Salt Lake Acting Company News Release
PRESS CONTACT: CYNTHIA FLEMING | 801.363.7522 | [email protected]
March 1, 2017
For Immediate Release
Salt Lake Acting Company Presents
New Play Sounding Series Free Reading
SILENT DANCER
By Kathleen Cahill
Monday, March 6 @ 7pm
Salt Lake Acting Company (SLAC)’s New Play Sounding Series will present a free reading of SILENT DANCER, a new play by Kathleen Cahill on Monday, March 6 @ 7pm.
ABOUT THE PLAY
SILENT DANCER is a play in a new form: it uses movement and dance, as well as words to tell a love story between an Irish girl who works as a maid for a famous couple, and an African American piano player who works in a speakeasy owned by the most notorious gangster in New York City in 1921.
It’s the story of a brother and sister who grew up in the tenements, dancing on street corners for nickels, who dream of making it in the big time — the silent movies.
It’s the story of an era right after the end of World War I when anything felt possible, and everybody was dreaming of a new life.
SILENT DANCER was recently developed in SLAC’s third annual Playwrights’ Lab. The week was spent discovering its movement language with Ballet West’s Peter Christie. SLAC is excited to share this new and daring piece of theatre/dance with its first audience as part of the New Play Sounding Series.
ABOUT THE NEW PLAY SOUNDING SERIES
SLAC’s New Play Sounding Series (NPSS) is made possible through the generous support of the Jarvis and Constance Doctorow Family Foundation. In its 22nd season, 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 more than 90 new plays.
Recognizing the importance of not only reading and developing new scripts, but seeing them through to full production, SLAC has ensured that over 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 moved on to other regional theatres in Utah and around the country.
SLAC is grateful to the Jarvis and Constance Doctorow Family Foundation for their support of the New Play Sounding Series.
ABOUT THE TEAM
PLAYWRIGHT
Kathleen Cahill’s awards include the Jane Chambers Playwriting Award, two Connecticut Commission on the Arts Playwriting Awards, a Massachusetts Artists Foundation Award, a Rockefeller Grant, a National Endowment for the Arts New American Works Grant, three Edgerton Foundation Awards and a Drama League Award. Her play CHARM was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize; her play THE PERSIAN QUARTER was nominated for a Steinberg Award; (both published by Dramatic Publishing.) Her produced musicals include FRIENDSHIP OF THE SEA (North Shore Music Theatre), DAKOTA SKY (Olney Theatre) an opera, CLARA, two opera/cabarets, A TALE OF TWO CITIES: PARIS AND BERLIN IN THE TWENTIES (Maryland Center for the Performing Arts), a comic opera cabaret, FATAL SONG (most recently Utah Opera) and PERDIDA, the WINTER’S TALE SET IN MEXICO, (most recently Catholic University, DC and upcoming at the Grand Theatre, Salt Lake City. Published by Dramatic Publishing.) Her plays include the comedy, COURSE 86B IN THE CATALOGUE (Salt Lake Acting Company) THE STILL TIME (Georgia Rep/ Porchlight Theatre, Chicago) the comedy, WOMEN WHO LOVE SCIENCE TOO MUCH (Porchlight Theatre and NPR Radio) JOY FOREVER (Cleveland Public, Firehouse Theatre, Massachusetts) CHARM ( National New Play Network Festival, Salt Lake Acting Company premiere, Kitchen Dog Theatre, Dallas; Orlando Shakespeare; Taffety Punk, Washington D.C. among others) THE PERSIAN QUARTER (Salt Lake Acting Company, Merrimack Rep.). Her play, HARBUR GATE, is an NNPN commission, workshopped at Colt Coeur in New York, and in the Lab of the Salt Lake Acting Company, where it will be produced in 2017 and in 2018, at the 16th Street Theatre, Chicago. She wrote the screenplay for the independent feature, Downtown Express. She writes for Alan Cumming when he introduces Mystery! on PBS. She is Playwright-in-Residence at the Salt Lake Acting Company.
DIRECTOR
Cynthia Fleming has been in the world of dance and theatre professionally since she was 18 years old, during which time she performed in the Broadway, National and International companies with A CHORUS LINE. Since 1995 she has worn many hats at SLAC, including Choreographer, Director, Box Office Manager and Director of Audience Services. She developed SLAC’s high quality customer service titled: Mayberry meets Space Odyssey. She conceived and created the position of Director of Communication and Audience Development and generated a renewed energy and excitement about the theatre, preparing SLAC to achieve a record breaking number of subscribers. In 2010 she became Co-Executive Producer and is now honored to be SLAC’s Executive Artistic Director. Cynthia remains a working artist in the theatre and has choreographed many SLAC productions including SATURDAY’S VOYEUR since 1995 and became the director/choreographer of SATURDAY’S VOYEUR in 2010. Cynthia is proud to serve SLAC and its mission to engage and enrich community through brave contemporary theatre.
CAST
Austin Archer is a Salt Lake native living in NYC. He recently completed his second year in the SLAC Playwrights’ Lab as an actor working on SILENT DANCER. He has also acted at SLAC in 11 different productions including CLIMBING WITH TIGERS, THE CAT IN THE HAT, BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON, HOW I BECAME A PIRATE, SATURDAY’S VOYEUR and TOO MUCH MEMORY. In addition to acting he enjoys writing music and plays. His music is available to download at austinarchermusic.bandcamp.comand his play JUMP will receive its world premiere right here in Salt Lake City with Plan-B theatre company next spring!
Tyson Baker’s past SLAC credits include CLIMBING WITH TIGERS, R + J: STAR-CROSSED DEATH MATCH, and BULL SHARK ATTACK (stage reading for the NPSS). Other local credits include BOOKSMART!, RUFF!, and DIFFERENT=AMAZING (Plan-B Theatre Co.), THE CRUCIBLE (The Grand), THE 39 STEPS, SEE HOW THEY RUN, MUSICAL OF MUSICALS: THE MUSICAL, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM (Old Lyric Rep.) Other fun things: 8 Seasons performing various roles at The Jackson Hole Playhouse.
Carleton Bluford was Ensemble in Pioneer Theater Company’s IT HAPPENED ONE CHRISTMAS and the Regional premier of THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO. He also played Riff Raff in ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, Graffiti Pete in IN THE HEIGHTS, and Joshua Moore in the Pioneer’s reading of AN ALABAMA STORY. Carleton has previously appeared at SLAC in STREETLIGHT WOODPECKER and THE OVERWHELMING and in Plan-B's WALLACE, SLAM and THE THIRD CROSSING which was nominated for three Arty Awards in Salt Lake City Weekly. Other acting credits include JESUS CHRIST, SUPERSTAR (Park City's Egyptian Theatre), RAGTIME (Hale Center Theatre), RUINED (People Productions), and CIVIL WAR with Merrill Osmond (Hale Centre Theatre). Recent film credits include You May Now Kill The bride (A Lifetime Original Movie) Saints & Soldiers: The Void, Stop Pepper Palmer (Best Supporting Actor, WorldFest Houston) and most recently, the remake of Saturday’s Warrior. As a playwright, his play BREATHE was read as part of the Utah AIDS Foundation/Plan-B AIDS Plays and his play NIGGAH was read as part of the Edward Lewis Black Theatre Festival. MAMA was his first full-length production at Plan-B.
Trent Cox is a Utah native and local director. Credits include: ROCK OF AGES, SPAMALOT (Park City Egyptian Theatre) ANNIE, THE DROWSY CHAPERONE (The Ziegfeld Theater) THE FLICK, THE WAITERS World Premiere (Good Company Theatre) THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE ABRIDGED (St. George Musical Theater) and Assistant Director for SLAC's productions of MR. PERFECT. Trent received his B.A. in Acting/Directing from Weber State University.
Dan Larrinaga was last seen at SLAC in last year's Playwrights' Lab in support of Hansol Jung's WILD GOOSE DREAMS. Other credits at SLAC include BIG LOVE, NAPOLEON'S CHINA and of course a few wild summers in SATURDAY'S VOYEUR. Dan's most recent stage time has been performing many fun shows at the Desert Star Theatre in Murray. Outside of Utah, he has performed nationally and internationally in such shows as SOUTH PACIFIC with Jamie Farr, DREAM TIME! at the Ed Sullivan Theatre in NYC, ALL ABOARD!...AND THEN SOME in Philadelphia, and OF MICE AND MEN in Europe. And not long ago, he did a cruise ship gig with Holland America. Larrinaga is a native of Utah where his favorite credits include: RAT PACK REMEMBERED, TAKING WALES, EURYDICE, CAROUSEL, HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS, BIG LOVE, and FOREVER PLAID, among many others. Dan spent one expensive year at NYU's Graduate Film program and he holds a BA in English from the University of Utah.
Samantha Matsukawa is a Salt Lake based dancer, choreographer and movement artist who shifts between the realms of dance, and theatrical performance. Her interest as a performer and choreographer lie in creative collaborations that result in a highly aestheticized reimagining of the common place often through the use of theatrical tropes. Her choreographic work has been shown locally in Salt Lake City at the Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival, Rose Wagner Center for Performing Arts, Sugar Space, and at the University of Utah. As a performer, Samantha has worked with such artist as Daniel Charon, Steven Koester, Eric Handman, Carl Flink, Ellen Bromberg, Natasha Washington and Nick Blaylock. She has also worked with Ririe Woodbury Dance Company, Repertory Dance Theatre, and Utah Opera. Samantha holds a BFA in Modern Dance and a BA in Art History from the University of Utah.
Katryna Williams is a Junior in the actor training program at the U of U, and is thrilled to be working at SLAC for the first time. She was last seen at the University of Utah in SELF DEFENSE/DEATH OF SOME SALESMAN (Leanne), AMERICAN IDIOT (Alysha), and will be seen in THE TWO NOBLE KINSMEN (First Queen) this February as a part of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's 'Play On!' series. Katryna is a member of WHO’S LOUIS, a devised theatre company who have created work for the Kennedy Center American Theatre Festival, Salt Lake Fringe Festival, and the opening of the George S. and Dolores Eccles Theater.
• • •
WHO:
Salt Lake Acting Company
WHAT:
New Play Sounding Series
Reading of SILENT DANCER
By Kathleen Cahill
WHEN:
Monday, March 6, 7:00 p.m.
WHERE:
168 West 500 North
Salt Lake City, Utah 84103
• • •
Salt Lake Acting Company (SLAC)’s mission is to engage and enrich community through brave contemporary theatre. Founded in 1970, SLAC is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 professional theatre dedicated to producing, commissioning, and developing new works and to supporting a community of professional artists. SLAC has been nationally recognized by the Shubert Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Edgerton Foundation, among others. SLAC operates under a STP Actors Equity Association contract and is a Constituent Member of Theatre Communications Group (a national organization for non-profit professional regional theatres), and the National New Play Network (a national alliance of non-profit professional theatres that champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays).
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