resume:
sara_copeland_theater_resume.doc-12.pdf | |
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A note about my training:
I have been actively involved in theatre productions since I was young, and have been fortunate to have performed a variety of unique and challenging roles. My college experience has been particularly rewarding in that I have been trained to reach people of a wide audience and have had some great learning opportunities at both Berry and KSU. Three notable examples of having expanded my capabilities as an actor and my understanding of the power of performance include Blood Wedding, Monkey King, and Good Person of Szechuan. I was awarded an acting scholarship at Berry and performed a wide variety of roles there, but Blood Wedding stands out because we performed Lorca's script separately in English and Spanish. Performing an entire play in Spanish did so much more for my foreign language education than any of my Spanish classes because of the deep connection that an actor has with a script. Years later, at KSU, I was able to expand my cultural understandings of the world with our production of Monkey King. It was performed as a new adaptation of the popular Chinese legend and we then took it on tour to Shanghai for performances. It was an amazing experience. While traveling a location way across the globe from my home, I took every opportunity available to explore the region and to communicate with the generous individuals we met. Good Person of Szechuan was one of my final college performances and it came with many learning opportunities as well. As an accompaniment to our rehearsal process, I was also enrolled in an upper level acting class entirely devoted to the work and insights of Bertolt Brecht. I was able to spend months benefitting from his profound socioeconomic observations and his unique performance style while unpacking the layered and amazingly complex character of Shen Te. I believe that these three remarkable experiences have helped to shape the way I approach performance opportunities and my collaborations with other theatre artists.
Since graduation I have participated in several projects, and have taken on three very different internships. I was the lead intern for a production of A Christmas Carol starring Austin Pendleton in NYC. I helped build props, make arrangements, acted as an assistant to one of the producers, designed and maintained the website and other social media, and served as Front of House during the performances in Brooklyn, NY. During my internship with this production, I learned valuable skills in the areas of organizing information and technology for a smooth and successful run of performances. It was also a delight to watch the inimitable Austin Pendleton at work. Around the same time as my internship with A Christmas Carol, I was awarded the Leitalift Foundation scholarship in association with Georgia Ensemble Theatre in Roswell, GA. This nine month paid internship covered all aspects of theatre production and I was assigned rotations in different departments. I was involved in productions both onstage and backstage including spot operation, prop design, production meetings, and performances. I was also an assistant to GET's education, marketing, box office, front of house, and development departments. I helped teach classes, design email updates for patrons, renew subscriptions, compose applications for grants, and design creative lobby displays. My most valuable reward from this experience was learning more about the business of theatre and how important it is to exhibit strong leadership values at every level of a theatre company, large or small. My latest internship was with Seven Stages Theatre in Atlanta. I performed the role of Passionara in a new adaptation of the The Navigator. I was also the assistant director to Michael Haverty, Associate Artistic Director of Seven Stages, who has a background in puppetry and used his incomparable vision to include scenes performed in shadow, stilt-walking, silhouette projection and animation, puppetry, roving site-specific theatre, and an original score by composer Klimchak. Working alongside such an imaginative cast, director, and company was a joyful experience which helped encourage me to think outside the box and choose my own unique path in my own artistic interpretations.
Although my training is predominantly in acting and performance studies, I also love directing, playwriting, improv, puppetry, theatre education, performance art, and dramaturgy. I am most excited by a project which combines elements of performance. I co-founded a group in Atlanta a few years back called GABI for that reason. GABI was designed for performers interested in developing ensemble based new works which combine image-based performances with original music to tell one-of-a-kind original stories. I love playing with different ways of using shadow and light in performance and with increasing my knowledge of puppetry arts. As is mentioned on my bio on the home page of this website, I have a passion for new works. I wrote for and performed in a showcase of original monologues at The Decatur Arts Festival. I participated in Atlanta's first Fringe Festival. I helped to create and performed in a short radio play called Frank the Adventurously with No, You Shut Up Games which gave me my first experience in voice over work. I really enjoying trying my hand at something new. It allows me to constantly keep learning and growing as a performer. I believe it is essential for any theatre artist to diversify her skills so that she may understand the process of performance from all angles and to develop new strengths in telling a compelling story. I look forward to my next learning opportunity!
Since graduation I have participated in several projects, and have taken on three very different internships. I was the lead intern for a production of A Christmas Carol starring Austin Pendleton in NYC. I helped build props, make arrangements, acted as an assistant to one of the producers, designed and maintained the website and other social media, and served as Front of House during the performances in Brooklyn, NY. During my internship with this production, I learned valuable skills in the areas of organizing information and technology for a smooth and successful run of performances. It was also a delight to watch the inimitable Austin Pendleton at work. Around the same time as my internship with A Christmas Carol, I was awarded the Leitalift Foundation scholarship in association with Georgia Ensemble Theatre in Roswell, GA. This nine month paid internship covered all aspects of theatre production and I was assigned rotations in different departments. I was involved in productions both onstage and backstage including spot operation, prop design, production meetings, and performances. I was also an assistant to GET's education, marketing, box office, front of house, and development departments. I helped teach classes, design email updates for patrons, renew subscriptions, compose applications for grants, and design creative lobby displays. My most valuable reward from this experience was learning more about the business of theatre and how important it is to exhibit strong leadership values at every level of a theatre company, large or small. My latest internship was with Seven Stages Theatre in Atlanta. I performed the role of Passionara in a new adaptation of the The Navigator. I was also the assistant director to Michael Haverty, Associate Artistic Director of Seven Stages, who has a background in puppetry and used his incomparable vision to include scenes performed in shadow, stilt-walking, silhouette projection and animation, puppetry, roving site-specific theatre, and an original score by composer Klimchak. Working alongside such an imaginative cast, director, and company was a joyful experience which helped encourage me to think outside the box and choose my own unique path in my own artistic interpretations.
Although my training is predominantly in acting and performance studies, I also love directing, playwriting, improv, puppetry, theatre education, performance art, and dramaturgy. I am most excited by a project which combines elements of performance. I co-founded a group in Atlanta a few years back called GABI for that reason. GABI was designed for performers interested in developing ensemble based new works which combine image-based performances with original music to tell one-of-a-kind original stories. I love playing with different ways of using shadow and light in performance and with increasing my knowledge of puppetry arts. As is mentioned on my bio on the home page of this website, I have a passion for new works. I wrote for and performed in a showcase of original monologues at The Decatur Arts Festival. I participated in Atlanta's first Fringe Festival. I helped to create and performed in a short radio play called Frank the Adventurously with No, You Shut Up Games which gave me my first experience in voice over work. I really enjoying trying my hand at something new. It allows me to constantly keep learning and growing as a performer. I believe it is essential for any theatre artist to diversify her skills so that she may understand the process of performance from all angles and to develop new strengths in telling a compelling story. I look forward to my next learning opportunity!