Dave Mortensen, UTBA founder and editor, is an independent producer based in Salt Lake County. He earned a degree in theatre from Brigham Young University and has produced shows ranging from classics (The Glass Menagerie) to new works (The Decameron, Bread of Afflication).
By day, Russell Warne is a mild mannered psychology professor at Utah Valley University. By night he is the UTBA assistant editor, who reads and edits every review submitted to the web site. He has been reviewing productions on his own since late 2006 and for UTBA since summer of 2010. Russell is also a frequent author of non-review content for UTBA. Russell earned a minor in theatre studies at Brigham Young University and is a theatrical jack-of-all-trades, having served as a music director (West Side Story twice, Oliver!, Joyful Noise), assistant music director (Big River), rehearsal and orchestra pianist (Annie Get Your Gun), actor (The Red Badge of Courage, Ragtime, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, The Trysting Place), lighting technician (The Foreigner), playwright (The Decameron, Sunday Dinner), and dramaturg (Overtones).
Reviewer and Salt Lake County coordinator Amber Peck is a stay-at-home mother of four, who deals mostly in snacks, messes, and children’s television. She has two blogs of her own, but she loves being a member of the UTBA. Two of her greatest passions (writing and theater) come together in this fun “job” as a reviewer. She was involved in theater in high school, both in musicals and straight plays. She also won superior marks at region and state theater festivals for the comedic monologues that she performed. (In other words, she’s funny.) She has been involved in Kaysville City’s summer musicals several times and was most recently in The Secret Garden at the Children’s Theater in SLC. She gets excited to simply be in a theater, and hopes that she can contribute in some small way to the community of theater in Utah.
Reviewers
Mitchell Glass is currently the theatre teacher at Vista Charter School. He graduated from Brigham Young University with a BA in theatre arts education. Theatre has been a huge influence in his life since he was 10-years-old. Mitch has directed Disney’s Jungle Book Kids, Disney’s Alice in Wonderland Jr., Antigone, The Belle of Amherst, and was assistant director for The Scarlet Pimpernel. Acting credits include Disney’s High School Musical Jr., Rabbit Hole, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Hamlet, The Foreigner, The Secret Garden, and Joseph . . . Backstage he has been a production stage manager for Dial M for Murder, Roofsliding, and an assistant stage manager for The Seagull.