Dramaturgy
Developing new work, supporting productions, and advocating for playwrights
New Play Dramaturgy
New works are some of our most immediate, vital cultural assets. At the heart of my dramaturgical practice is a dedication to the form. I work closely with playwrights to determine the story they want to tell and help them to pursue the most artful, effective expression of that story. New play dramaturgy includes research, coaching, questioning, listening, and advising.
Production dramaturgy
I am also experienced with production dramaturgy, including research, writing, and collaborating with directors on productions. Production dramaturgy can include creating research casebooks and actors' packets, writing program notes and creating lobby displays, and executing production-related programing like hosting panels and facilitating talkbacks.
EXPERIENCE
I’m a co-founder and the director of dramaturgy for Umbrella Project, an organization that advocates for new plays, dramaturgs, and playwrights in the Pacific Northwest. I am an artistic associate and advisory board member of the site-responsive artist collective ARTBARN and a member of Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA). I’ve worked at Seattle Repertory Theater, Seattle Opera, Seattle Public Theatre, Village Theater, Signature Theater (NYC), and the Williamstown Theater Festival.
INCIDENT AT VICHY at the University of Washington. See production credits. Read the program note here. Photo by Chante Thornton Hamman.
THE OTHER PLACE at Seattle Public Theatre. Written by Sharr White. Directed by Kelly Kitchens. Photo by John Ulman.
“Sara has an uncanny ability to ask exactly the right question, not the one you necessarily want to hear, but the one you need to. Her socially conscious mind and kind heart allow her to go very deep into her work, not only making her dramaturgy analytical, but personal and political as well.”
SELECTED CREDITS
Dust by Danielle Mohlman (dir. Kate Drummond)
Produced: Dacha Theatre
upcoming
The Revolutionists by Lauren Gunderson (dir. Kelly Kitchens)
Produced: ArtsWest Playhouse
Voyagers by Danielle Mohlman (dir. Maureen Monterubio)
Workshop: Independent
The Call by Tanya Barfield (dir. Annie Lareau)
Produced: Seattle Public Theatre
Fire Season by Aurin Squire (dir. Kelly Kitchens)
Developed and produced: Seattle Public Theatre
world premiere
Matilda the Musical (dir. Kathryn Van Meter)
Produced: Village Theatre
west coast premiere
O+E by Lucy Yates, a new translation of Glück’s Orfeo et Euridice (dir. Kelly Kitchens)
Developed and produced: Seattle Opera
world premiere
Grounded by George Brant (dir. Kelly Kitchens)
Produced: Seattle Public Theatre
Taste by Brendan Healy (dir. Marya Sea Kaminski)
Developed: Seattle Repertory Theatre Writers Group, Umbrella Project
The Lost Girls by Courtney Meaker (dir. Kaytlin McIntyre)
Produced: Annex Theatre
The Other Place by Sharr White (dir. Kelly Kitchens)
Produced: Seattle Public Theatre
and and and Isabella Bootlegs by Samantha Cooper (dir. Norah Elges)
Produced: Macha Monkey Productions
or, the Whale by Brendan Healy with Pony World Theatre Company (dir. David Gassner)
Developed and Produced: Pony World Theatre Company
A Great Wilderness by Samuel D. Hunter (dir. Braden Abraham)
Produced: Seattle Repertory Theatre
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee (dir. Braden Abraham)
Produced: Seattle Repertory Theatre
This Restless House by Zinnie Harris
Part 1: Agamenon’s Return (dir. Jess K Smith)
Part 2: The Bough Breaks (dir. HATLO and Alyza DelPan-Monley)
Part 3: Electra and Her Shadow (dir. Paul Budraitis)
Produced: Jess K Smith, Sara Keats, 14/48 Projects
The Thanksgiving Play by Larissa Fasthorse (dir. Kelly Kitchens)
Produced: Seattle Public Theatre
Supposed Home by Sam Hamashima (dir. Annie Lareau)
Workshop: Seattle Public Theatre
Incident at Vichy by Arthur Miller (dir. Kelly Kitchens)
Produced: University of Washington PATP
Umbrella Project Writers 2017/18 Writer’s Group Workshop and Showcase
Rushing by Danielle Mohlman (dir. Kelly Kitchens)
juana y carmen by Meme Garcia (dir. Sara Porkalob)
The Race Game by Brandon J. Simmons (dir. John Kazanjian)
Untitled Play About Institutional Racism In the Non-Profit Industrial Complex by Seayoung Yim (dir. Sara Porkalob)
Produced: Umbrella Project
Nadeshiko by Keiko Green (dir. Kaytlin McIntyre)
Developed: Seattle Repertory Theatre Writers Group, Umbrella Project
Produced: Sound Theatre Company
Medea by Euripides (dir. Kelly Kitchens)
Produced: Seattle Shakespeare Theatre
Untitled Play About Art School by Nelle Tankus (dir. L. Nicol Cobe)
Developed: Parely Productions; Produced: Copious Love Productions
We Remain Prepared by Melissa Brown with the Satori Group and ARTBARN (dir. Caitlin Sullivan and Jess K Smith)
Developed: The Satori Group, One Coast Collaboration
Produced: The Satori Group/ARTBARN Residency at the Georgetown Steam Plant
*The Collected Works of Billy the Kid by Michael Ondaatje, adapted by Sophia Shrank and Sara Keats with Nightbaby (dir. Sophia Shrank)
Developed: Carnegie Mellon University
Produced: Nightbaby
Bo-Nita by Elizabeth Heffron (dir. Paul Budraitis)
Produced: Seattle Repertory Theatre
“Sara is every playwright’s dream. She falls in love with plays hard, simultaneously defending them as her own and subjecting them to her perceptive interrogation. Every play Sara touches is bolder, sharper, and better for having known her.”
“I’m fortunate enough to have benefited greatly from Sara’s insight, knowledge, and perception. She’s a determined advocate for new work and especially Northwest playwrights. Any project would be enriched by her contributions.”