Sarah Saddler
Asst Professor
Weissman School of Arts and Sciences
Department: Fine & Performing Arts
Areas of expertise:
Email Address: sarah.saddler@baruch.cuny.edu
> View CV- Biography
- Teaching
- Research and Creative Activity
- Grants
- Honors and Awards
- Service
Sarah Saddler is Assistant Professor of Theatre in the Department of Fine and Performing Arts at Baruch College, CUNY. Her research examines theatre and performance in relation to labor, management, globalization, and institutional life, with attention to contexts in the Global South. She is the author of Performing Corporate Bodies: Multinational Theatre in Global India (Routledge, 2024), which received an Honorable Mention for the 2025 Association for Theatre in Higher Education Outstanding Book Award for Scholarly Achievement. Her current book project, Theatres of Extraction, explores workers’ theatre, industrial performance, and performance within South Africa's extractive economy. Her scholarship has appeared in TDR: The Drama Review, Research in Drama Education, Performance Research, and Theatre Journal. She has held Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships at the American University of Beirut and the Centre for Humanities Research at the University of the Western Cape. At Baruch, she teaches courses in theatre and performance studies, applied theatre, arts management, improvisation, and leadership.
Artistic and Creative Activities
Saddler, S. (2014). Joan: Voices in the Fire . University of Minnesota Department of Theatre and Dance.
Saddler, S. (2013). 9 Circles . Miami University Department of Theatre.
Saddler, S. (2013). Tough Choices for the New Century . Miami University Department of Theatre.
Books
Saddler, S. (2026). Theatres of Extraction in South Africa . In Progress.
Saddler, S. (2024). Performing Corporate Bodies: Multinational Theatre in Global India . (p. 212). Routledge. In Progress.
Journal Articles
(2026). "In Case of Revolution, Break Glass": Decolonial Performance and the City in Alternative Beirut". Performance Research, In Progress.
Schmidt, B., & Saddler, S. (2022). COVID Relief and the Dynamics of State Care in South Africa's Performance Economy. Performance Research , 27(6-7). 62-70.
(2020). Training Corporate Bodies. TDR/The Drama Review, 64(3). 118-131.
Saddler, S., Nagar, R., & Da Costa, D. (2019). The Perils and Possibilities of Creative Economy: A Conversation. AGITATE! , 1.
(2017). "‘Think differently, get creative’: producing precarity in India’s corporate theater culture industry". Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 22(1). 22-25.
Book Chapters
Saddler, S., & Bryant-Jackson, P. (2016). Two Trains Running: Bridging Diana Taylor's "rift" and Narrating Manning Marable's "living history". August Wilson's Pittsburgh Cycle: Critical Perspectives on the Plays McFarland & Company.
Presentations
Saddler, S., & Schmidt, B. (2026, November 29). “Why Are We Here? Money.”: South African Industrial Theatre, Extraction, and the Changing Face of Applied Theatrical Work . American Society for Theatre Research. Minneapolis, Minnesota: American Society for Theatre Research. In Progress.
Saddler, S. (2026, December 29). Performing Corporate Bodies Book Talk . CUNY Academy for the Humanities and Sciences. CUNY Graduate Center, New York: CUNY Graduate Center. In Progress.
Saddler, S. (2026, March 1). "Why are we here? Money:" Industrial Theatre and the Cultural Logics of Extraction in South Africa . WISER Seminar Series. Johannesburg, South Africa: Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of the Witwatersrand.
Saddler, S. (2026, August 29). “These Factories Are Doomed”: Dramaturgies of Extraction in South Africa. Department of English Seminar Series. Stellenbosch, South Africa: Department of English, Stellenbosch University.
Saddler, S. (2025, May 1). From Workers to Managers: Theatres of Capital in South Africa. Ataya: The HUMA Interdisciplinary Seminar Series. University of Cape Town, South Africa: Institute for Humanities in Africa, University of Cape Town.
Saddler, S., & Schmidt, B. (2026, November 29). Extractive Nostalgia: Performing Postindustrial Memory at Gold Reef City and The Big Hole. American Society for Theatre Research. Denver, CO: American Society for Theatre Research.
Saddler, S., & Schmidt, B. (2026, November 29). “If I Amount to Nothing I’ll End Up In This Building:" Visualizing Violence through Participatory Performance at Ponte City. American Society for Theatre Research. Seattle, WA: American Society for Theatre Research.
Saddler, S. (2026, March 29). Performance and Marketing: An Industry Roundtable on Creative Organizational Change. Online: Performance and Business Research Working Group, Calgary Institute for the Humanities.
Saddler, S. (2026, November 29). Cultivating Executive Presence: Exploring the Spiritual Influences of VUCA Management through Indian Corporate Theatre Training. American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting. San Diego, CA: American Academy of Religion.
Saddler, S. (2026, May 29). Corporate Theatre in a VUCA World: Unlocking Peak Performance in Sensorial Managerialism. Search Uncommon Senses IV: Sensory Ecologies, Economies, and Aesthetics. Montreal, Canada: Centre for Sensory Studies, Concordia University.
Saddler, S. (2026, November 29). Performance, Business, and Creativity in the Innovation Economy. Performance and Business Research Working Group. Online: Performance and Business Research Working Group, Calgary Institute for the Humanities.
Saddler, S. (2026, March 29). FACT and FICTION -- Expanding the Archive: Sources & the Social Sciences. South Asia Centre Interdisciplinary Roundtable Event. Online: London School of Economics.
Saddler, S. (2026, November 29). "I Can Work Limitless": Performance, Labor, and Hope in Corporate India. American Society for Theatre Research. Providence, Rhode Island: American Society for Theatre Research.
Saddler, S. (2026, June 29). Business Retreating in a VUCA World: Cultivating Authentic Presence in the "Capitalist Funhouse'". Business Retreats at the Crossroads of Religion and Performance. Online: University of Calgary Institute for the Humanities.
Saddler, S. (2026, March 29). "We are like a giant potjiekos": Industrial Theatre and the Paradox of Corporate Revolution. Mid America Theatre Conference. Cleveland, Ohio: Mid America Theatre Conference.
Saddler, S. (2026, March 29). The Power of Storytelling. International Women's Day Event. Online: Parker Hannifin Corporation.
Saddler, S. (2026, August 29). "We are like a giant potjiekos": Industrial Theater and the Paradox of Corporate Democracy. Performing Democracy. Online: Drama for Life, University of the Witwatersrand, Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
Saddler, S. (2026, November 29). Romanticizing the Luxury Brand. American Society for Theatre Research. Online: American Society for Theatre Research.
Saddler, S. (2026, December 29). Improvising Performance, Dramatically: Applied Theatre for Corporate Development in Neoliberal India . Applied Theatre in India Conference. Online: Applied Theatre India Foundation, Indian Council for Cultural Relations.
Saddler, S. (2026, November 29). Improvisation and Performance at Work . An Interdisciplinary Discussion on the Theme "Improvisation and Performance at Work". Online: Performance and Business Research Working Group, University of Calgary Institute for the Humanities.
Saddler, S. (2026, November 29). Drama Based Training in Indian Corporate Organizations . Master Talk Series. Online: Applied Theatre India Foundation.
Saddler, S. (2026, July 29). Embodied Learning in Creative Capitalisms. Creative Corporealities Symposium. Online: Creative Corporealities Interdisciplinary Working Group, Bath Spa University.
Saddler, S. (2026, November 29). Performing Management: Corporate Arousal in Global India . American Society for Theatre Research. San Diego, California: American Society for Theatre Research.
Saddler, S. (2026, October 29). Performing Hindu Womanhood: Corporate Theatre in Global India . Performance Studies In and From South Asia: An Interdisciplinary Symposium. Madison, Wisconsin: Annual Conference on South Asia, University of Wisconsin.
Saddler, S. (2026, March 29). The Boalian Brand. Mid America Theatre Conference. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Mid America Theatre Association.
Saddler, S. (2026, April 29). Improving Performance, Dramatically: Corporate Theatre in Global India. Social Theory Colloquium. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University.
Saddler, S. (2026, November 29). Corporate Theatre in Global India: A Performance Ethnography. South Asia Seminar Series. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change.
Saddler, S. (2026, March 29). Virtual Embodiment and Theatres of War. Mid America Theatre Conference. Kansas City, Missouri: Mid America Theatre Conference.
Saddler, S. Think Differently, Get Creative: South Asian Drama-Based Corporate Training as Democratic Culture Industry. International Federation for Theatre Research. Hyderabad, India: International Federation for Theatre Research.
Saddler, S. Revision, Reconstruction, Performance: The Gettysburg Reunion of 1913. Mid America Theatre Conference. Cleveland, Ohio: Mid America Theatre Conference.
Saddler, S. Virtual Iraq: The Performative Engagement of Military Trauma Tactics. Association for Theatre in Higher Education. Orlando, Florida: Association for Theatre in Higher Education.
Reviews
Saddler, S., & Schmidt, B. (2026,March 29). Performance Review of South Africa's National Arts Festival. Theatre Journal . Johns Hopkins University Press.
Saddler, S. (1970,January 1). Review of Brutal Beauty: Aesthetics and Aspiration in Urban India by Jisha Menon . Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism . University of Kansas .
Saddler, S. (2026,June 29). Review of A Poetics of Modernity: Indian Theatre Theory, 1850 to the Present by Aparna Bhargava Dharwadker . Theatre Survey . Cambridge University Press.
Saddler, S. (2026,September 29). Review of Politicizing Creative Economy: Activism and a Hunger Called Theater by Dia Da Costa . Theatre Journal . Johns Hopkins University Press .
Saddler, S. (1970,January 1). Review of Reengineering India: Work, Capital, and Class in an Offshore Economy by Carol Upadhya . Anthropology of Work Review . John Wiley & Sons, Inc..
| Title | Funding Agency Sponsor | Start Date | End Date | Awarded Date | Total Funding | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Performing Corporate Bodies: Industrial Theatre in South Africa | PSC CUNY 52 | 07/01/2021 | 06/30/2023 | 04/15/2021 | 3440 | Completed |
| Honor / Award | Organization Sponsor | Date Received | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eugene M. Lang Faculty Research Fellowship | Office of Sponsored Programs and Research (SPAR) | 2024-04-30 | Awarded a Eugene Lang Fellowship in the amount of $7,588 to support fieldwork in India for my first book. |
| Innovative Teaching Recognition from Baruch | Baruch College’s Office of Communications, Marketing, and Public Affairs (OCMPA) | 2023-05-08 | My Leadership Through Improvisation course was featured in spring 2023 by Baruch College’s Office of Communications, Marketing, and Public Affairs as part of a campus-wide campaign highlighting innovative teaching. The campaign included interviews about the course’s design, classroom observations, video footage of student activities, and testimonials from former students. One alumna credited the course with helping her build confidence, adapt creatively, and communicate effectively in her role at Snap, Inc. |
| CUNY Faculty Fellowship Publication Program (FFPP) | CUNY University Human Resources | 2022-12-01 | This fellowship supported the development and completion of writing towards scholarly publications and my broader research agenda. |
| Collaborative Research Award | American Society for Theatre Research | 2022-09-01 | This approximately $3,000 award supported travel to Calgary for collaborative research and workshops with the Performance and Business Research Working Group. |
| Teaching Recognition from Baruch Center for Teaching and Learning | Baruch Center for Teaching and Learning | 2022-07-03 | Notified by Baruch's Center for Teaching and Learning to inform me that my teaching was positively acknowledged by Baruch students in a campus-wide teaching survey on learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| Andrew W. Mellon Flagship Postdoctoral Fellowship | Centre for Humanities Research, University of the Western Cape | 2021-06-09 | This fellowship enabled me to advance my research in South Africa while teaching remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. It included an approximately $5,000 research stipend. |
| Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship | American University of Beirut | 2019-04-01 | This fellowship supported a year of research and teaching at the American University of Beirut during the 2019–2020 academic year. It included a $45,000 living stipend and a teaching appointment in the Department of Civilization Studies. |
| Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship | University of Minnesota Graduate School | 2018-05-07 | Nominated by the University of Minnesota Department of Theatre and Dance. The year-long writing and research fellowship included an approximately $25,000 living stipend. |
| Helen Krich Chinoy Dissertation Fellowship | American Society for Theatre Research | 2018-03-15 | This fellowship enabled me to conduct dissertation research in India during the summer of 2018 and included a $1000 award. |
| Rarig Theatre Award | University of Minnesota Department of Theatre and Dance | 2017-05-12 | Supported my graduate research in theatre and performance studies and included a $1,000 award. |
| Junior Dissertation Research Fellowship | American Institute for Indian Studies, National Institute of Advanced Study, Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore, India) | 2017-04-03 | Hosted by the National Institute of Advanced Studies at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, India. |
| Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellowship | Institute for Advanced Study, University of Minnesota | 2017-04-03 | Year-long research fellowship sponsored by the Institute for Advanced Study and the Department of Sociology at the University of Minnesota. |
| Charles Nolte Theatre Scholarship for Outstanding Graduate Research | University of Minnesota Department of Theatre and Dance | 2016-05-13 | Recognized outstanding graduate research in theatre and performance studies at the University of Minnesota and included a $3000 award. |
| Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Academic Year Fellowship | United States Department of Education | 2016-04-01 | Supported advanced foreign-language training at the University of Minnesota. |
| Foreign Language and Area Studies Academic Year Fellowship | United States Department of Education | 2015-05-15 | Supported advanced foreign-language and area-studies training and included an approximately $15,000 living stipend. |
| Foreign Language and Area Studies Summer Language Fellowship | American Institute for Indian Studies | 2015-04-01 | Supported Hindi-language study through the American Institute of Indian Studies Summer Language Program in Jaipur, India, including tuition and a summer living stipend. |
| Graduate Teaching Award | Miami University | 2012-05-01 | Recognized excellence in graduate teaching at Miami University and included a $500 stipend. |
College
| Committee Name | Position Role | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fine and Performing Arts Department Curriculum Committee | Committee Member | Present | |
| Weissman Representatives to the Zicklin School of Business | Committee Member | Present | |
| Harman Writer-in-Residence Advisory Committee | Committee Member | Present | |
| Harman Artist Residency Committee | Committee Chair | Present | |
| Honors Faculty Admissions Committee | Committee Member | 5/15/2024 | |
| Joint Committee on Research | Committee Member | 5/16/2023 | |
| Ad Hoc Committee on Tenure and Promotion Guidelines | Committee Member | 12/16/2022 |
Professional
| Organization | Position Role | Organization State | Organization Country | Start Date | End Date | Audience |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Performance in/from the Global South Working Group | Conference-Related | United States | 5/1/2024 | Present | International | |
| Twentieth-Century Literature, Duke University Press | Reviewer, Journal Article | 12/29/2025 | 7/9/2026 | International | ||
| Performance and Business Research Working Group | Workshop Organizer | Canada | 9/1/2022 | 5/16/2025 | International | |
| Organizational Aesthetics | Reviewer, Journal Article | 5/16/2024 | 7/16/2024 | International |