Profile

Expanding the theatrical library during the pandemic: Plan-B Theatre adds 7 short plays from Utah theatrical artists of color to the national Play At Home initiative; its free, public app

by

One of the most formidable challenges in the COVID-19 pandemic, where live productions have ground to a near-complete standstill, is to keep the engine of creating new work going, especially when it still is unclear when the performing arts will return to an appreciable state of producing work. One national project has been the #PlayAtHome … Read more

Dan Higgins: A profile of an emerging choreographer in Salt Lake City

by

In explaining the unrelenting discipline of training, the Stoic philosopher Epictetus wrote, “Then when the contest comes on, you have to ‘dig in’ beside your opponent, and sometimes dislocate your wrist, sprain your ankle, swallow quantities of sand, sometimes take a scourging, and along with all that get beaten. After you have considered all these … Read more

Eric Samuelsen (1956-2019): A titan of the Utah Enlightenment

by

NOTE: Plan-B Theatre will present a free reading of Eric Samuelsen’s Borderlands, featuring the original cast of the 2011 premiere, on Oct. 5 at 2 p.m. in the Rose Wagner Center for Performing Arts. While the performance is free, tickets are required and can be obtained at this Plan-B page. For details about funeral services … Read more

Interview with director: Gracefully, Iranian documentary, set for world premiere at Utah Film Center’s 16th annual Damn These Heels LGBTQ+ Film Festival

by

The 16th Utah Film Center’s Damn These Heels LGBTQ Film Festival will feature a world premiere of Gracefully, a documentary by Iranian filmmaker Arash Eshaghi, which has been banned in Iran. The Utah Review was privileged to screen this documentary, as mentioned last week in the preview of the film festival, which is set in rural Iran and … Read more

Utah Arts Festival 2019: National Student Poet Darius Atefat-Peckham on juxtapositions of joy, grief in poetry

by

When he was 12, Darius Atefat-Peckham started writing poetry. “I grew up in poetry and it felt like it had to happen, whether I liked it or not,” he says in an interview with The Utah Review. Through a crack in the bathroom door, he read his first poem to his dad who was taking … Read more

Utah Arts Festival 2019: Thatch Elmer, 15, heralds new generation of cowboy poetry

by

Cowboy poets, a unique tradition in the American West literary scene, have a sizable presence at this year’s Wordfest literary arts program for the Utah Arts Festival. They include well-known veterans including C. R. Wood, from Delta, Utah whose business card reads simply, “auctioneer,” and Sam DeLeeuw, who is a rancher with her husband. However, … Read more

Utah Arts Festival 2019: Brian Hennesy’s unique take on ‘Screw You Art’

by

Many artists have succeeded at turning upcycled materials into wonderful art pieces. Brian Hennesy (Booth 43), one of the record 177 artists at this year’s Artists Marketplace at the Utah Arts Festival, finds metal objects including screws, washers, nuts, and bolts and combines them into unique mirror frames and guitars. A musician as well as … Read more

Utah Arts Festival 2019: Four commissions set to premiere in chamber and jazz music, dance

by

Four commissioned world premieres – chamber music, jazz and two in dance – are part of this year’s Utah Arts Festival. The Utah Review highlights each of the new works. KATLYN ADDISON, JOSHUA WHITEHEAD DANCE COMMISSIONS, RUUDDANCES — June 21, 5:45 p.m., Festival Stage For the annual dance commission concert at the Utah Arts Festival. … Read more

Utah Arts Festival 2019: Ingra Draper’s contemporary pressed botanicals using flower petals work like paint to create designs

by

Ingra Draper, a Salt Lake City artist (Booth 129), works with contemporary pressed botanicals using flower petals, like paint, to create designs. Draper, who earned a fine arts degree at The University of Utah in lighting design for theater and dance, is among the 177 artists who was invited to participate in this year’s Utah … Read more

Utah Arts Festival 2019: Alkahest Leather from Oregon among newcomers in Artists Marketplace

by

Many artists at the Utah Arts Festival‘s Artist Marketplace have unique stories to relate not only about their art but also about the creative and educational path they took toward becoming artists. Also, many now work full-time as artists. Among the 68 newcomers to this year’s Artist Marketplace, the largest ever for the Utah Arts … Read more