In a 4-1 vote, council members backed the Live Oak Canyon development as a long-term investment in the city’s future. Supporters framed the warehouse as a “legacy” project, contrasting it with short-term gains like a new grocery store. Opposition questioned transparency, environmental impacts.
A 16-year-old boy was hospitalized after being shot in the leg Saturday night on Orange Street, police said.
Following the approval of AR 1312.2, RUSD is seeking community volunteers to serve on book review committees.
REDLANDS, Calif. — At the Redlands Theatre Festival, it’s all hands on deck — from actors doubling as crew members to seasoned professionals donating their expertise behind the scenes. The summer repertory draws a wide range of volunteers, many of whom take on multiple roles or return each year to lend a particular skill set.
One of them is set designer, Alex White.
Last year, White designed a single set for the festival — a favor for Hailey Rubin, who asked him to step in after another designer had to drop out.
“I happened to be out of work because I broke my leg, so I was like, I got time,” he said. “And I fell in love with it and decided to come back.”
“This summer I am luckily doing all five of them,” he added.
White has been a set designer for 14 years, primarily working in film and TV commercials. He recently completed work on the surprise party show Celebrations with Lacey Chabert, which filmed throughout Los Angeles County. In the Hallmark TV series, Chabert throws themed surprise parties for local heroes — think Hawaiian Christmas or The Great Gatsby.
“It’s the best job,” White said.
He donates his time and talents to the Redlands Theatre Festival, supported by several volunteers.
“It takes a real artist and engineer to figure out how to build and store the set for multiple shows in our tiny backstage space. On top of that, each set has to disassemble and reassemble within an hour, every night of the week. Alex is a wizard,” said Shannon Cabanilla Galuszka, Producing Artistic Director for RTF and daughter of the late founder, Cliff Cabanilla.
Because the festival rotates among five shows, each set piece must serve multiple functions.
“Designing sets for five shows is always a challenge, but we always come up with new and more innovative designs every year,” said Alexis Kassel, company stage manager at RTF. She also praised White’s involvement. “It's fun to see how we can top ourselves.”
Materials from past seasons are repurposed for this year’s productions.
“It’s a lot of me standing in this building staring at pieces — what could that be?” White said. Being the designer for all five shows allows him to streamline the process and ensure everything fits together.
White, who lives in Beaumont, stays in the area during the season to assist with the sets.
He caught the theater bug in high school and later earned a degree in musical theater.
“The course load for musical theater was so heavy that I wasn’t able to take as many set design classes [as I would have liked],” he said. But after designing a set in college, “Since then I’ve been hooked,” he said. “I think it’s the perfect marriage between theatre and my love of crafting and building and aesthetic art.”
His performance background informs his approach to set design, balancing visual appeal with practicality — including where to store props needed for specific scenes.
“I find that theater people are so passionate about what they do,” he said. “It’s not that TV and film people aren’t. But I feel when you throw money into the mix, it becomes their 9 to 5 and they can’t wait to get out for the day.”
“When people are volunteering their time, it’s because they love to do it,” he added — and that’s what keeps bringing him back to Redlands Theatre Festival.
The RTF 2025 season runs from June 20 to Aug. 2. This year, the festival is also featuring experimental works on select nights and a live concert. Season and individual show tickets are available on the festival’s website.
The Thanksgiving Play by Larissa FastHorse, directed by Tamara Griffey. It’s a play about trying to create a culturally sensitive elementary school Thanksgiving pageant, but things go horribly wrong in this hilarious satiric jab at political correctness and cultural assumptions.
Young Frankenstein: The Musical by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan, Music and Lyrics by Mel Brooks. Directed by Joe Garcia, Assistant Directed by Alexis Kassel, Music direction by Deb Garcia. This Frankenstein version is reimagined by comedic genius Mel Brooks.
Radio Gals by Mike Craver and Mark Hardwick. Directed by Pamela Lambert, Music direction by Patrick Doran-Sheeran. The musical takes place in the late 1920s, when radio ruled the airwaves, Hazel Hunt and her Hazelnuts broadcast some homespun harmonies from her Arkansas parlor.
Spitfire Grill: The Musical is based on the 1996 film by Lee David Zlotoff, Book and Music by James Valcq, Lyrics and Book by Fred Alley. The musical is directed by Stevie Taken, music direction by Kelsey L. Cauldren. Spitfire Grill is a heartwarming and inspirational tale of a young parolee's search for a better life in a small town and how she helps reawaken the entire town's capacity for rebirth, forgiveness and hope.
You Can't Take It with You by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, Directed by Shannon Cabanilla Galuszka. A comedic look at a charmingly eccentric family in late 1920s New York and what happens when members of the outside world step through their front door.
The Redlands Theatre Festival (RTF) is a non-profit, semi-professional, resident theatre company featuring traditional, rotating repertory at the Prospect Park Amphitheater.
RTF is the oldest and only repertory theater in the Inland Empire and will celebrate its 53rd season this summer. In 2020, Redlands Theatre Festival renamed its home amphitheater in Prospect Park after founder Cliff Cabanilla.
Address in Prospect Park: 1170 Cajon St. Redlands, CA 92373
Phone: 909-792-0562
Email: rtfboxoffice@gmail.com
Website: www.rtfseason.com
Social Media: www.facebook.com/thertf on Facebook or @redlands_theatre_festival on Instagram and @RTFestival on Twitter.
The 2025 season begins on June 20 and runs until August 2.
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