Dig Deep holds benefit reading to help fire recovery
The show must go on.
Ronato Biribin, director of Dig Deep Theatre’s rendition of Clare Barron’s “You Got Older,” meant it quite literally when he said it. The performers were in the middle of their nine-show run at The Main before a fire burned down the theater and several other businesses on Main Street in Old Town Newhall on Aug. 24.
Biribin, Shawnee Badger, founder of Dig Deep Theatre, and the rest of the crew decided to have one last reading in the meantime at California Institute of the Arts on Saturday, to not only raise funds for the equipment and belongings that were lost in the fire, but also to get closure — on their own terms.
“Unfortunately, we had the designation of being the last. It’s not just a loss for us, but I think as an artistic community, we feel bad for all the future projects that were going to be there — not just for the rest of the season, but for years and years,” Biribin said. “I’m not even from Santa Clarita, but I’ve done a bunch of work in Santa Clarita theater because it’s a thriving arts community. It attracts artists from all areas. The Main was the hub of so many people. We have two goals tonight: to bring awareness to our fundraiser that will help crew members and the equipment, and to leave creatively on our own terms.”
The hope is for the theater company to remount the play, ideally in January, with logistics of where and when still needing to be figured out.
For Badger, who attended CalArts as a student, this is a full-circle moment.
“I went to school here. I graduated in 2025. CalArts has been involved — they went to the community meeting on [Aug. 25] and they knew I was an alumni, so they offered to help me find a space or do whatever they could do. They must’ve put some kind of internal call for space. The head of production, Justin Hogan, who also collaborated with me on a short film, heard that I needed help, and helped secure a film and video space for us to do the reading. We’re so grateful to CalArts,” Badger said.
Auditions for the play were coincidentally held at CalArts in June, so the cast finds it bittersweet that they’re back at CalArts to end the play — for now.
“We were just here in June, the first time all of us were auditioning. We’re wrapping this level of it here back at CalArts. I say we’re putting a bow on the gift of our creative experience of ‘You Got Older,’” Biribin said. “We didn’t get to say goodbye on our terms. Our literal motto is ‘the show must go on.’ It’s the nature of our things. We mourn, we grieve, but we can still have joy of theater and creating. You always have a last send-off [in theater]. We didn’t get to have that, so I think this is at least goodbye for now.”
As much as the experience was bittersweet, Badger was happy to see the cast come together for the first time since the incident.
“We hadn’t all been together since the Sunday matinee before the fire on Monday, so this is the first time we’re all together, and it’s so nice. We had a Zoom rehearsal [Friday night], and Renato is such an amazing director, steering ship, creating something people can feel and experience. This might not be our full production, but it still has feeling to it. Hopefully people will want to come and see the full production once we have it ready,” Badger said.
The play focuses on the ebbs and flows of being an adult navigating life’s challenges — something the cast can relate to as they navigate what’s next, not just for The Main, but the Santa Clarita theater community as a whole.
In the meantime, Badger asks for residents to support Dig Deep Theatre’s GoFundMe, helping to support the castmates who lost their equipment in the fire.
“I’m looking forward to being able to step back into this play and the world of this play. I feel like this play is so universal of what it’s like to be a 20- or 30-something-year-old in the modern day. Not knowing what you’re doing with your life, not having your romantic or professional life figured out. People can be comforted by this play and the characters in it,” Badger said. “Keep an eye out for when we announce the remount of the production through website, Instagram, Facebook. We have so much gratitude for people who have donated and everyone who’s coming tonight.”
To donate to Dig Deep Theatre’s GoFundMe, visit tinyurl.com/yc5wa8ca.
