Actor Training Program Professor Robert Scott Smith is a prolific and innovative artist who lives simply to create. He has worked in almost every aspect of the theatre, and his acting experience spans film and stage from Salt Lake City to New York. He was most recently seen in “How Long Can You Stand On The Train Tracks: A Game for Two Sisters” by Morag Shepherd on the University of Utah’s Babcock stage. Some of his favorite projects include “Macbeth,” directed by Paul Barnes at the Old Globe, “Bat Boy: The Musical,” with the Salt Lake Acting Company and “Climbing with Tigers,” a co-production with SLAC and Flying Bobcat Theatrical Laboratory.
Smith’s love for acting began on a whim when he decided to enroll in a drama class his sophomore year of high school. After his first scene assignment — an excerpt from Neil Simon’s “The Odd Couple”— he was hooked.
“During that semester the direction of my life was altered and, as they say, the rest is history,” Smith said. “I do have to acknowledge the wonderful Mr. Richard Call, my high school drama teacher, who always encouraged, challenged and inspired me to continue.”
Smith received his undergrad from the same program he now teaches for, the Actor Training Program at the U. He went on to pursue a master’s degree from the Old Globe and University of San Diego, describing it as “a wonderful experience that deepened my work.” After that, he bounced back and forth between Salt Lake City and New York City for about a decade. During this time, he built up his resume, but he still struggled to break into the business.
“There are so many variables that affect casting, and they are mostly out of your control,” Smith said. “Tenacity and hard work don’t always pay off and neither does luck and talent. I was lucky enough to find work and create opportunities that built up my resume and life experiences. … I kept thinking I needed a change and SLC had always been good to me.”
In 2011, Smith came back to his beloved SLC to find an unexpected door open to him. A then-new museum in SLC, The Leonardo, reached out and asked for his input on how to use the small theatre space being renovated. With an idea and nothing to lose, Smith proposed the museum begin a company, which he would work for as an actor. Now, six years later, Flying Bobcat Theatrical Laboratory is a successful supporter of experimental theater, and it works in collaboration with various groups throughout Salt Lake City.
“In hindsight, I never expected to have a company,” Smith said. “I had only imagined one day being a company member within an already established company. Now that this company is moving forward, it makes complete sense and is exactly where I should be at this moment in my career. Because of this new direction, I’ve become a huge advocate in inspiring other artists to create their own work.”
Smith is the co-artistic director of Flying Bobcat Theatrical Laboratory along with fellow U professor Andra Harbold.
“Early in our work … we discovered a book by Michael J. Gelb in which he explored what he identified as the guiding principles of Leonardo da Vinci: Curiosità, Dimostrazione, Sensazione, Sfumato, Arte/Scienza, Corporalità, and Connessione,” Smith said. “We adopted those principles as a blueprint for our own creative process and hope they are evident in our work: curiosity and an appetite to learn, responsive experimentation, storytelling that taps into the potential and expressivity of the body and the senses, and an appreciation for the amplification of ideas possible through collaboration.”
As an artist, Smith dares to create whether it is with his bold characters, experimental theatrical pieces or teaching within his classroom.
“I [have] been dreaming of this type of work for what seems like a lifetime,” Smith said. “We [at Flying Bobcat] recognize that what we dream of creating is only achievable through collaboration and mad, determined play.”
And to that, one can say: Play on.
