For the first time in more than 20 years, a Salt Lake City theater company dedicated to telling stories that center women will not receive funding from the state.
And it’s all because of a 2024 Utah law that severely curtails diversity, equity and inclusion measures.
Frances Pruyn, the artistic director of PYGmalion Theatre Company, said the company will not receive a grant from the Utah Division of Arts and Museums for its 2026-2027 season.
PYGmalion, Pruyn said, had requested $9,000 — the same amount it requested last year. The company shared the state’s rejection letter in a newsletter and on social media.
“I am writing to inform you,” state Division of Arts and Museums Director Victoria Panella Bourns wrote, “that your application was not approved for funding as it appears to be in conflict with Utah HB261 Equal Opportunity Initiatives.”
HB261 was signed by Gov. Spencer Cox last year and is widely known as Utah’s anti-DEI law. According to the legislation, it “prohibits an institution of higher education, the public education system, and a governmental employer from taking certain actions and engaging in discriminatory practices.”
The law has resulted in the shuttering of several resource centers on college campuses across the state and fueled attrition among employees who worked in university DEI offices.
Bourns said in a statement that her office’s criteria for funding grants “follow all applicable state laws.”
This law, she said, requires government agencies to “ensure their policies, practices, and programs do not result in differential treatment based on personal identity characteristics.” The legislation, Bourns said, defines personal identity characteristics as an individual’s race, color, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, religion or gender identity.
Pruyn suspects the grant application was denied directly because of PYGmalion’s mission: to “produce theatre that reflects issues, concerns and shared experiences in the lives of women.”
“I am enormously frustrated by the language of House Bill 261 and that’s the issue,” Pruyn said. “Whether this was an unintended consequence or not … it’s hard not to feel targeted.”
Still, Pruyn said the company believes its mission statement is “more important than ever” and will stand behind it.
PYGmalion produces works that are not always, but often are, written or directed by women. In its 30th season, the company will feature three different shows: “Tiny Beautiful Things,” “Becky Nurse of Salem” and “Plan C.”
“Tiny Beautiful Things” tells the story of an advice columnist who helps men and women alike. “Becky Nurse of Salem” explores the life of a grandmother who dabbles in witchcraft and is raising her granddaughter, while “Plan C” explores women’s autonomy in the health care system.
All of the work the company produces, Pruyn said, tackles “issues that women encounter in their day-to-day lives.”
The lack of funding from the state ultimately means there will be impacts to PYGmalion’s “production values” since it helps pay half of artist fees for one show a season. Those impacts will be felt in the 2026-2027 season.
“We will have to be very, very careful,” Pruyn said, “about the number of actors we can put in a show.”
Since sharing the grant denial on social media, Pruyn said the community response has been heartening. She estimates donations so far have made up half the amount of the lost grant.
“These shows are not, and never have been, anything but inclusive. They’re not anti-male. What they are is pro-female,” Pruyn said. “The irony, of course, is in the past we’ve been lauded for our mission statement.”
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