April 2025 | Vol. 21 Iss. 4
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Holladay
Special Section: Education
Ross Romero
Holladay’s own now on County Council
SheTech and botany classes
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Playwright Amy Banta brings ‘Spartan Moms’ to the Holladay community By Collette Hayes | c.hayes@mycityjournals.com
Holladay Arts Council honors playwright and her debut play.
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he Holladay Arts Council is recognizing playwright Amy Banta for her exceptional talent and ability to skillfully craft worlds and characters from the depths of her imagination, masterfully navigating the delicate fine line between tragedy and comedy. Banta‘s debut play, “Spartan Moms” explores the creative, chaotic life of a struggling artist and mom. Banta says, “It is a play depicting scenes of moms conversing in the wild. A middle-aged mom brings her kids to the park in search of time and space to practice her craft. As other moms crowd her park bench and the kids won’t leave them alone, she wonders if she will ever have time and space to create again. Disruptive children, quirky moms, and one unwieldy stroller stir up creative chaos as the clock ticks down to the next diaper emergency in this zany, heartfelt comedy.” Performing on the dance team and color guard for the marching band in high school is where Banta fell in love with the use of props. In her current show a stroller is the main character. In fact, in a recent conversation, Banta mentions she is rebranding “Spartan Moms” as the ‘stroller stunt show.’ “Everyone on stage is going to struggle with that stroller!” Banta said. “Growing up, I always wanted to be a part of theater. I learned to sing and to dance. At the time I didn’t realize that dance movement was such a huge part of theater, but now I do.” Banta majored in economics and math at Brigham Young University. After graduation, she married and moved to Washington D.C., where her husband attended law school at
“In theater, you have maidens, the young ingénue and their love stories, the matrons, grandmothers, and wise old women, but very few plays focus on middle-aged moms with young children,” Banta said. (Photo courtesy Amy Banta) Georgetown University. Soon, she was hired by the Department of Defense, America’s oldest and largest government agency, to build spreadsheets for nuclear weapons systems. When asked if she discovered any dark secrets of intrigue while working for the defense department, she responded “no, unfortunately not, officially, I know nothing.” Since Banta’s husband was involved, most nights attending law school classes, Banta found a great opportunity to spend time exploring her theater interest.
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“As a performer, I didn’t get to be on stage in a theater production until my husband went to law school at Georgetown University,” Banta said. “Georgetown law school has their own little theater company called the Georgetown Gilbert and Sulivan society. I said to myself, ‘I’m going to be part of your school’s theater company.’ This experience allowed me to finally be in a school play and at a school I didn’t even attend. It was a student-run organization and open to anyone who was adjacent to the Georgetown
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law school community.” It was this performance opportunity that moved Banta in the direction of becoming a playwright. “I’m not the consummate performer,” Banta said. “These girls in the “Spartan Moms” cast come to life every single time they perform. I get on stage and never know if I will come alive Continued page 7
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