What Is Salt Lake Acting Company's Mission and Who Does It Serve?

Updated

Salt Lake Acting Company (SLAC) is a theatre company whose stated mission is to engage and enrich the Utah community through brave, contemporary theatre. In practice, that means two things: the work it stages is contemporary rather than classic or revival-oriented, and its audience is the Utah community it names directly. If you are trying to understand what kind of theatre SLAC is — as opposed to a touring house, a Broadway series, or a community theatre — the mission statement is the clearest signal: it positions itself around new and current work, and around a specific place.

The mission, broken into its parts

The homepage description of the company contains three distinct claims, and each one tells you something usable:

Element What it says What it implies for a visitor
"Engages and enriches" The company frames itself as serving people, not just producing plays Community relationship is part of the stated purpose, not a side effect
"The Utah community" The audience is geographically specific Programming is aimed at local audiences rather than a national touring circuit
"Brave, contemporary theatre" The artistic focus is current work with some risk attached Expect newer plays and challenging material over familiar standards

The word "brave" is doing real work here. It signals that the company intends to program work that may be provocative, unfamiliar, or outside the mainstream — which is a different promise than "family-friendly" or "beloved classics."

Who it serves

The mission names the Utah community as the beneficiary, so the primary audience is local: residents of Salt Lake City and the surrounding region who attend live theatre. That framing also implies a secondary audience — artists, donors, and supporters who participate in the company's work through its season and its support structure.

The site's own navigation reflects this. Alongside the current season, the main sections include "Who We Are" and "Support," which is the typical structure of a nonprofit resident theatre: an artistic program on one side, and a community of members, donors, and volunteers on the other. If you are deciding whether SLAC is relevant to you, the practical question is whether you are part of, or interested in, that Utah-based audience.

What this means if you're deciding whether to engage

  • If you live in or visit Utah and want contemporary work, the mission points directly at you — this is the company's stated purpose.
  • If you are looking for a specific type of play, note that "contemporary" is the stated focus, so the season listing is the place to confirm what is actually being staged rather than assuming from the mission alone.
  • If you want to support rather than attend, the "Support" section is the relevant entry point, consistent with the community-facing mission.
  • If you are outside Utah, the company is not describing itself as a touring or streaming operation, so its service is tied to being in the region.

Where to verify the specifics

Mission language is stable; seasons and programs are not. To check what the company is currently doing, use the site's "Our Current Season" section for the plays on offer, "Who We Are" for organizational identity, and "Support" for ways to participate. The homepage also carries an "Updates" section, which is where time-sensitive announcements are likely to appear.

One caution: the mission describes intent, not programming guarantees. "Brave, contemporary theatre" tells you the artistic direction the company claims — it does not tell you the content, dates, or suitability of any particular production. For those, the season listing is the authoritative source.