Only Dave, Amber, and Russell have authority to contact theaters to ask them if they would like a review of a production. Theaters may also contact UTBA to request a reviewer. Dave, Russell, and Amber have discretion in choosing which theaters they will contact in order to aggressively schedule reviews. UTBA will not review a production unless someone with the authority to give permission (usually a director, producer, board member, or marketer) explicitly grants permission to UTBA to send a reviewer. The representative of the theater will select which performance a reviewer will attend. However, UTBA will send a representative to a dress rehearsal only for Equity theaters. For peak months, Amber and Russell have discretion in deciding when a date is full of scheduled reviews and cannot accommodate additional reviews. In these cases, they will make their best efforts to persuade the theater to ask for a reviewer on a different day. Theaters are not permitted to request specific reviewers.
UTBA members cannot promise that we will find a reviewer for a production. However, UTBA members can say that it is more probable that a reviewer can be found if a request is made more than two weeks in advance. Every effort will be made to schedule a theater’s entire season at once. Theaters are expected to give 2 complimentary tickets to UTBA. At dinner theaters, the reviewer must purchase their own meal if they choose to eat dinner at the theater.
Once Amber or Russell have made arrangements with a theater for a review, the review will be placed on the UTBA Google calendar. At that point, UTBA members will have the ability to request that they review the show. Requests for productions should be made directly to Russell (for Utah County and Southern Utah) or Amber (for the rest of the state). In general, productions are assigned on a first come, first serve basis.
Reviewers are expected to only request shows that they are qualified and competent to review. Members are not permitted to review productions if any of following circumstances apply:
- The reviewer is an employee or student of the producing organization. (In the case of universities, the reviewer may not be a student majoring or minoring in the department producing the play or an employee of the producing department.)
- The reviewer has a family member who is an employee or student of the producing organization. (In the case of universities, the reviewer’s family member may not be a student majoring or minoring in the department producing the play or an employee of the producing department.)
- The reviewer is a board member or other major decision maker for the theater or producing organization.
- The reviewer or a family member worked on the production.
- The reviewer auditioned for the show (or tried to be involved backstage) and was not accepted.
- The reviewer has donated a total of more than $100 to a theatre company within the past year.
- The reviewer has a conflict of interest concerning the success of the production.
- If any of the above apply to someone the reviewer lives with (e.g., roommate, partner) or has a living arrangement with (e.g., landlord, tenant).
For the following theaters, Dave must give permission for the member to review the production:
- Pioneer Theatre Company
- Salt Lake Acting Company
- Plan B Theater Company
- Utah Shakespeare Festival
- Hale Centre Theatre (West Valley)
- Hale Center Theater (Orem)