Are you ready to take a trip to the stars?
Your official Starkeep Training is about to begin!
Claire Sabatine (Artistic Director) is an actress, teaching artist and creative professional based in Pittsburgh. As a performer, she was most recently seen in Pittsburgh Public Theater's Playtime Series reading of Black Ballerina and in City Theatre's Young Playwrights Festival. She serves as Jumping Jack's lead teaching artist in local classroom residencies and has worked with folks of all ages around the country at organizations such as the Children's Theatre of Charlotte and Hartford Stage. She currently teaches Introduction to Performance at the University of Pittsburgh. You can also find her teaching courses based in creative drama and building interpersonal skills in Pittsburgh for organizations such as Pittsburgh Public Theater, Pittsburgh Public Schools, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts & Media and more. Claire represented Jumping Jack at the Big Umbrella Festival at Lincoln Center, the world’s first month-long festival dedicated to arts programs for children on the autism spectrum and their families. She is a proud graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and has also studied at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in NYC.
Please visit: clairemariesabatine.com
Sarah Carleton (Artistic Associate/Director of Education & Community Relations) is an actor, teaching artist, and creative with an MFA in performance from the University of Louisville. Her teaching experience includes twenty years of working in a variety of teaching environments from working as a facilitator on a ropes course, teaching at colleges as an adjunct, training standardized patients at the University of Pittsburgh’s Medical School, and as an acting teacher and coach. On stage her work has included classical Shakespeare shows as well as creating and performing new work with other Pittsburgh artists including Big Storm Performance Company and Soprano Lara Lynn McGill. As part of Jumping Jack Theater she has performed the role of MC in Cityscape and joined Starshine! as the Starkeeper Phoenix as well as working in classroom settings as a teaching artist for the company. Her recent film work can be seen in the short film series Evenfall being produced by Maple Films in Cleveland as well as other award winning short films, including Eddy’s Island directed by Fernando Lopez.
Please visit: sarahbcarleton.com
Rebecca Covert (Co-Founder/Autism & Education Consultant) worked as a theatre arts/music teaching artist for over 16 years, primarily for Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Education Center/Gateway to the Arts, Pittsburgh Filmmakers/Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, and the PA Council on the Arts. She crafts student workshops (PreK-8) that fuse arts integration strategies and interdisciplinary storytelling with curricular instruction. Rebecca leads professional development workshops for educators and artists statewide on residency planning, storytelling strategies, and arts engagement for Autistic students. A proud mother of an Autistic child, she founded the Firefly Arts Project to provide families with Autistic children a safe place to build community through multidisciplinary arts programming. Rebecca also consults with cultural organizations, education institutions, and family providers, offering sensitivity training and site-specific strategies for sensory-friendly events and devising original creative works. Clients include The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust (EQT Children’s Festival), Off the Wall Productions, Bricolage Production Company, Yes You Can Dance, The Mattress Factory, and Prime Stage Theatre. She holds an M.S. in elementary education from Duquesne University.
Stephen Santa (Co-Founder) is a director, actor, and teaching artist based in Pittsburgh. He staged over 30 productions, ranging from shows in educational settings to professional productions seen around the country. His productions of Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Avenue Q were named Best Local Stage Productions by the Pittsburgh City Paper for 2018 and 2019. He was the assistant director of the Flashdance National Tour, the North American premiere of The Monster in the Hall, and POP! A new musical choreographed by Billy Porter at CITY Theatre, respectively. In New York, he directed Abduction at NYMF, and concert workshops of UNCHARTED: The Music of Anna K. Jacobs and TEETH a New Musical both were performed at the famed Ars Nova Theatre. His critically acclaimed production of Dani Girl a New Musical traveled to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland where it received multiple five-star reviews. In 2013, he was named one of the top directors in Pittsburgh by CBS Local Online. For over 10 years, Stephen served as a teaching artist for The Pittsburgh CLO Creative Vision Program which aims to build self-confidence, empower self-expression, and model positive behavior for elementary and middle school students while engaging them in musical theater disciplines. In addition, for 18 summers Stephen worked as the Music Director for Camp AIM a YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh Summer Camp for children and young adults with physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and communication challenges. He shares his passion and experience in the arts with over 1,500 students every year. Stephen is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. Please visit: www.stephensanta.com