By Anabel Costa
Many would say that a performance happens on the stage—but the curtains can never rise on opening night without the work that happens behind the scenes. Since 2008, Jamie Birkett has helped countless plays and dance concerts come to life at UC Santa Barbara, first as Shop Director, and then as Technical Director for the Department of Theater and Dance.
This week, Birkett is leaving UCSB to take a similar position in Ventura, in order to be closer to home.
Sean O’Shea, the department’s academic advisor, said Birkett’s role was to oversee just about everything that goes into making the productions come to life, both visually and technically. “It’s a very comprehensive job,” said O’Shea. “In a lot of ways he was an unsung hero. Getting things done, and making it easier for the rest of us.”
Outgoing technical director Jamie Birkett spray-painting a prop for the upcoming production of Tartuffe.
Birkett started as a student in the department. In the year 2000, he was an actor in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program, which may account for his famed rapport with students. Daniel Blanco, a fourth year BFA acting major, describes him as “caring and easy to relate to.” Blanco says Birket was always “the first one to show up and the last one to leave,” but is still always down for a laugh. Blanco shared a memory of having a “silent dance battle” with Birkett on stage after a performance of The Laramie Project in 2018. “If it was anyone else, I don’t think we would have been able to get away with it,” he said.
Birkett has also had a profound impact on his colleagues during his time as technical director, helping produce over 50 mainstage theater productions in his time here. Christina McCarthy, Vice Chair and director of Dance in the department, has most appreciated Jamie’s inventiveness, generosity, and willingness to work with some of the “craziest ideas” to ensure students saw their creative visions come to life.
She recalled Birkett’s work once with a dance student who wanted their piece to include chocolate bars raining from the sky, something McCarthy noted would never have been approved when she was a student. But Birkett welcomed the challenge. “Jamie doesn’t go ‘oh my God, that’s impossible,’” said McCarthy. “Jamie says, ‘give me a week. I’ll find a way to make this happen.’”
McCarthy first took notice of Birkett when he was a BFA student. “He was engaged and opinionated in an interesting and provocative way — always engaged in the process of discovering new material,” she said.
When Birkett was first hired, it was in part due to his great passion as a student, said Irwin Appel, who is the chair of the department. Since then, they have worked closely on various projects. Most notably for Appel has been Birkett’s contribution to his theater troupe Naked Shakes. “Jamie has personally made a huge impact on my work,” said Appel. “For Romeo and Juliet, he suggested we use a moving scaffolding unit that became the centerpiece for so much action and visual variety in the play.”
The UCSB Department of Theater and Dance plans to say goodbye to a trusted colleague and a dear friend at a gathering this week.
Anabel Costa is a third year Theater major. She is a Web and Social Media intern for the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts.