Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Sax.
Hi Sarah, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Growing up in the suburbs of Sacramento (shoutout Greta Gerwig, my idol), my parents never put me in community or school theater. Not because they didn’t love me but my childhood was rough, turbulent, and dysfunctional. They both worked and didn’t have time, amongst other things but that’s a story for another day. I was always jealous of the kids whose stage parents would take them in and out of school for community theater. So, during lunch I started the “play club” I gathered kids and would have us all create plays during lunch and perform them and vote on who was best. I also had one called “comedy club” where they were supposed to be funny. I didn’t truly perform in a play until I was 13. By this time both my mom and dad had tragically passed away and I was living with my aunt and uncle at the time. One of my teachers, Mr.Wimburg, was inspired by my childhood story of which I shared in a class I was taking of his called “Leadership”.
My middle school didn’t have a drama club and I told him how awful that was and that we absolutely needed it. He was so cool. Mr.Wimburg and I went to the school principal and talked to him together about starting one. AND HE DID. The first production was Shakespeare’s “A Mid Summer Night’s Dream” and I was cast as Titania. The second I went on stage, the chaos of my childhood came to a stand still and I discovered what it felt like to have control over my environment and my world. I wasn’t the orphan girl, I was a f*ck*ng fairy. I completely transcended and submerged myself in Titania’s beautiful, flowery world. I got to speak to a donkey named Bottom and ran around on stage in a white flowy dress and flowers in my hair imagining a sparkly forest around me. That was freedom. That was the moment I knew I’d spend the rest of my life as a performing artist. People at school only called me “Titania” after seeing me perform. To this day, that is the best compliment I have ever received on a performance.
In high school, I moved to a small town on the Oregon coast where there were 70 kids in my entire high school. When I found out there was no drama club or community theater my soul left my body. However, I found out my music teacher used to be the head of his former school drama club, so we made an anti-bullying movie for the school. My first on-camera experience. I also dabbled in directing by writing, directing, and producing “The Real Homecoming Queens of Pacific High School” A spoof of “The Real Housewives Franchise” But I kept finding myself in front of the camera during the making of it so I took that as a hint.
I then attended the University of Oregon in 2017 where I immediately began playing roles for Duck TV, our student-led media network. I was a series regular in every show there was and did every student film I could get my hands on.
After I graduated I moved to Portland for a few months to save money before booking it to Los Angeles. I’ve only been here for a year and have been carving my path here. While being here, I’ve had the pleasure of being a lead in a feature film, a lead in a few short films, and have been taking scene study and improv classes. My story here is very much at its beginning.
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?
I don’t know any actor who has had a smooth road, lol. I talked about this in my last question, but a big struggle has been access. Growing up in a broken home, without being able to do school or community theater, no drama club at my middle school or high school. Everywhere I’ve been I’ve had to create opportunities for myself to act out of completely thin air. During those times, they felt like struggles but they’ve shaped me into the tenacious and resilient actress I am today. I truly had to fight tooth and nail to be here. Not having my mom and dad around has been my biggest struggle. I can’t call them crying when the 200th casting director hasn’t replied to my cold email, or when I haven’t had a callback in months, or when I’m proud of something I did, or made everyone laugh in improv class. It has been tremendously hard. My dad grew up in Hollywood though so sometimes I pass by his childhood home whenever I’m down in the dumps. I am very lucky though to have my aunt Stephanie and my brother David who I would not be here without, they get to listen to me cry on the phone, lucky them!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am an actress! Film, television, theater, you name it. I’ve only been in LA for a little over a year, half of which in a strike. So as you may be able to guess, my resume is currently packed with independent films and student films + TV shows as I try to break into the industry. I’ve been the girl next door, the stoner, the mom, the girl trapped in a horror movie, the girl who gave love a second chance, the girl who was always unemployed, the journalist, the demon, the fairy, the roommate, the wrestler’s wife, the mean rich girl, the last girl in the apocalypse, the girl who didn’t know her place in the world, the military officer. I did win multiple performance awards for these while attending the University of Oregon which I am proud of, but looking back, I lovingly cringe at how much I didn’t know what I was doing.
What sets me apart from others is my openness. My openness to learning new things and experimenting with acting techniques and different ways of working. Every actor, director, and crew I’ve worked with has been so different. I love to learn from everyone. From directors, writers, and especially other actors. I’m extremely collaborative and understand that there is seemingly endless knowledge about acting and the art of filmmaking and I am constantly learning new ways to improve my craft and be a part of the massive unit that is a production. My tenaciousness also sets me apart. I’ve already had a really challenging road to get here and in my first year of being in LA I know it doesn’t get easier, but I am here for the long haul.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I was just at the theater seeing Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla” (highly recommend) and seeing the trailers for all of the incredible A24 movies we have coming out with some films by up-and-coming filmmakers and actors who are pioneering the next few years of cinema. I really hope the trend of independent films continues to surge so we can keep seeing work that is boundary-pushing, artistic, unique, and powerful.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sarahjsax.wixsite.com/my-site-1
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/sarah.sax?igshid=YTQwZjQ0NmI0OA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
Image Credits
Headshots by: Chris Jon with Chris Jon Photography
