No script? No problem. Rowan On gets creative with Sarah Sanford

In Episode 5 of Rowan On, host Karen Holloway explores the world of devised performance with Sarah Sanford, associate teaching professor and core faculty member in the MFA in Devised Performance program. Together, they unpack how collaboration, physical storytelling and creative risk-taking shape this distinctive approach to making theater. 

Sanford traces her path from Swarthmore College to the renowned Pig Iron Theatre Company, sharing how early ensemble world and international training helped fuel the company’s evolution. She offers insight into the MFA program’s philosophy, rooted in curiosity, movement, improvisation and building original work from the ground up. Students, she explains, leave with artistic agency with a strong, collaborative vocabulary and the confidence to create their own pathways in the field. 

The episode also highlights Pig Iron’s partnership with Rowan University, which Sanford describes as a natural fit thanks to shared values, existing relationships and Rowan’s commitment to innovative performance training. Holloway reflects on her own visit to Sanford’s pedagogy class, where she participated in warm-ups, student feedback sessions and a division assignment that revealed the bravery and imagination the work requires. See Karen On Devised Performance here. 

Listeners will hear Sanford discuss everything from mask work to acrobatics, from teaching artistry to the role of performance in challenging times, all with humor, generosity and a deep belief in the power of art to connect people. 

Audiences can listen through Spotify, Apple and other podcast platforms or watch each episode on YouTube.