By Kathleen Cahill

FREE READING Monday, April 26th @ 7 pm

Directed by Alexandra Harbold
Company: Michael Behrens, April Fossen, Bijan Hosseini, Deena Marie Manzanares, Melanie Nelson

TWO WOMEN * TWO COUNTRIES * TWO GENERATIONS

The play is both a story told on a Persian carpet and a piece of political history, set in the United States and Iran between 1979 and 2009. In Tehran in 1980, Ann is an American hostage and Shirin, an Iranian revolutionary student, is one of her captors. Thirty years later their daughters, Emily and Azadeh, meet accidentally in an empty classroom at Columbia University during the visit of the Iranian President Ahmadinejad.

PLAYWRIGHT'S NOTE

"I wrote the play, inspired by what is happening in Iran these days- especially what is happening to the women, their passionate heroism, what they've lived through and what they are willing to do in honor of their country. I wanted to remember my life there, when I lived in Iran, more than thirty years ago, to give meaning to my memories and to try to understand what I didn't understand when I was a young woman living there. The play though, isn't a memory. It's a re-evaluation. And it's a question. Actually, it's a lot of questions."

KATHLEEN CAHILL (Playwright)

Ms. Cahill has received many awards for her work, including the Jane Chambers Playwriting Award, a Connecticut Commission on the Arts Playwriting Award (twice), a Massachusetts Artists Foundation Award, a Rockefeller Grant, a National Endowment for the Arts New American Works Grant, and a Drama League Award. Her plays include THE STILL TIME (Georgia Rep/Porchlight Theatre, Chicago), WOMEN WHO LOVE SCIENCE TOO MUCH (Porchlight), HENRI LOUISE AND HENRY (Cleveland Public), SLAM (Plan-B Theatre, UT), and the screenplay DOWNTOWN EXPRESS, a film for David Grubin Productions in NY. With composer Michael Wartofsky she wrote the book and lyrics for THE NAVIGATOR and FRIENDSHIP OF THE SEA; with Deborah Wicks LaPuma she wrote DAKOTA SKY (Olney Theatre), WATER ON THE MOON (Signature Theatre readings), and CAPTIVATED (Kennedy Center New Works Festival). Other musical works include the opera CLARA, FATAL SONG, and A TALE OF TWO CITIES: PARIS AND BERLIN IN THE TWENTIES (all Maryland Center for the Performing Arts).

Coverage from Salt Lake Theater Examiner - Salt Lake Acting Company previews the future with reading of The Persian Quarter

Photo Credit: Shadi Ghadirian, Qajar 1998

SLAC Sparks

Spark noun. a trace or hint | inspiration or catalyst | an ignited or fiery particle, something that sets off a sudden force | anything that serves to animate, kindle, or excite

The Essential Rumi
introduction by Coleman Barks
The ecstatic, spiritual poetry of Rumi

Blood and Oil: A Prince's Memoir of Iran, from the Shah to the Ayatollah by Roxane Farmanfarmaian and Manucher Farmanfarmaian
Iran was the first country in the Middle East to develop an oil industry, and oil has been central to its tumultuous twentieth-century history. A finalist for the PEN/West Award, Blood and Oil tells the epic inside story of the battle for Iranian oil. A prominent member of one of Iran's most powerful aristocratic families--so feared by Khomeini that the entire clan was blacklisted--Prince Manucher Farmanfarmaian was raised in a harem at the heart of Iran's imperial court. With wit and provocative detail, he describes the days when he served as the Shah's oil adviser and pioneered the partnership that resulted in OPEC. Beautifully written and epic in its scope, this scintillating memoir provides a fascinating history of modern Iran.

The Hand of Poetry: Five Mystic Poets of Persia, lectures by Inayat Khan
Poems by five Persian writers are accompanied by a discussion of the poems and the background of each poet

The Ayatollah Begs to Differ by Hooman Majd
The grandson of an eminent ayatollah and the son of an Iranian diplomat, journalist Hooman Majd is uniquely qualified to explain contemporary Iran's complex and misunderstood culture to Western readers.
The Ayatollah Begs to Differ provides an intimate look at a paradoxical country that is both deeply religious and highly cosmopolitan, authoritarian yet informed by a history of democratic and reformist traditions. Majd offers an insightful tour of Iranian culture, introducing fascinating characters from all walks of life, including zealous government officials, tough female cab drivers, and open-minded, reformist ayatollahs. It's an Iran that will surprise readers and challenge Western stereotypes.  In his new preface, Majd discusses the Iranian mood during and after the June 2009 presidential election which set off the largest street protests since the revolution that brought the ayatollahs to power.

Understanding Iran: Everything You Need to Know, from Persia to the Islamic Republic, from Cyrus to Ahmadinejad by William R. Polk
William R. Polk provides an informative, readable history of a country which is moving quickly toward becoming thedominant power and culture of the Middle East. A former member of the State Department’s Policy Planning Council, Polk describes a country and a history misunderstood by many in the West. While Iranians chafe under the yolk of their current leaders, they also have bitter memories of generations of British, Russian and American espionage, invasion, and dominance. There are important lessons to be learned from the past, and Polk teases them out of a long and rich history and shows that it is not just now, but for decades to come that an understanding of Iran will be essential to American safety and well-being.

Persian Mirrors: The Elisive Face of Iran by Elaine Sciolino
As a correspondent for Newsweek and The New York Times, Elaine Sciolino has had more experience covering Iran than any other American reporter. She was aboard the airplane that took Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to Tehran in 1979 and was there for the Iranian revolution, the hostage crisis, the Iran-Iraq war, the rise of President Khatami, and the riots of the summer of 1999. In Persian Mirrors, Sciolino takes us into the public and private spaces of Iran and uncovers an alluring and seductive nation where a great battle is raging -- not for control over territory, but for the soul of its people.

Daughter of Persia: A Woman's Journey From Her Father's Harem Through the Islamic Revolution by Ssattareh Farman Farmaian
As founder in 1958 of the Tehranok/per book School of Social Work, Sattareh naively believed, "If one only avoided politics, one could achieve something constructive." After two decades of humanitarian efforts in Iranian family planning, day care, vocational programs and aid to the poor and prisoners' families, she was arrested in 1979 by Khomeini's machine-gun-toting teenage minions. Branded an "imperialist," she narrowly escaped execution and now lives in the U.S. The 15th of 36 children, Sattareh revered and feared her "all-powerful" father, a prince and governor. This dramatic if restrained autobiography, written with freelancer Munker, describes her patriarchal upbringing and her education at UCLA. She belatedly realized that "keeping our mouths shut let the Shah do what he wanted." Her memoir is actually most effective as a political document. She powerfully condemns the Eisenhower-backed coup that toppled democratic premier Mossadegh and installed ruthless dicatator Reza Shah Pahlavi, whose fascist secret police were trained and financed by the CIA. The Shah's corrupt, unjust regime, she graphically demonstrates, fueled explosive resentment that found an outlet in Khomeini's fanaticism.

All The Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror by Stephen Kinzer
With a thrilling narrative that sheds much light on recent events, this national bestseller brings to life the 1953 CIA coup in Iran that ousted the country's elected prime minister, ushered in a quarter-century of brutal rule under the Shah, and stimulated the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and anti-Americanism in the Middle East. Selected as one of the best books of the year by the Washington Post and The Economist, it now features a new preface by the author on the folly of attacking Iran.

Further reading and links

Shadi Ghadirian's images, featured in 2007 Telegraph interview Confusion in sharp focus
Qajar Gallery

Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books
By Azar Nafisi
Every Thursday morning for two years in the Islamic Republic of Iran, a bold and inspired teacher named Azar Nafisi secretly gathered seven of her most committed female students to read forbidden Western classics. As Islamic morality squads staged arbitrary raids in Tehran, fundamentalists seized hold of the universities, and a blind censor stifled artistic expression, the girls in Azar Nafisi's living room risked removing their veils and immersed themselves in the worlds of Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry James, and Vladimir Nabokov. In this extraordinary memoir, their stories become intertwined with the ones they are reading. Reading Lolita in Tehran is a remarkable exploration of resilience in the face of tyranny and a celebration of the liberating power of literature.

The Complete Persepolis
By Marjane Satrapi
Here, in one volume: Marjane Satrapi's best-selling, internationally acclaimed memoir-in-comic-strips.
Persepolis is the story of Satrapi's unforgettable childhood and coming of age within a large and loving family in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution; of the contradictions between private life and public life in a country plagued by political upheaval; of her high school years in Vienna facing the trials of adolescence far from her family; of her homecoming--both sweet and terrible; and, finally, of her self-imposed exile from her beloved homeland. It is the chronicle of a girlhood and adolescence at once outrageous and familiar, a young life entwined with the history of her country yet filled with the universal trials and joys of growing up.
Edgy, searingly observant, and candid, often heartbreaking but threaded throughout with raw humor and hard-earned wisdom--Persepolis is a stunning work from one of the most highly regarded, singularly talented graphic artists at work today.

Persepolis (Film)

The Ecstatic Faith of Rumi, Speaking of Faith with Krista Tippett on NPR, December 13, 2007 [53:00 audio]

By Keith Reddin

FREE READING Monday, February 15th @ 7 pm

Directed by Alexandra Harbold

Company: Alexis Baigue, Daniel Beecher, Michael Behrens, Daisy Blake, Holly Fowers, Mark Gollaher, Jayne Luke, Tracie Merrill, Nick O'Donnell, Josh Thoemke

Reviews & Coverage

In Utah This Week - Theatre Review 'Prophets of Nature' by Keith Reddin

Playbill.com - Reddin's Prophets of Nature Will Get Reading by Salt Lake Acting Company

SLC Theatre Examiner - Salt Lake Acting Company to offer free reading of Prophets of Nature

SLC Theatre Examiner - The more you know: The Luddites and SLAC's Prophets of Nature

Playwright's Note

"I started writing the play in response to people always calling me a Luddite, not knowing, like most people, the origin of that term. I do not now nor ever have owned a cell phone or BlackBerry. I tell people it's to keep myself free from constantly being reached by people, but must admit there is perhaps a fear of technology altering my universe. Looking up the history of the Luddites, I found it was based more than just fear of technology changing, it had a very real personal effect, the loss of jobs and the start of the Industrial Revolution in England and thus in Western Civilization. The Revolution started in the Midlands and the North, and those factories created social changes, good and bad. Dickens in HARD TIMES writes about how the factories can destroy families as well as create wealth.

Anyway, the more I read and researched, the more I was struck that the Luddites were considered early Terrorists. They used the tactics of modern day terrorists, creating fear and often using violence to fight back. The government suspended many laws and rounded up suspects to fight the fear of the Terrorists. The more you learn about the Luddites the more parallels one finds to today's situation. Very eerie and very exciting. And perhaps because I too fear and distrust much of the technological revolution I found myself relating to, even sympathetic to the Luddites. But they were terorists, who destroyed property and killed people. How could I sympathize with murderers? And yet I was torn. That made me re-examine the terrorists today. As Byron actually said to Parliament, to ignore them or dismiss them is just as dangerous. In order to fight them we must understand the cause for their hate and revenge. That is not to say we can condone their violence, I don't. But we must know them, like the Luddites, to keep our safety and our freedom. To merely fight fear with fear will never completely work. Lots to think about and that's why I think the subject of the Luddite rebellion is so rich and compelling. Maybe it will make a compelling, provocative play."

~ Playwright Keith Reddin

KEITH REDDIN (Playwright) Plays include: LIFE AND LIMB, RUM AND COKE, BIG TIME, NEBRASKA, LIFE DURING WARTIME, BRUTALITY OF FACT, ALMOST BLUE, ALL THE RAGE, FRAME 312, BUT NOT FOR ME, HUMAN ERROR, and THE MISSIONARY POSITION. Adaptations include: BLACK SNOW, THE IMAGINARY INVALID, HEAVEN'S MY DESTINATION, and THE LEES OF HAPPINESS by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Screenplays include: ALL THE RAGE and the cable features THE HEART OF JUSTICE, MILKEN, and BAD GUYS (TNT). His plays have been produced at NY Public Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizons, The Atlantic Theater, NYTW, The Goodman Theatre, LaJolla Playhouse, Yale Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Rep, Woolly Mammoth Theatre and The Donmar Warehouse in London.

Above Right: Engraving of a rioting mob of Luddites, British workers who were opposed to increasing mechanization of jobs, as depicted by 19th Cent. illustrator Phiz (aka Hablot Knight Browne)

Company

ALEXIS BAIGUE(Byron/Thomas) Other credits include: SATURDAY'S VOYEUR '09 (+8), GOODNIGHT DESDEMONA (GOOD MORNING JULIET) (The Salt Lake Acting Co.), THE BOYS IN THE BAND (Wasatch Theatre Co.), BEYOND THERAPY, THE SEX HABITS OF AMERICAN WOMEN (Pygmalion Productions), ANASTASIA (StageRight), SURFIN' SAFARI (Desert Star Playhouse), JACQUES BREL IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS (TheatreWorks West), NO EXIT (Symeon Studio), WIT (Emily Company), DEAR WORLD (Sundance Summer Theatre), SUMMER AND SMOKE, CABARET, RHINOCEROS, QUEEN CHRISTINA, ANTIGONE, THE RIMERS OF ELDRITCH, LOYALTIES (University of Utah), YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU, THE TREE OF LACE (Salt Lake Community College), staged readings of MOTHER COLLEGE, THE LIVELY LAD, BUNBURY, THE CANCER DIARIES, CHARM (S.L.A.C.'s New Play Sounding Series), THE UNDERPANTS, THE VIOLET HOUR, THE LAST SUNDAY IN JUNE, MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE (Utah Contemporary Theatre), WISH UPON, BOX KITE (Avalon Isle), RECTUM! (hosted by First Unitarian Church & S.L.A.C.) plus television, radio ads, and cinema, including THE VAPID LOVELIES (2009 Slamdance and Inside Out Toronto Film Festivals). The readers of Q Salt Lake voted him "Most Faaabulous Actor".

DANIEL BEECHER(William/Coldham/Davids/Park) Daniel Beecher is happy to be returning to SLAC, where he was last seen in this season's THE CARETAKER. Also at SLAC, he's done several readings and played Antoine in An Empty Plate in the AN EMPTY PLATE IN THE CAFÉ DU GRANDE BOEUF. Dan attended the University of Utah's Actor Training Program. While at the U, Dan played John in SUMMER AND SMOKE, Bassanio in MERCHANT OF VENICE, Carl Magnus in A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, Snug in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, and what feels like innumerable other parts, mostly in the Babcock Theater. Elsewhere around town, Dan has been seen in A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE, ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD, KING LEAR, MACBETH, THE THREE MUSKETEERS, and PETER PAN (in which he played Nana the dog and the crocodile- favorites) at Pioneer Theatre Company. He played Orlando in AS YOU LIKE IT, Tybalt in ROMEO AND JULIET, Sebastian in TWELFTH NIGHT, and Banquo and Macduff in MACBETH all at Salt Lake Shakespeare. Other local credits include ROMEO AND JULIET at Pinnacle Acting Co, and DIRTY BLONDE with Utah Contemporary Theatre. Outside of Utah, Dan studied at the Chautauqua Institution in New York, where he played Orsino in TWELFTH NIGHT, and several parts in THE DINING ROOM. Film and television credits include Incident at DARK RIVER with Helen Hunt and Mike Farrell, and several independent films including VAPID LOVELIES, which he helped write and associate produced, and which has been accepted into several film festivals internationally.

MICHAEL BEHRENS(Robert/Fitzroy/Weaver) Michael is very happy to be returning to SLAC. Previous SLAC appearances have been as Tom in SIX YEARS, Michael in ROUNDING THIRD, Jaisu in POLISH JOKE and Bill in LOBBY HERO, as well as two SATURDAY'S VOYEURS. You may have seen him in PRIDE & PREJUDICE at Pioneer Theatre Company as well as HENRY V, THREE MUSKETEERS, COMEDY OF ERRORS, PEER GYNT, ST. JOAN and THE MISER. Other favorite roles include Hamlet for TheaterWorks West, Lloyd in NOISES OFF, Sydney in LIGHT UP THE SKY, Froggy in THE FOREIGNER, Jane/Lord Edgar in THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP, Durdles in THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD, and Clotaldo in LIFE IS A DREAM all for Creede Repertory Theater. Michael can be seen and heard in countless radio and television spots as well as film. Michael is a graduate of The University of Utah's Actor Training Program and is a proud member of the Actor's Equity Association.

DAISY BLAKE (Gwen) Daisy Blake is thrilled to be part of this reading of Keith Reddin's PROPHETS OF NATURE. As an actress, her plays include POLISH JOKE, HOLD PLEASE and BIG LOVE with Salt Lake Acting Company, STOP KISS, LIVING OUT and POPCORN with Pygmalion Productions, TALKING WALES I and II with Utah Contemporary Theatre and Kate in THE TAMING OF THE SHREW with Salt Lake Shakespeare. She's also appeared in a couple of SLAMs for Plan-B Theatre and has directed a piece in Student SLAM as well as co-directing the first Project Fabulocity with Tooth and Nail Theatre. She also teaches classes at Theatre Arts Conservatory. Other acting work includes voicing Dandelion in the XBox 360 game Amped 3 as well as other video games, commercials and short films. Daisy has a drama degree from Bristol University in England and works in communications and audience development at Salt Lake Acting Company.

MARK GOLLAHER(Ryder/Noble/Fitzwilliams/Bailey) Mark Gollager is excited to be working at Salt Lake Acting Company again, where he played Charles in THE CLEAN HOUSE, Peter Woodburn in ICE GLEN, and has appeared in BEAST ON THE MOON, INCORRUPTIBLE and F.F. THE BRONTES. Some of Mark's other roles include: Harold hill in THE MUSIC MAN and Captain Hook in PETER PAN at the Egyptian Theatre Company, Lumiere in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and The Lion in THE WIZARD OF OZ at Tuchacan, and Hamlet in HAMLET, Bobby in COMPANY, Eilert Luvborg in HEDDA GABLER at the Rose Wagner. He has also worked in many productions at Pioneer Theatre Company including: EVITA, MACBETH, JULIUS CAESAR and CYRANO DE BERGERAC. Mark has also performed with the Utah Symphony narrating PETER AND THE WOLF, RUMPLESTILTSKIN, and Limmony Snicket's THE COMPOSER IS DEAD AND wrote, directed and performed two dramatized concerts based on the lives of Beethoven and Brahms. Aside from acting, Mark works as the Art Specialist at Cottonwood Elementary, and freelances as a professional storyteller and illustrator. 

JAYNE LUKE (Charlotte/Mrs. Noble/Drake) is so happy to be returning to SLAC this spring in the premiere of Kathleen Cahill's CHARM. Other appearances at SLAC were in BOY, SATURDAY'S VOYEUR '04 and '05, KIMBERLY AKIMBO, BIG LOVE, BEARD ON AVON and WHITE MONEY. She has also appeared at the Hale Center Theater in Orem in OVER THE RIVER, the Grand Theater in TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL, Pioneer Theatre Company in THE PRODUCERS, the Egyptian Theatre in CABARET, and played the role of Ruth in Plan-B Theatre Company's production of FACING EAST which was performed at the Rose Wagner in SLC, Theatre Rhinoceros in San Francisco and Off-Broadway at Atlantic Stage Two in New York City. Jayne is the Artistic Director of Walk-On, Inc. which produces the Senior Theatre Project that tours plays for, by and about seniors to community and senior centers and residential facilities in Utah.

TRACIE MERRILL (Anne/Walker) Tracie has performed locally as well as regionally, including various Shakespeare companies.  Salt Lake credits include Plan-B's SLAM and DI ESPERIENZA, SLAC's ICE GLEN, an early rendition of POETRY OF INTERIORS and Hale Centre Theatre's RAINMAKER.  Other favorites include Rosalind (AS YOU LIKE IT), Aphrodite/Psyche (METAMORPHOSES) and Marquise Therese (LA BÊTE).  A proud member of AEA, Tracie has an MFA from UT-Knoxville, a diploma from Weber-Douglas Academy, London and a BA from UNC-CH.

NICK O'DONNELL (Prince Regent/Gaskill) is thrilled to be working with Salt Lake Acting Company again for this reading of PROPHETS OF NATURE. Last season, he doubled as Stephen Hawking and Jesus in END DAYS and Buisson and Verbeek in THE OVERWHELMING. Nick has also done stints at the Pioneer (JULIUS CAESAR) and Plan B (SLAM '08). A graduate of Carleton College, Nick worked in Minnesota with the Children's Theater Co., Theatre de la Juene Lune, Frank Theater and the Jungle Theater.  In the Northwest, Nick performed with Seattle Shakespeare Co., Wooden O, Book-It Rep, Montana Shakespeare in the Parks and Seattle Children's Theater. When not taking care of his 2-year-old daughter, he had been caught writing a travel guidebook on NYC & designing theater posters. Nick recently started work on a Psychology PhD at the U, examining storytelling and moral development.

JOSH THOEMKE(Hammond/Compton) Josh Thoemke received his BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University prior to relocating to the West coast. There he became a founding member of the award winning Theatre Banshee, and could be seen on assorted, canceled television series. He could also be heard as the voice of Dark Adventure Radio Theater. Having performed on both the East and West coasts, Josh has made the natural progression to the Inner Mountain West, where he recently made his Salt Lake City debut in Meat & Potatoes' production, SHADOWS OF THE BAKEMONO.

HOLLY FOWERS (Reader) Holly has performed locally in ELEEMOSYNARY and ROMEO AND JULIET with Pinnacle Acting Company, and SEARCHING FOR DAVID'S HEART with the new Shalom Theatre Company. She also recently wrote and performed a piece called "This May Take Many Clicks" with Dance Theatre Coalition as part of the Eve Celebration at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center. Some of Holly's Seattle credits include CLOUD NINE, OEDIPUS, MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR, EDUCATING RITA and MACBETH. She is very happy to be a part of this reading.

ALEXANDRA HARBOLD (Director) At Salt Lake Acting Company, Harbold acted in SIX YEARS and ICE GLEN and is a member of SLAC's Communications & Audience Development team.  Recent directing credits include THREE DAYS OF RAIN, RABBIT HOLE, ROMEO & JULIET (Pinnacle Acting Company), BLACK AND WHITE (Plan-B Theatre's 2009 And the Banned Slammed On) and POETRY OF INTERIORS (Dance Theatre Coalition's Proving Ground Concert).  She is currently participating in Plan-B and Meat & Potato Theatres' Directors' Lab.  Upcoming projects include directing Script-in-Hand Series readings of new plays by Elaine Jarvik and Matthew Ivan Bennett, UCT's reading of Kurt Proctor's THE TURQUOISE WIND, and for Plan-B's 2010 And the Banned Slammed On.

by Tim Slover

Principally because of her extraordinarily beautiful music, the passionate and iconoclastic mystic Hildegard is almost as well known today as she was in her own 12th Century. Then, she was famous throughout Europe for her visions, the only woman to have her writings read aloud in synod by the Pope, himself. Hildegard is preparing to complete her book of revelations and present it to the Holy See when a penitent named Richardis arrives at her monastery and profoundly disrupts her world. VIRTUE tells the story of what happened.

Tim Slover (Playwright)

Tim Slover's plays have been produced off-Broadway and in professional regional and university theatres all over the US and in Canada. The Fulton Theatre in Lancaster, PA, commissioned and premiered two of Tim’s plays, TREASURE (2004) and LIGHTNING ROD (2006). In 2006 he was appointed writer-in-residence at nearby Franklin & Marshall College. In the fall of 2008 his play, JOYFUL NOISE, received a staged reading at the Hampstead Theatre’s Michael Frayn Space in London. DESPISED, his screenplay of JOYFUL NOISE, is optioned by Slickrock Films. His new eight-part radio drama, THE CHRISTMAS CHRONICLES, will air December 2009 on KBYU FM.

Tim’s writing awards include the Grand Prize, 65th Annual Writers Digest Writers Awards; the Christopher Brian Wolk Award for Playwriting Excellence (Abingdon Theatre); a Cine Golden Eagle; a Freedoms Foundation George Washington Honor Medal; and a Hopwood Award for Best Play. His plays are published by the Samuel French Co. and Encore Performance Publishing; other of his writing has appeared in the National Biography of American Theatre, Sunstone Magazine, and been published by Signature Books and Silverleaf Press.

VIRTUE was written in association with the Penn State University School of Theatre, and further developed in the New Plays Workshop of the University of Utah’s Department of Theatre and writers groups in Salt Lake City and Provo. (Thank you, everyone!)

VIRTUE was given a staged reading in London last June as part of the Arch 468 Propects Series. Tim is an associate professor in the Department of Theatre at the University of Utah.

Cast

• Peder Melhuse (Director)
• Amy Caudill (Stage Manager)
• Sarah Shippobotham (HILDEGARD)
• Peder Melhuse (CUNO)
• Kurt Proctor (VOLMAR)
• Natalie Blackman (RICHARDIS)

VIRTUE Playwright's Note

I first became aware of Hildegard through the transcendant vocal music which she claimed came to her, along with the rest of her visions, directly from the "Living Light," an avatar of God. If you listen to the cd which I heard first, A Feather on the Breath of God (Hyperion), you can decide for yourself whether or not she was telling the truth. Intrigued—more like intoxicated—I sought out her writings and accounts of her life. Two books stood out: Hildegard of Bingen: the Woman of Her Age, by Fiona Maddocks (Doubleday), and a particularly lovely translation of some of her writing (including Scivias, which is important to the story told in VIRTUE), Hildegard of Bingen: a Spiritual Reader, by Carmen Acevedo Butcher (Paraclete Press). In both books, Hildegard seemed so present, as though she had a foot in the 12th Century and a foot in our own time. Yes, she wrote recondite visions, difficult to appreciate in our day, but she also penned books of herbal medicine (for which the New Agers fervently claim her) and midwifery. And I loved her story: enclosed as an anchorite at the age of seven, freed from her cell and made a prioress of young women by thirty, a reluctant but eventually prolific visionary all her life.

It was the visions that mattered most. They compelled her towards heterodoxy, even iconoclasm, as they led her towards doctrine and practice unique in her, perhaps any, day. Women in monasteries, she learned from the Living Light, were Queens of Heaven, and they should look like it; so she dressed her nuns in white robes and gold jewelry; she took off their veils and adorned their heads with gold crowns. Music, she learned, was the speech of angels. So she wrote the world’s first opera, as well as its first morality play: The Play of the Virtues ("Ordo Virtutum"). Greenness ("viriditas") was what God loved best, she was told by her celestial muse, and so she praised fecundity in all its forms. As Thomas Cahill points out in his excellent Mysteries of the Middle Ages (Anchor Books), Hildegard was "no prude, and she makes no attempt to mask or excuse the sex and violence that inhabit her" (p. 96).

No wonder then that Hildegard’s human interactions were somewhat fraught. Imagine being the unfortunate man who tried to channel and control her talents, as her abbot, Cuno, did. (In a letter to him, she once accused him of being "a busybody, digging in the private business of others.") How would it have been to be Volmar, the faithful monk who worked alongside her for decades, taking down the visions she received and transliterating them into a Latin more elegant than she possessed? One account of his life speaks of a moral struggle he had early in his career with Hildegard. Was he in love with her, or did he want to strangle her? Or both?

But most fraught of all was her relationship with a young aristocrat named Richardis, who came to her monastery of St. Disibod and shook her profoundly. A vision Hildegard received soon after her arrival speaks of "a beautiful girl, bareheaded, with dark hair wearing a red tunic that flowed about her feet": in the vision this is Ecclesia, the Church, but it is also clearly this bewitching girl. And in the Ordo, Richardis gets translated again, this time into Anima, the Soul of mankind. When the young novitiate was forcibly taken from her, Hildegard’s heart broke, and she prosecuted a letter-writing campaign of pain and outrage which even reached the Pope. To Richardis, herself, Hildegard wrote of her distress "because of my love for a certain noble individual.… Now let all who have grief like mine mourn with me, all who have had such great love in their hearts and minds for a person as I have had for you." A love letter, surely.

Piety and passion, profound spirituality coupled with unabashed sensuality, a love for the Church and an absolute commitment to the searing personal visions which led her away from some of its doctrines: these are the paradoxical hallmarks of this remarkable medieval woman. For all those on a spiritual quest in our own difficult age, hers is not a bad star by which to steer.

Reading & listening recommendations from VIRTUE Playwright Tim Slover

• A Feather on the Breath of God (Hyperion Records)
• Hildegard of Bingen: the Woman of Her Age by Fiona Maddocks (Random House, Inc., 2003)
• Sciviasby Hildegard von Bingen, Translated by Columba Hart, Jane Bishop (Paulist Press, 1990)
• Hildegard Von Bingen's Mystical Visions: Translated from "Scivias" by Hildegard von Bingen, Translated by Bruce Hozeski (Bear & Company, 1995)
• Hildegard of Bingen: a Spiritual Reader by Carmen Acevedo Butcher (Paraclete Press, 2007).
• Ordo Virtutum (Order of the Virtues)
• Ordo Virtutum recording by Sequentia
• Mysteries of the Middle Ages by Thomas Cahill (Random House, 2008)
• The Life and Works of Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) 

Julie Jensen is currently working on an adaptation of MOCKINGBIRD by Kathryn Erskine for the Kennedy Center's Theatre for Young Audiences. The story follows, Caitlin a young girl with Asperger's Syndrome as she copes with a chaotic world and the death of her brother. The play is part of their Page-to-Stage Festival, and will be workshopped at Weber State University with Director Tracy Callahan in spring 2014. MOCKINGBIRD is expected to reach full production at the Kennedy Center in late 2014. 

Julie is also the recipient of the Kennedy Center Award for New American Plays for WHITE MONEY, the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Work for The Lost Vegas Series, and the LA Weekly Award for Best New Play for TWO-HEADED. She has received the McKnight National Playwriting Fellowship for WAIT!, the TCG/NEA Playwriting Residency for WAIT!, and a major grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts for DUST EATERS. She has won the Mill Mountain Theatre Playwriting Competition three times for TENDER HOOKS, LAST LISTS OF MY MAD MOTHER and TWO-HEADED. Her play, TWO-HEADED, was included in the volume Best Plays by Women, 2000, and she has twice been nominated by the American Theatre Critics Association for the Steinberg Award for the best new play produced outside of New York for LAST LISTS OF MY MAD MOTHER and DUST EATERS. She was twice a finalist for the PEN USA Award in Playwriting for TWO-HEADED and DUST EATERS, and her play, BILLION DOLLAR BABY received the New American Plays Award from the Edgerton Foundation.

Her most recent play, SHE WAS MY BROTHER, premiered at Borderlands Theatre in Tucson and was produced this season at Plan-B Theatre in Salt Lake City. She just finished THE HARVEY GIRLS, commissioned by Penn State University and Dramatic Publishing. It has just been published by Dramatic. Her play for young people, ACROSS THE WIDE AND LONESOME PRAIRIE, was produced this season by Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey. Her playwriting book, Playwriting, Brief and Brilliant, is published by Smith and Kraus. An excerpt of WAITING was published in Latter-Gay Saints by Sunstone Publishing.

Jensen is a frequent speaker and workshop coordinator. In the last three years, she has conducted masterclasses for the winning playwrights at American College Theatre Festival at Kennedy Center. She also addressed the playwrights last at the Missoula Colony and at the Region 8 and Region 5 ACTF. For two years she has taught the playwriting intensive at Kennedy Center.

Her work has been produced in London, Hamburg and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as well as in this country in New York and theatres nationwide. She has been commissioned by Mark Taper Forum, ASK Theatre Projects, Kennedy Center, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Salt Lake Acting Company, Geva Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Penn State University, and Dramatic Publishing. Her work is published by Dramatic Publishing, Dramatists Play Service, Playscripts, Inc., and Smith and Kraus.

She is Resident Playwright at Salt Lake Acting Company and Regional Representative for the Dramatists Guild.

Professional Activities

2012

• Regional Representative, Annual Meeting of Regional Reps, Dramatists Guild of America, New York, NY, February 2012.
• New Play Respondent, KCACTF, Region VIII, Ogden, UT, February 2012.
• Workshop Director, "The Business of the Business: Playwrights Market Their Work," KCACTF, Region VIII, Ogden, UT, February 2012.
• Interviewer, David Auburn, KCACTF, Region VIII, Ogden, UT, February 2012.
• Honored Guest, Retrospective of a Career, including a production of TWO-HEADED, an evening of scenes from other work, and a panel discussion, April 2012.
• Panel Member, "Writing the Ten-Minute Play," with David Ives as Chair, Dramatists Guild of America, Video Archive, April 2012.
• Elected Board Member and Secretary, College of Fellows of the American Theatre, Washington, DC, April 2012.
• Playwright, THE HILARY WITHIN, short play, commissioned by Baltimore, Centerstage, Baltimore, MD, April 2012.
• Playwright, PUBLIC HUMILIATION, short play, Plan-B Theatre, Salt Lake City, UT, May 2012.
• Playwright, LAST LISTS OF MY MAD MOTHER, Studio 620, WMNF, NPR Radio, St. Petersburg, FL, May 2012.
• Professional Faculty, Summer Intensive, "Playwrights Write for the Screen," University of Nevada at Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, June 2012.
• Convener, Dramatists Guild of America, Utah Region, Salt Lake City, UT, June 2012.
• Playwright, TWO-HEADED, Rose Theatre, Bankside, London, England, July 2012.
• Commissioned Playwright, MOCKINGBIRD, adaptation of a novel, Kennedy Center, Washington, DC, 2012.

2011

• Regional Representative, Annual Meeting of Regional Reps, Dramatists Guild of America, New York, NY, February 2011.
• Workshop Director, "Writing the Impermissible," Ninth Floor Playwrights Group, New York, NY, February 2011.
• New Play Respondent, KCACTF, Region V, Aimes, Iowa, February, 2011.
• Workshop Director, "The Business of the Business: Playwrights Market Their Work," KCACTF, Region V, Aimes, Iowa, February 2011.
• Workshop Director, "Writing the Impermissible," KCACTF, National Festival, Washington, DC, April 2011.
• Attendee, College of Fellows of the American Theatre, Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, April 2011.
• Playwright, PLAY ON THE MOON, a short play, Plan-B Theatre, Salt Lake City, UT, May 2011.
• Dramaturg, Native Voices Theatre, Summer Workshop, "The Woman Who Was Chased by Ghosts," San Diego, CA, May 2011.
• Panel Chair, Dramatists Guild of America, Annual Conference, "The Art of Adaptation," with Marsha Norman and Doug Wright, Alexandria, VA, June 2011.
• Interviewer, Dramatists Guild of America, Annual Conference, "Writing Webisodes," with Susan Miller, Alexandria, VA, June 2011.
• Panel Member, Theatre Communications Group, Annual Conference, "Beyond the Reading: Strategies for New Play Development." Los Angeles, CA, June 2011.
• Honored Guest, Utah Shakespeare Festival, 50th Anniversary Celebration, as member of first company, Cedar City, UT, July 2011.
• Professional Faculty, Kennedy Center Playwrights' Intensive, Washington, D.C., July 2011.
• Convener, Dramatists Guild of America, Utah Region, Salt Lake City, UT, August 2011.
• Playwright, LAST LISTS OF MY MAD MOTHER, Pygmalion Theatre, Salt Lake City, UT, October and November 2011.
• Playwright, ACROSS THE WIDE AND LONESOME PRAIRIE, Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, Morristown, NJ, November 2011.

2010

• Director of Workshop on Playwriting and served as National Respondent to New Work, American College Theatre Festival, Region VIII, St. George, UT, February 2010.
• Playwright of commissioned play THE HARVEY GIRLS,  Cultural Conversations Festival, Penn State University, State College, PA, March 1010.
• Lectured on “Living the Artist’s LIfe,” to Award Winning Playwrights,  American College Theatre Festival, National Conference, Kennedy Center, Washington, DC, April 2010.
• Final judge for Paula Vogel Playwriting Award, American College Theatre Festival, Kennedy Center, Washington, DC, 2010.
• Playwright of production of short play, THE BROWN SHOES, Playwrights Slam, Plan-B Theatre, Salt Lake City, UT, May 2010.
• Published short play, THE BROWN SHOES in TEN 10 MINUTE PLAYS, Volume III, edited by Walter Wykes, Black Box Press, Arlington, TX, 2010.  
• Dramaturged ON THE MANGLED BEAM, Native Voices Theatre, Summer Workshop, San Diego, CA, June 2010.
• Taught week-long seminar on playwriting, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las  Vegas, NV, June 2010.
• Published article “Making a Career as a Playwright Outside New York,” THE DRAMATIST, July/August 2010, pp. 24-27. 
• Taught week-long Playwriting Intensive, Kennedy Center, Washington, DC, July, 2010.
• Playwright for reading of THE HARVEY GIRLS, Fearless Fringe Festival, Salt Lake Acting Company, August 2010.
• Published THE HARVEY GIRLS, Dramatic Publishing, Woodstock, IL, 2010.
• Playwright of production of SHE WAS MY BROTHER, Plan-B Theatre, Salt Lake City, UT, October/November 2010.
• Received unanimously enthusiastic reviews.
• Playwright of production of ACROSS THE WIDE AND LONESOME PRAIRIE, Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, Madison, NJ, November/December 2010.
  > Received unanimously enthusiastic reviews.
• Chair of the Selection Committee, Native Voices Theatre Playwriting Competition, 2010.  
• Wrote chapter for the book, PLAYWRITING MASTER CLASS, Second Edition, by Michael Wright, Chapter Seven: Julie Jensen, Give Us This Day, pp. 295-325.  Focus Publishing, Newburyport, MA.  2010. 
• Named Regional Representative, The Dramatists Guild, New York, NY.
• Completed prose manuscript of MARGO AND ME: A MEMOIR.

2009-2010 fiscal year

London, England. (summer, 2009.)

• Production of TWO-HEADED.

Frankfort, Germany. (summer, 2009)

• Production of LAST LISTS OF MY MAD MOTHER.

Missoula Colony, Missoula, MT. (summer, 2009)

• Keynote address: "Marketing New Work in Hard Times."
• Reading of SHE WAS MY BROTHER.

Borderlands Theatre, Tucson, AZ. (fall, 2009)

• Production of SHE WAS MY BROTHER.

Penn State University, State College, PA. (fall, 2009)

• Workshop of THE HARVEY GIRLS.

Native Voices Theatre, Los Angeles, CA. (winter, 2009)

• Member of judging panel for playwriting competition.

American College Theatre Festival, Region 8, St. George, UT. (winter, 2010)

• Lecture: "Making a Playwright's Career Outside New York."
• National Respondent to New Work.

Penn State University, State College, PA. (spring, 2010)

• Workshop and public reading of THE HARVEY GIRLS.

American College Theatre Festival, National, Kennedy Center, Washington, DC. (spring, 2010)

• Final judge for Paula Vogel Playwriting Competition.
• Speech to award winning playwrights: "Living the Artist's Life [in hard times]."

College of Fellows of the American Theatre, Washington, DC. (spring, 2010)

• Attended annual meetings.
• Conducted archival interview with playwright, Jerry Crawford.

Dramatic Publishing, Woodstock, IL. (summer, 2010, forthcoming)

• Publication of THE HARVEY GIRLS

Native Voices, San Diego, CA. (summer, 2010, forthcoming)

• Dramaturg for a play being developed for a Festival of Native American writing.

University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV. (summer, 2010, forthcoming)

• Guest professional for week-long writing workshop "Turning Your Play into a Screenplay."

Kennedy Center, Washington, DC. (summer, 2010, forthcoming)

• Conductor, week-long Playwriting Intensive.

Playwrighting Resume

Agent | Susan Gurman

245 West 99th Street, #24 | New York, NY 10025
Tel 212.749.4618

EM & ME. [in preparation]

MOCKINGBIRD. [Adaptation of a novel commissioned by Kennedy Center]

THE HILLARY WITHIN. [Short play commissioned by Baltimore Centerstage]

• Centerstage, Baltimore, MD, 2012.

SHE WAS MY BROTHER. [Commissioned by Salt Lake Acting Company]

• Plan-B Theatre, Salt Lake City, UT, Fall, 2010.
  > Unanimously positive reviews.
  > Named one of the best plays of the year by SLC press.
• Borderlands Theatre, Tucson, AZ, Fall 2009.
• Workshop, Missoula Colony, Missoula, MT, Summer 2009.
• Workshop, Salt Lake Acting Company, Salt Lake City, UT, Spring 2009.
• Workshop, Kennedy Center, Washington, DC, Fall 2008.
• Workshop, Playwrights' Center, Minneapolis, MN, Fall 2008.

THE HARVEY GIRLS. [Commissioned by Penn State University and Dramatic Publishing]

• Fearless Fringe Festival, Salt Lake Acting Company, Salt Lake City, UT, Summer 2010.
• Published by Dramatic Publishing.

PLAYWRITING: BRIEF AND BRILLIANT. [A book on playwriting]

• Published by Smith and Kraus, Spring 2008.
  > Feature article/review in American Theatre.

BILLION DOLLAR BABY. [Recipient of the Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Award]

• Salt Lake Acting Company, Salt Lake City, UT, Winter 2007.
• Idaho Repertory Theatre and University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, Winter 2007. [A workshop production featuring Patty Duke.]

LION TONGUE and DON'T TALK, DON'T SEE. [Short plays commissioned by Actors Theatre of Louisville]

• Humana Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Louisville, KY, Spring 2006.
• Published in HUMANA FESTIVAL 2006, THE COMPLETE PLAYS, Smith and Kraus.
• Published in NEON MIRAGE, Playscripts, Inc.

WATER TURN. [Short play commissioned by Salt Lake Acting Company]

• Salt Lake Acting Company, Salt Lake City, UT, Spring 2006.
• Finalist for Humana Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Louisville, KY, 2007.

DUST EATERS. [Written with the support of a major grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts]

• Lincoln Square Theatre, Chicago, IL, Fall 2008
• Borderlands Theatre, Tucson, AZ, Fall 2007.
• Salt Lake Acting Company, Salt Lake City, UT, Spring 2005.
  > Nominated by American Theatre Critics Association for the Steinberg Award, for the best new play produced outside New York.
  > Finalist for the PEN USA Award in Drama.
• Published by Dramatic Publishing Company.

WAIT! [Commissioned by Salt Lake Acting Company; supported by NEA/TCG Residency Grant; the McKnight National Playwriting Fellowship from Playwrights' Center, Minneapolis; and Women's Theatre Festival, Seattle, WA]

• Perseverance Theatre, Juneau, AK, Spring 2004.
• Catalyst Theatre, Philadelphia, PA, Spring 2004.
• Cleveland Public Theatre, Cleveland, OH, Fall 2003.
  > Named one of the ten best plays of the year, Cleveland Plain Dealer and Cleveland Scene.
• Salt Lake Acting Company, Salt Lake City, UT, Spring 2003.
• Published by Dramatic Publishing Company.

ACROSS THE WIDE AND LONESOME PRAIRIE. [Play for young people, commissioned by Kennedy Center]

• Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, Madison, NJ, Fall 2010.
• Kennedy Center, Public School Tour, Washington, DC, Spring 2003.

ON LINCOLN'S HEAD. [Short play, commissioned by Actors Theatre of Louisville]

• Humana Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Louisville, KY, Spring 2002.
• Published in HUMANA FESTIVAL 2002, THE COMPLETE PLAYS, Smith and Kraus.
• Published in SNAPSHOT, Playscripts, Inc.

WATER LILIES. [Short play, commissioned by Salt Lake Acting Company for the Olympics]

• Salt Lake Acting Company, Salt Lake City, UT, 2002.
• Published in CABBIES, COWBOYS, AND TREE OF THE WEEPING VIRGIN, plays by Utah Writers.
• Excerpted and published in MONOLOGUES FOR WOMEN BY WOMEN, Heinemann.
• Published in 35 IN 10: THIRTY-FIVE TEN-MINUTE PLAYS, Dramatic Publishing Company.

CHEAT. [Commissioned by Geva Theatre, Rochester, NY]

• Pygmalion Theatre, Salt Lake City, UT, 2013. [forthcoming]
• Detroit Repertory Theatre, Detroit, MI, 2003.
• Women's Project and Productions, New York City, NY, 2002.
• Key West Theatre Festival, Key West, FL, 200l.

TWO-HEADED. [Commissioned by ASK Theatre Projects, Los Angeles, CA]

• Rose Theatre, Bankside, London, England, 2012.
• Black Cat Theatre, St. Louis, MO, 2008.
  > Nominated for Best Actress, Kevin Kline Awards.
• Berkshire Theatre Festival, Stockbridge, MA, 2007.
• TitleWAVE Theatre and Cleveland Public Theatre, Cleveland, OH, 2007.
• East Lynne Theatre, Cape May, NJ, 2006.
• Washington Shakespeare Theatre, Washington, DC, 2006.
  > Named one of the best productions of the year by Washington press.
• In preparation for an independent film.
• Anson Ford Theatre, Hot Properties Series, Los Angeles, CA, 200l.
  > Nominated for three Ovation Awards, 2002.
  > Nominated for five LA Weekly Awards, winner of three, including best play.
• Women's Project and Productions, New York, NY, 2000.
  > Outstanding reviews from all New York press.
• Salt Lake Acting Company, Salt Lake City, UT, 2000.
• Winner of the Mill Mountain Playwriting Competition.
• Published by Dramatic Publishing Company.
• Published in THE BEST PLAYS BY WOMEN, 2000, Smith and Kraus.

LAST LISTS OF MY MAD MOTHER. [Commissioned by Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles, CA]

• Studio 620, WMNF Radio, St. Petersburg, FL, 2012.
• Pygmalion Theatre, Salt Lake City, UT, 2011.
• Off the Fringe Festival, Fort Worth, TX, 2009.
• Studio Theatre, Phoenix, AZ, 2007.
• Luna Stage, Montclair, NJ, 200l, directed by Olympia Dukakis.
• ShenanArts, Staunton, VA, 2000.
• Hudson Guild Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, 2000.
  > Ran for five months, run extended several times.
• Theatre Festival Fringe, Edinburgh, Scotland, l999.
• TheatreWorks, Hartford, CN, l998.
• Salt Lake Acting Company, Salt Lake City, UT, l997.
  > Nominated by American Theatre Critics Association for best new play produced outside New York.
• Key West Theatre Festival, Key West, FL, l997.
• Mill Mountain Theatre, Roanoke, VA, l997.
• Published by Dramatic Publishing Company, also translated into Flemish.

THE LOST VEGAS SERIES.

• Minneapolis Fringe Festival, Minneapolis, MN, 2004.
• Nomad Theatre, London, England, l998.
• Asylum Theatre, Las Vegas, NV, l998.
• Zebra Crossing Theatre, Chicago, IL, l996.
  > Winner of the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Work.

WHITE MONEY. [Commissioned by Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia, PA]

• Splitting Image Theatre Company, Baltimore, MD, l994.
• Powerhouse Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, l993.
  > Nominated for Best Play of the year by LA Weekly.
• Source Theatre, Washington, DC, l992.
• Mill Mountain Theatre, Roanoke, VA, l992.
• Actors Theatre of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, l99l.
• Salt Lake Acting Company, Salt Lake City, UT, l99l.
  > Winner of Kennedy Center Award from the Fund for New American Plays.
• Published by Theatre Communications Group, Plays in Process Series.

THURSDAY'S CHILD.

• Reading, Playwrights Horizons, New York, NY, with Kathy Bates, 1988.
• Capital Rep, Albany, NY, l988.

STRAY DOGS.

• Independent film, 2001, available on video.
• Profiles Theatre, Chicago, IL, 2000.
  > Nominated for five Joseph Jefferson Awards.
• Arena Stage, Washington, DC, l986, directed by James Nicola.
  > Winner of CBS/Dramatists Guild Playwriting Competition.
  > Nominated for Helen Hayes Award.
• Published by Dramatists Play Service.

AWARDS AND PRIZES.

• Regional Representative, Dramatists Guild of America.
• Professional Faculty, Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, Region V, Region VIII (twice).
• Professional Faculty, Kennedy Center Playwriting Intensive. (2011, 2010)
• Keynote address to colony members, Missoula Colony, Missoula, MT.
• Professional Faculty, Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, National Festival, Washington, D.C. (2011, 2010, 2009)
• Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Award for BILLION DOLLAR BABY.
• Finalist for PEN USA Award in Drama for DUST EATERS.
• Core Membership in Playwrights' Center, Minneapolis, MN.
• Pew Charitable Trusts Residency Grant at Salt Lake Acting Company.
• Election to College of Fellows of the American Theatre. (Now member of the Board and Secretary.)
• TCG/NEA Residency Grant at Salt Lake Acting Company.
• McKnight National Fellowship at Playwrights' Center, Minneapolis, MN.
• LA Weekly Award for Best Play for TWO-HEADED.
• Twice nominated by American Theatre Critics Association Award for best new play produced outside New York: LAST LISTS OF MY MAD MOTHER and DUST EATERS.
• Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Work for LOST VEGAS SERIES.
• Mill Mountain Theatre Playwriting Competition three different times for TWO-HEADED, LAST LISTS OF MY MAD MOTHER, and TENDER HOOKS.
• Award for New American Plays for WHITE MONEY.
• Arts Achievement Award, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI. for lifetime achievement.
• CBS/Dramatists Guild Award for STRAY DOGS. 

Our community of donors is essential. To maintain our programs and be a resource to our community, we rely on the generosity of government agencies, corporate sponsorships, foundations, and individuals.

On behalf of everyone here at SLAC, we thank you.

Foundational Sponsors

Salt Lake Acting Company gratefully acknowledges these foundations for their ongoing support.

• The Shubert Foundation
• George S. & Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation
• Terence Kearns Stephens Charitable Fund
• Anonymous
• B.W. Bastian Foundation
• John & Marcia Price Family Foundation
• Marriner S. Eccles Foundation
• National New Play Network
• McCarthey Family Foundation
• Lawrence T. & Janet T. Dee Foundation
• Jarvis & Constance Doctorow Family Foundation
• S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney Foundation
• Semnani Family Foundation
• Henry W. & Leslie M. Eskuche Foundation
• Herbert I & Elsa B. Michael Foundation
• Rocky Mountain Power Foundation

Corporate Partners

Salt Lake Acting Company gratefully acknowledges these corporations for their ongoing support.

• Albion Financial Group
• Assist Inc. Community Design Center
• Beehive Cheese
• Beehive Distillery
• Fidelity Investments
• Magicspace Entertainment
• Mazza
• Mills Publishing, Inc.
• Salt Lake Roasting Company
• Shell Roni Custom Catering
• Squatters/Wasatch
• Sugar Fix Cookies
• Tea Zaanti
• Third Sun Productions
• Veterinary Orthopedic Services

Government Support

SLAC is funded in part by:

• Salt Lake County's Zoo, Arts and Parks Program
• Utah Division of Arts & Museums | Utah Legislature
• National Endowment for the Arts
• Salt Lake City Arts Council

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