Preparations are well underway for Salt Lake Acting Company’s highly anticipated summer production, which most Utah theatre lovers know as a more than 50-year tradition. 

Perhaps best known for their previous production of "Saturday's Voyeur," SLAC's annual summer tradition has been restructured and rebranded over the past few years. This year, “SLAC's Summer Show: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” will parody a public broadcasting telethon featuring shows and characters we all know and love, paired with iconic Utah figures and recent news stories. Featuring local flair is a custom audiences have come to rely on.

“The show is meant to be a really fun and unique way for people to celebrate theater, the arts, and also Utah,” Joseph Branca, Director of Communications at SLAC, explained. “We think of it as a love letter to the state while also talking about serious and timely issues.”

The show features many from the University of Utah community, including alumni and faculty from the Department of Theatre filling roles from actor to writer, to management. Branca is one of 20 who can trace their roots back to campus.

It's neat to walk through the halls and know that everyone in the building has some kind of relationship to the University of Utah and that it continues to permeate throughout all the productions we do.

An actor with expertise in communications, he has held several roles in Utah theatres from advertising and project management at Hale Center Theatre Orem to his current role at SLAC. Having made the leap to the corporate side of theatre since he began acting in the SLAC ensemble in 2016, he has a unique perspective on the organization and on the local arts scene.

“We have an incredible atmosphere for theater here in Utah,” he said. “We're very well-known as a training pool for stellar performers. All kinds of national and international companies make stops in Utah because the talent pool is so well-regarded. The theaters here are just well-stocked with unbelievable performers. SLAC is no exception.”

Branca also points out the ongoing connection to the local communities that continues to fuel the professional theaters season after season. “There's such a focus on our local universities, and the talent that they bring, because that talent pool builds into what becomes our mainstays at the theater. It's neat to walk through the halls and know that everyone in the building has some kind of relationship to the University of Utah and that it continues to permeate throughout all the productions we do.”

All the more reason for students to get involved early and often. One ongoing opportunity is SLAC’s Professional Theatre Program for Emerging Artists. This program nurtures Utah’s theatre students by giving them the opportunity to work in a professional production. To date, SLAC has created over 150 production-based paid positions for university enrolled students who have received crucial experience as actors, assistant stage managers, assistant directors, and assistant designers. 

“SLAC's Summer Show: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” is written by alumna Olivia Custodio, with creative support by Rob Scott Smith, also an alum and current head of the Actor Training Program. SLAC’s director and choreographer, Cynthia Fleming, also trained at the U.

Actors include alumna Wendy Joseph, faculty members David Knoell and Sean Carter, and current theatre students Bryce Romleski, Laurel Morgan, Akina Yamazaki, True Leavitt, and James Wong. Alumni Anna Blaes, Erika Ahlin, Jesse Portillo, and Jorji Diaz Fadel are all designers on the show, and alumna Jennie Sant is stage manager. SLAC’s staff includes Joseph Branca as well as fellow alums Cassie Stokes-Wylie and Adriana Lemke. 

Don’t miss this opportunity to support theatre in our great state as well as the continuing brilliance of the University of Utah arts community!

SLAC's Summer Show: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood 
July 12 - August 20, 2023
World Premiere
Tickets at saltlakeactingcompany.org