Maren's Many Moments

People outside of Utah do not seem to understand the Utah Theatre.  Honestly, I am not sure those of us inside of Utah really understand it. But it is a truth understood that we love theatre.  We really love our theatre.  So you can find yourself any number of tellings of the Christmas Carol, from the classic tale at the Hale, to the Scrooge version at the Terrace, to the Harry Potter version at the Zig. The Old Barn in Garland has The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.  Or if you prefer It's a Wonderful Life, that is at the Hopebox and the Radio version is at Centerpointe and The Covey Center and we haven't even ventured down south! We have got Elf at Tuachan and A Christmas Story is coming to the Eccles and my favorite comedy that I have ever seen, The Play That Goes Wrong, is coming to Pioneer, and Pete the Cat the Musical is coming to Salt Lake Acting Company and this is just December! No, I did not mention all the shows, plus there are concerts and more community the...

I was in Phoenix this weekend for my commencement ceremony, and my family and I went to the Musical Instrument Museum .  I have to admit this may have been one of the best museums I have attended as parent, and perhaps even as a tourist. We were greeted as we entered warmly by the volunteers who were very eager to show us around, and they gave all of us our own headsets, that sync up nicely with each exhibit.  Then we were shown into the introduction hall that has a few key intsruments and a short introduction video, before we then head upstairs to have a tour around the world of musical instruments, quite literally. Every continent is represented, and we were able to wander through different centuries and different countries of music and musical development.  My children and step-children range in ages 6-13, and have different levels of ability, one being on the autism spectrum, one being a budding percussionist, a few violinist, one interested in reed intsruments, a f...

Being critical in theatre is not an easy job.  I am not sure how well I balance the line between theatre fan and theatre critic.  Some critics seem to loathe the theatre, as is famously parodied in Ruthless!, and others seem to pick apart every scene and be impossible to please. while others seem to love absolutely everything.  I confess that I have fallen victim to the loving everything often, being a big fan of theatre since I was a child I found it difficult to view things with a critical eye.  Over the past 9 years, I have been able to develop more of my skills in critical thinking, and I have also taken the opportunity to widen my theatrical viewing opportunities, which has helped me become more willing to be critical of the choices of actors, directors, and creative teams.  At the same time, I have also become more appreciative of when these same actors, directors, and creative teams take certain theatrical risks that may seem unorthodox and yet they pay o...