Santa Barbara Revels: Recent Events


Susan Keller

What is Revels?

SOMETIMES words fail us when we attempt to describe a phenomenon or experience. Take Revels. Nobody’s figured out how to explain it properly. The National Endowment for the Arts calls it a new form of musical theater. Officially, it’s an arts organization that “promotes public education, understanding, and appreciation of traditional music, dance, drama, and poetry through the medium of participatory theater.” Maybe you’d get a livelier description from one of the hundreds of thousands of men, women and children who have attended a performance. Probably you’d get a piece of advice: “Just go!”

Inspired by the ancient celebrations of the agricultural year, Revels bridges generations, religious beliefs and cultural differences. It began in Boston almost 40 years ago as a winter celebration. Now, there are companies in Hanover, NH, and Washington, DC, in Boulder, in Seattle/Tacoma, Portland and Oakland, New York and Houston, all of which offer winter, spring, summer, and autumn Revels as well as special events. Revels plays to sell-out audiences in these cities. Imagine a thousand people in a theater singing with the cast, accompanied by timpani and brass; you’d never want the performance to end!

Everyone sings "The Twelve Days of Christmas"

Revels productions involve large, mostly volunteer casts of all ages: singers, dancers, mimes and storytellers. The volunteers’ enthusiasm energizes their performances; their abilities are stretched to their maximum potential by the opportunity to work with seasoned performers. Together, the volunteers and professionals create immensely moving drama, music of the highest caliber, and an atmosphere of magic and mystery.

SANTA BARBARA REVELS has been established in the Central Coast area. We presented our first performances of Revels in December of 2007. This coming December, we have scheduled five performances of “The Christmas Revels: in celebration of Winter Solstice” at the Marjorie Luke Theatre. We are hosting our first Santa Barbara Revels Pub Sing this March, at which participants will come together and join in the “spirit” of song. We plan to follow this with a Revels Salon in late spring, featuring wine, cheese and conversation with a tradition-bearer in music, dance or drama. Revels is quickly becoming a Santa Barbara tradition.

If you have seen a Revels performance in another city or know Revels from recordings, or if you just think it sound like a good idea, get in touch with us. We have big jobs and little jobs, all of which are necessary for Revels to be a success; we will need carpenters, painters and seamstresses, singers, dancers, and musicians, snack-makers, ticket-takers, and ushers. Come one, come all! Learn what it’s like to be a part of this wonderful community-building phenomenon. Call us or e-mail or just show up!

— Susan Keller, Founder/Producer, Santa Barbara Revels

(Special thanks to Mary Lynn, founder and producer of the Puget Sound Revels)


For more information:   ·   805-565-9357

Susan Keller, Founder/Producer