Ash Patlan on the left in "Halfway" by Emily Schwend

Tell us about yourself: Name, where you are from, what theatre emphasis you did, graduation year, what you do and how you got into your field of work? Hi! I'm Ash Patlan. I'm from Sandy, Utah, and I graduated from the Actor Training Program in the Spring of 2018. I'm currently acting in the Professional Training Company at the Tony Award-winning Actors Theatre of Louisville. As a member of the Professional Training Company, I've been able to perform in many shows put on for the community of Louisville, Kentucky, and have been able to dive headfirst into the professional world of new works. In my time at Actors Theatre, I've originated a role in the world premiere of a site-specific new play by celebrated Humana Festival Playwright, Mara Nelson-Greenberg; I've performed a fully produced run of my own original work on the Actors Theatre Stage; I've played Petunia Fezziwig in the 43-performance run of  Louisville's traditional classic, Fifth Third Bank's A Christmas Carol; and I am about to start rehearsals for the world premiere of the new play, We've Come To Believe, that will be featured in the 43rd Humana Festival of New American Plays. I was first introduced to Actors Theatre when I was a junior in the ATP, as we auditioned for the Director of the Professional Training Company during his recruitment trip to the U. I completely took advantage of the fact that this industry professional was coming to Utah -- just to audition and meet us --  and I used that time to really foster a good professional relationship. I made sure I sent thank you emails after he left, that I kept in contact with him from time to time, and that I auditioned for him again when he came back my senior year. It worked. After I auditioned for him again my senior year, he immediately recognized me from my video submission when I formally applied for the company and the rest is history.

Fifth Third Bank’s A Christmas Carol" at Actors Theatre of Louisville. 

How did your experience in the U’s Department of Theatre help you as a professional? There is no way in the world that I would be where I am today without the things that I gathered from my time in the ATP. Being in this program gave me all of the tools necessary in order to survive and succeed in this immensely difficult field. The quality of the education that I received from the ATP is of such a high quality that it easily rivals anything I could have ever learned from going to any acting school on the East Coast. I daily use the warm up techniques that I've learned from all of those Voice and Speech and Singing for the Actor classes; I meditate and focus myself and the characters I become before, during, and after stepping out on stage with the skills I've obtained from all of those Movement and Butoh classes; and I tackle any script and balance the maths and the humanity of the text with the mastery I've acquired through through the years of Shakespeare and Acting classes at the U. Honestly, I am so glad I went there.

What is your favorite Utah memory? I miss everything about Utah, but I especially miss the U. My favorite moment was the last Finals Week of my senior year and seeing all of my classmates and friends from all 4 graduating classes perform . I thought it was really special to go to each person's final and get to see them in completely in their element and get to cheer them on. I also really liked getting to perform my senior project, MAYFLOWER, and I felt extremely supported by my classmates, friends and faculty in the audience. It became such an important moment for me to create and perform my own work and it really gave me the courage to keep working on it. I eventually went on to further develop MAYFLOWER at Actors Theatre and got to perform a run of it on the same stage where plays by Obie Award-winning playwright, Lucas Hnath, have first premiered. Honestly, what a special time to get together to celebrate one another's work -- it really is magical.

What advice do you have for recent grads? My advice for recent grads is to hit the ground running as soon as you receive that diploma. DO NOT GET LAZY. Have a set of goals of where you want to go and what you want to do and hustle like your life depends on it. You literally have everything you need to succeed, so if you want it, you can make it happen. Research everything, stay in touch with your contacts, be prepared,  stay hungry, and stay humble. You'll be surprised where you just might end up if you do.

Name: Catherine (Cate) Heiner

From: Salt Lake City, UT

Program: Honors BA Theatre Studies (also Honors BA Writing and Rhetoric, both class of 2017), emphasis in dramaturgy and playwriting

What I Do: Dramaturgy

How I Got Into It: When I was in high school, I loved English and theatre, and I could never decide which one I wanted to pursue to study. Then, I realized that if I did dramaturgy I could do research in both areas. I loved dramaturgy because I got to use my knowledge of performance, history, writing, and analysis to good use.

Experience at the U: During my time at the U, I was able to work on a number of productions. I worked on everything from Shakespeare to musicals to contemporary drama, which added a lot of variety to my experience. Working with so many different directors helped me understand how my position changes based on the needs of a specific production and creative team, and I enjoyed finding unique opportunities to collaborate with other artists in meaningful ways.

Favorite Utah Memory: I worked in athletics for all four years I was at the U. This made for a really interesting intersection between theatre and the rest of the university, and I used it as inspiration for a writing project in Tim Slover’s Intro to Playwriting course. After the semester ended, Tim told me my work had been selected for the New Play Workshop the following spring. Not only was the workshop itself an awesome experience, but I loved seeing the two worlds of athletics and performance come together for the staged reading. I loved being able to share my artistic life with my work friends, and it was awesome to see the actors reaching a new demographic on campus. It was the kind of cross-connection that benefits all departments and students.

Advice for Recent Grads:

• Keep in touch with people you enjoy working with. (This includes professors and students.) You never know who will help point you in the right direction for your work.
• Ask for help—there are other people out there who have had similar journeys.
• Say yes as much as you can to as many different opportunities as you can. It will probably be scary and a little overwhelming, but it will also be worth it. Just keep breathing.
• Stay humble, stay kind, stay grateful—the world is small and the world of theatre is even smaller.

The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe, directed by Assistant Professor Alexandra Harbold featuring Department of Theatre faculty, students, and alumni is playing at Salt Lake Acting Company October 10-November 11, 2018. These warriors are ready to take on anyone. Their minds move at warp speed, their emotions jostle for position, their bodies are fine-tuned, and their hormones are raging. It’s war out there on the girls’ soccer field. Get ready for The Wolves.

Tickets available at Salt Lake Acting Company.

Design Team:

Set Design – Erik Reichert

Costume Design – Kerstin Davis

Lighting Design – William Peterson

Sound Design – Jennifer Jackson

Prop Design – Janice Jenson

Dramaturg – Catherine Heiner

Soccer Consultant – Joe Murray

Stage Manager – Justin Ivie*

Assistant Sound Design – Kate Hunter

Assistant Stage Manager – Katelyn Limber

Cast:

Madi Cooper – #25

Louise Dapper – #14

McKenzie Steele Foster – #11

Tracie Merrill – Soccer Mom

Mary Neville – #7

Ireland Nichols – #00

Hailee Olenberger – #13

Fina Posselli – #2

Cézanne Smith – #8

Alison Jo Stroud – #46

Check out A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at Memorial Sloan kettering Cancer Center of New York City by Halley Feiffer at Salt Lake Acting Company now-October 21. Directed by Professor Sarah Shippobotham, starring Associate Professor Chris DuVal and alumna Cassie Stokes Wylie.

About A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at Memorial Sloan kettering Cancer Center of New York City: It’s a comic catastrophe when Karla, a crass comedian and Don, a sad super-nerd meet at the bedsides of their dying mothers. There’s nothing less funny in the world than cancer…except when it’s hilarious.

See the show audiences are calling "the funniest and most touching production SLAC has produced in years. Student, senior, and 30 & under discounts available! Call 801.363.7522 or click this link for more information. CONTENT ADVISORY: This play contains adult language and sexual content.

Tell us about yourself
My name is Keeley Anne McCormick, I'm originally from Columbus, Ohio, and I'm a graduate of the Musical Theatre Program, class of 2015! I'm currently touring all around the US with the Broadway production of Something Rotten! by Wayne Kirkpatrick, Karey Kirkpatrick, and John O'Farrell, Directed by Steve Bebout (Orig. Casey Nicholaw).

How did your experience in the U’s Department of Theatre help you as a professional?
My time at the U was a huge growing experience for me. As an actor I feel like it's incredibly important to be as balanced and well-rounded as possible, and with every different aspect of our training from acting to voice, to studio, to dance, to all of the wonderful masterclasses we were fortunate enough to have, I really feel like I graduated with a solid base to take with me to New York and project me into my career. Something that specifically stands out to me now, as I'm performing in a show about Shakespeare, was the study abroad trip to London. It was such an incredible experience. I'm also a firm believer that travel is one of the best educators, so to be able to add everything from that trip into my repertoire (so to speak) was very impactful. 

What is your favorite Utah memory?
My favorite memory from Utah... too many to name! I'll never forget the feeling of holding my classmates hands during bows at the opening of our senior show, Godspell. We had been through so much in those four years, and with all of the ups and downs we really became a family. To cap everything off with such an overwhelming feeling of togetherness was truly special.

BROWN FISH a short film by alumnus Troy Deutsch will be showing on Thursday, September 13 at FilmQuest Festival in Provo, UT. The film stars alumni, Sean Kazarian and Kelsie Jepsen who graduated from the Actor Training Program alongside writer and director, Troy. Troy's film is part of the Taste The Rainbow shorts block #10 starting at 8:00 p.m., featuring all LGBT filmmakers. FilmQuest Fest describes the Taste The Rainbow shorts block as "a dynamic, and provocative selection of films from the LGBT community that celebrates love, diversity, monsters, revenge, and the best pot pie you ever tasted." "Our film is now officially crazy enough to be welcomed into the realm of horror/sci-fi/fantasy/and the beyond..." Troy said. BROWN FISH is based on a short play from Troy's collection of one-acts, IN A TILTED PLACE, which premiered at IRT Theater in New York City in 2015. FilmQuest tickets are available for the entire festival, featured films, short blocks and more at www.filmquestfest.com/tickets-all-films-events-2018/. Student discounts available.

BROWN FISH

SYNOPSIS: It all starts with a missing goldfish and a strange smell. Now a young woman’s world spins out of control, as she goes to meet her friend in the park.

DIRECTOR’S / FILMMAKER’S BIO: Troy Deutsch is a filmmaker and playwright from rural Minnesota living in New York City. He studied with Nicky Silver as part of The Vineyard Theatre’s Playwriting Workshop.

IMAGES FROM THE FILM: Image One, Image Two

TRAILER:

In Spite of Ourselves written by Alumna, Cate Heiner, starring Actor Training Program students Hannah Ensign and Maxwell Paris premieres at the Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival this weekend. In Spite of Ourselves is a devised piece based on the poem “All My Love Poems Sound Like Break Up Poems” by Ashe Vernon. Heiner said in an interview with The Chronicle, “My play exists in this weird space between falling in love and falling out of love... it does have a beginning, a mi ddle and an end, but they don’t have to happen in that order and you can decide what they are.” In Spite of Ourselves has 6 performances between August 3-12. For more information visit the Facebook event page. They were in love. Are. Were. Maybe. They’ve grown apart, or back together. This has all happened before, or it’s a sign of what’s to come. They can’t stand each other, and they can’t let each other go.

About the playwright: Catherine Heiner received her master’s degree in Literary and Cultural Studies this spring from Carnegie Mellon University. This year she has also presented at the American Theatre in Higher Education conference, Comparative Drama Conference, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Theatre and Drama Graduate Student Conference. Her work in dramaturgy has included productions of As You Like It, American Idiot, and Self Defense, or death of some salesmen, as well as upcoming productions of The Wolves,The Lion in Winter, and the world premiere of An Evening with Two Awful Men.

About the cast:

Hannah Ensign is a senior in the Actor Training Program at the University of Utah. Previous credits include Meg Long and Captain Jemmy Campbell in Our Country's Good (University of Utah), Ellie in Elephants Graveyard (Anthem Theatre Co), The Vagina Monologues (University of Utah), Maggie in Somewhere In Between (Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival), and Ursula/Outlaw in The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Salt Lake Shakespeare).

Maxwell Paris is thrilled to be making his debut at the Fringe Festival. He is a sophomore in the Actor Training and Stage Management Programs at the University of Utah, originally from Wisconsin. Back home he appeared in Inspecting Carol as Wayne Wellacre, All in the Timing as Trotsky, and in Peter Pan as Tik Tok Croc. Here in Utah, he was most recently seen as Submarine in A View From the Bridge. His upcoming projects will include being the PA for U of U's production of Chess and as an ensemble member in Big Love.

Recent University of Utah Theatre graduate, Mark Macey, will premiere his play Shooter at the Great Salt Fringe Festival, August 3-12, 2018.

Shooter had it's first staged reading on April 23, 2018 as part of the New Plays Workshop class taught by Department of Theatre Professors Tim Slover and Sydney Cheek-O’Donnell. During the New Plays Workshop class taught every spring semester, plays are developed through discussion and exploratory workshops over the course of the semester. The development process culminates with student-run staged readings where members may serve variously as actors, directors, dramaturgs,stage managers or producers depending upon area of interest and the requirements of each play.

Shooter tells the unusual story of a man and his gun. Macey says he began writing the play after recognizing similarities between the perpetrators of mass shootings in the United States, himself, and men in general.

Shooter is rated R for violence, strong language, and nudity. Tickets for the Great Salt Fringe Festival are available at: www.greatsaltlakefringe.org/tickets

Pictures from Shooter rehearsal for the Great Salt Fringe Festival 2018