in the theater sat and waited for the lights to return, but after a half hour we were told the play would have to be canceled,” she recalled. “As the guests were preparing to leave, the stage was suddenly filled with all the actors holding lighted candles singing ‘Sunrise, Sunset’ from the play that was featured that night, ‘Fiddler on the Roof.’”

“The founding members would be surprised and pleased with what they created 45 years ago – to see it is still a vibrant community asset. It is their legacy and ours to cherish and uphold into the future,” Franklin added. “They have my undying admiration for creating this beautiful artistic venue.”

Closing out PCPA’s summer season in Solvang is Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest,” which runs through Sept. 8.

For tickets or more information, visit pcpa.org/tickets or call 805-922-8313.

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Donna and Jack Croom have been named the Solvang Theaterfest’s 2019 Red Coat Volunteers of the Year.

More than 100 Red Coats – so named because of the bright red jackets they wear – take tickets, hand out programs, and usher at every public performance staged at Solvang Festival Theater from April until December each year.

The Crooms have been volunteers for more than a decade, with Jack often working the front gate. The couple also added to their contribution this spring by donating a dozen new blankets to the theater’s inventory of rental blankets. Donna even sewed a distinctive border on each blanket to help distinguish them from the new blankets sold at the theater’s Company Store and from blankets brought in by patrons.

House Manager Brittany Mullenary nominated the Crooms for the award.

“They volunteer multiple times per week every week,” she said. In addition to the blankets, the couple previously donated a step ladder, and they take home and clean rental seat cushions marred by spills.

The crystal trophy thanking the Crooms for their dedication to Solvang Festival Theater was presented by Solvang Theaterfest Board Chairman Chris Nielsen and applauded by the more than 50 Red Coats who attended a barbeque in May in the theater’s Patron Garden. The festive meal was prepared and served by members of the nonprofit organization’s board of directors.

 For more information, call Solvang Theaterfest Executive Director Mary Ann Norbom at 805-686-1789.

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Retired marketing executive and branding expert Lois S. Brown has joined the board of directors of Solvang Theaterfest.

“Such a wonderful opportunity it is for Solvang Festival Theater to have Lois aboard,” said board chairman Chris Nielsen. “Her experience and knowledge will be of great benefit to the board of directors.”

Brown’s career and that of her husband, Sonny Brown, took them from California to Germany to Texas before she retired in Santa Ynez in 2008.

Among her many positions were general manager of marketing for the Ore-Ida Division of H.J. Heinz Co.; director of marketing at the Golden Grain Division of Quaker Oats Co.; and vice president for marketing at Austin Logistics.

Brown also worked as brand strategist for a New York City consulting firm engaged by Fortune 50 packaged-goods and software clients.

She holds an MBA degree in marketing from UC Berkeley.

She is a member of the Santa Ynez Valley Women’s Hiking Group and enjoys painting, writing, and international travel.

For more information about Solvang Theaterfest, the nonprofit corporation that owns and operates the Solvang Festival Theater, call 805-686-1789.

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The Solvang Theaterfest board has elected Chris Nielsen as its new chairman.

A financial advisor and certified financial planner with Edward Jones, Nielsen joined the board in 2013.

The Solvang native’s local ancestry goes back 100 years. His grandfather C.V. Nielsen founded Nielsen Building Materials in 1948.

Chris Nielsen graduated from Santa Ynez Valley Union High School in 1980 and earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1985.

His domestic assignments included California, Texas, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida.  Internationally, he saw active duty in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm in Iraq, and in Operation Restore Hope in Somalia.

He met wife Diane while stationed at Camp Pendleton in the mid-1990s. They have three children, twin sons Kyle and Ben and daughter Gillian. With his children of pre-school age as he approached his 20^th anniversary in the military, and wanting them to grow up in the Santa Ynez Valley, Nielsen retired in 2006 with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Nielsen’s professional transition was almost serendipitous. After settling back in the valley with his family, he met with a financial advisor who suggested that this could be the ideal second career for the retired Marine.

“I’d always been interested as a personal investor, and I had a lot of management and budget experience from the military,” Nielsen said.

In addition to Solvang Theaterfest, he serves on the boards of the Vikings of Solvang, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Benevolent Posse, Solvang Lutheran Home Endowment Fund, and Solvang Lutheran Home Inc.

Knowing the impact the theater has add on his community for the last four decades, Nielsen called his board “energized” about the future.  “We’re taking steps to insure we have another 40 years,” he said.

Solvang Theaterfest is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) corporation that owns, operates and maintains Solvang Festival Theater.

For more information, contact Executive Director Mary Ann Norbom at 805-686-1789 or theaterfest@verizon.net.

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Pacific Conservatory Theatre is soon to present a tale as old as time, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast running from November 3 – December 23 in Santa Maria’s Marian Theatre, then under the stars in the Solvang Festival Theater June 15 – July 2, 2017.

This classical musical love story is a magical tale that comes to life with unforgettable characters, astonishing sets and costumes, and a stunning score including familiar favorites, “Be Our Guest”, “Gaston”, “Human Again” and the Tony-winning title song, “Beauty and the Beast”.

“This story hopes for and believes things that I hope for and believe, that beauty is found within. That who you are inside is more important than your appearance. It’s also a story that says redemption is possible, even when you’ve made a horrible mistake. I think this story is supposed to change us. To make us more likely to look at someone’s heart before their hairdo, to see if a smile is a mask for malevolence, to see if a roar is a danger sign or a lonely cry. And, it reminds us that it’s almost never too late to say ‘I love you’,” Director Mark Booher said.

Beauty and the Beast cast includes Acting Intern Annali Fuchs as Belle, along with Resident Artists Matt Koenig as Beast, George Walker as Gaston, Peter S. Hadres as Maurice, Michael Jenkinson as Cogsworth, Andrew Philpot as Lumiere, Erik Stein as Baker/Msr. D’Arque, Kitty Balay as Mrs. Potts, and Guest Artists Katie Wackowski and Bree Murphy as Babette, and Wardrobe respectively.

The creative team, under the direction of Mark Booher, includes Choreographer Michael Jenkinson, Associate Choreographer Katie Wackowski, Music Director Brad Carroll, Scenic Designer Jason Bolen, Costume Designer Judith A. Ryerson, Lighting Designer Elisabeth Weidner, Sound Engineer Andrew Mark Wilhelm, and Equity Production Stage Manager Ellen Beltramo.

While a U.S. touring production of Beauty and the Beast just concluded this past summer, Disney is nearing the release date of a live action version of the story in March of 2017 featuring Emma Watson as Belle, Dan Stevens as the Beast, Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts, Kevin Kline as Maurice, Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, and Stanley Tucci in the newly created role of Cadenza.

For more info visit: www.pcpa.org

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