Salt Lake Acting Company presents the Utah premiere of Elephant & Piggie’s “We Are in a Play!” by Mo Willems and Deborah Wicks La Puma—and based on the popular book series by Willems. The production, which marks SLAC’s 13th children’s production created for Utah families and Title I students, will be an exclusively-streaming experience on SLAC Digital from December 26 through January 9. Elephant & Piggie’s “We Are in a Play!” is described as follows:
An elephant named Gerald and a pig named Piggie are best, best, "bestus" ("very best") friends, but Gerald worries that something could go wrong that would end their friendship. Piggie is not worried at all. She's even happier and more excited than usual. That's because she and Gerald are invited to a party hosted by the Squirrelles, three singing squirrels who love to have a good time. And so begins a day when anything is possible!
Get your first look at the production through photographs taken by David Daniels here:
Comprising the cast of Elephant & Piggie's "We Are in a Play!" are Matthew Rudolph as Gerald the Elephant and Wendy Joseph as Piggie. They are joined by Madison Archibald, Talia Heiss, and Eva Merrill as the Squirelles. Joseph returns to SLAC after appearing in #SLACabaret and as part of SLAC's Understudy Program for Four Women Talking About the Man Under the Sheet. Rudolph and Merrill participated in the virtual reading of Daddy Issues in last season's New Play Sounding Series Festival. Archibald and Heiss make their respective SLAC debuts with this production.
Penelope Caywood directs and choreographs Elephant & Piggie; this marks her eleventh Title I Arts Education production for SLAC. Caywood is joined on the creative team by Michael Leavitt (Musical Director), Erik Reichert (Props and Scenic Design), Aaron Swenson (Costume Designer), and Jesse Portillo* (Lighting Design). Kenny Riches returns as the production's film director, having filmed both #SLACabaret and Four Women Talking About the Man Under the Sheet for SLAC Digital. Jennie Sant serves as Production Stage Manager.
Elephant & Piggie’s “We Are in a Play!” is made possible through SLAC’s community partnerships with the David Ross Fetzer Foundation for Emerging Artists (aka The Davey Foundation) and Salt Lake Film Society’s @homeArts. Elephant & Piggie marks the third production professionally filmed by The Davey Foundation’s Kenny Riches and the fifth SLAC production streamed on SLAC Digital, powered by @homeArts.
Tickets for Elephant & Piggie’s “We Are in a Play!” are $10/household for a 48-hour streaming window and can be purchased starting December 20th at SLACDigital.AtHomeArts.org. As previously mentioned, the production will stream December 26—January 9.
Additional inquiries can be directed to SLAC’s Audience Relationship Team by contacting 801-363-7522 or .
*The lighting designer for Elephant & Piggie's "We Are in a Play!" is represented by United Scenic Artists Local USA 829 of the IATSE.
This play was commissioned by and first produced at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. ELEPHANT AND PIGGIE'S WE ARE IN A PLAY is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). Streaming is presented by special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.MTIShows.com
