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.

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.

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. 

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. 

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. 

New Play Sounding Series
Free Reading

Monday, September 25 @ 7pm

Director: Adrianne Moore

Actors: Daisy Blake, Nicholas Dunn, Jacob Johnson, Kathryn Mungin, Matthew Sincell, Darryl Stamp, Cassandra Stokes-Wylie

Reader: Mary-Helen Pitman

Stage Manager: Kallie Erickson

A man takes an ancestry test a part of his initiation into a white supremacist group gets an unsettling surprise.

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

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.