My name is Shari Jordan and I am the Associate Artistic Producer and Casting Coordinator for Tuacahn Center for the Arts. I have worked at Tuacahn for over 15 years. My first job here was as an actor and dance captain. I have performed in nine seasons and dance captained 17 productions.  As a Dance Captain, I was responsible for maintaining the choreography and artistic standards after the director and choreographer left. My duties included teaching choreography, giving notes, conducting put-in rehearsals, and serving as a liaison between the performers and the creative staff. I love all the shows I have been in at Tuacahn, but if I have to choose, my favorite roles are Rosie in Mamma Mia, the Mother and Disney’s When You Wish (2015 World premiere), Mama Bear in Shrek the Musical, Sister Act and the Madame and The Hunchback of Notre Dame(2016).
Originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, I began my professional career as an actor in the national tour of Crazy for You in the role of Tess. Following the Crazy for You tour, I danced as a Radio City Rockette for six years, performing in numerous cities across the country. Mel Brooks’ The Producers Broadway National Tour was the next big job I landed. As a swing and understudy on The Producers, I performed the role of Ulla and every other female role in the show. In the Las Vegas productions of The Producers, I performed opposite Tony Danza and David Hasselhoff. You can also catch me in the film, The Producers, with Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane and Will Ferrell. Another little-known fact about me is that I was a national champion baton twirler. All of these experiences led me to become a performer at Tuacahn.
After performing for many years at Tuacahn, I accepted the job of Associate Artistic Producer and Casting Coordinator. One of my main responsibilities, along with the Wojcik Casting Team in NYC, is to set up Tuacahn’s annual six-city audition tour: Ivins, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Provo, Los Angeles and New York City. We see over 1,000 people audition live and in person! If you include the video and emailed submissions for the season, it can easily reach over 5,000 actors that apply. The talent Tuacahn presents to Southern Utah is the best of the best!
Tuacahn is a unique theater. Not only is it outdoors, but Tuacahn runs their Broadway seasons in repertory, performing three different shows in rotation every night with the same cast in all three shows. The actors hired have to play roles that may require different vocal and dance styles. The audition process is difficult and competitive. At their callbacks, they might be reading and singing for three different parts.
Once everyone has auditioned, the directors and choreographers give me their top cast choices and I put together a cast list making sure I give them as many of their first choices as possible. In this cast list, I have to make sure each role has an understudy and each ensemble member has a swing. If anyone gets hurt or injured, the swings and understudies are ready to perform at a moment’s notice, sometimes in the middle of a show. In 2014, I was a swing for all of the female ensemble roles and I was performing in an ensemble track for an injured actor. Toward the end of Act one, someone grabbed my arm and said, “Come on, I have to paint you green!” I had an entrance coming up for my ensemble track, but they said do not worry about that, you have to go on for the Wicked Witch, who I understudied! Twenty minutes later, I was flying through the air holding a broom shooting pyro, in a costume I had never tried on, with a painted green face and glued on prosthetics, and my evil, wicked laugh cackling through the canyon.  It was an experience I will never forget.
Once we have a cast list, I put the offers out to the actors and I negotiate with their agents and managers. Including directors, choreographers, stage managers, actors, music directors and many other departments, I write over 150 contracts for the season. Each employee is responsible for filling out their own hiring packets, so it is up to me to make sure those are done. When that is complete, I make sure that Company Management has all of the information and dates so they can arrange travel and housing and the Finance Department has what they need for the employee to get paid.
I also assist Scott Anderson, our Artistic Director, in choosing the shows as well as the creative teams including the directors, choreographers, music directors, scenic designers, costume designers, lighting designers, sound designers, video and projection designers, hair and make-up designers, etc., all of the people that create the world and stories that you see on our stage.
I coordinate with our marketing team on photoshoots, meet and greets, Q and A’s and local performances and events, as well as the program that is handed out to the audience each night. We have to make sure all of the names are spelled correctly and that their credentials are perfect.
There are so many things that I do at Tuacahn that it is difficult to list them all, but that is what makes my job exciting. There is never a dull moment!
What you enjoy most about your job- The thing I enjoy most about my job is meeting all the incredible artists that visit Tuacahn and stay in Ivins for up to seven months in some cases. Coming from over 20 years as a working actor and a member of Actors’ Equity Association, I love getting to know actors. My passion stems from the desire to put artists to work and bring joy to others that can only be found working on or watching a live performance. The stories we tell in the canyon can be life changing and can hopefully bridge a gap between different walks of life proving that we are all more alike than we are different.
How long have you been working here? My first season was in 2010 as an actor and I became an Associate Artistic Producer in 2019.
That you’ll be directing Elf- I am super excited to share that I will directing Elf this Christmas. I am having a ball creating the world of Buddy the Elf with my team. This show will make you laugh, but it also has so much heart. I love Christmas and I want this show to be a love letter to the joy of Christmas. My mother and grandmother instilled in me the importance of being with your loved ones during the holidays and how we must always believe in the magic of Christmas. I hope to share that magic with all of those that come to see Elf.
Anything else you’d like to share. Theatre is the family business! My husband, AJ Sullivan, started working at Tuacahn in 2011 as an Assistant Stage Manager and is now the Production Stage Manager. He is the operational leader for the Broadway productions, facilitating all aspects of the show from rehearsal to the final performances. You can catch both of my children, Jordan and Hudson, onstage together in Newsies this season! My eldest child, Jordan, first performed on the amphitheatre stage when he was four years old as a munchkin in The Wizard of Oz. He has since been in nine productions and his favorite roles are Mason in School of Rock and Flick in A Christmas Story. Hudson’s first show was Elf the Musical in 2019 and a full circle moment will be when he plays Michael in this upcoming production of Elf. He has performed in ten shows at Tuacahn and his favorite roles are Les in Newsies, Flounder in The Little Mermaid and Grover Dill in A Christmas Story.
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Tuacahn will always hold a special place in my heart. From performing to producing to directing to watching my children shine on stage, I am lucky and grateful to have Tuacahn as my artistic home.
