Salt Lake Acting Company - Master Class

New Voices, New Ideas, New Plays Since its inception in 1994, SLAC's New Play Sounding Series (NPSS) has nurtured emerging and established playwrights alike in the development of their new work. The NPSS creates a constructive, low risk arena for artists to navigate the challenges that come with writing and developing new plays. Through the NPSS, SLAC has provided professional resources for the artistic development of over 100 new plays. The development of new scripts is always done with the longterm goal of readying the play for full production. Nearly 50 percent of the plays read in the NPSS have gone on to be fully produced as part of SLAC's regular season, published for the professional market, and/or produced at other regional theatres in Utah and around the country. Not only does the NPSS provide support for playwrights and create additional working opportunities for local theatre artists, it also affords our audiences the opportunity to witness plays in their earliest stages, giving access to the creative process of new play development. By engaging in the discussions following each reading, and providing constructive feedback on what they've just seen, our audiences plays a key role in shaping these new works while the playwrights gain a deeper understanding of how their work is reaching an audience. SLAC thanks the Jarvis and Constance Doctorow Family Foundation and the Salt Lake County's Zoo, Arts, and Parks program whose support allows our growing audiences to attend the New Play Sounding Series at no cost. The Mission of the New Play Sounding Series To foster relationships with emerging and established playwrights, both locally and nationally. To create a constructive, low-risk arena in which to explore new creative voices and investigate works of interest in greater depth. To involve the audience in the process of play creation, exploration, and selection. To provide additional working opportunities for local theatre artists. New Play Sounding Series History *Indicates a play that went on to be fully produced at SLAC 2023/2024 A Hero's Journey by Hannah Keating & Niko Krieger Sunny in the Dark by Elaine Jarvik The Value by Nicholas Dunn 2022/2023 Can I Say Yes to That Dress? by Sarah Shippobotham* Whitelisted by Chisa Hutchinson* Let Down Your Hair by Matthew Ivan Bennett 2021/2022 Let's Fix Andy by Rachel Bublitz Sleeping Giant by Steve Yockey* 2020/2021 Please note: the 20/21 season NPSS plays were presented in a digital-only format as the New Play Sounding Series Festival. The three works presented for the festival were: Daddy Issues by Kimi Handa Brown Harry & Sherri by Adrienne Dawes* Egress by Melissa Crespo and Sarah Saltwick* 2019/2020 Swimming Pool by Will Snider 2018/2019 The Robertassey by Kathleen Cahill* Four Women Talking About the Man Under the Sheet by Elaine Jarvik* Grab Them by the P**** by Jeanette Munzert Burst by Rachel Bublitz 2017/2018 Part of the Story by David Kranes The Shuck by Shawn Fisher Reykjavik by Steve Yockey Amerikin by Chisa Hutchinson 2016/2017 The Squirrels by Robert Askins Silent Dancer by Kathleen Cahill* Laura and the Sea by Kate Tarker 2015/2016 Mercury by Steve Yockey* Winter by Julie Jensen* Stag's Leap by Sharon Olds* Bleeding Hearts by Steve Yockey 2014/2015 Harbur Gate by Kathleen Cahill* How to Steal a Picasso by William Missouri Downs Tiny Kushner by Tony Kushner Bull Shark Attack by Troy Deutsch* The Vermillion Hand by Cort Brinkerhoff 2013/2014 Streetlight Woodpecker by Shawn Fisher* Road to Eden by Sean Christopher Lewis Mad Gravity by William Missouri Downs Two Stories by Elaine Jarvik* 2012/2013 Permanent Collection by Thomas Gibbons Grant & Twain by Elizabeth Diggs* Devil Dog Six by Fengar Gael Turquoise Wind by Kurt Proctor 2011/2012 Monsterheart by Kathleen Cahill The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs by Mike Daisey How to Make a Rope Swing by Shawn Fisher* The Last Word by David Kranes A Night With the Family by Matthew Ivan Bennett 2010/2011 (a man enters) by Elaine Jarvik and Kate Jarvik Birch* Course 86B in the Catalogue by Kathleen Cahill* T.I.C. (trenchcoat in common) by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb Courting Disaster by David Kranes 2009/2010 The Persian Quarter by Kathleen Cahill* Prophets of Nature by Keith Reddin Virtue by Tim Slover 2008/2009 She Was My Brother by Julie Jensen Mammoth by Eric Roberson Sunlight by Sharr White Charm by Kathleen Cahill* 2007/2008 The Towering Dead by Mike Dorrell The Rant by Andrew Case A Slight Discomfort by Jeff Metcalf* Civil Disobedience by Carter W. Lewis 14 by John Cameron 2006/2007 The Receptionist by Adam Bock Bunbury by Tom Jacobson In Corrections by Doris Baizley and Susan Raffanti The Cancer Diaries by Jeff Metcalf* (Retitled A Slight Discomfort) 2005/2006 The Thugs by Adam Bock (Premiered at SoHo Rep in NYC in 2006, Obie Award winner) Sexsting by Doris Baizley and Susan Raffanti*(World Premiere at Salt Lake Acting Company, 2007; produced by Skylight Theatre, LA, 2013) Dark Yellow by Julia Jordan(Produced at Studio Dante, NYC, 2006) The O'Conner Girls by Katie Forgette 2004/2005 The Land SouthwardN by Darcy Hogan Roundup by Kurt Proctor Art for Art's Sake by Mike Dorrell The Overwhelming by J. T. Rogers* 2003/2004 Touch of Rapture by Mary Fengar Gail A Crooked Man by Richard Kalinoski Rounding Third by Richard Dresser* Swimming in the Shallows by Adam Bock* 2002/2003 Frankincense by John Rafter Lee Lily and Dash by Mike Dorrell Madagascar by J.T. Rogers* The Goshute Play by Julie Jensen 2001/2002 Ancient Lights by Shelagh Stephenson Wait! by Julie Jensen*(Retitled from NO SMALL ACTORS, had its world premiere at The Salt Lake Acting Company, April 8, 2003.) 10 Ten-Minute Plays by SLAC Playwrights Group 2000/2001 Seeing the Elephant by J. T. Rogers*(Received its world premiere at The Salt Lake Acting Company, April 2, 2002) No Small Actors by Julie Jensen(SLAC commissioned play, week-long workshop November of 2000, culminating in reading of first draft) Cabbies, Cowboys, and the Tree of the Weeping Virgin by Utah Writers*(Received its world premiere at The Salt Lake Acting Company, January 22, 2002. A book containing all of the commissioned pieces was published by SLAC and given as a gift to audience members.) 1999/2000 Absence by Wendy Hammond(Previous draft entitled The Hole; premiered at Purple Rose Theatre in Michigan, in 1999) Red Herring by Michael Hollinger(world premiere, Philadelphia Theatre Company, March 2000.) Cheat by Julie Jensen(world premiere at Women’s Project in New York in October of 2002.) A Loss of Appetite by David Kranes* 1998/1999 Bash, Iphigenia in Orem, Media Redux by Neil LaBute(Produced Off-Broadway in 1999 with Calista Flockhart) Winding Sheet by Eric Samuelsen The Lively Lad by Quincy Long(Workshop production, A.S.K. Common Ground Festival, L.A., 1999) Outrage by Nate Briggs 1997/1998 Two-Headed by Julie Jensen*(Salt Lake Acting Company, world premiere, 2000; workshop production, A.S.K. Common Ground Festival, L.A., 1999, Produced by The Women’s Project in New York, in 2000.) Under Western Skies by Al Brown(T.C.G / N.E.A. Playwright in Residence at SLAC, 1998) Bob and May Are Getting Married by Carl Sanders(Produced in Seattle in 2000 at One World Theatre, published by Rain City Press under the title THE PERFECT STRANGER) Drift by Jon Tuttle(produced by Trustus Theatre, North Carolina, 1998) 1996/1997 Reno Bangs by Al Brown Tiny Island by Michael Hollinger(produced by Arden Theatre, Philadelphia, 1998) A Birch in Winter by Aaron Shaheen Mother College by Richard Kalinoski 1995/1996 Victor and the Virgin by Thomas G. Dunn Molly Delicious by Craig Wright(produced by Philadelphia Festival of New Plays 1997; Arden Theatre, Philadelphia 1997, Published by Dramatic Publishing) Rose Colored Glass by Susan Bigelow-Marsh(produced by Jewish Repertory Theatre, 1997) One Last Dance by Al Brown*(produced by Salt Lake Acting Company, 1997) Paparazzi! by Gib Johnson The Big Slam by Bill Corbett(produced by Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Washington D.C., 1997; A Contemporary Theatre, Seattle, 1997, Published by Dramatist Play Service) 1994/1995 Winter of the Deer by David Kranes*(world premiere by Salt Lake Acting Company 1996) The Lost Vegas Series by Julie Jensen(produced by Zebra Crossing Theatre, Chicago 1997, winning the Jefferson Award; and in London 1998) Daddy's Gone Home to Mother in Heaven by Gary Stewart Napoleon's China by Ann Haskell, Sherry Kramer and Rebecca Newton*(produced by Salt Lake Acting Company 1996) Voir Dire by Joe Sutton(produced by Seattle Repertory Theatre, 1996) The Big Numbers by Craig Wright Incorruptible by Michael Hollinger*(produced by Salt Lake Acting Company, 1996; Arden Theatre, Philadelphia, 1996; Artist’s Repertory Theatre, Portland, Oregon 1998)