SAT Story

Posted by

Heather Nowlin

Asst. Marketing Director

When I was a high school senior, most things school-related had escaped my attention up to that point – except for a few extra-curriculars: drama club, forensics team, drama club… and (after 3 humiliating years of fruitless auditioning) Show Choir. (GLEE-ky? Yes, indeed.)

When my mom made it her mission to get me to take the SAT, I dutifully signed up and then promptly forgot about it – until she pointed out that the test would coincide with an out-of-town Show Choir competition! Study? Yeah, right. My biggest concern was how to satisfy my mother’s prudent insistence that I focus on my education and still make it to the Big Show.

I luckily found a choral comrade in the same SAT situation. We planned to travel to the test-taking site (i.e. high school cafeteria) together, and then high tail it to our Show Choir Competition, two hours away. This inevitably led to some bad decisions, being distracted throughout the entirety of the Most Important Test I Would Ever Take In My Life being one (and driving 20 miles per hour beyond the speed limit for two hours afterward being another - do not try this at home!).

Needless to say, my test results were far from inspiring. I ended up taking it again, mostly to satisfy Mom, and though I scored (somewhat) better the second time around, the test-prep process still didn’t preoccupy me as much as it deserved to – and it certainly never occurred to me to do anything as drastic as hire a tutor. But I eventually made it into a small liberal arts college (which is where I wanted to be anyway) and my life doesn’t seem to be all that damaged from such nonchalance in hindsight.

But this outcome for lackluster college admissions test performance is simply not the case for high schoolers anymore. All of us adults (meaning those who attended college in the 70s/80s/early 90s) came from a generation when getting into an Ivy League school was still difficult, but getting into just about anywhere else was not. If you were a high school graduate from Utah, for example, you were guaranteed admission to the U of U. That is no longer the case. But today, getting into a Harvard or Stanford is nearly impossible, and getting into anywhere else is just plain difficult! (*Some surprising observations on that topic to come tomorrow.*)

The current production of In by Bess Wohl here at Pioneer Theatre Company deftly explores that very topic.

What was your college admissions test-taking experience like? Feel free to share or comment.

"If Mr. Right isn't coming, is it better to settle?"

The title comes from the Salt Lake Tribune's provocatively titled preview, for our upcoming production of "The Heiress."

This play is more than just a period piece about two lovers. It is a story that is sure to resonate with the audience as they compare dating and courtship in the 1800s, with dating and courtship in the 21st century.


Read Ellen Fagg's preview here:
http://www.sltrib.com/arts/ci_8503829">http://www.sltrib.com/arts/ci_8503829

And read the city's newest theater reviewer in her first preview article for PTC, Erica Hansen from the Deseret News:
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695259779,00.html.

(Welcome, Erica!)

Last night was the Final Dress Rehearsal and the audience was buzzing at intermission. Some of the comments I heard where I was sitting (these aren't spoilers, so feel free to read on): "This can't end well; no matter what happens, this isn't going to end well!" "They remind me of my ex-wife's family." "Does he love her? I can't tell." "The doctor is so mean!" and my favorite, "Do you think those are all real candles?"

Please, if you've seen "The Heiress," share your thoughts here!

Midsummer reviews....

Don't miss this show, if you haven't yet seen it. Closes on Saturday, March 1st.

From Salt Lake City Weekly...
"...A Midsummer Night’s Dream, currently playing at Pioneer Theatre Company, is the perfect

antidote to the conspicuous cardboard hearts still hanging over the seasonal aisle at your local grocery store!" (Read more...) "Lucky for us, it’s all done masterfully. PTC gets all of the elements right, keeping this well-known piece simultaneously fresh and familiar...With no weak links, PTC’s Midsummer Night’s Dream is as much fun as a good, old-fashioned moonlight romp in the woods. Well, maybe not quite—but it’s as close as
we’re going to get until the weather warms up!"

From The Deseret Morning News...
" The Pioneer Theatre Company production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is pretty and fanciful and bold." (Read more...) "In costuming and in casting, the [PTC] production

highlights the similarities between the men and the differences between the women. It
gets you thinking about why we choose the people we choose...In short, if you think you've
seen "Midsummer Night's Dream" enough times, well you haven't."

From Salt Lake Magazine...
"Pioneer Theatre Company’s 2008 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, excellently directed by Paul Barnes, is a satisfying rendition ofthis crowd-pleasing standby."

(Read more...) "The stage direction and choreography of the whole play were stunning—literally. With a wave of their hands, the fairies who populate the stage arrested the movement of the beings—mortal and otherwise—around them. The actors’ whiz-crack timing was so convincing, it almost seemed like spells were truly shooting around the stage...Their version includes a lot of physical comedy and mimed gags, which not only add to the levity of this already fluffy play, they also aid comprehension for patrons less familiar with the genre—perfect for Shakespeare lovers and haters alike."

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" spectacle

PTC's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Paul Barnes, opens this evening.

The first thing that will strike the audience is the breathtaking visuals - this is a gorgeous show.



The Salt Lake Tribune published a wonderful piece about this production, including awesome photos depicting the costumes:
http://www.sltrib.com/entertainment/ci_8217561


Susan Whitney's article at the Deseret Morning News focused on Costume Designer Susan Branch's work:
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695251552,00.html

What did you think of "Doubt?"

One of the most fascinating parts about going to see Doubt, our latest production that runs through the end of this week, is listening to the conversations that occur on the way out of the theatre. Who is arguing on behalf of Father Flynn, or who is saying Sister Aloysius is right...even if she is wrong. Few patrons appear to leave the play with no opinion.

Here's one we received by email, addressed to the playwright, John Patrick Shanley:

Dear Mr. Shanley,

We have been season ticket holders at Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre Company in Salt Lake City for over 10 years. We have seen many many excellent plays there during that period of time. However, your play that we saw last night, is my favorite of them all!

The actors did a fine job and the set was fantastic, as usual, but the play itself was fantastic. We have never talked with our friends, that we go to plays with, so much so much afterward.

The subject itself, of the conflict between trust and doubt, is a fantastic topic. The way you inserted the brief sermons was excellent. Mrs. Muller (Shannon Koob who gave an exceptional performance) also added an interesting perspective. The way you left it unknown at the end, who was right, Sister Aloysius or Father Flynn, just capped it off.

This play touched on emotional contemporary issues of the molestation of young boys in the Catholic Church. The theme of trust vs. doubt has parallels to world events such as, are there weapons of mass destruction or do we need to bomb Iraqi citizens because there "might be" some. "We can't risk a mushroom cloud!" Should we talk to foreign leaders, even though they are not friendly, to try to find common ground (as Senator Obama who I support has suggested), or are we naive to do this?

Personally, I hope Father Flynn was right. I think we have lost something as a society to be so fearful and doubt everyone. I wish we could return to a more trusting time.

Thanks again for your excellent play! I wish everyone could see it!

Mark Rothacher

Salt Lake City, UT

The reviews are in...

"Doubt" is a hit!

"Pioneer Theatre Company's production...keeps a focus on the performances and the text through simple staging. Lambert provides the standout performance as Sister Aloyisius, whose unshakeable conviction in her own beliefs emerges from a place of good but perhaps misguided intentions...In a taut, tight 90 minutes, Shanley's play unfolds as a singularly human drama."
Read the rest of Salt Lake City Weekly's Review

"The drama's most heated contention comes down to a battle of wits between Father Flynn and the school's overbearing principal. But, again, there are no hard-and-fast answers. Just plenty of doubt. Director Platt brings Shanley's brilliant, Pulitzer Prize-winning script to life, keeping the various issues in sharp focus.
Read the rest of Deseret Morning News' Review

"Through approximately 80 minutes of emotional accusations, threats and pleas, Shanley tastefully creates noncommitting arguments between human conditioning and human compassion, between sexuality and love, between religion and faith, between truth and doubt. And more interestingly, there's an underlying message that reiterates the stereotype "it's a man's world.""
Read the rest of Q Salt Lake's Review

"The truth makes for a bad sermon," says Father Brendan Flynn.... Amen, Father. That's just one of the directly expressed bits of dialogue that allows "Doubt's" young priest to voice what his creator - not God but the literary shaman and playwright John Patrick Shanley - is up to in this parable of a play. The show offers an absorbing evening of theater..."
Read the rest of the Salt Lake Tribune's Review

To be, or not to be? Behind bars.

Although an unconventional venue for theatre, last Sunday's broadcast of This American Life on NPR featured inmates from the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center, a high-security prison near St. Louis.

The prison participates in a program called Prison Performing Arts, and the episode follows the troupe as they tackle the weighty Shakespeare tragedy, Hamlet. The actors prove to be surprisingly capable of bringing their personal experiences to their roles.

One of the interesting revelations? Since prison regulations don't allow large numbers of prisoners to be gathered together for extended periods of time, only one act at a time could be performed. It took over six months to complete the five acts.

You can download the episode, or listen online if you didn't catch it on air: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=218