January YP of the Month
January 7th, 2019
January YP of the Month
For some people, theatre is a fun pastime. And that’s great. For others, though, it’s woven into the fabric of their DNA, it’s what fuels them personally, socially, intellectually, and artistically.
I think the latter is true of our January YP of the Month. A leader in our ranks, this young artist absolutely breathes theatre. She’s been performing with us since 2015, and in that time has become a fixture on our stages. She’s hard-working, smart, and gives 120% of herself to every project every time. Literally, she actually gave up her hair on our last show because the character required it. Coming up next, she’ll be Assistant Directing our production of Snow White, and even though she’s graduating in a few months, I’m sure she’ll remain part of our community for years to come. We adore this adventurous young woman, and can’t wait to see what fantastic things lie ahead on her path. We know there are many.
And who is this ambitious, affectionate and absolutely amazing actor and artist? January’s YP of the Month is none other than…
Sarah Shepherd!!!
It’s strange for Sarah to look back on the beginning of her acting journey. Back to the small (yes, even smaller than she is now), anxiety-ridden kid who was scared of everything, but willing to give theatre a try. Anyone that attended an acting camp at CYPT at the end of the summer of 2015 might remember her and her performance as the Nurse in a modern spoof of Romeo and Juliet.
From there, Sarah has fallen in love with the community at CYPT. Over the last few years, Sarah has played a host of characters, including a bumbling prison guard in Atlantis, the deadly sin of Envy in Life in the Realm, a cool thane named Angus in Macbeth, a frustrated stage manager in Tech Week, a well-meaning, but kind of dumb gossip in Unity (1918), and most recently, the no-nonsense captain of a girls indoor soccer team in The Wolves. She also had some wonderful backstage experiences as the assistant stage manager in Peter Pan, and is currently flexing her directing muscles as the assistant director in Snow White. Most recently, she has had the pleasure of working with her close friends as the costume and set designer for a show in this year’s Cannonball festival, The Wake.
It’s hard to say exactly where Sarah would be in her life without CYPT, or for that matter, theatre. But she knows for sure she likes where she is. She has considered branching out and auditioning for other theatres, but something about CYPT has kept her coming back every year. Between the amazing people she gets to spend hours and hours with, the love and support that comes from the rest of the community, the cool and innovative shows she has gotten to take part in, there truly is no place like this.
In her free time Sarah enjoys other forms of art like painting, writing, and when she feels like embracing her inner grandma, embroidery. She also enjoys going on about how much she misses past shows. She can be found saying the phrases “Man, I miss Unity” or “I wish The Wolves wasn’t over” or shedding a tear with other 2019 graduates over leaving this fantastic community behind.
“I love theatre because it makes me feel so intensely present. It’s electric. It’s magic.”
-Sarah Shepherd
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