10 reasons to get psyched about FanX 2015

fanx salt lake comic con logo

Suffering from withdrawals from my first Comic Con, I’ve waited with bated breath for the next nerdy event, FanXperience, the “ultimate fan experience” for those consumed by their love of entertainment including everything from movies to comic books. The inaugural FanX™ in April 2014 had more than 100,000 attendees making it the third largest comic con … Read more

Plan-B Theatre’s ‘Christmas with Misfits’ dismantles artificially sweet truths about the holiday

Note: This is a two-part series about Plan-B Theatre’s unconventional approach to holiday entertainment in two world premiere productions. In the critically acclaimed box office success of the 2003 movie ‘Bad Santa,’ there were 300 profanities uttered, Santa is a small-time criminal and alcoholic, and the kid, as the late film critic Roger Ebert recalled, … Read more

Spy Hop’s 12th annual PitchNic premiere of four films promises powerful voice of youth

As memorable as the premieres of the PitchNic films are for the Spy Hop Productions students each year, what becomes the most satisfying bonus for their creative efforts is the opportunity to see their new short films screen at film festivals across the country. More than 90 percent of the PitchNic films produced in the … Read more

Plan-B Theatre’s 24th season’s seven new plays explores vast territory of family values

NOTE: This is the first installment in a two-part series about Plan-B Theatre’s 24th season and a preview of Matthew Ivan Bennett’s ‘Radio Hour Episode Nine: Grimm.’ In certainly its most ambitious season during its 24-year history, Plan-B Theatre has programmed seven new plays by Utah playwrights that explore a vast territory of family values. … Read more

Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret

cowspiracy the sustainability secret

Farm Animal Advocacy Group Presents A Park City Screening of “Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret” Park City is home to more than 100 non-profit organizations, and one of its newest, Sage Mountain Animal Rescue, plans to host a one-time screening of the groundbreaking, provocative documentary “Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret.” The feature-length film, which explores what it … Read more

Making new art, supporting community in the ‘Rose Exposed: Home’

For six enterprising small performing arts companies, the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center in downtown Salt Lake City is more than a residence for their creative work. It is the home for experimentation in humanity. It is the place for creating and performing new works of art. As Daniel Siepmann wrote recently at NewMusicBox, “Newness … Read more

11th annual Damn These Heels LGBT Film Festival

For 11 years, the Utah Film Center has consistently modified its approach to programming for the Damn These Heels Salt Lake City International LGBT Film Festival, which will be held this Friday through Sunday (July 11-13) at the Rose Wagner Center for Performing Arts in downtown Salt Lake City. In some years, the programming slate has taken on … Read more

Backstage at Utah Arts Festival 2014: Harper and Midwest Kind, MarchFourth Marching Band to close out festival on soulful, rousing notes

Harper and Midwest Kind, June 29, 2 p.m., Art Yard stage; 4:30 p.m., City-County Building Stage, and 9 p.m. Park Stage For someone born in the United Kingdom and who spent his formative years in Perth Australia and whose early musical experience included playing trumpet and euphonium in brass bands, Peter D. Harper has become one … Read more

Backstage at Utah Arts Festival 2014: Josiel Perez, AC Jazz Project bring sizzling timba in first Utah performance

Josiel Perez and The AC Jazz Project, June 28, 9:45 p.m., Park Stage There is a phenomenally talented generation of Cuban musicians, including some who have not yet reached the age of 30, who are demonstrating to the world the truest, most dynamic elements of Cuban music that are far, far away from the nostalgic … Read more