Meet the actor, director and author of a new column appearing the first Friday of each month (plus some fun facts)

‘The play was a great success, but the audience was a disaster.’

— Oscar Wilde

By Jessica Sage

Having worked in theater most of my adult life as drama teacher, actor, playwright, director, and now as the artistic director of Rogue Theater Company, I’ve learned a thing or two about the craft. In this column, I’ll share my passion for theater as I answer your inquiries about all things theater-related — sprinkled with a fun fact or two.

Here’s your first fun fact: “Theater” or “theatre” — how did Shakespeare spell it? If only we had the word written by his own hand, we could answer the question with certainty. Since we don’t, our best guess is to see how it was printed in the earliest editions of Shakespeare’s published works. The word appears in print a total of eight times in five plays. In seven of those, it’s spelled “theater.” Only once is it spelled “theatre.”

Next fun fact: My husband, the actor and Shakespeare scholar Barry Kraft, said he’d divorce me if I spelled Rogue Theater Company any other way.

Since we’re just being introduced to each other, let me share a bit about my theater background. Born in New York, I had access to what is — IMHO — the best theater in the country. At an early age, I fell in love with acting.

My mom, saying she’d rather have me act out than act up (I guess I was a handful and a half), eagerly enrolled me in acting school. My dad, who sold theater lights and fixtures to a multitude of NYC stages, would occasionally take me out of school on Wednesdays and stick me in the wings to watch matinees while he did business. To this day, I get chills remembering watching the original Broadway cast of “Hair” disrobe while they sang “Where Do I Go?” Another fun fact: For decades my dad sold bulbs for the illuminated ball that drops in Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

I studied theater for years, most notably with Eric Morris in NYC and Joy Zinoman at Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C. Along the way, I was cast in theater and television, and even had a role as Sandra Bullock’s teacher in “Who Shot Pat?,” one of her first films. How I ended up on the cutting room floor is one of the world’s greatest mysteries. Soon afterward, casting director Lynn Stalmaster hired me for a miniseries and secured me a talent agent (no small feat) in L.A. I worked steadily, but it took several agonizing years to conclude that what Hollywood wanted I didn’t want to give.

In the 1980s, I was young, enthusiastic and eager for meaningful acting roles. My agent would say I was the only one right for a particular role, and I’d go to the audition and cram myself into a room the size of an airport hangar bulging with hundreds of actresses told the same thing by their agents. And if you’re curious, yes, the casting couch was alive and well. My experience was that Hollywood notoriously and ruthlessly objectifies women. If you’re an actress, it’s primarily what you look like that will decide whether you get a role that will most likely be an accessory to the actor. What? Me, bitter?

The deciding factor was when my agent told me she could get me more work if I got a boob job. She even set up an appointment for me. That was the final straw! I packed my bags, moved to the Bay Area, and refashioned myself as a stage director, acting teacher and playwright. It took years for my acting wounds to heal.

Eventually my love of theater led me to Ashland. I finally felt at home. In 2019, I discovered my professional calling as the founder of a theater company that presents relevant, thought-provoking plays with top-notch talent. Serving as artistic director is the best role I’ve ever played.

That’s enough about me. Now it’s your turn. Theater lovers, what would you like to know about theater, acting, stagecraft, etc.? Send your questions to [email protected]. We will print your first name and last initial along with your questions. Bring up the houselights, and let’s have some fun!

Jessica Sage is artistic director of Rogue Theater Company (roguetheatercompany.com).