SALT LAKE CITY — This weekend the Salt Lake Acting Company produced its first ever Fearless Fringe Festival: a weekend of three original shows by local artists producing new and experimental works. The show I attended was entitled Yoga Confidential: A Rat Bastard’s Inside Guide to Yoga & Surrounding Areas, written by Stephen Brown. Brown is the founder of SB Dance, a non-profit dance company based out of the Rose Wagner Center in Salt Lake and has extensive dance credentials with professional companies as well as a degree in molecular genetics from Colombia University. Continue Reading

SALT LAKE CITY – “I’m nauseated, cranky, and waiting for my chemo to end.” writes Sam Wessels in a recent blog entry. Wessels is not only the playwright (book, music and lyrics) of sam i was, he also plays Sam, the lead role.  sam i was is a musical memoir about Wessels own battle with leukemia, which he is still undergoing chemo for.  To be diagnosed with cancer, write a musical about it, workshop it at the Yale Institute for Music Theater, star in the production and undergo chemotherapy all in less than three years is an amazing feat by anyone’s standards.

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MURRAY – The Amphitheatre at Murray Park is bright little bit of wilderness in the Salt Lake urban sprawl. What a delight it was to attend their production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

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SALT LAKE CITY – The Lion King is playing at the Capitol Theatre. Director Julie Taymor has brought depth and sincerity in her stage adaptation of the simple yet enjoyable animated film. The amazing visuals, puppetry and music will coax the most fastidious patron to love the show. Continue Reading

PRESS RELEASE – Lamana (Joe Debevc, Plan-B’s MIASMA) is a Zuni two-spirit, born a man but identifying as a woman and accepted as such within the tribe, recognized as a religious leader. Tullis (April Fossen, Plan-B’s MIASMA, the last five SLAMs) and Wilson (Plan-B’s FACING EAST, GUTENBERG! THE MUSICAL! and all five RADIO HOURs) are two Victorian anthropologists, conducting the first enthnographic study of the Zuni people.

These three lives connect in unexpected ways in this exploration of love, gender identity and cultural assumption.  Based (loosely) on historical fact.  Part of Transgender Awareness Month.

Joe Debevc, Jay Perry and April Fossen at the Zuni Pueblo
in Zuni, New Mexico, the setting of SHE WAS MY BROTHER.

DATES, VENUE AND TICKETS

• October 28-November 10, 2010
• Studio Theatre, Rose Wagner | 138 W 300 S, SLC
• Running time 90 minutes | No late seating
• Thursday-Friday at 8pm | Saturday at 4pm and 8pm | Sunday at 2pm
• Tickets $20 ($10 students) | 801.355.ARTS or http://planbtheatre.org

CREATIVE TEAM

• Playwright Julie Jensen
• Directed by Jerry Rapier
• Sound by Cheryl Ann Cluff
• Set by Randy Rasmussen
• Stage Managed by Jennifer Freed
• Costumes by Phil Lowe
• Lighting by Jesse Portillo

RELATED EVENT: BENEFIT PERFORMANCE

More than 30 local non-profits have been the beneficiary of our Benefit Performances Program since its inception in 2001.  For SHE WAS MY BROTHER, the benficiaries are Transgender Education Advocates of Utah/Transaction (T tickets are $20 and available by contacting TeenaMarie Scuderi at teaofutah@yahoo.com for the preview on Wednesday, October 27 at 7pm in the Studio Theatre at the Rose Wagner).

RELATED 20^TH ANNIVERSARY FREE EVENT:

RADIO HOUR MARATHON

Plan-B and KUER have partnered on RADIO HOUR the past five years. This Halloween brings the RADIO HOUR MARATHON featuring all five RADIO HOURs (RADIO POE, THE HITCHHIKER & ZERO HOUR, LAVENDER & EXILE, FRANKENSTEIN, ALICE) broadcast on KUER on Sunday, October 31 time TBA.

RELATED 20^th ANNIVERSARY FREE EVENT:
SCRIPT-IN-HAND SERIES

Readings 40-minute excerpts of two new plays-in-progress: WHAT ARE YOU? by Matthew Ivan Bennett and an adaption of THE SCARLET LETTER by Jenifer Nii on Wednesday, November 3 at 7pm in the Studio Theatre at the Rose Wagner.  Email jerry@planbtheatre.org to RSVP.

PRESS RELEASE – Auditions for Pioneer Theatre Company’s WHITE CHRISTMAS will be held on Friday, September 17th, 2010. Callbacks will be held on Saturday, September 18th.

Audition time slots will be from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The first hour of both time slots are reserved for AEA (Equity) actors only. AEA MEMBERS ONLY may email Elizabeth Williamson at elizabeth.williamson@ptc.utah.edu for an appointment beginning Friday, September 10, 2010.

Non-equity members must sign up in the office, Room 325 of the Roy W. and Elizabeth E. Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre, located at 300 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, beginning Friday, September 10, 2010 at 12:00 noon.

All roles are available; auditions will be held for actors ages 18 and up. There will be no open call for childrens roles. Auditions will be held in Room 245 of the theatre. Initial auditions will be singing only. Auditioners should prepare a song appropriate to the show and the genre, and bring sheet music. An accompanist will be provided.

Irving Berlin’s WHITE CHRISTMAS is based upon the Paramount Pictures film written for the screen by Norman Krasna, Norman Panama, and Melvin Frank. Music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. Book by David Ives and Paul Blake. The first rehearsal is November 8, 2010, and the show runs from December 3, 2010 to December 24, 2010 (extra week with weekday matinees added). Directed by Paul Barnes; Choreography by Dirk Lumbard; Musical Director Michael Horsley.

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Pioneer Theatre Company operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) and Actors Equity Association, the Union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. Pioneer Theatre Company, Utah’s only fully professional theatre, performs at Roy W. and Elizabeth E. Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre, located on the University of Utah campus at 300 South and 1400 East in Salt Lake City, easily accessible by TRAX light rail. Free parking is also available and the theatre is equipped with an elevator, handicap parking, hearing assistance devices and other easy-access features.www.pioneertheatre.org

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

A ghost story. A murder mystery. A psychological thriller. A young mans coming-of-age. A dysfunctional family drama. The greatest play produced in the English language in 400 years.

WHO:
Pioneer Theatre Company

WHAT:
Hamlet
By William Shakespeare

WHEN:
September 17  through October 2, 2010

TIMES:
Mondays  Thursdays, 7:30 p.m.
Fridays and Saturdays, 8:00 p.m.
Saturday matinees Sept. 18 & Oct. 2, 2:00 p.m.
Saturday matinee Sept. 25, 1:30 p.m.

WHERE:
Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre
300 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City

PRICE:
$24 – $42; Children in grades K  12 are half price on Mondays and Tuesdays

MORE INFO:
Box Office (801) 581-6961
Open 10:00 a.m.  6:00 p.m., Mon  Fri
www.pioneertheatre.org

Pioneer Theatre Company operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) and Actors Equity Association, the Union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. Pioneer Theatre Company, Utah’s only fully professional theatre, performs at Roy W. and Elizabeth E. Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre, located on the University of Utah campus at 300 South and 1400 East in Salt Lake City, easily accessible by TRAX light rail. Free parking is also available and the theatre is equipped with an elevator, handicap parking, hearing assistance devices and other easy-access features.

WEST VALLEY CITY — I always find myself wary when attending “classical” shows. You know the ones: The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, Hello Dolly!, Carousel, etc.. They come with a dangerous amount of potential to be a stale, slow show with always-too-long songs. I’m happy to report that the Hale Centre Theatre’s rendition of one of the classical operettas, The Pirates of Penzance, was anything but stale. An energetic cast, colorful design, and expertly delivered music kept the show alive, interesting, and—most of all—fun. Continue Reading

SALT LAKE CITY — Larry Kramer’s 1985 AIDS play The Normal Heart is sadly relevant and was a fitting joint venture for Plan B Theatre Company and the Utah AIDS Foundation.  The two organizations came together to celebrate their anniversaries, the 20th for Plan B and 25th for the UAF.  Sponsored by Julie Brizzee and Jane and Tami Marquardt, the staged reading was free to the public and included a cash bar.  The mood was light among the audience despite the realization that the subject matter of the play, the cause promoted by Plan B and the UAF is very serious.  It was reported that HIV cases in Utah alone have risen 30% since 2007—a truth that is as shocking as it is inexcusable. Continue Reading

SUGAR HOUSE — Experimental theatre in Salt Lake and Utah counties is generally an extremely rare occurrence. There is a “mainstream theatre” niche that the general population seems to have bought into exclusively. However, to my very pleasant surprise, I discovered The Sugar Space. The Sugar Space is an unassuming, self-proclaimed “hole-in-the-wall” performance space in Sugarhouse, Utah. The Sugar Space functions as a multi-disciplinary art space designed specifically to support and enhance the creation of new and experimental pieces of art. The lobby of the theatre is adorned with works from local visual artist and rotates every 45 days. The performance space is an adaptable black-box that seats up to around 80 people with capabilities to host dance, visual and theatrical art pieces. Continue Reading