Daily Inspiration: Meet Sara Carpenter

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Carpenter.

Hi Sara, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My journey to this career in the arts looks nothing like I thought it would. It’s a bit of joke, isn’t it – you ask the creative at the networking event what they do, and they rattle off an impossible sounding multi-hyphenate-monster-of-a-title (it’s me, I’m the punchline). But it’s true: more than ever, to work in this industry in any capacity, you have to be ready to work in every capacity.

So after years of saying yes to every opportunity and chasing what excites me most, I’ve collected skills like beanie babies in the 90s – and am hoping they end up more valuable. I’m an actor-writer-producer-director-theatre-maker, and for the last eight years, I’ve lived and worked in Los Angeles.

Originally from Richmond, Virginia, I earned my degree in acting from a small liberal arts university, CNU, before making the move across the country. I was lucky enough to land a barista job inside the American Film Institute, a gig that introduced me to impressive creative people from all over the world and to a library I still yearn for today. It was behind that counter, between mid-class caffeine stampedes, I asked myself: am I allowed to make my own work?

The answer, of course, was yes and that single question opened my world to infinite possibilities. I wrote a small book of poetry titled Stretching Small in partnership with Not A Cult Publishing (available everywhere books are sold). I began writing and sharing short films, proof-of-concepts, anything that felt like a story I had to tell. It was at that cafe that I also met my business partner and best friend, Tess Sullivan.

Since the day we met, Tess and I have been steadily building our resumes beyond the sticky grasp of barista jobs saying yes to – executive assistant work, event planning, marketing and promotion, content creating… and more executive assistant work. All the while we were acting, writing, and working in nearly every film department from production assistant to G&E, costuming to scripty. Together we’ve built the hands on, school-of-life version of a film degree.

That era of relentless learning led us to co-found Burn the Witch Productions, our two-witch production company. Co-owning Burn the Witch has allowed me to create the type of projects I am proud to bring to the party. Most recently that’s, Extended Warranty, a short film Tess and I co-directed (so you know we love working together), which is currently rounding the festival circuit with the LA premiere coming up November 22nd at the Los Feliz 3 with Film Girlz Brunch Film Fest.

But there is another part of my multi-hyphenate life I haven’t even touched on yet. My first love – apart from Viggo Mortensen in LotR of course – the stage.

I’ve always loved the theatre. I still get misty-eyed when the lights go down and the curtain goes up. I believe live theatre can change the world, especially in this time of disconnection, of AI, of isolation. Theatre invites us to join in two acts of magic – to gather and to tell stories.

About three years ago, I decided I couldn’t stay away any longer. I started pursuing the kind of theatre that made me feel the most whole. Classical theatre will always have my heart, especially Shakespeare, and in that first year auditioning I was fortunate to book a smashing season at Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum playing a witch in Macbeth, covering Lady Anne and Queen Elizabeth in Richard III. I never looked back.

Today, I’m so passionate about creating exciting, accessible Shakespeare in Los Angeles. I’ve continued working as an actor, teacher, and assistant director with Theatricum. I’ve taken classes with and volunteer as a fundraising committee member at Independent Shakespeare Company. Recently this self-proclaimed side quest has taken me all the way across the pond as I complete my MFA in Classical Acting at LAMDA. The program is demanding, intimidating, and so far incredibly rewarding.

I am delighted my journey keeps unfolding in ways I never imagined. My book Stretching Small begins with a line I’ve adopted as a kind of mantra – a spell I cast on myself when anxiety creeps in: How satisfying it is to find mundane what you once found terrifying.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There have absolutely been obstacles along the way. The usual suspects: time – not having enough of it, money – not having enough of it. But another major obstacle on my journey has been getting out of my own way. My advice to creatives just starting out, especially women, is to have the audacity to put yourself in rooms you want to work from.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My work has always been rooted in a love of story and a belief in the transformative power of art. Over the years, I’ve carved out an ever-evolving path that spans the screen, the stage, and the written word – all driven by my restless curiosity, which I’ve come to see as my superpower.

I am an actor first. This used to feel like a dirty word – a confession, a punchline. Especially in LA when you introduce yourself as an actor it is not uncommon to find yourself on the receiving end of an incredulous once-over, scanning you for similarities to Margot Robbie. But I am not claiming to be a celebrity. Just an actor, and soon to be classically trained from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts.

Being an actor first only strengthens every other part of my work. When I direct, I come in character first. When I produce, I understand who on set needs the most support and when. And I think every actor should nurture the writer in them – one only enhances the other. At the heart of it all, I’m passionate about storytelling and grateful to be in the ongoing pursuit of learning every piece of that lifelong puzzle.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Finding a mentor is about bringing curiosity to your circles. If something interests you, talk to your inner circle first. Almost every defining experience or person in my life came from a recommendation from a friend. Take classes, take chances, and don’t forget to give back as generously as you are gifted – be it in money, time, spirit, or knowledge.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.burnthewitchprod.com/
• Instagram: usernames: @scarpenter00 and @burnthewitch_prod
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561925887623

Image Credits
– cover image, Kim Alexis – stage images, Ian Flanders – Burn the Witch logo, Nate Ritsema