Performing arts provide a way to grow skills, explore interests, foster relationships, and provide entertainment. Micah Wixom has found himself immersed in this community in many different ways.

Wixom talks about where his interest in theater began. “I used to go to this show with my mom called The Forgotten Carols… She would just take me to it every year for my birthday, and that was my first real theater experience.” Wixom continues on to say, “In seventh grade, all my friends did a show, so in eighth grade, I was like ‘Oh, I want to do a show too.’”

The first role Wixom played? “It was Beauty and the Beast… I was a fisherman. Since then I got into it and have done a lot of shows.” When asked about his most memorable role, Wixom said, “I played Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest… I was an old posh British woman.”

As a freshman at the University of Utah, Wixom has found a theater community within Open Door Productions. On the upcoming production, Wixom says, “It is the 25th Annual Putnam [County] Spelling Bee. I am a 12-year-old kid named Barfée.” Wixom continues on to say, “It is student-made and student-directed… Shows will begin at the end of March.”

The performing arts are also involved in another aspect of Wixom’s life; as an employee at Hale Center Theatre. He says it has influenced his perspective as a performer “It is really cool to see all the technical aspects and how they work. To see the variation that happens between different casts as well as the performances by each person.” He continues on to say, “It is interesting to see the change and how it changes throughout a long-term production rather than just four shows.”

Wixom comments on his future in performing arts, “My major is theater education, but I might switch to the musical theater program and that would just be like being a professional actor in some aspect.” Continuing, Wixom says, “I don’t have a plan for that, I could be a theater teacher in a high school or college level.”