Sara Cooper B.Ed

 Sara brings 15 years professional performance experience in film, television, radio, stage and voice to her teaching.  She is a qualified drama teacher holding a Bachelor of Education with a Drama Major from The University of Tasmania (1992), and is a Graduate of the renowned John Bolton Theatre School, Victoria (1997).  

Over the past fifteen years Sara has appeared in numerous screen projects including; VCA post-grad shorts, AFC funded shorts, corporate training videos and television commercials, TV series and feature films.  She has voiced multiple characters for Blue Rocket’s 52 episode children's animation Pixel Pinkie (Channel Nine) and Mega Bites for ABC 3 and performed roles in the following: ABC3's award winning TV series My Place, feature films Rosebery and Arctic Blast, short films Starring Xavier, Slashed, The Gardener and Kaleidoscope and the role of Will McInnes daughter in the award winning Channel Ten miniseries My Brother Jack (2001).

Her 50 professional stage credits include Terrapin's award winning Explosion Therapy (“Most Outstanding Production”, 2008 International Children’s Festival, Shanghai, & Perth), The Women’s Jail Project (Victoria), Dante’s Inferno (Canberra,) Dream Masons (with Jim Lasko of Red Moon Theatre, Chicago),  and the AWGIE winning Beyond The Neck (Argy Bargy). The role of 3 in Beyond the Neck was written specifically for Sara by Tasmania's own multi-award winning writer,  Tom Holloway.

Sara is committed to professional development and has continued training under the following respected practitioners; screen acting - Aleksi Vellis and Di Drew; improvisation - Improbable Theatre (U.K.).; clowning - Phillipe Gaulier (France), Justus Neumann (Austria), Tom Greder and Clare Bartholomew; viewpoints - Laura Sheedy; voice - Rowena Balos (L.A.);

Sara has taught clowning, movement and improvisation for ATYP, Is Theatre Ltd and The Conservatory of Acting, Vic., and screen acting classes for advanced students at Greentree Acting School, Victoria .  She has been employed as a director for Is Theatre Ltd, The Australian Script Centre and The Tasmanian Theatre Company, and has worked as an acting consultant on Terrapin’s Helena and the Journey of the Hello, which toured to the Sydney Opera House, July 2010.

In 2010 Sara performed a double bill with Ryk Goddard (ABC radio), in the Tasmanian Theatre Company’s Don’t Think Twice and She had immortal longings with Helen Noonan at the Inaugural Australian Shakespeare Festival under the direction of Michael Campbell.  She appeared opposite Robert Mammone (Neighbours) in the international feature film, Arctic Blast and completed shooting a lead in the multi award winning AFC funded short film Slashed, accepted into festivals worldwide including The New York City International Film Festival.  Sara is next to appear on national TV screens in Series Two of ABC3's award winning children's series My Place, directed by Michael James Rowland. 

2011 will see Sara play the role of Lady Macbeth opposite John Xintavelonis' Macbeth in the independent feature Macbeth, and perform roles in the independent feature film Wail Away (VIC/TAS) and Lucien Simon's feature film Breeding in Captivity.    

This January Sara returned from watching Ivana Chubbuck from Los Angeles in action.  Ivana is world renowned for training top actors including Brad Pitt, Charlise Theron and Halle Berry.

Sara has been a proud member of M.E.A.A. since 1999.

“With any part you play, there is a certain amount of yourself in it. There has to be, otherwise it's just not acting. It's lying.”

Johnny Depp