{"id":192993,"date":"2025-12-31T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/?p=192993"},"modified":"2025-12-31T16:02:05","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T23:02:05","slug":"pygmalion-productions-is-on-a-mission-to-elevate-womens-voices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/arts\/art\/performance-theatre\/pygmalion-productions-is-on-a-mission-to-elevate-womens-voices\/","title":{"rendered":"Pygmalion Productions Is on a Mission To Elevate Women\u2019s Voices"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Frances
The company’s current artistic director Frances Pruyn has served in her role for over two decades. Photo: John Barkiple.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Quickly approaching its 30th anniversary, PYGmalion Productions<\/a> enters the milestone much as it began: committed to staging stories centered on women\u2019s lives and experiences. Founded in Ogden in 1995 by actors Reb Fleming<\/strong><\/a> and Nancy Roth<\/strong>, the company emerged from what Fleming describes as a deep friendship and a sudden creative spark.<\/p>\n

The two soon realized the kind of work they wanted to produce needed a wider reach, so they moved down to Salt Lake City. In this transition, PYGmalion formalized a mission focused on elevating women\u2019s voices \u2014 not just telling women\u2019s stories, but also giving the opportunity to shine for women writers, directors, playwrights, lighting designers, costume designers and actors.<\/p>\n

Over the years, the company staged works exploring subjects ranging from immigration to aging to the pressures of body image. \u201cAs I think back on some of the pieces that we did \u2026 They tell an inclusive human story,\u201d Fleming says. There was Fat Pig<\/em><\/a>, which deals with women\u2019s body issues, and Living Out<\/em><\/a>, a bilingual play that examines immigration issues. Others, like Knowing Cairo<\/em><\/a>, considered themes of aging and caretaking, while Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter<\/em><\/a> focused on the story of a female veteran. She also pointed to uniquely Utah stories like The Passion of Sister Dottie S. Dixon<\/em><\/a>, about an LDS woman with a gay son.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWithout narrative, we are dates and times and places.”<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\"Playwright
Playwright, screenwriter, producer and director Morag Shepherd is directing PYGmalion Production’s Becky Nurse of Salem<\/em>, which runs from Feb. 6-21 this year. Photo: John Barkiple.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sarah Ruhl<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s Becky Nurse of Salem<\/em><\/a> is a new comedy running Feb. 6-21, with tickets available at pygmalionproductions.org<\/em><\/a>. Fleming will play the lead in the seven-cast crew directed by Morag Shepherd<\/strong><\/a>. The play comments on The Crucible<\/em><\/a> and how narratives around female desire and accusation have endured. In Ruhl\u2019s version, Shepherd says, \u201cshe\u2019s bringing up how we have demonized younger women as being lustful, and she completely upends that tale and says that she wasn\u2019t lustful at all.\u201d It\u2019s also written as a commentary on the Trump administration, with other current issues included like the opioid crisis and how it affects women.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s current artistic director Frances Pruyn<\/strong>, who has served in her role for over two decades, says when it comes to selecting PYGmalion\u2019s season of shows, they have a strict litmus test. \u201cMost importantly, does it fit our mission statement?\u201d Pruyn says. \u201cWill it attract an audience? Does it have great or at least good literary value and great theatrical value? Can we cast it? Is it affordable?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PYGmalion
Actor Reb Fleming founded PYGmalion Productions in Ogden in 1995 alongside actor Nancy Roth. Photo: John Barkiple.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pruyn says despite challenges with the current political climate, the company\u2019s focus has intensified in following its mission. \u201cI think it\u2019s intensified over time,\u201d she says. \u201cI think we\u2019ve become clearer and clearer about what our mission statement is, how broad it can be, how inclusive it can be and the demographic that we serve.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWho was she? How did she live? What made her laugh? What did she sacrifice? What did she bring that nobody else could bring?”<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Like many Utah arts organizations, PYGmalion recently faced new pressures after the passage of House Bill 261<\/a>, Pruyn says. \u201cIn interpreting House Bill 261, the Utah Division of Arts & Museums<\/a> this year said, \u2018OK, we like you. We like the work you do. For the last 20-odd years, we have been supporting you with a grant. We can\u2019t do it this year,\u2019\u201d she recalls. The board met and decided not to alter its programming in response, and after sharing the situation publicly, Pruyn says supporters raised twice the amount they would\u2019ve received from the grant. \u201cI think if anything speaks to the need for these stories to be told, it was the fact that our community, our audience, is seeing need and will support us,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\n

“That\u2019s the narrative that in women\u2019s lives is neverendingly rich … That\u2019s the story, and that\u2019s the magic for me of theater.\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As PYGmalion moves into its next decade, Fleming says that the heart of the work remains unchanged. \u201cWithout narrative, we are dates and times and places,\u201d Fleming says. \u201cWho was she? How did she live? What made her laugh? What did she sacrifice? What did she bring that nobody else could bring? That\u2019s the narrative that in women\u2019s lives is neverendingly rich and brave and courageous, strong, vulnerable and fragile. That\u2019s the story, and that\u2019s the magic for me of theater.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more about local theatre:<\/strong>
\nPlay Review: Just Add Water<\/strong><\/em><\/a>
\nOdyssey Dance Theatre\u2019s Thriller Returns With New and Old Haunts<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As PYGmalion moves into its next decade, the heart of the work remains unchanged. … read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":193077,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[],"_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"default","_google_business_share_type":"default","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12429,3024],"tags":[30777,30778,30782,30789,30780,30779,22846,30775,30774,19703,30773,30776,30781,14811],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192993"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/193077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}