Artists at Utah Arts Academy face a choice: Stay and grow the local scene or chase opportunities beyond

By Lexy Borgogno and Rylee Hjorth | Utah Tech University

This story is jointly published as part of the Utah College Media Collaborative, a cross-campus project bringing together emerging journalists from Southern Utah University, the University of Utah, Utah State University and Utah Tech University. The collaborative is an Amplify Utah project with support from PBS Utah and POV.

GEORGE – On any given day at Utah Arts Academy, you might find a dancer like Drake Best rehearsing for their Broadway dreams, a guitarist like Emerson Williams chasing jazz stages, or a mixed-media artist like Sara Monger preparing for her first time under the spotlight — but training as an artist in southern Utah means navigating a growing but limited arts scene, where some students feel they must leave while others choose to stay.

UAA is a public arts school in St. George, with more than 360 students from eighth to 12th grade. Alongside academics, the school specializes in arts training, with the vision of “cultivating a broader perspective of the world to promote diversity, unity, and a belief in possibilities.”

“We believe that art is the greatest teacher of humanity, so we want our students to leave here ready to be a positive influence on the world,” said Principal Drew Williams.

According to Drew Wiiliams, about half of students leave Utah to pursue additional education and careers. Whether students carry their training beyond southern Utah or invest it locally, they are shaping future art scenes by showcasing their talents. 

“Our job as educators is to help students ask questions, not give them the ‘right’ answer,” Drew Williams said. “We want these young student artists to push the conversations forward and think creatively about the world, and paths they choose.”

A local future and arts scene

Alongside visual art, Monger has participated in theater and improv and has a role in the school’s production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” She said this will be her first time acting in front of other people.

Monger has her sights set on attending Southern Utah University to double major in mechanical engineering and fine arts.

Photo courtesy of Sara Monger

While Monger hasn’t engaged much with the greater St. George arts community, she acknowledges their presence and influence on the town.“There’s just a ton of people who just want to make stuff, which we find really cool,” she said. “It seems like you can always find somewhere that has art, but St. George really seems like a nice place. If you look for it, you find it.”

Coco Graham, an 18-year-old dancer and commercial musician, has worked with the southern Utah arts community, including filming with TEDx St. George, and says she has seen its impact throughout the community.

Photo courtesy UAA student Coco Graham

“There’s a lot of things around locally in St. George [where] kids can display their art with theater and film, and physical art and dance,” Graham said. “There’s so many things around here, even though it’s sort of a small town.”

Looking beyond southern Utah

Graham is weighing her post-graduation options.

She hopes to attend college in southern Utah, perform at Walt Disney World as a princess in the Disney College Program, or serve a performing mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nauvoo, Illinois.

“I’ve always loved Disneyland,” Graham said. “That’s been part of my childhood, and performing, maybe even becoming a Disney princess.”

Drake Best, 18, is a dancer who dabbles in visual arts, acting, music and improv. He’s been dancing since he was in third grade.

Best has lived in St. George his entire life and wants a new experience outside of Utah. He has completed applications and auditions for Bachelor of Fine Arts programs. 

“I would love to move to a city, Chicago, New York City,” Best explained.  “I think the biggest factor was, ‘What’s going to take me to the next level and get me where I want to be?’ because I would love to be a performer on Broadway [and] performing in general.”

Photo courtesy of Emma Young (left) pictured with Drake Best (right)

Emma Young, 18, has been dancing since she was 4 years old and acting since sixth grade. After graduating, Young plans to attend the University of Utah to major in behavioral psychology and minor in acting. 

“[Acting] is probably going to be a side thing, but like I’m doing now, I’m always auditioning, I’m always doing things,” she said. “Theater will always be a part of my life, no matter where I’m at.” 

Young said she knew she would pursue education outside of St. George. “It has always been, ‘I’m getting out of here,’” she explained. “I think it’s really beautiful here… For me, I see it as a little bubble.”

Emerson Williams, a 17-year-old singer-songwriter and guitarist, is no stranger to the arts world.

“My parents are musicians,” she said. “I just started learning the things—the chords, simple stuff. Then, my freshman year of high school, I saw Utah Arts Academy’s guitar ensemble perform, and I was like, ‘OK, I’ll want to do that.’”

Williams plans to leave southern Utah to study jazz guitar at Belmont University, the University of Colorado, Denver or Utah State University.

Photo courtesy Emerson Williams

Despite seeing the art presence growing in St. George — with the emergence of the small recording studio Amusement Co. Records and Blues Katz Rock n’ Roll Grill, a restaurant venue with karaoke and live music — Williams said she is often playing guitar for the same crowd. She hopes more people will find these smaller businesses so the art scene can grow.      

Art outside the comfort zone

In a region where opportunities exist but often overlap, Young said some productions can begin to feel repetitive. 

Young is grateful that UAA offers opportunities to try new things, and says students aren’t afraid to simply try. 

“It’s like an echo chamber,” Young said. “Every performance I see, like ‘Little Mermaid,’ you’re just seeing the same choreography, the same people singing it, especially in a small town like [this].” 

At UAA, she’s been working on Car Plays, a performance in which two actors sit in the front of the car, and the audience watches from the backseat.

“There’s people that come to these Car Plays or come to our performances, and they look at it as weird or unusual, and they can be really mean sometimes, just because it’s not what they’re used to,” she explained. “That’s a little bit of a culture thing here that I think we as St. George and southern Utah need to get over.”

Best expressed similar concerns. 

“I feel supported [by] the people that I share my air with,” Best said. “The people around me at school are some of the most supportive artists you will ever meet. I just think people don’t understand what we’re doing here [at UAA]…”

Photo courtesy Drake Best

“Accept art, you don’t have to like it to accept it,” Young said. “Because at the end of the day, art is so beautiful, and art connects so many people. So, no matter if you like it or not, don’t be scared of art.”

Lexy Borgogno and Rylee Hjorth reported this story as journalism students at Utah Tech University.