Five productions. Five completely different worlds. All reflecting something about California, a place where people come to reinvent themselves—where dreams are made, sold, chased, lost, and sometimes hilariously deflated.
In its 2026-26, Ensemble Theatre Company in Santa Barbara is holding a mirror up to all of it.
ETC begins its 48th Season, “California: Here and Now,” with a hilarious one-man comedy about an out-of-work actor, one of the strangest jobs in Hollywood, and Barbra Streisand. Opening October 7, Buyer & Cellar by Jonathan Tolins is a wickedly funny, warmly theatrical solo comedy starring Brian McDonald.
Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the revolutionary Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Rent opens December 2.
In the new year, ETC presents the world premiere of a new musical, The Last Used Car Lot in America; John Patrick Shanley’s riveting Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Doubt: A Parable, starring Mimi Rogers; and one of Sam Shepard’s greatest American plays, True West.
Full season subscriptions beginning at $175 are available online, along with information on smaller subscription packages.
Ensemble Theatre Company is Santa Barbara’s sole professional Equity theater company.