Sara Garonzik
Artistic Advisory Board Member
For 35 years, Sara spearheaded the artistic and organizational growth of Philadelphia Theatre Company, a highly respected cultural institution. She created and implemented PTC’s mission to produce and develop new American plays and musicals, overseeing 30 mainstage world premieres including Terrence McNally’s Tony Award-winning Master Class. Other premieres included work by Bill Irwin, Anna Deavere Smith, Lucas Hnath, Ike Holter, Christopher Durang, Theresa Rebeck. Naomi Wallace and J.T.Rogers. Throughout her tenure, PTC also supported dozens of writers such as James Ijames, Jacqueline Goldfinger, Gina Gionfriddo and Zakiyyah Alexander and was proud to be a leader in hiring female directors for its mainstage.
She played a major role in the creation of the Suzanne Roberts Theatre from conception/design to capital fundraising. The project garnered PTC and developer Carl Dranoff the Arts & Business Council’s Partnership Award. She forged numerous creative collaborations with commercial producers and non-profit theatres including The Kennedy Center, Baltimore Centerstage, the Long Wharf, Second City and the Paper Mill Playhouse.
In contributing to the field, she has 3 decades of grant adjudication service including the PA, NJ and OH State Arts Councils; the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize; the Knight Foundation; the TCG Fox Actor Fellowships; the McKnight Advancement Awards; the Philadelphia Theatre Initiative/Pew Charitable Trusts; and the O’Neill Playwrights Conference.