Directors note
Being an expat, so to speak, from New York City I discovered so many extraordinary things walking through my ordinary days here in Salt Lake. Commuters waiting and making room for exiting passengers on the FrontRunner. No litter. Like, no litter, anywhere! And the kindness of strangers. Kindness. It is all we want from others. When the characters walk into their Ordinary Days, their kindness attaches to each other. Warren and Jason move throughout the play with welcoming hearts as Deb and Claire open their doors, slowly. The playwright, Adam Gwon, uses the characters' wit, vim, and vigor as a reflection of their lives for its audiences. In Warren, Deb, Jason, and Claire we see our first love, a long-lost friend, or a new companion. Allow the play to settle with you. Talk about it with your partner. Debate with your friends after the show over dinner. Keep it with you and fondly remember the past and look brightly to the future.
In Unity,
KCJ
Music Directors note
The organic interactions and chance meetings we have with others can have unexpected impacts on our lives. Adam Gwon’s score expertly communicates this theme by capturing a sense of organic conversation between the characters and with the audience. Through the strong use of motif even seemingly unrelated characters become connected and influential to each other. Our production strives to use this to bring our audience into a story where singing is as natural as speech, and where our impacts on those around us are made clear.
Cast
In order of appearance
Warren: Joshua Sevy
Joshua is a writer and longtime supporter of local theater, with a particular interest in storytelling, worldbuilding, and community-driven art. He began performing in musicals at 5 years old and went on to earn an AA, emphasis of theater studies. In his personal time, he is usually writing interactive stories for his loved ones to enjoy and crafting props or dioramas.
He brings a creative, practical perspective to the board, and is responsible for Kismet’s theatrical education. Joshua believes theater works best when it’s bold, accessible, and rooted in the people it serves.
Deb: Sarah Greenwell
Sarah is thrilled to join the cast of Ordinary Days!
Sarah holds a degree in Performance Arts from Weber State University, and is fluent in ASL. She has worked as a Cabaret Artist, Producer and Stage Manager through out Salt Lake City since 2018. Sarah has also been involved in disability advocacy, and education since 2009. She is passionate about providing equal access, representation and opportunities for marginalized voices.
"One of my most impactful memories is seeing a live production of RENT, and hearing the line -the opposite of war isn't peace, it's creation- and I have never felt anything to be more true. As a Queer artist with multiple disabilities, I have used Art to create my own peace. I witnessed incredible artists whose voices were limited, and whose safety was uncertain and found it unacceptable. I truly believe that providing equal education, racial justice and access to the catharsis of theater is essential to the human experience."
Deb understudy: Cassandra Pena
Cass is so excited to join up with Kismet and to have a part in putting together one of her favorite shows. Cass has performed at numerous theaters across Northern Utah, including Centerpoint, Grand Theatre, Ziegfeld, and Ogden Musical Theatre, as well as in staged & virtual readings with Plan B Theatre and An Other Theatre Company. Past credits include Mimi in Rent, Diana in A Chorus Line, and Florika in Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Jason: Hope Juliana Oliver
Hope began building Kismet in 2024 after being informed her BFA program with the Young Americans College in California was closing. She was inspired by friends who did the same in 2022 to put on a production of Rabbit Hole -where she played Izzy. Hope is grateful for all the support from those around her, and beyond excited to be working with such incredible people!
Claire: Marina Altschiller-Gannon:
Marina has spent the last 21 years immersed in theatre as a performer, director, arts administrator, and community builder. She holds a BA in Theatre Studies: Directing and Arts Management from Emerson College and an MBA from the University of New Hampshire specializing in digital marketing.
As a recent transplant to Utah, Marina is thrilled to learn from this creative community. She has already had the pleasure of performing with On Pitch Performing Arts and ThreePenny Theatre Company and supporting backstage work with Pygmalion Productions. She also brings more than a decade of leadership experience as the Executive Director of Dive In Productions.
Her love of theatre is rooted in a passion for building community and the belief that kindness is the key for creating meaningful art.
Special Thanks to:
MadKing Productions has made our dreams possible! The work they have done to create a welcoming space for Artists is above and beyond. Make sure to support them in kind and catch their next show:
https://madkingproductionslc.com/tickets
Three Penny designed our lights and sound. We are so grateful for their help! We are so inspired by Three Penny's mission to engage impoverished, lower income, and homeless communities in classes and rehearsal in the theatrical arts. Alongside producing works designed to educate and engage the larger community in the ideas, perspectives, and shortcomings that shape our society. You can support this too by catching their next show:
[Sic]
In a tiny apartment in the big city, three neighbors find meaning in the absurdity and intimacy of their little lives together.
All Shows Are Available With Pay What You Can Pricing
June 5th-14th
https://www.threepennytheatre.com/tickets
Thank you to Savannah Cozzens, and Fable Omen for our wonderful poster art!
Follow for more of Savannahs art
Producers note:
Ordinary Days has been a labor of love, compulsion, occasionally spite, and an unexplainable siren call of purpose. This show has had a sweet -and sometimes painful- chokehold on me for about a year and a half now. There are a few convictions I’ve walked away with through this process that I feel intent to share.
Our ability to assign meaning to our lives as humans is incredibly important.
Warren's line: “The point is, things aren’t beautiful all on their own, beautiful comes from reflection. Beautiful takes a person who makes a connection. You know what I mean? For beautiful to happen the beautiful has got to be seen.” is so powerful in its simplicity. In the past I have often found myself rolling my eyes at things I deemed oversimplifications, or platitudes. A response Warren gets a lot during the beginning of this play, but as we follow the story and see our characters start to listen to understand instead of respond we see a shift. These silly quotes become the hours Warren spent pouring his heart into a cause he believes in; something to commemorate his and Deb's friendship. Hope for Jason after he has done everything he can to show his love for Claire and it is still not enough, and a catalyst for Claire to finally sit with her grief.
Debs' response to Warren's line perfectly illustrates how it is not the papers that accomplish all this, but the people. It is an act of surrender to let Art move you this way. It’s vulnerable, and clumsy, and the only thing worth anything because we decide to say ok, I will let this move me.
The timeline for this show has been in line with a lot of really hard things.
Among them we have seen genocide across the world and now at our doorstep.
These create very intense emotional responses for a lot of you I’m sure. At times it may also numb us because we are unsafe to process and are just trying to survive another day. There is a time when each response can serve its purpose, and there is a time when each can stifle desperately needed action. I want to encourage anyone reading this to start practicing distinguishing the two from each other. You can decide to let what is happening mean something to you (and in my opinion it should mean a great deal), AND you can decide to not let the weight of it paralyze you. Do things that mean something to you, choose what will make it possible for you to show up for yourself, and when you are ready, for others. Decide to balance safety with vulnerability, practicality with hope, joy with grief. It hurts, but it’s worth it.
Resources:
Comunidades Unidas (CU) is an organization founded in 1999 that fights to build the social and political power of people who identify as Latinx immigrants(including undocumented folks) living in Utah. We defend the human rights of our community by connecting them to the social service programs they need to prosper and with opportunities to organize to transform themselves and their community.
Gathering Voices strives to inspire you, through music, poetry, and the spoken word to take political action alongside our audiences. The pathway through the current political madness we find ourselves in is long, arduous and complex. As performers, artists, and wielders of imagination in our state, we see a future filled with hope, love, and community. We recognize the goodness that is in the hearts of our neighbors and friends, and believe that by sharing our vision of the present and our desired future, we can inspire each other, and create the future we want through accessible, joyful advocacy.
Migra Whistle Utah empowers communities to protect each other with simple tools and clear rights information.
