Educational

Torrey House Press series: Eli J. Knapp’s In the Crosswinds: Birds, Humans, and the Paradox of Place is witty, humble, compassionate book perfect to tuck into outdoor adventure backpack

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the sixth in an ongoing series of features highlighting authors and new books published by Torrey House Press in Utah.  In an earlier Torrey House Press book, The Delightful Horror of Family Birding: Sharing Nature with The Next Generation, Eli J. Knapp, with a unique blend of humility and humor, described … Read more

Ambitious short film projects highlight 23rd edition of Spy Hop’s PitchNic program, set for Nov. 6 premiere

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PitchNic, one of Spy Hop Productions’ most exciting programs, returns for its 23rd edition this year and this year’s class of young Utah filmmakers is looking to build on a legacy where more than 95% of films that have been produced in the program have gone on to be screened at and win awards at … Read more

Ballet West’s 62nd season set to open Oct. 24 with lavish production of Michael Smuin’s Romeo & Juliet set to famous Prokofiev score

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The historical significance of Ballet West’s 62nd season opener, Romeo & Juliet, for the company cannot be overstated.  As early as the late 18th century in Italy, ballet versions of Shakespeare’s famous play were being staged and in the first decades of the 1800s, versions cropped up in Denmark and Russia. But it was Sergei … Read more

Mowing down physical and cognitive borders we imagine: Jorge Rojas’ multimedia Coyotek at Gittins Gallery a unifying testament of sociopolitical resilience, spiritual syncreticism

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The layout of the space in the Gittins Gallery at the University of the Utah is perfect for Jorge Rojas’ Coyotek exhibition which mows down the physical and cognitive borders we conventionally imagine. Despite efforts to the contrary to dampen or counter the kinetics of the relationship between the U.S. and Mexico, the fact is … Read more

Utah Film Center set to open 22nd Utah Queer Film Festival, with six feature-length documentaries, international slate of 40 short films

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EDITOR’S NOTE: For a detailed rundown of the 2025 slate for the Utah Queer Film Festival, see this link. At a hostile, polarizing time like now, many people understandably demur from being unapologetic about expressing their authentic selves. And, with that in mind, the 22nd edition of the Utah Film Center’s Utah Queer Film Festival … Read more

A detailed rundown of the 2025 slate of the Utah Film Center’s Utah Queer Film Festival

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EDITOR’S NOTE: For the curtain raiser of the 2025 Utah Queer Film Festival, see this link. The theme of fearless queerness permeates the slate of six feature-length documentaries and 40 short films in this year’s Utah Queer Film Festival slate. In some instances, the theme is fully manifested, while in others, it starts from a … Read more

Ballet Hispánico, American dance institutional titan, set to take Salt Lake City stage, as part of UtahPresents’ Touring Dance Trio offerings

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Choreographic works encompassing a tongue-in-cheek reflection upon the sacred and profane cultural dimensions of the many representations of Maria in Latin America, an inspired commentary on sancocho through the story of a 17th-century Afro-Hispanic painter who was an enslaved artisan to a Spanish master artist and a balletic celebration of Cuban music and dance styles … Read more

Superlative world premiere of Plan-B Theatre’s Just Add Water is captivating Utah audiences, heightening awareness of Great Salt Lake in uniquely emotional ways

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A broad spectrum of emotions animates the superlative world premiere of Plan-B Theatre’s Just Add Water, directed by Penelope Caywood. At one point, the personified Great Salt Lake (played majestically by Latoya Cameron) encounters TBH who represents Brutal Honesty (Isabella Reeder, in a dazzling performance). Her words are painfully too on the nose: Once upon … Read more

A Great Salt Lake Play: Plan-B Theatre’s world premiere of cli-fi dramedy Just Add Water, by Matthew Ivan Bennett and Elaine Jarvik, set to open Oct. 2

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EDITOR’S NOTE: For its 35th season, Plan-B Theatre has produced The Great Salt Lake Plays, part of Wake the Great Salt Lake, a temporary art project supported by Salt Lake City Arts Council, Salt Lake City’s Mayor’s Office, and Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge. One is Just Add Water by Matthew Ivan Bennett and Elaine … Read more

A Great Salt Lake play: Elaine Jarvik’s Eb and Flo is Plan-B Theatre’s offering for 13th Free Elementary School Tour (FEST) production

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EDITOR’S NOTE: For its 35th season, Plan-B Theatre has produced The Great Salt Lake Plays, part of Wake the Great Salt Lake, a temporary art project supported by Salt Lake City Arts Council, Salt Lake City’s Mayor’s Office, and Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge. One is Eb and Flo by Elaine Jarvik, which is Plan-B … Read more