Les RokaLes Roka

I am a native of Toledo, Ohio, having received my Ph.D. in journalism and mass communication from Ohio University's Scripps School of Journalism in 2002. In addition to teaching at Utah State University and the University of Utah, I have worked extensively in public relations for a variety of organizations including a major metropolitan university, college of osteopathic medicine, and community college. When it comes to intellectual curiosity, I venture into as many areas as possible, whether it’s about music criticism, the history of journalism, the practice of public relations in a Web 2.0 world and the soon-to-arrive Web 3.0 landscape, or how public debates are formed about many issues especially in the political arena. As a Salt Lake City resident, I currently write and edit a blog called The Selective Echo that provides an entertaining, informative, and provocative look at Salt Lake City and its cosmopolitan best. I also have been the U.S. editorial advisor for an online publication Art Design Publicity based in The Netherlands. And, I use social media tools such as Twitter for blogging, networking with journalists and experts, and staying current on the latest trends in culture and news. I also have been a regular monthly contributor to a Utah business magazine, and I have recently conducted a variety of editing projects involving authors and researchers throughout the country and the world, including Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Lebanon, Cyprus, the United Kingdom, France, and Japan. I’m also a classically trained musician who spent more than 15 years in a string quartet, being involved in more than 400 performances.

Museo de Arte Contemporáneo: Más allá de las márgenes: Una exploración del arte latino y la identidad y Thomas Campbell: Creando algo para expresar algo, Compartir algo, Para que otros puedan sentir o querer crear algo, Esperanzadamente

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Nota del Editor: Este artículo se presenta en español y inglés, gracias a Mark Alvarez. The Utah Review, aprecia su esfuerzo y su capacidad de ayudar en la preparación de las dos versiones. (English version is available here) Dos exposiciones en el Museo de Arte Contemporáneo resaltan la expansión de percepciones de la galería en sus … Read more

Two outstanding premieres: Salt Lake Acting Company’s Hairy and Sherri, Pygmalion Theatre Company’s Mountain Meadows

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SALT LAKE ACTING COMPANY: HAIRY AND SHERRI Watching Hairy and Sherri, Adrienne Dawes’ new play which is receiving outstanding acting performances in a premiere production by the Salt Lake Acting Company (SLAC), requires the audience member to focus on the characters’ nuanced body language and nonverbal actions. Those subtleties propel the significant epiphanies of Dawes’ … Read more

A heartwarming take on what once in a lifetime can mean: Plan-B Theatre sets world premiere run for Darryl Stamp’s Go Home Come Back

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Will, a sales manager, is supposed to be on his way to celebrate his wife’s birthday but he has a fatal accident because of distracted driving. James, a demolition worker who has a challenging relationship with his daughter, is crushed by falling pieces of a collapsed building. Their paths cross in the hereafter when they … Read more

When suppressed truth becomes its own lie: Debora Threedy’s Mountain Meadows set for Pygmalion Theatre Company premiere

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In a scene in the middle of Mountain Meadows, a new play by Debora Threedy, Nita tells a Mormon elder, “We can’t put Mountain Meadows behind us if we won’t even admit it happened.” He replies that no one has denied its occurrence and that not talking about it might be the “best thing for … Read more

Pioneer Theatre Company’s world premiere presentation of Kareem Fahmy’s A Distinct Society is superb on all counts

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In the middle of the superb world premiere production at the Pioneer Theatre Company (PTC) of Kareem Fahmy’s A Distinct Society, Peyman, an Iranian cardiac surgeon, tells Manon, who runs the tiny Haskell Free Library straddling the Canadian-U.S. border, “When I was young my father told me: ‘Peyman, politics is shit. Ignore politics, and it … Read more

Repertory Dance Theatre’s Regalia returns to in-person event, where audience carries voting power to select choroegrapher for new dance commission

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For the first time in three years, Repertory Dance Theatre (RDT) is holding Regalia, its largest annual fundraiser, in person. As usual, the stakes are significant. Four choreographers are assigned a group of dancers to create a short work (usually five but less than 10 minutes in length) in just four hours. The kicker is … Read more

Sundance 2023: Curious questions raised in the futuristic The Pod Generation are never fully settled but the film has plenty of heart to absorb the viewer’s attention

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EDITOR’S NOTE:Thomas Dugrospez wrote the interview, with additional details by Les Roka Already an award winner coming into Sundance, this year, The Pod Generation is one of those rare movies where every answer the viewer might be given to a question motivates them to pose yet one more question and later even more questions. Written … Read more

Sundance 2023: A look at some of the festival’s elite class of short films and Animation Short Film Program

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Sundance’s elite short film slate is highlighted. Les Roka’s reviews five short films from various offerings while Thomas Dugrosprez reviews this year’s Animation Short Program. The following five films from this year’s Sundance Short Film program stand out for their distinction and impact, as part of The Utah Review’s coverage of the 2023 … Read more

Sundance 2023: From the Iranian diaspora, a trio of outstanding films by women directors: The Persian Version, Shayda, Joonam

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Reviews of The Persian Version and Joonam were written by Les Roka and Shayda was penned by Thomas Dugrosprez.  Three films by directors representing the Iranian diaspora premiered at Sundance and while each approached their subjects in different ways, the collective set offers a rich, comprehensive portrait of Iranian women as strong-willed independent … Read more

Sundance 2023: Food and Country’s bounty of information takes viewers on a cross-country exploration of new approaches for chefs, farmers

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At one point in Food and Country, a documentary that truly puts agricultural economics and the impact on our nation’s food production system into a clear perspective, journalist and food writer Ruth Reichl sums up the precarious situation precisely. She mentions that it feels like a “terrible failure” because the problems were already being talked … Read more