Favorite Quote
I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams.
Hamlet 2.2
Favorite Play
Titus Andronicus, Tempest, Revenger's Tragedy, Pericles...
Sarah Henley
President, Director of Education and Research, and Co-Founder
Born and raised in NJ, Sarah comes to The Penny Stinkards with a varied background in Shakespeare and theatre and a passion for audiences.
Sarah holds an MLitt and MFA in Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature in Performance from Mary Baldwin University, and a BS in Music Education from Elizabethtown College. At Mary Baldwin, Sarah studied Shakespeare's text from an Elizabethan perspective, marrying a balanced study of text with study of early modern performance practice. There, she focused on the actor's perspective of early modern English plays, defending her theses on silent characters, and later on Feste in Twelfth Night. It was this fascination with "page-to-stage" text-driven performance that led Sarah to work at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, VA after grad school. As Education Programs Manager, Sarah was responsible for several projects at the organization, including the educational playhouse tour, developing study guides that aligned with VA high school curriculum standards, the Bring 'Em Back Alive staged reading series, and facilitating student and teacher workshops.
After serving for three years as the Education Programs Manager at the American Shakespeare Center, Sarah and Steve returned to NJ to raise their son close to family. Since that time, Sarah has served as adjunct professor at several schools (including Montclair State University and Northampton Community College), teaching acting, theatre, English, and public speaking. In her capacity as a professor, Sarah has been able to continue to realize her passion for education.
As a director and acting teacher, Sarah has worked with students and actors since 2011, pushing performers to reach their potential. Favorite directorial pursuits include The Miracle Worker and Star-Crossed Lovers: an Original Play. Sarah continues to appear onstage from time-to-time, recently performing such roles as Gertrude in Hamlet, The Stage Manager in Our Town, and Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.