Salt Lake Acting Company - NPSS

Live Zoom reading of Adrienne Dawes’ HAIRY & SHERRI to take place Feb 23

[SALT LAKE CITY, UT, FEBRUARY 16, 2021] - Salt Lake Acting Company (SLAC), Utah’s leading destination for brave, contemporary theatre, announces the second installment in its first-ever New Play Sounding Series Festival. The virtual festival, comprised of three new works written by, directed by, and starring BIPOC artists, launched last month with DADDY ISSUES by Kimi Handa Brown.

The second play selected for SLAC’s festival is HAIRY & SHERRI by Adrienne Dawes, a self-described “Afro-Latina playwright, producer, and teaching artist originally from Austin, TX.” Dawes, who received her bachelor’s degree from Sarah Lawrence College, studied sketch comedy and improv at Chicago’s Second City. In addition to being a company member of Austin’s Salvage Vanguard Theater, her work has been developed and/or produced around the world; including LA’s Sacred Fools, English Theatre Berlin, National Black Theatre, B Street Theatre, and many others. Dawes describes HAIRY & SHERRI as follows:

Hairy and Sherri (Sharon) are an “adorkable” interracial couple living in gentrified East Austin. When they very graciously and publicly open their home to Ryshi, a 12-year-old former foster care youth with special needs, Hairy and Sherri are confronted with the ugly realities of their marriage and “good” intentions.

"I am so grateful for the invitation to develop new work with SLAC. This workshop has provided precious resources (like a professional director, dedicated dramaturg, and stage manager) that can be difficult to come by, especially when self-producing,” said Dawes. “I feel an abundance of support from collaborators (new and old) to grow my play-in-progress. I'm excited to see where this exploration and collaboration leads."

Making her directorial return (albeit virtually) to SLAC is Melissa Crespo, who helmed the theatre company’s world premiere of Charly Evon Simpson’s FORM OF A GIRL UNKNOWN in 2019. Proving to be one of the nation’s most sought-after directors, Crespo has developed work at LAByrinth Theater Company, New Dramatists, The Lark and many other theatres across the country. She is a Usual Suspect at New York Theatre Workshop and received her MFA in Directing from The New School for Drama (where is also a faculty member).

Appearing in HAIRY & SHERRI are Christian DeMarais (Hairy Speyer), Cherrye J. Davis (Sherri Speyer), Jason Veasey (Ryshi Speyer), SLAC alum Trayven Call (Ryshi Only), and Eva McQuade (Vera Castillo). SLAC Playwrights’ Lab alum Phaedra Michelle Scott serves as dramaturg, Wendy Joseph will read stage directions, and Jennie Sant is stage manager.

The NPSS Festival reading of HAIRY & SHERRI is free to the public and will take place Tuesday, January 23rd at 7pm via Zoom. Attendees can register here.

To further SLAC’s commitment to making theatre accessible to all, open captioning will be provided through Otter.ai. Those seeking assistance with accommodation requests can contact SLAC’s Accessibility Coordinator, Natalie Keezer at or by calling 801-363-7522.

SLAC acknowledges the Jarvis & Constance Doctorow Family Foundation for their generous support of the New Play Sounding Series.

Salt lake acting company announces first-ever new play sounding series festival, highlighting BIPOC artists. The Three-play festival begins January 25 with Kimi Handa Brown’s DADDY ISSUES

[SALT LAKE CITY, UT, JANUARY 18, 2021] - Salt Lake Acting Company (SLAC), Utah’s leading destination for brave, contemporary theatre, proudly announces its first-ever New Play Sounding Series Festival. The virtual festival, comprised of three new works, will be presented free to the public in January, February, and March, respectively. Details for the February and March readings will be announced at a later date.

Building on its support of Black Lives Matter and commitment to making meaningful and lasting change at SLAC and the American theatre as a whole, Salt Lake Acting Company specially sought new plays written, and to be directed by, BIPOC artists. A focus on diversity has also been made in casting for the festival.

“For nearly 30 years, SLAC has presented cutting-edge works by burgeoning playwrights through its New Play Sounding Series. But for too long, the voices of so many in our BIPOC communities have been silenced by systemic oppression in the American theatre,” said Executive Artistic Director Cynthia Fleming. “SLAC is committed to playing its part in implementing meaningful and lasting change. It is in this spirit that we present our first ever NPSS Festival. Each of these three plays is written and directed by some of the most promising voices the American theatre has to offer.”

“Nearly a year into this pandemic, we’re continuing to learn more about ourselves and community. We’ve been forced to face a temporary reality where live theatre is not a part of our lives. I’m proud of the work we’ve put into creating digital entertainment, yet I’m even more humbled by our supportive audiences who continue to adapt with us,” continued Fleming. “We’ve been encouraged by the response to our digital offerings (CLIMBING WITH TIGERS, AMERICAN DREAMS)—so much so, that we’ve decided to bring the community three new digital works over the next few months, instead of the previously-announced single. This allows us to uphold what SLAC has always done best: develop new works for our adventurous audiences.”

Founded in 1994, Salt Lake Acting Company’s New Play Sounding Series (NPSS) is the longest-running reading series of its kind in Utah. Past works that have been workshopped in the NPSS to later receive full productions at SLAC (and elsewhere) include SILENT DANCER and HARBUR GATE by Kathleen Cahill, MERCURY by Steve Yockey, STAG’S LEAP by Sharon Olds, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY OF STEVE JOBS by Mike Daisey, A SLIGHT DISCOMFORT by Jeff Metcalf, and THE RECEPTIONIST by Adam Bock.

Kicking off the NPSS Festival is DADDY ISSUES by Kimi Handa Brown. In addition to appearing in last year’s SLAC DIGTIAL SHORTS series, Brown is a recent graduate of the University of Utah, where the play had a digital student production last year. The NPSS Festival production will be directed by Summer L. Williams, who serves as Associate Artistic Director at Company One Theatre in Boston. The play is described as follows:

DADDY ISSUES is a new play focused on four college girls and how their experiences with the men in their lives affect them on a day-to-day basis. We follow them throughout their days as they bond with each other, make mistakes, and try to learn to grow during a time when it seems that everyone else's opinion matters more than your own.

“This whole experience is a dream come true. Salt Lake Acting Company has provided me with the best environment to learn and grow. This also feels like a second chance for Daddy Issues, which will be nurtured in a professional setting with wonderful working artists,” said Brown. “I have loved being able to work on this play in its many iterations, especially during a time when theater is scarce.”

Appearing in DADDY ISSUES are Brynn Duncan (Daphne), Helena Goei (Jade), Eva Merrill (Bridget), Nadia Sine (Laney), and Matthew Rudolph (Jackson). Francisca Da Silveira serves as dramaturg, Sammee Jackman will read stage directions, and Jennie Sant is stage manager.

The virtual reading of DADDY ISSUES is free to the public.

SLAC acknowledges the Jarvis & Constance Doctorow Family Foundation for their generous support of the New Play Sounding Series.

New Play Sounding Series
Free Reading

Monday, October 14 @ 7pm

Director: Robin Wilks-Dunn

Actors: Sean Carter, Barb Ganddy, Tamara Johnson-Howell, Dan Larrinaga, Tito Livas*, Morgan Lund*, Nicki Nixon, Lane Richins*, Natalie Keezer

Stage Manager: Katelyn Limber*

Summer, 1998. Once popular, Arrowhead Community Pool has seen membership decline for years. Retired pool president Dorothy Wilson blames video games and air-conditioning. But when new pool president Freddie Rosedale abolishes Dorothy's longstanding alcohol ban and installs a frozen margarita machine, the place comes back to life, and a battle begins. SWIMMING POOL is a dark ensemble comedy about American excess and restraint on the cusp of the 21st Century.

SLAC thanks the Jarvis and Constance Doctorow Family Foundation for their generous support of this vital program. 

New Play Sounding Series
Free Reading

Monday, November 6 @ 7pm

Director: Robert Scott Smith

Actors: Tyson Baker, Anne Louise Brings, Harrison J. Lind, Allen Smith, Alicia Washington.

Stage Manager: Jennie Sant

Made up of eight short plays, the entire play takes place in and around Reykjavík, Iceland. "All of the locations are ephemeral places, transitory, the kind of places people pass through or stop to rest but do not stay for long.” - Steve Yockey

SLAC thanks the Jarvis and Constance Doctorow Family Foundation for their generous support of this vital program.