In My Name

me, Chanukah circa 2001.

me, Chanukah circa 2001.

"My name is Sarah Sanders. Like the press secretary. My last name would have been Schneiderman but my grandfather changed it to sound less Jewish. And here I am, a white, queer, ritual-craving, anti-Zionist Jew from Montana who shares a name with a white nationalist apologist."

In My Name is a mostly-solo theatre piece using original music, ritual, personal narrative, and emails to the former White House press secretary to grapple with the ways that Sarah's whiteness and American Jewish identity intersect— and to ask (where) does spirituality fit into all this?!

“The Things I Want to Ask My Father (The Tallis Song)” from In My Name at Abrons Arts Center, November 2020.
Piano and music direction by Sofia Geck.
Music developed by Sofia Geck and Charlie Romano.

This project is being developed through the Queer|Art|Mentorship Program, with mentor Mashuq Mushtaq Deen.
Beginning February 2020, Sarah is also an artist-in-residence at Dixon Place, and will be sharing the development of this piece once a month in the Lounge! Follow here for performance updates.

Updates:

  • August 2021: Daniel and I head to Pennsylvania as Resident Artists with Fresh Ground Pepper’s BRB Retreat.

  • May 2021: In My Name was shortlisted for the Orchard Project’s 2021 Performance Lab! We were tickled pink to be in some exciting company.

  • November 2020: A live showing of In My Name as part of ARCANUM, in partnership with Abrons Arts Center. RSVP and more info here!

  • October 2020: The In My Name team is growing! I’m delighted to be working with director Daniel Krane and to be reunited with composer Sofia Geck on the development of this piece.

  • October 2020: I’m honored to be sharing In My Name as part of the QAM Arcanum exhibition. Work from this piece will be part of an interactive, virtual exhibition, and I will also be doing a live (!!!) socially-distant performance in November. RSVP for the Arcanum opening reception on October 29!

  • August 2020: Another Zoom work-in-progress showing!

  • May 2020: Another month inside, another Dixon Place TV quarantine showing (you can watch it here)!

  • April 2020: I debuted some new work on Dixon Place TV as the residency has moved online (for now).

  • February 2020:I’ll begin a residency at Dixon Place by sharing some new work as part of FemmeFest 2020. Moving forward, I will be in the Lounge once a month as she continues developing this piece.

  • November 2019: I performed an excerpt from a new draft at Starr Bar with Undiscovered Countries.