SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Jan. 13, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Gephardt Daily spoke with Jim Martin, the co-founder of Wasatch Theatre Company, which is currently in its 25th season.
Martin is an instructional coach in the Granite School District by day. He has a doctorate in educational leadership and policy and has been a principal in a previous life. Martin also co-hosts an educational podcast called “Little Things First.”
The theater company opened its next show, “Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde,” by acclaimed playwright Moises Kaufman, on Jan. 5. It plays until Jan. 14 at Mid-Valley Performing Arts Center in Taylorsville and is directed by Patrick Kibbie.
The show is about the life and trials of Irish poet and playwright Wilde, who was persecuted because of his homosexuality. In this theatrical event, the trials are dramatized, as well as the voice of Wilde. The show premiered Off-Broadway in 1997.
Martin spoke to us about the show as well as a recent change of venue for WTC and what other pieces the company has coming up.
You can watch the podcast below:
DAISY: Hi, this is Daisy from Gephardt Daily and today I am talking to Jim Martin, who is the co-founder of Wasatch Theatre Company. And you have a show opening in just a few days called “Gross indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde;” goes from January 5 to January 14, at the Mid-Valley Performing Arts Center, which is 2525 Taylorsville Boulevard. I was just looking up the address on that. And Jim, just to start, I was wondering about your background, and then how Wasatch Theatre Company came to be?
JIM: Yeah, so I went to Westminster College where I got my undergraduate; theater was my minor, and so I met some really great friends there. And we wanted to continue with theater after we left Westminster and so we just did this crazy, early 20s kind of thing. Where we said you know, we’ll just start a theatre company. Why not? I don’t think like Jim from right now would have done that. Jim in his early 20s with no fears and just graduating from college and not many responsibilities thought that was a great idea. And so we started Wasatch Theatre Company and performed in the Westminster Jewett Center for the first performances, actually in the lobby of the Jewett Center, and then moved to a deli that my dad owned and performed all over town, just found spaces that we could grab a hold of and then eventually were able to move into some county facilities like the Rose Wagner and now Mid-Valley.
DAISY: What was the niche that Wasatch was aiming to fill?
JIM: I don’t think we had an idea at first, but our mission right now is theater for now. Which is really just about like responding to whatever’s going on in the world and really aiming for theatre for social justice. And so that’s kind of a niche that we’ve been able to fill and also we do shows that aren’t commonly done so we try to pick pieces that you know, aren’t done every single season like some shows.
DAISY: And tell me more about “Gross Indecency.”
JIM: So it is actually written by Moises Kaufman, who actually did “The Laramie Project,” which we just finished with in October with his Tectonic Theater group. And they basically take real transcripts, real things that people have actually said, the documentary style of theater and they put those things together to tell a story. So of course “Laramie Project” is about the murder of Matthew Shepard and the town’s reaction. “Gross Indecency” is about the trials of Oscar Wilde. He was persecuted quite a bit for being gay, for having a male lover and so these trials are actual actual lines; things that people said during that time. So yeah, they’re taken from actual transcripts.
DAISY: And what made you want to do that show now, are you finding that it’s particularly relevant in 2023?
JIM: Yeah, I mean, that’s kind of why we did it. Well, definitely where we did “Laramie Project” and now “Gross Indecency” because it just sort of feels like LGBTQIA community members are constantly under attack. You know, we’ve made so much progress as a community but still there are things that have to be faced constantly and you know, hate crimes have been on the rise and especially against our transgender brothers and sisters. And so it’s just really troubling to, to see that going on. And so we just wanted to make sure that we’re addressing some of those really important issues.
All of our shows at Mid-Valley this year, deal with LGBTQIA issues and so it’s just really important to keep that on the front burner and to make sure that people are talking about it. You know, I mean, across the country, districts and states are banning books, and you know, so there are calls for books to be banned, all of which have to do with LGBTQIA issues. And so I just think it’s really important to make sure that, that we’re keeping these issues alive and the attention on these and, and so that we can have those conversations about what what still needs to happen in the world.
DAISY: And this show hasn’t been done in Salt Lake for a very long time.
JIM: Yeah, no, I haven’t seen it done for a while. Yeah.
DAISY: And then another thing I wanted to talk to you about is that you guys moved recently because theater goers will be used to you being in the Box space in the Gateway. And that has now changed. I was wondering whether you could talk a little bit about that.
JIM: Yeah, so in 2018, we were able to move into a space at the Gateway and it was Wasatch Theatre Company’s space soley for a little while. And then we changed the name of it to the Box, just simply because we wanted to be able to entertain different groups in the space. So we wanted groups to come in and do their theater projects that they wanted done. And so it was just easier to have a more neutral name to the space. So that’s where the Box came from. And we’ve been there since 2018. And then just found out recently, we weren’t paying market rent because we’re a nonprofit, and so the Gateway has been generous enough to allow us to use the space for less.
And so we always knew that was kind of risk if somebody came along and wanted to pay market rent that we would lose the space, and unfortunately that’s what happened just a couple months ago; Clark Planetarium has decided to expand and they’re right next door to us. And so they’ve decided to move into those spaces. They’re out of room and so at least it’s for a good cause, my attitude has been, you know, the planetarium, and they do really great work and so, it’s a little bit more palatable, but it’s still hard to you know, there’s a space that has been really a great gathering space for several years now.
DAISY: And I haven’t been to Mid-Valley yet, but I’m told that it’s a really nice space. It’s a county space, right?
JIM: Right. And we did perform in county facilities before; we were at the Rose Wagner primarily. When we got our space we no longer continued with county work, but we love the county facilities, they have great facilities and even since we were working with the Rose Wagner there have been a few more like the Mid-Valley, like the Eccles Black Box. Our next show after “Gross Indecency” will be at the Eccles Black Box so we’re just trying out some different spaces now to see you know where our fit is and then hoping to kind of land someplace.
DAISY: Okay, yeah, that’s what I was gonna ask you. I wasn’t sure whether Mid-Valley was now your permanent home or whether you’ll be you know, kind of trying, trying different spaces to see what fits for you guys.
JIM: We have a few more shows at the Mid-Valley and got some shows planned at Eccles Black Box; we’ll go back and forth between the two and then probably decide what works best for us and for audiences.
DAISY: Then I was gonna ask you about that too, because it is your 25th season this season right? What shows are left after “Gross Indecency”?
JIM: So we packed it really full because we have, you know, our own space and so it was about a show a month basically. We had eight shows over the course of the season, but we have still been able to continue on with the plans for the rest of our season and so we’ll have “Gross Indecency” in January, we have an original show written by one of our friends, George Plautz, who has been with the company since 2000. It’s called “The Final Act.” It’ll be at the Eccles Black Box in February. We have “The Melancholy Play” by Sarah Ruhl in March. And we’ll round out the season with “Take Me Out” which will be at the Mid-Valley fresh off of Broadway and then our Page-to-Stage Festival.
DAISY: So what’s “Take Me Out” about?
JIM: So “Take Me Out” again has an LGBTQIA theme it’s about a baseball player who comes out in the middle of the season and the effect that that has on the team, and it’s a really great piece, we saw it on Broadway when we were last there. I think it’s still has a run going there, but we’re able to we were able to get the rights to produce it here in Utah so we’re really excited about that.
DAISY: And then after your 25th season is there a little break or if you’re doing eight shows a season, are you are you just scheduled around the clock?
JIM: Yeah, kind of, we do start our season around August, September. So yeah, we have a little bit of break in there, you know, but basically just keep going. Yeah, next so and it’s fun.
DAISY: Oh and tell me about the Page-to-Stage Festival that you mentioned.
JIM: We’ve been doing now almost as long as we’ve been in operation and basically it’s just works that we collect from the community. So we just put out a call for scripts and they’re 10 minute plays usually but we also do staged readings for full length plays this year because we’re going to be at the Eccles Black Box we’re going to be able to both short scripts, 10 minute scripts, and we’re also going to be able to do a full length production back to back so that will be really fun. All of the scripts are from mostly local playwrights, and this year we’re going to have a climate change focus for our 10-minute play festival. So that’ll be really, I think, important as far as you know what, what we want to accomplish that theater for now, and really keeping the important issues at the forefront of people’s minds and hopefully lead to maybe some change in behavior as well.
DAISY: And it seems like with that, that would be a really good kind of sampler, you know, for seeing up-and-coming playwrights and that kind of thing.
JIM: Yes, it’s been great. I mean, there’s so much talent in Utah and writing talent and artistic talent and so it’s just great to be able to showcase some individuals and it’s kind of low risk as well for audience and for playwright because they can you know, really try something out, it’s only 10 minutes long, 10 to 15 minutes, so it’s a little sampler and then you know if it works out great if it doesn’t work out then you know, it’s a small little thing.
DAISY: Have you had have you had short shows from from Page-to-Stage turn into full length shows for the theater company?
JIM: Yeah. So we we’ve done some shows in the past that they were just kind of the beginning and they seem like they have more of a story to tell. And so we just worked with the playwright to be able to develop that and we’ve also taken some staged readings. That’s a great thing about the Page-to-Stage festival to take some of the works in progress. Give a staged reading, to get some feedback for playwright and then they can, you know, go back to the writing table and revise their work and then produce it hopefully down the road. That’s always our goal is to be able to, you know, take some of that work that we’ve helped support and, you know, bring it to life in a full production.
DAISY: And then I just wanted to finally ask you, Jim, if it’s there a show from the from the 25 seasons, is there a single show that has been your favorite? And then also, are there any shows that are on your bucket list that you haven’t produced yet that you really would like to?
JIM: Oh, yeah. Well, I we really want to do “Violet.” We were going to do that, it’s a musical. It had a short Broadway run, but based on short story, and we would really love to be able to do that. We were planning on doing it in January, but it requires a specific casting, and we weren’t able to do that. So that’s on my bucket list for the future. I’d love to be able to do that.
One of my favorite shows that we’ve done was “Caroline Or Change.” It was done in 2008. We were the first Utah-based company that did it and it has been since to them by other groups, but it’s just a wonderful story. It’s a wonderful piece, got great music, great singing. So that was one of my favorite pieces and it just, everything just came together. You know sometimes that really happens when all the pieces come together and really gel and that’s how I felt about that piece. And yeah, it’s just one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had for 25 years.
DAISY: And you had a bit of a powerhouse cast for that one, too, if I remember rightly.
JIM: We did. Yes, it was a very, I mean, we’ve tried to do some, some shows that really feature diverse casts. And I know the conversation always is like, well in Utah, that’s really hard. But in every single case where we’ve done that new people just come to be a part of that because there’s such a need for that in Utah shows that feature diverse casts, so yeah, we had a great cast, and they were just spectacular because it was such a good show. And we were at the Rose at the time.
DAISY: Yeah. And just to circle back “Gross Indecency.” January 5 through the 14th at Mid-Valley Performing Arts Center, and because it’s a county facility, tickets are through saltlakecountyarts.org, correct?
JIM: Yes, exactly.
DAISY: And you can also call for tickets 801-355-2787. So, is it is it selling out?
JIM: Not yet; ticket sales have been a little bit slow, but I think it’s because of the holiday season. So hopefully people will you know, right after January 1, say that’s what I gotta do. You know, I gotta get my tickets for “Gross Indecency”; so it’s a great cast, great ensemble, love those kinds of shows. And I think people will really enjoy it. I think that we’re, I think they’ll learn something new, right? Like that’s part of theater, you walk away saying “I didn’t know that before.”
DAISY: Well and the Oscar Wilde story is so crazy. I mean, you know, when you read about actually what happened to him, it’s stranger than fiction. Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it.
