For over 40 years, SARTA has been serving theatres and theatre goers of all ages in the greater Sacramento area including Sacramento, Yolo, Placer, San Joaquin and El Dorado counties. We continue to support our theatre community with a newly created website, free to all community calendar, increased social media presence and local event promotion, and our twice weekly newsletter. SARTA continues to focus on outreach to our communities with youth (YES) scholarships, low-cost workshops, special hosted events for actors, SARTA sponsored cookie receptions at local theatres and the launch of small grants for small theatres! Additionally, SARTA offers Memberships that provide additional benefits to artists and producing community theaters, such as: Discounts on local productions, advanced notice and special pricing on SARTA events, and additional promotional opportunities.
This past year has seen the successful execution of three new programs - the Youth Education Scholarship (YES), our Micro-Grants program, and SARTA Cabarets. The YES program allows SARTA to offer monetary scholarships ranging from $100-$300 to underserved youth who wish to attend theatre workshops, be it acting, singing, dancing or all three. After application and committee review, our first year saw the distribution of 8 different scholarships to local youth!
Tonight Starring! gives actors a chance to perform, via staged reading, in a role that they might not otherwise have been cast, or in a show that might not have otherwise been produced. Some examples include Bryna Turner’s Bull in a China Shop, Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, and most recently "God of Carnage" by Yasmina Reza. These staged readings focus on non-traditional casting opportunities to open different interpretations of the material to the public, as well as to promote diversity and inclusivity within the theater community.
In 2024, SARTA also launched it's Micro-Grants for emerging artists program. This program is designed to provide funding and support to local community theatres and performing groups with limited financial flexibility. Offering a max of $500, our microgrants are designed to help fund costume rentals, royalty payments, costs associated with hosting an event or workshop, and minor improvements to physical spaces.
We continue to focus on bringing low-cost education workshops to the community, including Headshot Day and Marketing your Resume, as well as providing networking nights such as Broadway Karaoke night. SARTA remains committed to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility as we work to strengthen our programs and find new and better ways to support our vibrant theatre community.