Foundation holds annual concert in memory of favorite arts teacher

OREM — The Syd Riggs Foundation will host its fourth-annual “Why We Tell the Story” concert on Saturday, Feb. 4, at 6:30 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. in the Orem High School auditorium. Proceeds will provide arts scholarships to two Utah high school students.

Ben Tichy first met Syd Riggs in a community theater venture when he was 14 years old. Riggs ended up being Tichy's drama teacher in 1997 when he started attending Orem High School, where Riggs had taught since 1992.

“She just became so involved in my life and became such a big influence in not only what I was doing with the arts, but what I was doing with the rest of my life as well,” Tichy said.

To Tichy, Riggs was a teacher, mentor, friend and all-around remarkable person.

It only took a little while for him to learn that “lots of people that worked with her felt this way about her.”

“Her motivation and inspiration led so many people to go on and excel in the arts,” Tichy said, listing arts degrees, Broadway performances, albums and films to name just a few of the accomplishments of people who worked with Riggs.

Riggs directed dramatic and musical performances at Hale Centre Theatre, the SCERA Center for the Arts, Provo Theater, Brigham Young University and Backstage Theater, among others. She was involved with the drama department at Orem High School for years before she started officially teaching there. Productions she led throughout Utah easily number in the hundreds.

After Riggs passed away in 2005, Tichy said, “I felt like something needed to be done to honor the legacy that she had created, and I thought, ‘Well what better way than to create an arts scholarship in her name?’”

The title of the concert, according to the foundation’s website, comes from one of the beloved teacher’s greatest passions: “telling the story” through whatever medium, be it art or a way of living.

This year’s production features a cast of 120-plus performers from high school students to professionals, plus a tech crew of at least 10 people. Tichy explained that organizers tried to incorporate elements like voiceovers and projections this year.

“Each year, we’ve got to find a way to top what we did before, and I think we’re definitely doing that this year,” he said.