The Sarah Play
The Sarah Metzger Memorial Play provides high school students from the Washington, DC metropolitan area the resources and guidance to mount a theatrical production at Round House Theatre under the mentorship of professional theatre artists and practitioners.
The Sarah Play is the country’s only theatrical production, offered as part of a regional theatre’s regular programming, that is directed, designed, stage managed, and performed entirely by high school students. All participants are paired with designated mentors from Round House Theatre’s own programming staff, as well as other theatre professionals, to ensure a high quality experience. The theatre covers all related finances, allows access to equipment and supplies, and provides support in the areas of marketing and public relations.
Click below to watch a short video documentary on the Sarah Play, filmed by Docs In Progress as part of their Silver Spring Stories series.
The 2011 Sarah Play
Androcles and the Lion 
By Aurand Harris
Music by Glenn Mack
Directed by Kari Barclay
This year’s Sarah Play is a refreshingly antic, irreverent treatment of Aesop’s fable, written in the style of Italian Commedia dell’Arte.
Androcles and the Lion is a prize-winning and popular family play. In Commedia tradition, a group of strolling players set up their stage and give a performance. Using authentic staging and stock characters of Commedia – the miserly Pantalone, the bragging Captain, the romantic Lovers, the trickster Arlinquin, plus an endearing Lion – Aesop’s fable becomes a colorful theatrical experience.
For the most up-to-date information on this year’s Sarah Play, become a friend on Facebook.
Join the 2010/2011 Sarah Play as a designer or actor
Stage Management & Design Applications
High school students entering grades 9, 10, 11, or 12 in Fall 2010 may apply to be part of the 2010/11 Sarah Play team in the areas of Design (lighting or sound) and Stage Management. Selected applicants work on a full production of a play running for five performances at Round House Theatre Silver Spring.
How to Apply to Design and Application Deadline
Download, complete, and return your application by mail to Round House Theatre Education Center, 925 Wayne Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20910 or by fax at 301.585.9696. The application deadline is September 3, 2010.
Application Downloads:
Designer (Lighting, Sound) Application
Actor Auditions
High school actors interested in auditioning for the 2010/11 Sarah Play are encouraged to email sarahplay@roundhousetheatre.org with your name, grade, school, contact information (mailing address, city, state, zip, phone, and email). Interested actors will be contacted when audition dates are confirmed. Auditions will be held in late Fall 2010.
Stage Crew, Front of House
High school students interested in working backstage or front of house for the 2010/2011 Sarah Play should email sarahplay@roundhousetheatre.org for more information. Interviews will be conducted in January, 2011.
Questions?
Call Round House Theatre Education Center at 301.585.1225 or email sarahplay@roundhousetheatre.org
Sarah Play Participation Requirements
Participants must commit to the entire production process:
- Between July and December
Monthly production meetings will be held with all members of the show’s artistic team. These meetings will help participants budget their time throughout the process and gauge participants’ progress at each step along the way. - In November
Auditions are held to cast the show. Auditions are open to all high school students from schools throughout the area as well as home schooled students. - From January to April
Rehearsals are scheduled up to four times a week (after-school and/or on the weekend). There will be one week of technical rehearsals prior to the show’s opening which will require participants to be present more frequently.
Sarah Play History
The Sarah Play celebrates the memory of Sarah Metzger, an inspiring and active member of the theatre community in her school and at Round House Theatre, who was killed in an automobile accident during her freshman year of college. One of the Round House family’s lasting memories of Sarah is that, while still a high school student, she independently mounted a full-scale theatre production. After her passing, her family worked with Round House to create The Sarah Metzger Memorial Fund. Through the generosity of many contributors, this fund provides the financial resources each season for similarly passionate and motivated high school students to create a fully-realized production with a professional theatre company.
To contribute to The Sarah Metzger Memorial Fund, please contact the development office at 240.644.1403.
Sarah Play Archives
2009/2010
The Misanthrope (Directed by Matt Dicken, Poolesville HS)
2008/2009 Season
Dracula (Directed by Sarah Marx, Homeschool)
2007/2008 Season
Cyrano (Freddy Mancilla, Albert Einstein HS)
2006/2007 Season
The Burial at Thebes
A version of Sophocles’ Antigone (Directed by Elizabeth Hagerty, Bethesda-Chevy Chase HS)
2005/2006 Season
The Crucible (Directed by Rebecca Graber, Blair HS)
2005/2006 Season
The Fantasticks (Directed by Tali Friedman, Bethesda-Chevy Chase HS)
2004/2005 Season
Side Man (Directed by Emily Hanlen and Jessie Mills Leiken, Bethesda-Chevy Chase HS)
2003/2004 Season
The Diviners (Directed by Davis Hastings and Alissa Wigdor, James Hubert Blake HS)
