Sanctuary Players

Sara Whitaker

Sara approaches theatre from a spiritual perspective. Her formal training stressed “truth in acting”. Therefore, her directing and her on-stage performances tend toward solid characters that the audience will recognize as fully human and completely believable. Even the most extreme stage personalities are inspired by real-life and can be portrayed as real people. This reflection of the audience’s own experience makes comedy funnier and drama more moving. There is nothing false about theatre.

By reflecting truth, Sara is able to shed light on the humanistic facet of each character and reveal the spiritual or moral message of the play.

Sara holds the playwright in high regard. The words they have written make the play special. When performing an award-winning play, Sara takes no liberties with the playwright’s words. Actors learn to honor the words and respect what the playwright intended.

Theatre builds community through several channels. The ensemble work that happens in rehearsal builds small-group connections that can last a lifetime. The audience’s group experience establishes community-wide commonality that can bring people into conversation for months after the production. Sara emphasizes these connective threads by directing supportively and building the actors’ confidence and providing a pleasurable experience.

Sara Whitaker – CV:

Youth Connection, Wilmette, IL
Program Director 8/06-6/09

Pegasus Players Theatre, Chicago, IL
Artist in Residence 8/07-3/08

Pegasus Players Theatre, Chicago, IL
Artist in Residence 1/02-5/02

DePaul University, Chicago, IL
Bachelor of Fine Arts,
The Theatre School, Acting 2001

Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, OR
Intensive Shakespearian performance training

American Conservatory Theatre (A.C.T.), San Francisco, CA
Advanced training in ensemble development, creative process
integrity and supporting theater theory.