Western Minerals & Their Origins

by Connor Johnson and Footpath Theatre Company In partnership with Flying Bobcat Theatrical Laboratory The house is being sold. The garage is overflowing. Ari has until morning to clear it. As she excavates the dusty clutter of decades, she is drawn deeper and deeper into the past; up the steep escarpments of remembrance, and down into the dangerous defiles of the long-forgotten. Part neo-western, part environmentalist, and fully theatrical, Western Minerals and their Origins excavates our relationship with geology and the geology of our relationships. Western Minerals and their Origins returns to Utah audiences this summer for one final metamorphosis! “A love letter to the canyons, to the outdoors, to Utah itself” (Rhetorical Review), Footpath Theatre’s Western Minerals is equipped to make its last rappel onto the Kingsbury Hall stage as part of UtahPresents’ Stage Door Series. Since its first award-winning drop down at the Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival and subsequent performance at Salt Lake Acting Company, Western Minerals has continued to evolve, building new layers of storytelling. This final iteration takes audiences deep into the canyons of Southern Utah for one more descent, where beauty and peril await around every bend. Scrappy and adventurous, Footpath Theatre Company was founded in Salt Lake City by Jessica Graham, Connor Johnson, and Harrison Lind with a mission to create joyous, unexpected, and compelling new work at a small, sustainable scale. In 2023, Footpath debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with The Wreck of the Queen Thomasina, garnering much critical acclaim. This summer, Footpath fuses forces with Utah’s Flying Bobcat Theatrical Laboratory, founded by Robert Scott Smith and Alexandra Harbold and known for their innovative, experiential storytelling. Footpath and Flying Bobcat work with creative synergy, building worlds and storytelling that are physical, immersive, and collaborative.