Double-Bill of Plays Come to Meanwhile Park This Summer
Performances run July 10 to July 20, 2025.
By: Stephi Wild Apr. 30, 2025
Meanwhile Park has announced this year's summer shows, set to be a live-theater double feature. Audiences will enjoy two shorter, world-premiere plays in one night. Chosen after reviewing over 170 submissions, the winners of the 2025 Meanwhile Park Playwright Prize are “Vacation” by Nathan Johnson and "Red Devil" by Andrea Berting. The first is a spy vs. spy gay romp, the second, a heartwarming comedy of cancers. "Vacation" will be directed by Jason Bowcutt and "Red Devil" by Teresa Sanderson; both renowned local theater practitioners.
The shows run July 10 to July 20 and audiences will be treated to an evening of drinks, snacks and theatrical fun, all of which is included in the ticket price. Meanwhile Park, which is near the Herman Franks Dog Park, opens at 8:30 p.m. on performance nights, and the shows start as the light fades.
Nathan Johnson, who wrote "Vacation," is a queer performer/playwright/artist. He was a finalist for the Dramatists Guild Fellowship, a recipient of the National Queer Theatre-WIO Fellowship and a recipient of the Primary Stages Mary Louise Rockwell Scholarship. His plays have been performed and/or received finalist positions at Primary Stages Echoes Writing Group, The Artistic Home, B Street Theatre, Trinity Theatre, The SAUK, American Stage, Woven Theatre, Bite Sized Theatre, The Chain Theatre, The Magnetic Theatre and now Meanwhile Park. As an actor, he’s worked in Off Broadway theater, television, and film ("My Big Gay Italian Wedding," "Party Planner with David Tutera," "One Life to Live").
Johnson, who has an MFA from Columbia University, talked about some of the themes he felt it important to touch upon.
"The play was written to make people laugh," he explained. "That was the only goal—until the themes snuck in, as they tend to do. So yes, there’s the absurdity of the ultra-rich, the even more absurd lives of the gay ultra-rich, our collective obsession with youth (especially when it starts slipping), and the way money and greed can rot you from the inside—whether you’re hoarding it or clawing for it.
"But...underneath all the champagne and chaos, it’s a simple love story. A 'God, I love him so much, but I sure could kill him' kind of love story. You know—the sort that might make one do deranged and fabulous things just to keep the flame alive."
Berting, who wrote "Red Devil," is a live theater professional, having spent most of her career backstage in the world of wardrobe. It took a global pandemic closing down theaters worldwide to get her to sit down and write her first screenplay, but now that she’s started, she says she can’t stop. Her dramedy feature "Breast in Show" won Best Original Comedy Feature at the 2022 Richmond International Film Festival, as well as earning her a position as an ISA Fast Track Fellow. She was also named one of NetworkISA’s Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch in 2024.
As a playwright, he 10-minute play "Little Kasia Meets the God of Death" was part of the Fargo-Moorhead Community Theater’s 10 Minute Play Festival, and was also selected to represent the festival on the TV show "North Dakota Today."
As a young breast cancer survivor who struggles with bipolar disorder, Berting uses real-life experience to inspire women-centered stories about finding the joy and levity inside heartbreak and tragedy. She received her BFA in Theater Education from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA.
Berting spoke about some of the themes she felt it important to touch on.
"In any of my writing, I strive to find the joy and levity that exists inside of tragic circumstances," Berting said. "So, finding the funny, finding the happiness here was very important to me, because a chemo infusion center as the setting is sort of inherently tragic. Exploring Emmie’s experience as a young cancer patient and what that means for someone in that age group was a major focus, as was thinking about what love and romance might mean for those who are facing death head-on. Who sticks around when we go through our darkest moments?"
Meanwhile Park was created by Salt Lake City art and theater lover Jeff Paris in 2021. Paris has created a playing space in his own backyard. The space is designed so audience members can gather before the production for an hour-long pre-performance celebration which includes complimentary drinks and snacks, with the idea that you socialise with your fellow theatergoers before the play begins. Tickets are $36 until April 30 and $42 from May 1.
Salt Lake City Awards - Live Stats
Best Musical - Top 3
1.
THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (West Valley Arts)
17.4% of votes
2.
SOMETHING ROTTEN! (Hopebox Theatre)
8.3% of votes
3.
DOGFIGHT (Sentinel Theatre)
7.5% of votes
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