The Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival, now in its 11th year, is set to take place from July 24 to August 3 at the Alliance Theater in downtown Salt Lake City, with some performances also hosted at the MadKing Fellowship Theater at The Gateway for the first time.
The festival features a lineup of 24 shows created and performed by local artists, showcasing a diverse array of original theater pieces born from Utah’s vibrant artistic community.
Shianne Gray, one of the festival co-directors, expressed her excitement about the variety of shows, stating, ‘What always excites me about Fringe is the variety of shows on offer. With a large range of genres and performance styles, from intimate dramas to rambunctious variety shows, there is truly something for everyone at Fringe.’
Described as ‘the forge for independent theater in Utah,’ the Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival is an essential platform for young artists and independent thinkers to bring their original work to the stage.
According to Gray, while some Fringe festivals focus on touring performances, the Great Salt Lake Fringe primarily highlights home-grown talent.
Co-director Jay Perry emphasized that this festival is the ‘state’s largest and longest-running festival for independent theater,’ making it a significant event for the local arts scene.
Among the featured home-grown talents are University of Utah alumni Kelsie Jepsen, Max Ricks, and Autumn Bay. Jepsen, who is a passionate fatphobia activist, wrote and will perform in ‘Welcome to Fat School,’ a project that combines elements of activism with theater.
Reflecting on her work, Jepsen noted, ‘Fringe is such a lovely place to try out new work,’ adding that she doesn’t believe a play about fat activism has been written in the way she and her collaborator, Olivia Custodio, are approaching it.
Jeffson leads an activism workshop in Salt Lake, basing her play on discussions with her workshop participants. She describes the performance as combining elements of a TED Talk with sketch comedy, making it an engaging experience for the audience.
‘It just seemed like the perfect avenue to really start [the project], and then we might want to build it out after this and workshop it somewhere else,’ jepsen said.
‘Welcome to Fat School’ will be performed on July 25, 26, 27, August 2, and 3, offering a unique perspective on weight and body image.
Another highlighted performance, ‘A Haircut in Salt Lake City,’ features Max Ricks and Autumn Bay, who originally met in Provo but reconnected at the University of Utah.
This show explores a seemingly mundane experience—a haircut—but dives into deeper themes of identity and vulnerability.
Ricks elaborated, ‘[The show] takes the setting of just a haircut that a male college student goes to get from an older female barber. And they end up finding out that both of them are queer… And they just kind of really go into the really complicated dynamics that come from that and what it means to be yourself and be vulnerable in times when it’s scary.’
Both Ricks and Bay hope to leave the audience with a greater understanding of complexity and nuance in individual experiences.
‘A Haircut in Salt Lake City’ will be showcased on July 27, August 2, and 3, inviting viewers into a resonant narrative drawn from personal stories.
The festival not only promotes such creative expressions but also serves as a reminder of the thriving arts community in Utah, with many participants being talented alumni of the University of Utah.
In addition to Jepsen, Ricks, and Bay, other notable alumni include Nicholas Dunn, Emily Tatum, RJ Walker, Jason Hackney, and several others.
As the Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival approaches, this is a wonderful opportunity to support local arts and celebrate the rich tapestry of original theater in the region.
Tickets for the festival are currently on sale and can be found through their official website. Everyone is encouraged to join in the celebration of theater and creativity this summer!
image source from：dailyutahchronicle
