Arts
People Productions: David Mamet’s Race
I walked out of last Sunday’s performance of David Mamet’s “Race” at the Leonardo with two conclusions. People Productions, which I’d never heard of before, is one of those groups that is capable of leaving me with a knot it my stomach and something real to think about. And, Mamet’s script, while problematic and manipulative, is also worth discussing, mounting and writing about. … read more
Bonkers for Banzai: Anime Banzai 2013
The last panel I went to was “Mega Man: Powered Up!” and was by far the most heated panel of the three. Things got a little out of control when a man dressed in a full-on My Little Pony jumpsuit stated that Mega Man would always be superior to Zero, because supposedly they keep bringing Zero back, while Mega Man is a constant, which caused the other members of the audience to simultaneously start yelling that they agreed or disagreed with this guy’s theory, and why he was right or wrong. … read more
Black Light Art Show @ Copper Palate Press 10.18
The theme that Brian Taylor created for the participating artists was for each artist to choose a band and screen print a black light poster about said band—some of the artists stuck to the theme and others went their own direction. The idea also molded into a collection of several artists’ versions of the quintessential psychedelic black light poster. The show was an intimate gathering of the who’s who of the printing community, and those of us that did attend sure as shit wished they had a draft card to burn. … read more
Earth, Skin and Fire: The Playful Sensuality of Samba Fogo’s...
The show opened with a staging of an indigenous Brazilian creation narrative describing the descent of the gods of the air to the watery Earth. This event was staged in the form of a death-defying and gasp-inducing silk acrobatics routine, performed beautifully and (to my relief) expertly by Samantha and Lance Nielsen. To say this overture set a very high standard for the rest of the show to maintain is an understatement. … read more
Dancing Like It’s 1931 with the Repertory Dance Theater
The story of modern dance in the United States is inherently underground. Like any subculture that lasts through several generations, modern dance history—when well told––can be a vehicle for encountering forgotten but necessary parts of the grand American narrative. … read more
Journey To Chaos: An Interview with Klutch
An artist who was immersed in the hardcore punk scene for much of the ’80s and later served time as vice-president of a prominent insurance broker, Klutch (nicknamed after a character from Disney movie, Superdad), plans to wow Salt Lake City with a spontaneous effusion of brightly colored objects, wild line work, scavenged materials and spray paint. … read more
Gallery Stroll: Haunting October’s Gallery Stroll
Produced by Christel Edwards and Stephen Simmons, An October Evening is a multi-medium event celebrating all things that go bump in the night. … read more
Halloween is Ruined: Performance Life with Klaus von Austerlitz
Halloween is ruined. Its most treasured sensibilities are under attack. Goths have turned the occult into ridiculous camp and queers have turned ridiculous camp into a cult. So, if Oct. 31 is the only day of the 365 that you’d think of dressing yourself up outrageously, you might be a lamebrain. For local performance artist Klaus von Austerlitz, every costume is a performance, and every performance a carefully constructed vessel of artistry and social critique. … read more
True Horror: Thirteen Years of the Working Dog
Working Dog is an unofficial fixture of the University of Utah’s highly ranked graduate creative writing program. Named after the phrase “working like a dog,” the premise is simple: a once-monthly evening of art, wine and students reading material from their portfolios. … read more
Of Meat and Marrow: a Sexy, Spooky Thriller
Looking for something to do on Halloween that will offer you more than playing dress-up and dancing to “The Monster Mash”? SB Dance has something for you. Of Meat and Marrow will be performed at the Rose Wagner Theatre on October 25–27. A “rock-opera-dance-circus” for a mature audience, the show is equal parts sexy and silly, with horrifying monstrosity. … read more