Introducing the Cast and Creative Team for the World Premiere of Very Like a Whale by Troy Deutsch
Our 55th Season opener, Very Like a Whale by Troy Deutsch, in collaboration with Flying Bobcat Theatrical Laboratory, will be directed by Alexandra Harbold and run in our Upstairs Theatre from September 30th through October 25th, 2026.
The cast of eight includes two newcomers to our stage. Returning to SLAC will be Olivia Custodio (#SLACabaret, Saturday's Voyeur, Streetlight Woodpecker) as Megan, M. Scott McLean* (Murder Ballad) as Chester, Sarah Shippobotham (Can I Say Yes to That Dress?, SLACabaret: Down the Rabbit Hole, Tribes) as Miss Penelope Dickinson, Robert Scott Smith* (Bat Boy: The Musical, SLAC’s Summer Show: The Secret Lives of Real Wives in the Salt Lake Hive & Close Encounters in the Beehive) as Greg, Yolanda Stange* (Harry & Sherri, Four Women Talking About the Man Under the Sheet, Surely Goodness and Mercy) as Old Woman, and Ben Young (You Will Get Sick, Climbing With Tigers) as Old Man. Making their SLAC debuts in the show will be Mack Barr as Sophia and Devoree Ellis* as Max. Kelsie Jepsen* will be the understudy for the role of Megan.
Joining director Alexandra Harbold on the creative team will be Adriana Lemke (Asst. Director/Fight & Intimacy Director), Erik Reichert (Set Designer/Construction Supervisor), Timothy Swenson (Lighting Designer), Cynthia L. Kehr Rees** (Sound Designer), Niamh Helwig (Costume Designer), Arika Schockmel (Props Designer), Bridgette Lehman* (Production Stage Manager), and Cynthia Fleming (Executive Artistic Director).
The Great Salt Lake is disappearing—and so is this family’s sanity. This comedy follows the eccentric Sharp family as they reunite to sell their late father’s lakeside home. Chaos erupts as they’re forced to confront their legacy and the truth that lies beneath the salty water just outside their window.
Tickets are available online or by contacting the Box Office at (801) 363-7522.
From Top Left: Mack Barr, Olivia Custodio, Devoree Ellis*, M. Scott McLean*, Sarah Shippobotham, Robert Scott Smith*, Yolanda Stange*, Ben Young
Meet the Cast
MACK BARR (She/They)
Mack is elated to be a part of her first show at Salt Lake Acting Company. Since finishing her BFA in acting at the University of Utah, she has participated in local short films, including Axxixa, Indigo, and Pussy Gets Bit. Mack has also participated in multiple new play readings of Rachel Bublitz’s Hear Us Roar, and is excited to be working with Rob Scott and Andra once again!
OLIVIA CUSTODIO (She/Her)
Olivia Custodio is an actor, playwright, singer, and arts leader based in Salt Lake City. As a playwright, she has served as the head writer of Salt Lake Acting Company’s Summer Show for the past four years, including this summer’s hit, The Gaslight Zone. Her show with collaborator Kelsie Jepsen, Welcome to Fat School, won Best of Fringe (FFF) at the 2025 Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival. Olivia has been seen on Utah stages in numerous productions and staged readings, and has been lauded as “Utah’s Tina Fey” by Front Row Reviewers, praised for her natural comedic gifts. Favorite roles include The Lady of the Lake in Spamalot, Domina in A Funny Thing Happened..., Eleanor in The Antipodes, and Sue Menger in I’ll Eat You Last. She has her BFA from Carnegie Mellon University in Vocal Performance and her Masters of Music from the University of Utah. OliviaCustodio.com
DEVOREE ELLIS* (She/Her)
Devoree is stoked to be joining the SLAC family, and to be making her professional stage debut! A New York-based actor/writer, she is thrilled to be making progressive art here in Utah, where she spent so many of her formative years! BYU BFA Acting grad. Previous credits include: House of Desires (Doña Ana), Matilda (Matilda), The 39 Steps (Annabella/Pamela/Margaret), Wait Until Dark (Gloria), and The Wizard of Oz (Dorothy), among others. Devoree also trained with the Stella Adler Art of Acting Studio LA (Acting for Film & TV), and at the California State Summer School for the Arts LA (Acting for Stage). Proud bi girlie. She loves birding, crochet, and watching TV - her top four shows are Hacks, Ted Lasso, Gilmore Girls, and The Office - all of which inspired her love of acting & writing for the screen. This show is dedicated to all the people who provided a safe space for her while she lived in Utah. All hail the whale! Devoree.com | @devoree_
M. SCOTT MCLEAN* (He/Him)
Off-Broadway: New York Classical Theatre - ‘Angelo’ in Measure for Measure, ‘Macduff’ in Macbeth, and ‘Willmore’ in The Rover. Regional Theatre: Salt Lake Acting Company, SLC, UT - ‘Michael’ in Murder Ballad, Everyman Theatre, Baltimore, MD - ‘Gabe’ in Dinner With Friends, ‘Michel’ in Murder On The Orient Express; Denver Center Theatre Company, Denver, CO - ‘Fred’ in A Christmas Carol, ‘Happy’ in Death of a Salesman, ‘Mick’ in Grace Or The Art Of Climbing; Merry Go Round Playhouse in Auburn, NY - ‘Emmett’ in Legally Blonde the Musical. Graduate of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, NY (AOS Degree) and The National Theatre Conservatory, CO (MFA Degree).
SARAH SHIPPOBOTHAM (She/They)
Sarah is an actor, dialect coach, intimacy consultant, and Professor in Acting, and Dialects at the University of Utah. Sarah trained as an actor at The Welsh College of Music and Drama in Wales before gaining a Postgraduate Diploma in Voice Studies from Central School of Speech and Drama in London. Acting credits in Utah include: Eleanor Duchess of Gloucester in Henry VI parts 2 and 3; The Duchess of York in Richard III; Lychorida and The Bawd in Pericles; and The Abbess in The Comedy of Errors for The Utah Shakespeare Festival; Beth in Tribes for Salt Lake Acting Company; Mrs. Shears/Mrs. Gascoyne in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Free Newspaper Woman/Ensemble in King Charles III, Anne Putnam and Sarah Good in The Crucible for Pioneer Theatre Company; and The Syringa Tree, an award-winning one-woman show, playing 20 different characters. Dialect/Voice coaching credits include eighteen seasons with the Shaw Festival (Canada), over 25 shows for the Pioneer Theatre Company, and shows for Salt Lake Acting Company including Passing Strange. 2011/12 Sarah spent 7 months in New Zealand working as a Dialect Coach on The Hobbit films.
ROBERT SCOTT SMITH* (He/Him)
Robert Scott Smith* (GREG) Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Flying Bobcat Theatrical Laboratory, Associate Professor and Area Head of the BFA Actor Training Program at the University of Utah. As a professional actor, NYC credits include Kreutzer Sonata (United Solo Festival), Keeping Ishmael (Workshop); Pericles (SLANT); SLC acting credits include Bat Boy, The Secret Lives.., Close Encounters In The Beehive, Sleeping Giant (World Premiere), Saturday’s Voyeur, Climbing with Tigers, Rapture Blister Burn, Good People, Charm (World Premiere); Gold Mountain (Utah Shakespeare Festival); Murder On The Orient Express, Mary Stuart, The Crucible and Two Henrys (PTC); A Streetcar Named Desire, Our Town (The Grand Theatre); and Ice Front (World Premiere), Kreutzer Sonata (World Premiere) and Bash (Plan-B). Film credits include AESOP (Episodic Series), Kill The Babysitter (UK FrightFest 2020), Jewtah, Wildlife (Official Selection Cannes Métrage Selection 2015), Blessing, and Animae.
YOLANDA STANGE* (She/Her)
Yolanda could not be more excited to return home to SLAC’s stage. At SLAC, she has previously appeared as Vera in Hairy & Sherri, Rosetta in Four Women Talking About the Man Under the Sheet, and Bernadette in Surely Goodness and Mercy. Yolanda is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and AEA.
BEN YOUNG (He/Him)
Ben is a graduate of the University of Utah’s Actor Training Program. Previous SLAC Credits include: You Will Get Sick, Climbing With Tigers (in collaboration with Flying Bobcat Theatrical Laboratory), and a staged reading of The Great Salt (in collaboration with emily’s house and SLAC’s Making Space for Artists program). Other credits include: Gruesome Playground Injuries with Wasatch Theatre Company, King Charles III and Mary Stuart with Pioneer Theatre Company, RIVER.SWAMP.CAVE.MOUNTAIN, Presenting: Super Cat and Reptile Robot, Alli and #3, My Brother Was a Vampire, and Eb and Flo with Plan-B Theatre Company, with whom he is currently touring Snail Mail as a part of their statewide Free Elementary School Tour. He gives thanks to Flying Bobcat and SLAC for another invitation to step into weird and wonderful worlds, and to his mother for her continuous support.
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.**Represented by United Scenic Artists Local USA 829 of the IATSE.
