Salt Lake Acting Company - NPSS

A HERO'S JOURNEY
A New Play for Young Audiences
By Hannah Keating and Niko Krieger

This reading is performed as a part of SLAC’s New Play Sounding Series and in conjunction with KID SISTER Theatre Collaborative. 

CHARACTERS:
ONE/BOY – Camden Barrett
TWO/GIRL – Aly Carter

PRODUCTION TEAM:
Director: Niko Krieger
Asst. Director: Hannah Keating
Stage Manager: Bella Dixon
Set Designer/Graphic Designer: Makena Chatlin
Sound Designer: Ben Worstell

BIOS:

Camden Barrett (ONE/BOY): [they/them] recently graduated from the University of Utah with a BFA in Theatre as part of the Actor Training Program (ATP). Recent acting credits: Everybody (Usher, God, Understanding/dir. Robert Scott Smith) and As You Like It (Rosalind/dir. Robert Scott Smith) at the University of Utah. Recent directing credits: Radiant Vermin (Director) at Salt Lake Acting Company as the inaugural production of SLAC’s Making Space for Artists Program with Flying Bobcat Theatrical Laboratory. Most recent research projects include King Lear, as a collective ATP senior project (Director, and Co-Collaborator with Multi-Disciplinary Design Alumna Angela Rauf), and Because We Can’t Sew, a Design + Theatre independent study of Paula Vogel’s The Baltimore Waltz with Angela Rauf (co-mentored by assistant professors Alexandra Harbold and Steven Chodoriwsky). Camden is the co-founder and co-artistic director of KID SISTER Theatre Collaborative, a non-profit organization based in Salt Lake City. Camden was recently accepted to the MFA Advanced Theatre Practice course at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and will be based in London starting in the Fall (2024). For more information visit: www.camdenbarrett.com. 

Aly Carter (TWO/GIRL): [she/they] is a recent graduate from the University of Utah’s Actor Training Program. Recent credits include The Department of Theatre productions Dancing at Lughnasa (Chris) dir. Sarah Shippobotham; The Tempest (u/s Alonso) dir. Melinda Pfundstein; The Sweet Science of Bruising (Nancy) dir. Alexandra Harbold; a collective Senior Capstone Project KING LEAR (Goneril/intimacy coordinator) dir. Camden Barrett, and KID SISTER Theatre Collaborative’s Kite Flyer and Everything is about Something. 


Niko Krieger (Director/Playwright): [he/him] is currently studying at Rose Bruford College to receive his MFA in Contemporary Directing by next fall. Most recently, he directed undergraduate students in an abridged version of Pomona by Alistair McDowall. While growing up in Maryland, he performed in a children’s theatre company that sparked his love for theatre. After studying theatre at the University of Utah, Alexandra Harold helped him find true joy working behind the scenes. He cannot believe the generosity and support of all his collaborators, friends and family as KID SISTER Theatre Company closes out their 3rd year of summer adventures. A special thanks to Caden, who let him escape to the mountains for the ENTIRE summer and to Camden who continues to amaze him on this wild adventure together as KID SISTER moves to London! @okayniko

Hannah Keating (Playwright/Asst. Director) [she/they] is so grateful to be back at SLAC for the New Play Sounding Series, and to work in collaboration with the KID SISTER “dream team.” A Hero’s Journey is Keating and Krieger’s second script together – they presented a reading of their first project Moon Beach at Good Company Theatre last year – continuing a tradition of creating to survive “the dog days of summer.” Keating’s recent credits include: Asst. Director/Choreographer: SLAC Summer Show: Close Encounters in the Beehive; Asst Director: The Book Club Play (UofU); Choreographer: Something Rotten! (CenterPoint Academy); Performer: Elephant and Piggie’s: We Are In A Play (SLAC), 42nd Street (CenterPoint Theatre), A Year With Frog and Toad (SLAC), Something Rotten (Pioneer Theatre). BFA/BS University of Utah ‘22. www.HannahKeating.com / @iamjustkeating

Bella Dixon (Stage Manager): [she/her] is a graduating senior in the stage management program at the University of Utah. Her past credits at the U include: Dancing at Lughnasa (Studio 115, SM), The Sweet Science of Bruising (Babcock Theatre, 1st ASM), The Old Man and The Old Moon (Babcock Theatre, 2nd ASM), and Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience (Babcock Theatre, PA) Some of her outside credits include: Big Brother: Season 25 and Season 26 (Production Support PA), Ballet West: Dracula (Capitol Theatre, SM Intern), Ririe-Woodbury: Groundworks (Rose Wagner PAC, SM Intern). She would like to thank everyone for supporting her throughout this theatrical journey! Portfolio: www.BellaDixon.com

Makena Chatlin (Set Designer): [she/her] Makena is a multimedia artist from Boise, Idaho, currently based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her passion for music has developed her interest in the fusion of visual and performance art. While her primary expertise lies in illustration, she delights in experimenting with a variety of artistic mediums. Her work seeks to merge artistry with innovation, pushing the boundaries of how art is experienced and interpreted. Outside of creating posters, album art, and background visuals for musicians, Makena plays in her own punk rock girl band, 4PLAY. Makena’s art goes beyond mere visuals, creating bold, immersive experiences that captivate and provoke.

Ben Worstell (Sound Designer): [he/him] Ben loves creating sounds and music. He is a current member of the music collective 909 WorldWide with a compilation album releasing Sept 9th 2024. https://www.909worldwi.de/

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Cast and Creative Team for Sunny in the Dark
From top Left: Jennica Anusua; Dan Beecher; Matthew Ivan Bennett; Alvaro Cortez; Brenda Hattingh Peatross; Ainslie Shepherd; Ben Young; Elaine Jarvik, Morag Shepherd

Bios:

ELAINE JARVIK: (PLAYWRIGHT) most recent play at the Salt Lake Acting Company was Four Women Talking About the Man Under the Sheet in 2021. Previous plays at SLAC include Two Stories (2015) and (a man enters) (2011, co-written with her daughter Kate Jarvik Birch). Other plays include productions at Plan-B Theatre — An Evening With Two Awful Men, Based on a True Story, and Marry Christmas, as well as the children’s play River. Swamp. Cave. Mountain. — and The Coming Ice Age for Pygmalion Productions. She is a former newspaper reporter and current drummer with “The Distractions.”

MORAG SHEPHERD: (DIRECTOR) is one of the producers of Sackerson Theatre and the artistic director of Immigrant’s Daughter Theatre. She is a member of the Plan-B writers lab, where her play My Brother the Vampire, and Not One Drop (David Ross Fetzer grant recipient) has performed. Her play Worship recently performed with the Utah Arts Alliance (The Utah Review top moment of 2023); her play Do You Want to See Me Naked (Critics Choice Award, and Best Solo Performance) has performed in Salt Lake City, Tucson, and The United Solo Festival in New York City. Her site-specific play, Cherry Wine in Paper Cups performed outside the Salt Lake City library summer 2020, and her immersive play, A Brief Waltz in a Little Room performed throughout 2019 in Salt Lake City (The Utah Review top ten moments of 2019). Recent directing credits include Last Lies of My Mad Mother by Julie Jensen, The Beauty Queen of Leenane by Martin McDonagh, Melancholy Play by Sarah Ruhl, Body Awareness by Annie Baker, and Let the Right One In by Jack Thorne. 

JENNICA ANUSUA: (AJ) is an actress, musician, writer and director with a Masters in global mental health and a passion for supporting those who have survived complex trauma and violence. She loves the notion of the journey - from travel and cultural immersion to examination of the internal emotional landscape. Jennica is deeply passionate about the way we as humans connect, and believes that storytelling is both integral to who we are and has immense power to heal and build community. She is thrilled to return to the SLAC stage for this project and work alongside other brilliant artists. Recent credits include Yoga Play (SLAC), Night of Wrath, Mystic Mishap the Series, Falling for Christmas (Netflix) and Royal Façade.

DAN BEECHER: (TOM) has been acting in Salt Lake for well over 30 years. He attended the University of Utah’s Actor Training Program, and has since acted with most companies in the valley. SLAC audiences last saw him in Hand to God.

MATTHEW IVAN BENNETT: (ASTROPHYSICIST) has worked with SLAC, Pioneer, Pygmalion, Sackerson, Wasatch, Utah Shakespeare, and Plan-B Theatre. Since 2005, he’s premiered over 20 plays with Plan-B, including 13 radio plays with KUER’s RadioWest. Last year, his play From June to August was the Official Selection at Meanwhile Park. His one-person play Eric(a) won the Best Drama award at the United Solo Festival in New York. Twice he’s contributed to Great Plains Theatre Commons and was a finalist at the O’Neill for Let Down Your Hair (also workshopped at SLAC). He’s worked with Omaha Community Playhouse, The Constructivists in Milwaukee, and his short plays have appeared in Seattle, Toronto, NYC, and DC. His poetry has been published with Sugar House Review, Western Humanities, Utah Life, and unearthed. His feature film The Whole Lot (dir. by Connor Rickman) was an Official Selection at the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival in 2022 and at several others. Matt is a recent alum of Futurescapes and is a member of the Dramatists’ Guild. His next projects are: Mother of the Maid at Pygmalion; In Your Dreams at Sackerson; and, an absurdist comedy of his, Non, will play at the Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival this summer.

ALVARO CORTEZ: (MAN/DAD/PRIEST) is a local actor both in film and theatre based in Salt Lake City. A 2020 pandemic graduate from Westminster College in the B.F.A program. Alvaro started in his actor training since his Junior year at Hillcrest High in Midvale, Utah. Where he was first able to learn and work on his craft with dedicated faculty. Most recent work was in the Alliance Theater in the The Fringe Festival/The Classical Greek Theater Festival in The Bacchae (Dionysus) And a one man show of The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey. Other show credits have been Romeo and Juliet (Tybalt) & Much Ado About Nothing (Don Pedro), as well as The Memory of Water (Mike), The Zoo Story (Peter), and The Christians (Elder Jay) at Westminster College.

BRENDA HATTINGH PEATROSS: (ELISE) is excited to be a part of today’s reading and to be working with this group of local theatre collaborators in particular, many of whom she has had the pleasure of working with before. Eight years ago she acted with Daniel Beecher (playing Tom) in Stage Kiss, her first SLC production. Most recently she appeared as June in From June To August by Matthew Ivan Bennett who will be appearing as the brilliantly quirky astrophysicist in today’s reading. Brenda also appeared as Phyllis in Body Awareness at Pygmalion Productions, directed by today’s multi talented director/playwright/producer Morag Shepherd. Brenda acted in the multi-media play A Brief Waltz featuring playwrights Matthew Ivan Bennett and Morag Shepherd and in Shepherd’s play Poppy’s In The Sand. A year ago Brenda had the pleasure of doing a staged reading opposite the talented Ben Young in another play written by Matthew Ivan Bennett. Brenda is always excited to work with playwright Elaine Jarvik, whom she has done some readings with as well as understudying a part in one of Jarvik’s plays performed here at SLAC. Collaboration has always been at the heart of what Brenda enjoys about acting and today’s reading is no exception. How lovely to be able to work with all these talented people again! 

AINSLIE SHEPHERD: (SUNNY) is in 8th grade and enjoys painting, drawing, soccer, and crocheting. She recently played Chloe in Worship with Immigrant’s Daughter Theatre, and she also appeared in Sackerson’s production of A Brief Waltz in a Little Room. Ainslie is very thrilled to be Sunny in Sunny in the Dark. 

BEN YOUNG: (READER) is a graduate of the University of Utah’s Actor Training Program. Previous credits include Climbing With Tigers (Algernon) and You Will Get Sick (1) with Salt Lake Acting Company; Gruesome Playground Injuries (Doug) with Wasatch Theatre Company; Big Love (Constantine), Our Country’s Good (Phillip/Wisehammer), The Odyssey (Odysseus) with the University of Utah’s Theatre Department; My Brother Was a Vampire (Callum), River. Swamp. Cave. Mountain. (JJ), Alli and #3 (#3) with Plan-B Theatre Company.

We are pleased to announce our next New Play Sounding Series free reading of Let Down Your Hair by Matthew Ivan Bennett. The reading will take place on Monday, May 1st, 2023 at 7 PM.

Written by SLAC alum Matthew Ivan Bennett (The Caretaker) and directed by Alexandra Harbold* (The Wolves, Death of a Driver) with Bridgette Lehman as Stage Manager. The cast features SLAC alumnus and several newcomers. SLAC alum include: Colleen Baum* (Four Women Talking About the Man Under the Sheet) as Frau Göthel, Alex Smith (NPSS - The Obsolete Unkindness of Ravens) as the Reader, and Ben Young (Climbing With Tigers) as Fable. Newcomers are Caro Ciet as Rapunzel, Amona Faatau as the Prince, and Brenda Hattingh Peatross as Hettie Wiegle. 

Let Down Your Hair is described by the playwright as follows: 

Let Down Your Hair is a modern re-telling of Rapunzel through the lens of sex education in America. In the 1812 edition of the Brothers Grimm tale, the fairy (later changed to an evil human) knew the prince had been visiting the tower after 12-year-old Rapunzel got pregnant.

Despite the fact that we still grapple with early unwanted pregnancies in 2023, most people only know the whitewashed version of this classic. Let Down Your Hair restores the cautionary-tale boldness of the original, using comedy, politics, and a talking cat.

RSVP Here

While admission to the NPSS reading of Let Down Your Hair is free, reservations are required. They can be reserved directly via the link above, or by contacting the SLAC Audience Relationship Team at or calling 801-363-7522.

For more information on the New Play Sounding Series, please click here.

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

As we gear up for an exciting 51st Season, we're pleased to announce the final New Play Sounding Series reading of our 50th: Let’s Fix Andy by Rachel Bublitz.

The free reading will take place in SLAC’s Upstairs Theatre on Monday, August 1st at 7pm. Let’s Fix Andy is described by the playwright as follows: 

Andy’s best friends, Logan, Marcus, and George, decide it’s time they step in after he’s been dumped by his long time girlfriend, to snap him out of his funk. Each armed with their own idea of what Andy needs, they drag him to the gym, the bar, and the woods. They can’t lose another friend. A play about friendship, body image, and feelings… Even the feelings we tell ourselves not to feel.

Let’s Fix Andy marks the second New Play Sounding Series reading for Bublitz. Her play Burst received a reading at SLAC in September, 2018. Burst has since gone on to be named as a finalist in the 2022 National New Play Network Showcase. Another previous work by Bublitz, Ripped, received a special reading for university students at SLAC in 2017.

RSVP Here

In anticipation of the August 1st reading, Bublitz provided the following statement: "I jump at any opportunity to work at Salt Lake Acting Company. They've helped me develop a couple of my plays (Ripped and Burst), and I'm thrilled for this new opportunity to work on Let's Fix Andy there. I always find the level of artistry and support through the roof, and being a local writer, I love how they connect with other local artists."

Comprising the cast of the NPSS reading of Let’s Fix Andy are SLAC alum Tito Livas (SLACabaret: Down the Rabbit Hole) as George, Topher Rasmussen (Fun Home) as Logan, and Jordan Reynosa (Elephant & Piggie’s “We Are in a Play!”) as Marcus. They are joined by Aidan Tappert (Liminal: A New Work at the University of Utah), who makes his SLAC/NPSS debut as Andy. Chris Curlett, a recent cast member of Passing Strange, will read stage directions. Directing the reading will be Jason Bowcutt, who also co-directed SLAC’s 50th Season opener, Four Women Talking About the Man Under the Sheet.

While admission to the NPSS Reading of Let’s Fix Andy is free, reservations are required. They can be reserved via the link above or by contacting the SLAC Audience Relationship Team at or 801-363-7522.

All SLAC attendees must show proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID test taken within 48 hours of the event. (No home tests.) Masks are optional. For more information about Salt Lake Acting Company, visit SaltLakeActingCompany.org.

We're delighted to announce our first in–person New Play Sounding Series reading in over two years: Sleeping Giant by Steve Yockey. The free reading will take place in SLAC’s Upstairs Theatre on Monday, May 2nd at 7pm.

Salt Lake Acting Company audiences will remember two previous world premieres authored by Yockey: Blackberry Winter (2015) and Mercury (2017). Since seeing Mercury receive its world premiere at SLAC, Yockey has gone on to become a multi award-nominated (WGA, PGA, Emmy) creator of the popular HBO Max series The Flight Attendant.

Sleeping Giant, a new play which will also receive a full production at SLAC next season, is described by the playwright as follows:

When a firework-filled marriage proposal goes very wrong, the accompanying explosions wake up something very old that’s been sleeping in the nearby lake for thousands of years. What follows are intimate, darkly comic, and sometimes startling vignettes about the lengths people go when they desperately want something to believe in.

“After truly killer experiences with Blackberry Winter and Mercury, SLAC has become a vital and dynamic creative partner,” stated Yockey. “Their artists and their audiences just get it. And Cynthia [Fleming] sets the bar for artistic excellence. I'm thrilled to be back.”

Comprising the cast of the NPSS reading of Sleeping Giant are SLAC alum Alexis Baigue (Stupid F***ing Bird), Lily Hye Soo Dixon (Mercury), Tito Livas (Mercury) and Cassie Stokes-Wylie (Death of a Driver). Kimi Handa Brown, playwright from last year’s NPSS reading of Daddy Issues, will read stage directions. Directing the reading will be Emilio Casillas in his SLAC directorial debut. Casillas is also a co-writer of the upcoming #SLACabaret 2022.

RSVP Here

While admission to the NPSS reading of Sleeping Giant is free, reservations are required. They can be reserved directly via the link above, or by contacting the SLAC Audience Relationship Team at or 801-363-7522.

Please note: all SLAC attendees must show proof of full vaccination and wear a properly-fitting mask. Please visit our COVID-19 safety guide for more information.

Production images from Mercury and Blackberry Winter. All images by David Daniels.

Live Zoom reading of Melissa Crespo and Sarah Saltwick’s EGRESS to take place March 29

[SALT LAKE CITY, UT, MARCH 22, 2021] - Salt Lake Acting Company (SLAC), Utah’s leading destination for brave, contemporary theatre, announces the third and final installment of 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 in January with DADDY ISSUES by Kimi Handa Brown, followed by HAIRY & SHERRI by Adrienne Dawes in February.

The final play selected for SLAC’s festival is EGRESS by Melissa Crespo and Sarah Saltwick. Saltwick describes EGRESS as follows:

You are an expert on safety, but you no longer feel safe. You have just moved to a small college town to teach architecture, but you realize that your nightmares have followed you. And now, uncertainty lies around every corner. EGRESS is a provocative psychological thriller that draws us into the mind of a woman struggling to face her fears.

A multifaceted theatre artist, Melissa Crespo directed the NPSS Festival presentation of HAIRY & SHERRI, as well as SLAC’s 2019 world premiere of Charly Evon Simpson’s FORM OF A GIRL UNKNOWN. She has developed work at LAByrinth Theater Company, New Dramatists, The Lark and many other theatres across the country. Sarah Saltwick is a graduate of the Michener Center for Writers at UT Austin and was a Jerome Fellow at the Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis. Her plays have been produced or developed by Cleveland Playhouse, the Lark, the Vortex, and many others. EGRESS is currently to have its world premiere later this year at Amphibian Stage in Fort Worth, TX.

“It's such a gift to be able to work on EGRESS at Salt Lake Acting Company. One of my favorite things about making theater is the alchemy that happens within a creative team,” stated Co-writer Saltwick. “Every reading, every rehearsal process, becomes its own unique event. I am craving creative spaces these days, I think we all are. I'm excited to see what is revealed by this process.”

Colette Robert, in her virtual SLAC debut, directs EGRESS. Robert’s credits include Charly Evon Simpson’s BEHIND THE SHEET (Ensemble Studio Theatre) and Nambi E. Kelley’s NATIVE SON (PlayMakers Repertory Company). She is also a playwright, a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre, a New George's affiliated artist, and an adjunct lecturer at New York University.

Appearing in EGRESS are SLAC alumni Austin Archer (SILENT DANCER) as Man and Latoya Cameron (FOUR WOMEN TALKING ABOUT THE MAN UNDER THE SHEET) as Woman. Naomi Lorrain, a Harlem-based artist who has appeared onstage at Ensemble Studio Theatre and Williamstown Theatre Festival, makes her virtual SLAC debut as You. Massachusetts-based Janice Paran serves as dramaturg, Taylor Wallace will read stage directions, and Jennie Sant is stage manager.

The NPSS Festival reading of EGRESS is free to the public and will take place Monday, March 29th at 7pm via Zoom. Attendees can register via this link.

To further SLAC’s commitment to making theatre accessible to all, open captioning will be provided through Otter. 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 and Constance Doctorow Family Foundation for their generous support of the New Play Sounding Series.

As our record-breaking New Play Sounding Series enters its 26th year of nurturing exciting works from some of the country's most gifted voices, we're pleased to announce the February 17th reading of local playwright Shawn Fisher's new play, THE (obsolete) UNKINDNESS OF RAVENS. Shawn Fisher

After many miles and days of hiking through relentless rain, six waterlogged strangers converge on a tiny mountain shelter that they are forced to share. Deb, a wilderness-loving professor of ornithology, and her wife Marley, an urban food truck chef are journeying to save their marriage by rediscovering why these two opposites fell in love in the first place. "Brando" is about to be kicked out of college and takes his awkward fantasy-loving younger step-brother, Paul, into the mountains where they discover the meaning of strength, loyalty and brotherhood. Bee, an impulsive 16 year old, and her new 40-year-old companion Edward travel the trail together, until their relationship is challenged by Bee and the others at the camp. As they each attempt to dry out and struggle for their own small patch of relief, they soon discover that some journeys are not meant to be taken alone.

THE (obsolete) UNKINDNESS OF RAVENS marks Fisher’s fourth play to receive a NPSS reading. According to the playwright, “It’s easy to convince myself that something I have written is either fabulous or disastrous, both of which are almost always wrong. There is always something worth keeping and something that needs changing, but until we experience an audience’s response and hear their feedback, it’s a lot of guesswork.” In regard to the importance of feedback from SLAC patrons, Fisher adds, “[the audiences] truly give us a sense of how the plays are being received. This is the most vital final link between the private process of sitting alone at the keyboard and a fully produced public performance of a play. I am so grateful that SLAC and the supporters of the New Play Sounding Series give us the time, space, and support to do this.”

Clockwise from top left: Mollee Barse, AJ Black, Cat Evangelho, Anne-Marie Kate, Matt Koenig, Cameron Neeley, and Alex Smith

Appearing in THE (obsolete) UNKINDNESS OF RAVENS are Mollee Barse (Marley), AJ Black (Brando), Cat Evangelho (Debra), Anne-Marie Kate (Bee), Matt Koenig (Edward), and Alex Smith (Paul). Richie Call serves as director, Cameron S. Neeley will read stage directions, and Tanner Sase is stage manager.

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. Elaine Jarvik’s FOUR WOMEN TALKING ABOUT THE MAN UNDER THE SHEET, featured during last season’s NPSS, will receive its world premiere at SLAC March 12-22, 2020.

THE (obsolete) UNKINDNESS OF RAVENS is free and open to the public. Reservations are required and can be made via SLAC’s website or by calling 801.363.7522.

SLAC acknowledges

for their generous support of the New Play Sounding Series.

Salt Lake Acting Company Presents Free Reading of New Play from DEATH OF A DRIVER Playwright

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. 

Featured in the one-night-only reading are Sean Carter, Barb Gandy, Tamara Johnson-Howell, Dan Larrinaga, Tito Livas*, Morgan Lund*, Kimiko Miyashima*, Nicki Nixon, and Lane Richins*. Robin Wilks-Dunn (I’LL EAT YOU LAST, GOOD PEOPLE) serves as director, Natalie Keezer will read stage directions, and Katelyn Limber* is stage manager.

Founded in 1994, Salt Lake Acting Company’s New Play Sounding Series (NPSS) continues its record-breaking 25^th year with Will Snider’s SWIMMING POOL. The NPSS is the longest-running play reading series 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. Elaine Jarvik’s FOUR WOMEN TALKING ABOUT THE MAN UNDER THE SHEET, featured during last season’s NPSS, will receive its world premiere at SLAC in 2020.

SLAC's 2019 NPSS reading of FOUR WOMEN TALKING ABOUT THE MAN UNDER THE SHEET by Elaine Jarvik

SWIMMING POOL is free and open to the public. Reservations are required and can be made via SLAC’s website or by calling 801.363.7522.

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

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

New Play Sounding Series
Free Reading

Monday, March 4 @ 7pm

Director: Jason Bowcutt

Dramaturg: Camille Washington

Actors: Colleen Baum, Dee-Dee Darby-Duffin, Susanna Florence, Tamara Howell, Nicki Nixon

Reader: Michelle Love-Day

Stage Manager: Katelyn Limber

On the morning of February 21, 1895, the day after the great man died, Susan B. Anthony shows up on his widow’s doorstep. She is there to grieve — but is she also feeling guilty? FOUR WOMEN TALKING ABOUT THE MAN UNDER THE SHEET is an exploration of feminism and race, asking “what compromises should you make in pursuit of a cause?”

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

Reserve Tickets Here

Doors open at 6:30pm. Open seating; first come, first served.

New Play Sounding Series
Free Reading

Monday, October 29 @ 7pm

Director: Per Smedegaard
Assistant Director: Cynthia Fleming

Actors: April Fossen, Nicki Nixon, Topher Rasmussen, Lane Richins, Cassandra Stokes-Wylie
Reader: Joshua Black

Stage Manager: William Richardson
Sound Technician: Katelyn Limber

From Denmark's Teatret Svalegangen, comes this racy, absurd, yet painfully relatable new play about the many faces of feminism.

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

Doors open at 6:30pm. Open seating; first come, first served. 

RESERVE YOUR TICKETS HERE

Adapted from the short story "Part of the Story" by Stephen Dobyns

New Play Sounding Series
Free Reading

Monday, April 30 @ 7pm

Director: Robin Wilks-Dunn

Actors: Daniel Beecher, April Fossen, Jacob Johnson, Teresa Sanderson, Matthew Sincell, Cassandra Stokes-Wylie

Stage Manager: Jordan Simmons

Five adult birth-children. Their birth mother. A first-time, get-together, potluck brunch in a trailer-home in Michigan. A dead lover in the back room. Story-telling; joke-telling. Bad behavior. Good behavior. Y'all come, now.

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

Doors open at 6:30pm. Open seating; first come, first served. 

SLAC's New Play Sounding Series presents a free reading of STREETLIGHT WOODPECKER by Shawn Fisher on Monday, April 28th at 7:00 PM. 

ABOUT THE PLAY

STREETLIGHT WOODPECKER follows the story of Benji, an undersized Marine who has returned to his Irish-Catholic neighborhood in Philadelphia after being critically injured during battle. He bears not only the medals he earned but also the scars, and now that he has come home he must face the emotional wounds he avoided by going to war.  

When his father’s suicide renders him homeless just days after his return, Benji moves in with his childhood friend Sam. Soon questions that threatened Benji throughout his youth resurface, questions about his manhood and his relationship with Sam, and he distracts himself with booze, pills, and reckless fighting. Meanwhile, as Sam tries to protect him from self-destruction, Benji plots to kill a woodpecker that loudly bangs the metal streetlights in the neighborhood.

Shawn Fisher (Playwright) original scripts include SCOPE, THE CROW SONG, CHUMMING, STREETLIGHT WOODPECKER, and DO NOT HIT GOLF BALLS INTO MEXICO which was a National Finalist for the MetLife Nuestras Voces Playwriting Award and the David M. Cohen National Playwriting Award. HOW TO MAKE A ROPE SWING, which had a rolling premiere at both Salt Lake Acting Company and Cape May Stage, won an Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award, was a national finalist for New York's Urban Stages Emerging Playwright Award, and was a nominee for both the Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association and the Barrie & Bernice Stavis national playwriting awards. His work has been produced or had staged-readings at Cape May Stage, the Spanish Repertory Theatre (Off-Broadway), the Los Angeles Theatre Center, Urban Stages (Off-Broadway), and Salt Lake Acting Company, among others. Shawn is also the Co-founder and Director of the National Playwrights Symposium at Cape May Stage. He earned his MFA in Theatre from Brandeis University and currently serves as a Professor and Head of Graduate Studies in Theatre at Utah State University. He is a native of New Jersey and is a proud member of The Dramatists Guild of America.

Richie Call (Director) is thrilled to be directing a reading for the first time at SLAC. He was previously part of the cast of SLAC's presentation of Do Not Hit Golf Balls Into Mexico, also by Shawn Fisher. Richie's acting credits include work for American Globe Theatre and Gorilla Rep in New York, Mile Square Theatre in New Jersey, and Pioneer Theatre Company, Salt Lake Shakespeare, and the Old Lyric Repertory Company in Utah. Richie is currently an Assistant Professor of Acting at Utah State University, and he is serving as a Co-Artistic Director of the Old Lyric Repertory Company. He received an MFA in Acting from Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts and a BFA in Performance from Utah State University.

Stefan Espinosa (Benji) is thrilled to be joining SLAC on this project – there is truly nothing more exciting or artistically satisfying than helping to bring a talented playwrights' new work to life. A native of Tucson, Arizona,Stefan has been fortunate to perform with wonderful theatres across the country. Favorite past regional theatre credits include: The Importance of Being Earnest, Urinetown (PCPA); The Pirates of Penzance, Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure, Pride and Prejudice (Arizona Theatre Company); Richard III, Henry V, Wild Oats (Wortham Theatre); Big River, Amadeus, Little Shop of Horrors, Lend Me A Tenor (Old Lyric Repertory); Camelot, The Mikado, Guys and Dolls, Fiddler on the Roof (Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre) and Stefan will be playing Thenardier in UFOMTs upcoming summer production of Les Miserables. Stefan has a BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Arizona, and an MFA in Acting from the University of Houston. Stefan also runs the Utah Festival Conservatory for the Performing Arts and is an adjunct member of the Theatre faculty at Idaho State University.

Jason Spelbring (Sam) is thrilled to be a part of SLAC's New Play Sounding Series. Jason is an actor, director and educator. He is currently an assistant professor of acting at Utah State University's Caine College of the Arts. Theatre credits include six seasons at the Tony Award winning Utah Shakespeare Festival, Great River Shakespeare Festival, Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, Ensemble Theatre Company, Santa Barbara and PCPA Theaterfest. This fall Jason will be directing Pierre Marivaux's The Game of Love and Change for the Caine College of the Arts. www.jasonmichaelspelbring.com

Angela Roundy (Elizabeth) attended Utah State University where she earned her BFA in Acting. While at USU she appeared in such productions as KING LEAR, JAMES and the GIANT PEACH, TARTUFFE, and ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD. Her acting training began at the College of Eastern Utah where credits included THE CRUCIBLE, PICASSO at the LAPIN AGILE, and THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN. Angela also appeared in The Neil Simon Festival's production of COME BLOW YOUR HORN.

Richard Johnson (Matt) is thrilled to make his SLAC debut with a talented and seasoned cast of peers. Richard has been seen locally this past summer in THE ODD COUPLE with Old Lyric Repertory Company. California credits include AS YOU LIKE IT with New Village Arts/Moonlight Cultural Foundation, LOST APOLLONIA and PICTURING MY SISTER with New Village Arts/Playwrights Project, JACOB MARLEY'S CHRISTMAS CAROL with Oceanside Theatre Company, and HENRY IV pt1 and THE TEMPEST with North Coast Repertory Theatre/MiraCosta College.

Lance Rasmussen (Reader) has performed for three seasons at the Old Lyric Theatre Company where he played in THE ODD COUPLE, JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH, and AMADEUS among others. He is about to graduate from Utah State University with a BFA in Theatre Performance. At USU he has acted in plays including CANDIDA, LEARNED LADIES, TALKING PICTURES, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, OUR COUNTRY'S GOOD, and TWENTIETH CENTURY. He intends to pursue an MFA in acting.

Playwright William Missouri Downs Coming to Salt Lake for
Salt Lake Acting Company's New Play Sounding Series Free Reading of
MAD GRAVITY

SLAC's New Play Sounding Series presents a free reading of MAD GRAVITY by William Missouri Downs and directed by John Caywood on Monday, September 30, 2013 at 7:00pm. SLAC is thrilled to welcome Williams Missouri Downs back to the theatre after producing his play THE EXIT INTERVIEW last April. This one night event will feature a reading of this hysterical new play along with a question and answer session with the director, cast and the talented and engrossing Williams Missouri Downs. This creative, absurd play is the Winner of the 2013 Reva Shiner Comedy Award from the Bloomington Playwrights Project and a 2013 finalist at the Eugene O'Neill. The New Play Sounding Series is a part of SLAC's outreach programming which provides an essential testing ground on which playwrights can see their work in progress and receive insightful feedback from the audience in a post-play discussion. We thank the Jarvis and Constance Doctorow Family Foundation for their support of this vital program.

MAD GRAVITY is a comedy about Archie and Eudora, two Dada performance artists who have built a theatre in their living room. Every night before a live audience they act out their lives. You've heard of reality television; think of it as reality theatre. They want to build a second experimental space in their kitchen but they just cannot take any more kitchen sink realism. Artaud would be proud of them.

This Theatre of Cruelty performance concerns their teenage daughter who wants to marry the son of Joe and Mary. All the parties involved have been invited to the house/theatre. But when the kids forget to tell Joe and Mary about the live audience all hell breaks lose.

Things go from bad to worse when they discover that a comet has been spotted in the night sky. There is a 50/50 chance it will hit the earth. Everyone, including the audience, may have only an hour to live. This forces the parents to stop arguing about insignificant things like marriage and start arguing about great philosophical questions of life: Is the comet a sign from God or is it just gravity? And what the hell is performance art?

The one page second act (that's right the second act is one page long) does something no play has ever attempted in the history of theatre - it lets the audience in on the meaning of life.

Playwright William Missouri Downs is a unique and creative talent and SLAC is excited to give Salt Lake City audiences the special opportunity to not only enjoy his hilarious play, but to also interact with Downs and learn more about him, the play and his creative process. This special free night of theatre is not to be missed.

THE PLAYWRIGHT

WILLIAM MISSOURI DOWNS
William holds an MFA in acting from the University of Illinois and an MFA in screenwriting from UCLA. He was also trained in playwriting at the Circle Repertory Theatre in New York under Lanford Wilson and Milan Stitt. Since, he has authored over twenty plays, including INNOCENT THOUGHTS, the winner of the National Playwright's Award; JEWISH SPORTS HEROES AND TEXAS INTELLECTUALS, which took first place at the Mill Mountain Theatre's Festival Of New Plays; SEAGULLS IN A CHERRY TREE, the winner of the Larry Corse Prize for playwriting; KABUKI MEDEA, which won the Bay Area Critics Award for best production in San Francisco and the Jefferson Award for best production in Chicago; and THE EXIT INTERVIEW, the winner of the 2012-2013 rolling opening from the National New Play Network. Mr. Downs has had nearly 100 productions from New York to Singapore and from Israel to South Africa, including LORT theatres like the Kennedy Center and the Berkeley Rep. He is a full voting member of both the Dramatists Guild and the Writers Guild of America. While in Hollywood, Mr. Downs wrote for such NBC sitcoms as MY TWO DADS (starring Paul Reiser), AMEN (starring Sherman Hemsley), and THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIRE (starring Will Smith). He also won the Jack Nicholson Award for screenwriting and sold the movie EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE to Tri-star.

After many years in Manhattan and Hollywood, Mr. Downs now enjoys living in the wide-open spaces of Wyoming. As head of the playwriting program at the University of Wyoming, Bill has won over a dozen teaching and research awards. He also teaches in the Religious Studies Department. His favorite thing to do is to find ancient temples and theatres - this quest has taken him to Egypt, France, Turkey, England, Greece, Italy, and China. Additionally, Mr. Downs is also the author of a number of books including: THE ART OF THEATRE (Wadsworth) an introduction to theatre book used at over 100 universities, NAKED PLAYWRIGHTING (Silman/James) a popular writing guide, and SCREENPLAY: WRITING THE PICTURE (Silman/James), which is used at top film schools in the United States and Poland. Samuel French and Playscripts have also published several of his plays.

THE DIRECTOR

JOHN CAYWOOD
John is pleased to return to SLAC following earlier productions of GOD OF CARNAGE, BATBOY, INCORRUPTIBLE and six versions of SATURDAY'S VOYEUR. John landed in SLC in 1987 from New York City for a one season residency at Pioneer Theatre Company. After 13 seasons with the company, John became Producing Artistic Director at Park City's Egyptian Theatre Company. Other Utah directing assignments include The Grand, Tuacahn,, Sundance Summer Theatre and Utah Musical Theatre. Favorite projects include BATBOY, THE MUSICAL RUTHLESS, THE MUSICAL, and of course, THE EXIT INTERVIEW. John is the Interim Executive Director of Kingsbury Hall at the University of Utah. It is fairly clear that he prefers Utah to New York.

CAST
Anne Louise Brings, Darrin Doman, Andra Harbold, Tracie Merrill, Zack Phifer, Holly Fowers - Reader