Salt Lake Acting Company - NPSS
SUNNY IN THE DARK Headshots & Bios
Cast and Creative Team for Sunny in the Dark
From top Left: Jennica Anusua; Dan Beecher; Matthew Ivan Bennett; Alvaro Cortez; Brenda Hattingh Peatross; Ainslie Shepherd; Ben Young; Elaine Jarvik, Morag Shepherd
Bios:
ELAINE JARVIK: (PLAYWRIGHT) most recent play at the Salt Lake Acting Company was Four Women Talking About the Man Under the Sheet in 2021. Previous plays at SLAC include Two Stories (2015) and (a man enters) (2011, co-written with her daughter Kate Jarvik Birch). Other plays include productions at Plan-B Theatre — An Evening With Two Awful Men, Based on a True Story, and Marry Christmas, as well as the children’s play River. Swamp. Cave. Mountain. — and The Coming Ice Age for Pygmalion Productions. She is a former newspaper reporter and current drummer with “The Distractions.”
MORAG SHEPHERD: (DIRECTOR) is one of the producers of Sackerson Theatre and the artistic director of Immigrant’s Daughter Theatre. She is a member of the Plan-B writers lab, where her play My Brother the Vampire, and Not One Drop (David Ross Fetzer grant recipient) has performed. Her play Worship recently performed with the Utah Arts Alliance (The Utah Review top moment of 2023); her play Do You Want to See Me Naked (Critics Choice Award, and Best Solo Performance) has performed in Salt Lake City, Tucson, and The United Solo Festival in New York City. Her site-specific play, Cherry Wine in Paper Cups performed outside the Salt Lake City library summer 2020, and her immersive play, A Brief Waltz in a Little Room performed throughout 2019 in Salt Lake City (The Utah Review top ten moments of 2019). Recent directing credits include Last Lies of My Mad Mother by Julie Jensen, The Beauty Queen of Leenane by Martin McDonagh, Melancholy Play by Sarah Ruhl, Body Awareness by Annie Baker, and Let the Right One In by Jack Thorne.
JENNICA ANUSUA: (AJ) is an actress, musician, writer and director with a Masters in global mental health and a passion for supporting those who have survived complex trauma and violence. She loves the notion of the journey - from travel and cultural immersion to examination of the internal emotional landscape. Jennica is deeply passionate about the way we as humans connect, and believes that storytelling is both integral to who we are and has immense power to heal and build community. She is thrilled to return to the SLAC stage for this project and work alongside other brilliant artists. Recent credits include Yoga Play (SLAC), Night of Wrath, Mystic Mishap the Series, Falling for Christmas (Netflix) and Royal Façade.
DAN BEECHER: (TOM) has been acting in Salt Lake for well over 30 years. He attended the University of Utah’s Actor Training Program, and has since acted with most companies in the valley. SLAC audiences last saw him in Hand to God.
MATTHEW IVAN BENNETT: (ASTROPHYSICIST) has worked with SLAC, Pioneer, Pygmalion, Sackerson, Wasatch, Utah Shakespeare, and Plan-B Theatre. Since 2005, he’s premiered over 20 plays with Plan-B, including 13 radio plays with KUER’s RadioWest. Last year, his play From June to August was the Official Selection at Meanwhile Park. His one-person play Eric(a) won the Best Drama award at the United Solo Festival in New York. Twice he’s contributed to Great Plains Theatre Commons and was a finalist at the O’Neill for Let Down Your Hair (also workshopped at SLAC). He’s worked with Omaha Community Playhouse, The Constructivists in Milwaukee, and his short plays have appeared in Seattle, Toronto, NYC, and DC. His poetry has been published with Sugar House Review, Western Humanities, Utah Life, and unearthed. His feature film The Whole Lot (dir. by Connor Rickman) was an Official Selection at the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival in 2022 and at several others. Matt is a recent alum of Futurescapes and is a member of the Dramatists’ Guild. His next projects are: Mother of the Maid at Pygmalion; In Your Dreams at Sackerson; and, an absurdist comedy of his, Non, will play at the Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival this summer.
ALVARO CORTEZ: (MAN/DAD/PRIEST) is a local actor both in film and theatre based in Salt Lake City. A 2020 pandemic graduate from Westminster College in the B.F.A program. Alvaro started in his actor training since his Junior year at Hillcrest High in Midvale, Utah. Where he was first able to learn and work on his craft with dedicated faculty. Most recent work was in the Alliance Theater in the The Fringe Festival/The Classical Greek Theater Festival in The Bacchae (Dionysus) And a one man show of The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey. Other show credits have been Romeo and Juliet (Tybalt) & Much Ado About Nothing (Don Pedro), as well as The Memory of Water (Mike), The Zoo Story (Peter), and The Christians (Elder Jay) at Westminster College.
BRENDA HATTINGH PEATROSS: (ELISE) is excited to be a part of today’s reading and to be working with this group of local theatre collaborators in particular, many of whom she has had the pleasure of working with before. Eight years ago she acted with Daniel Beecher (playing Tom) in Stage Kiss, her first SLC production. Most recently she appeared as June in From June To August by Matthew Ivan Bennett who will be appearing as the brilliantly quirky astrophysicist in today’s reading. Brenda also appeared as Phyllis in Body Awareness at Pygmalion Productions, directed by today’s multi talented director/playwright/producer Morag Shepherd. Brenda acted in the multi-media play A Brief Waltz featuring playwrights Matthew Ivan Bennett and Morag Shepherd and in Shepherd’s play Poppy’s In The Sand. A year ago Brenda had the pleasure of doing a staged reading opposite the talented Ben Young in another play written by Matthew Ivan Bennett. Brenda is always excited to work with playwright Elaine Jarvik, whom she has done some readings with as well as understudying a part in one of Jarvik’s plays performed here at SLAC. Collaboration has always been at the heart of what Brenda enjoys about acting and today’s reading is no exception. How lovely to be able to work with all these talented people again!
AINSLIE SHEPHERD: (SUNNY) is in 8th grade and enjoys painting, drawing, soccer, and crocheting. She recently played Chloe in Worship with Immigrant’s Daughter Theatre, and she also appeared in Sackerson’s production of A Brief Waltz in a Little Room. Ainslie is very thrilled to be Sunny in Sunny in the Dark.
BEN YOUNG: (READER) is a graduate of the University of Utah’s Actor Training Program. Previous credits include Climbing With Tigers (Algernon) and You Will Get Sick (1) with Salt Lake Acting Company; Gruesome Playground Injuries (Doug) with Wasatch Theatre Company; Big Love (Constantine), Our Country’s Good (Phillip/Wisehammer), The Odyssey (Odysseus) with the University of Utah’s Theatre Department; My Brother Was a Vampire (Callum), River. Swamp. Cave. Mountain. (JJ), Alli and #3 (#3) with Plan-B Theatre Company.
We are pleased to announce our next New Play Sounding Series free reading of Let Down Your Hair by Matthew Ivan Bennett. The reading will take place on Monday, May 1st, 2023 at 7 PM.
Written by SLAC alum Matthew Ivan Bennett (The Caretaker) and directed by Alexandra Harbold* (The Wolves, Death of a Driver) with Bridgette Lehman as Stage Manager. The cast features SLAC alumnus and several newcomers. SLAC alum include: Colleen Baum* (Four Women Talking About the Man Under the Sheet) as Frau Göthel, Alex Smith (NPSS - The Obsolete Unkindness of Ravens) as the Reader, and Ben Young (Climbing With Tigers) as Fable. Newcomers are Caro Ciet as Rapunzel, Amona Faatau as the Prince, and Brenda Hattingh Peatross as Hettie Wiegle.
Let Down Your Hair is described by the playwright as follows:
Let Down Your Hair is a modern re-telling of Rapunzel through the lens of sex education in America. In the 1812 edition of the Brothers Grimm tale, the fairy (later changed to an evil human) knew the prince had been visiting the tower after 12-year-old Rapunzel got pregnant.
Despite the fact that we still grapple with early unwanted pregnancies in 2023, most people only know the whitewashed version of this classic. Let Down Your Hair restores the cautionary-tale boldness of the original, using comedy, politics, and a talking cat.
While admission to the NPSS reading of Let Down Your Hair is free, reservations are required. They can be reserved directly via the link above, or by contacting the SLAC Audience Relationship Team at or calling 801-363-7522.
For more information on the New Play Sounding Series, please click here.
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States
Announcing The NPSS Free Reading of 'Can I Say Yes to That Dress?' Written and Performed by Sarah Shippobotham
We are pleased to announce our next New Play Sounding Series free reading of Can I Say Yes to That Dress? by Sarah Shippobotham. The reading will take place on Monday, February 27th, 2023 at 7 PM.
Written and performed by SLAC alum Sarah Shippobotham (SLACabaret: Down the Rabbit Hole, Tribes) and directed by Jamie Rocha Allan (Land of No Mercy) with Alexandra Harbold (Hand to God) as Dramaturg, and Jennie Sant* as Production Stage Manager. Can I Say Yes to That Dress? is described by the playwright as follows:
Stuck in a wedding dress changing room, a middle-aged woman questions her life choices and what it means to be a woman. This one-person show asks what happens if you feel like you don't fit into the socially accepted norms of femininity and femaleness.
While admission to the NPSS reading of Can I Say Yes to That Dress? is free, reservations are required. They can be reserved directly via the link above, or by contacting the SLAC Audience Relationship Team at or 801-363-7522.
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States
As we gear up for an exciting 51st Season, we're pleased to announce the final New Play Sounding Series reading of our 50th: Let’s Fix Andy by Rachel Bublitz.
The free reading will take place in SLAC’s Upstairs Theatre on Monday, August 1st at 7pm. Let’s Fix Andy is described by the playwright as follows:
Andy’s best friends, Logan, Marcus, and George, decide it’s time they step in after he’s been dumped by his long time girlfriend, to snap him out of his funk. Each armed with their own idea of what Andy needs, they drag him to the gym, the bar, and the woods. They can’t lose another friend. A play about friendship, body image, and feelings… Even the feelings we tell ourselves not to feel.
Let’s Fix Andy marks the second New Play Sounding Series reading for Bublitz. Her play Burst received a reading at SLAC in September, 2018. Burst has since gone on to be named as a finalist in the 2022 National New Play Network Showcase. Another previous work by Bublitz, Ripped, received a special reading for university students at SLAC in 2017.
In anticipation of the August 1st reading, Bublitz provided the following statement: "I jump at any opportunity to work at Salt Lake Acting Company. They've helped me develop a couple of my plays (Ripped and Burst), and I'm thrilled for this new opportunity to work on Let's Fix Andy there. I always find the level of artistry and support through the roof, and being a local writer, I love how they connect with other local artists."
Comprising the cast of the NPSS reading of Let’s Fix Andy are SLAC alum Tito Livas (SLACabaret: Down the Rabbit Hole) as George, Topher Rasmussen (Fun Home) as Logan, and Jordan Reynosa (Elephant & Piggie’s “We Are in a Play!”) as Marcus. They are joined by Aidan Tappert (Liminal: A New Work at the University of Utah), who makes his SLAC/NPSS debut as Andy. Chris Curlett, a recent cast member of Passing Strange, will read stage directions. Directing the reading will be Jason Bowcutt, who also co-directed SLAC’s 50th Season opener, Four Women Talking About the Man Under the Sheet.
While admission to the NPSS Reading of Let’s Fix Andy is free, reservations are required. They can be reserved via the link above or by contacting the SLAC Audience Relationship Team at or 801-363-7522.
All SLAC attendees must show proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID test taken within 48 hours of the event. (No home tests.) Masks are optional. For more information about Salt Lake Acting Company, visit SaltLakeActingCompany.org.
We're delighted to announce our first in–person New Play Sounding Series reading in over two years: Sleeping Giant by Steve Yockey. The free reading will take place in SLAC’s Upstairs Theatre on Monday, May 2nd at 7pm.
Salt Lake Acting Company audiences will remember two previous world premieres authored by Yockey: Blackberry Winter (2015) and Mercury (2017). Since seeing Mercury receive its world premiere at SLAC, Yockey has gone on to become a multi award-nominated (WGA, PGA, Emmy) creator of the popular HBO Max series The Flight Attendant.
Sleeping Giant, a new play which will also receive a full production at SLAC next season, is described by the playwright as follows:
When a firework-filled marriage proposal goes very wrong, the accompanying explosions wake up something very old that’s been sleeping in the nearby lake for thousands of years. What follows are intimate, darkly comic, and sometimes startling vignettes about the lengths people go when they desperately want something to believe in.
“After truly killer experiences with Blackberry Winter and Mercury, SLAC has become a vital and dynamic creative partner,” stated Yockey. “Their artists and their audiences just get it. And Cynthia [Fleming] sets the bar for artistic excellence. I'm thrilled to be back.”
Comprising the cast of the NPSS reading of Sleeping Giant are SLAC alum Alexis Baigue (Stupid F***ing Bird), Lily Hye Soo Dixon (Mercury), Tito Livas (Mercury) and Cassie Stokes-Wylie (Death of a Driver). Kimi Handa Brown, playwright from last year’s NPSS reading of Daddy Issues, will read stage directions. Directing the reading will be Emilio Casillas in his SLAC directorial debut. Casillas is also a co-writer of the upcoming #SLACabaret 2022.
While admission to the NPSS reading of Sleeping Giant is free, reservations are required. They can be reserved directly via the link above, or by contacting the SLAC Audience Relationship Team at or 801-363-7522.
Please note: all SLAC attendees must show proof of full vaccination and wear a properly-fitting mask. Please visit our COVID-19 safety guide for more information.
Production images from Mercury and Blackberry Winter. All images by David Daniels.
SLAC's NPSS Festival Concludes March 29th with EGRESS
Live Zoom reading of Melissa Crespo and Sarah Saltwick’s EGRESS to take place March 29
[SALT LAKE CITY, UT, MARCH 22, 2021] - Salt Lake Acting Company (SLAC), Utah’s leading destination for brave, contemporary theatre, announces the third and final installment of its first-ever New Play Sounding Series Festival. The virtual festival, comprised of three new works written by, directed by, and starring BIPOC artists, launched in January with DADDY ISSUES by Kimi Handa Brown, followed by HAIRY & SHERRI by Adrienne Dawes in February.
The final play selected for SLAC’s festival is EGRESS by Melissa Crespo and Sarah Saltwick. Saltwick describes EGRESS as follows:
You are an expert on safety, but you no longer feel safe. You have just moved to a small college town to teach architecture, but you realize that your nightmares have followed you. And now, uncertainty lies around every corner. EGRESS is a provocative psychological thriller that draws us into the mind of a woman struggling to face her fears.
A multifaceted theatre artist, Melissa Crespo directed the NPSS Festival presentation of HAIRY & SHERRI, as well as SLAC’s 2019 world premiere of Charly Evon Simpson’s FORM OF A GIRL UNKNOWN. She has developed work at LAByrinth Theater Company, New Dramatists, The Lark and many other theatres across the country. Sarah Saltwick is a graduate of the Michener Center for Writers at UT Austin and was a Jerome Fellow at the Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis. Her plays have been produced or developed by Cleveland Playhouse, the Lark, the Vortex, and many others. EGRESS is currently to have its world premiere later this year at Amphibian Stage in Fort Worth, TX.
“It's such a gift to be able to work on EGRESS at Salt Lake Acting Company. One of my favorite things about making theater is the alchemy that happens within a creative team,” stated Co-writer Saltwick. “Every reading, every rehearsal process, becomes its own unique event. I am craving creative spaces these days, I think we all are. I'm excited to see what is revealed by this process.”
Colette Robert, in her virtual SLAC debut, directs EGRESS. Robert’s credits include Charly Evon Simpson’s BEHIND THE SHEET (Ensemble Studio Theatre) and Nambi E. Kelley’s NATIVE SON (PlayMakers Repertory Company). She is also a playwright, a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre, a New George's affiliated artist, and an adjunct lecturer at New York University.
Appearing in EGRESS are SLAC alumni Austin Archer (SILENT DANCER) as Man and Latoya Cameron (FOUR WOMEN TALKING ABOUT THE MAN UNDER THE SHEET) as Woman. Naomi Lorrain, a Harlem-based artist who has appeared onstage at Ensemble Studio Theatre and Williamstown Theatre Festival, makes her virtual SLAC debut as You. Massachusetts-based Janice Paran serves as dramaturg, Taylor Wallace will read stage directions, and Jennie Sant is stage manager.
The NPSS Festival reading of EGRESS is free to the public and will take place Monday, March 29th at 7pm via Zoom. Attendees can register via this link.
To further SLAC’s commitment to making theatre accessible to all, open captioning will be provided through Otter. Those seeking assistance with accommodation requests can contact SLAC’s Accessibility Coordinator, Natalie Keezer at or by calling 801-363-7522.
SLAC acknowledges the Jarvis and Constance Doctorow Family Foundation for their generous support of the New Play Sounding Series.
Live Zoom reading of Adrienne Dawes’ HAIRY & SHERRI to take place Feb 23
[SALT LAKE CITY, UT, FEBRUARY 16, 2021] - Salt Lake Acting Company (SLAC), Utah’s leading destination for brave, contemporary theatre, announces the second installment in its first-ever New Play Sounding Series Festival. The virtual festival, comprised of three new works written by, directed by, and starring BIPOC artists, launched last month with DADDY ISSUES by Kimi Handa Brown.
The second play selected for SLAC’s festival is HAIRY & SHERRI by Adrienne Dawes, a self-described “Afro-Latina playwright, producer, and teaching artist originally from Austin, TX.” Dawes, who received her bachelor’s degree from Sarah Lawrence College, studied sketch comedy and improv at Chicago’s Second City. In addition to being a company member of Austin’s Salvage Vanguard Theater, her work has been developed and/or produced around the world; including LA’s Sacred Fools, English Theatre Berlin, National Black Theatre, B Street Theatre, and many others. Dawes describes HAIRY & SHERRI as follows:
Hairy and Sherri (Sharon) are an “adorkable” interracial couple living in gentrified East Austin. When they very graciously and publicly open their home to Ryshi, a 12-year-old former foster care youth with special needs, Hairy and Sherri are confronted with the ugly realities of their marriage and “good” intentions.
"I am so grateful for the invitation to develop new work with SLAC. This workshop has provided precious resources (like a professional director, dedicated dramaturg, and stage manager) that can be difficult to come by, especially when self-producing,” said Dawes. “I feel an abundance of support from collaborators (new and old) to grow my play-in-progress. I'm excited to see where this exploration and collaboration leads."
Making her directorial return (albeit virtually) to SLAC is Melissa Crespo, who helmed the theatre company’s world premiere of Charly Evon Simpson’s FORM OF A GIRL UNKNOWN in 2019. Proving to be one of the nation’s most sought-after directors, Crespo has developed work at LAByrinth Theater Company, New Dramatists, The Lark and many other theatres across the country. She is a Usual Suspect at New York Theatre Workshop and received her MFA in Directing from The New School for Drama (where is also a faculty member).
Appearing in HAIRY & SHERRI are Christian DeMarais (Hairy Speyer), Cherrye J. Davis (Sherri Speyer), Jason Veasey (Ryshi Speyer), SLAC alum Trayven Call (Ryshi Only), and Eva McQuade (Vera Castillo). SLAC Playwrights’ Lab alum Phaedra Michelle Scott serves as dramaturg, Wendy Joseph will read stage directions, and Jennie Sant is stage manager.
The NPSS Festival reading of HAIRY & SHERRI is free to the public and will take place Tuesday, January 23rd at 7pm via Zoom. Attendees can register here.
To further SLAC’s commitment to making theatre accessible to all, open captioning will be provided through Otter.ai. Those seeking assistance with accommodation requests can contact SLAC’s Accessibility Coordinator, Natalie Keezer at or by calling 801-363-7522.
SLAC acknowledges the Jarvis & Constance Doctorow Family Foundation for their generous support of the New Play Sounding Series.
