Sabra Jones is an American actress, director, writer, and producer known for her expansive collection of artistic work and for founding

The Mirror Theater Ltd The Mirror Theater was founded by Sabra Jones in 1983, who was also the Founding Artistic Director. The first program of the theater was the Mirror Repertory Company (MRC). Founding members of the company included Eva Le Gallienne, John Stras ...

. She has produced over 172 theatrical productions in New York City, London, and around the country, including the 1982

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production of ''Alice in Wonderland.'' Jones has acted on

, at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...

, in numerous regional productions, and in select television and film roles. She currently lives between

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

, working as the Founding & Producing Artistic Director for

and for The Mirror’s Vermont chapter, the Greensboro Arts Alliance and Residency.

Biography

Sabra Jones grew up in a small town just outside of Los Angeles, separated from the metropolitan hubbub and yet close to the city's vibrant passage for the arts. At 18, she moved east to

and received a BFA from the

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

. Shortly after, she landed her first

role, a lead in ''

Butterflies Are Free ''Butterflies Are Free'' is a 1972 American comedy-drama film based on the 1969 play by Leonard Gershe. The 1972 film was produced by M. J. Frankovich, released by Columbia Pictures, directed by Milton Katselas and adapted for the screen by Ger ...

''. Following this, Jones met and married

John Strasberg John Strasberg (born May 20, 1941) is the son of Lee and Paula Strasberg of the Actors Studio, and brother of actress Susan Strasberg. Background and career John Strasberg is an American actor, director, teacher and writer, the son of Lee Str ...

--son of Actors Studio Artistic Director

Lee Strasberg Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American theatre director, actor and acting teacher. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931 ...

--and founded

“under the mentorship of

Harold Clurman Harold Edgar Clurman (September 18, 1901 – September 9, 1980) was an American theatre director and drama critic. In 2003, he was named one of the most influential figures in U.S. theater by PBS.

Ellis Rabb Ellis W. Rabb (June 20, 1930 – January 11, 1998) was an American actor and director who in 1959 formed the Association of Producing Artists, a theatre company that brought new works and noteworthy revivals to Broadway and to regional theatres. ...

Eva Le Gallienne Eva Le Gallienne (January 11, 1899 – June 3, 1991) was a British-born American stage actress, producer, director, translator, and author. A Broadway star by age 21, Le Gallienne gave up her Broadway appearances to devote herself to founding t ...

Alan Schneider Alan Schneider (December 12, 1917 – May 3, 1984) was an American theatre director responsible for more than 100 theatre productions. In 1984 he was honored with a Drama Desk Special Award for serving a wide range of playwrights. He directed th ...

, and

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud, (; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Brit ...

.” Though Strasberg and Jones divorced, the company flourished, expanding into The Mirror Repertory Company (MRC) and eventually developing the Greensboro Arts Alliance and Residency (GAAR). Jones' son, Charlie McAteer, is currently co-Artistic Director for The Mirror. Outside of performing, directing, and producing, Jones is known for her award-winning Arts in Education program. She taught for almost nine years at the

Lee Strasberg Institute The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute (originally the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute) is an acting school founded in 1969 by actor, director, and acting teacher Lee Strasberg. The Institute is located in Union Square on East 15th Street, ...

, was a Professor of Acting at

Pace University Pace University is a private university with its main campus in New York City and secondary campuses in Westchester County, New York. It was established in 1906 by the brothers Homer St. Clair Pace and Charles A. Pace as a business school. Pace ...

, directed at the

Manhattanville College Manhattanville College is a private university in Purchase, New York. Founded in 1841 at 412 Houston Street in lower Manhattan, it was initially known as Academy of the Sacred Heart, then after 1847 as Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart ...

, and taught years of Mirror Rep Ensemble Classes as a Master Teacher.

Career

Acting

Jones made her Broadway debut in 1971, replacing Blythe Danner as Jill Tanner in ''

'' and continuing the role in the First National Tour. She also appeared in the original production of ''

Six Degrees of Separation Six degrees of separation is the idea that all people are six or fewer social connections away from each other. As a result, a chain of "friend of a friend" statements can be made to connect any two people in a maximum of six steps. It is also k ...

'' at the

Vivian Beaumont Theater The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a Broadway theater in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Operated by the nonprofit Lincoln Center Theater (LCT), the Beaumont is the only Bro ...

. In 1972, Jones made her

debut as the Duchess of Krackenthorp in ''

La Fille du Régiment ' (''The Daughter of the Regiment'') is an opéra comique in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti, set to a French libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard. It was first performed on 11 February 1840 by the Paris Opéra ...

'' and later acted as Andromache in '' Les Troyens''. Jones also performed in 13 plays with her own Mirror Repertory Company, nominated by the

Outer Critics Circle The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town newspa ...

for Best Acting Ensemble and Best Sustained Excellence. Other New York and select regional credits include ''

Sally and Marsha ''Sally and Marsha'' is a comedy-drama, written by Sybille Pearson and directed by Lynne Meadow. It premiered Off-Broadway in 1982. Productions Pearson was a graduate student at City College, and the play was read there by Jill Eikenberry and P ...

'', ''Someone'', ''Hot Buttered Bourbon'', ''Jigsaw'', ''Indiscretions'', and ''

Our Town ''Our Town'' is a 1938 metatheatrical three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 thro ...

''. Jones starred as Marcella in the 1979 film ''Night-Flowers'' and appears on episodes of '' Law & Order'' and '' Laverne & Shirley''.

Directing

Sabra Jones has directed nearly 80 productions, many with the Greensboro Arts Alliance and Residency. Her most recent directing credits include ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. S ...

'' (2012), ''

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments ...

'' (2013), ''

The Miracle Worker ''The Miracle Worker'' refers to a broadcast, a play and various other adaptations of Helen Keller's 1903 autobiography ''The Story of My Life''. The first of these works was a 1957 ''Playhouse 90'' broadcast written by William Gibson and sta ...

'' (2014), ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' (2015), and ''

To Kill a Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in 1960 and was instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' has become ...

'' (2016). Her shows with the Greensboro Arts Alliance and Residency have been called "absolutely delightful", "bold", and "high quality". Her production of ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' (2016) starring Sean Haberle, Tony nominee Marla Schaffel, and Tony nominee Katheryn Meisle, was so high regarded that local papers termed it "a masterpiece" and the Rev. Richard Fenn of Princeton Theological Seminary called it "liturgy" because of its beauty. Sabra directed ''The Children's Hour'' at Marymount College in Purchase New York. She is presently tagged to direct the world premier of Bernard Pomerance's only unpublished play ''Miranda'', which concerns Prospero and an adult Miranda after their return to Italy from the Island in ''The Tempest'' by Shakespeare, as well as the founding of America and the fate of Powhatan tribes at the hands of British settlers.

Writing

Jones traveled to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

as a journalist, “interview ngformer Philippine presidents Garcia,

Macapagal Macapagal (rare variant: Makapagal) is a Filipino surname derived from the Kapampangan language. The family claims noble descent from Dola de Goiti Dula, a legitimate grandchild of Lakan Dula, the last "王" or King of Tondo "東都" (Dongdu). ...

, and

Marcos Marcos may refer to: People with the given name ''Marcos'' *Marcos (given name) Sports ;Surnamed * Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century) * Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer * Nélson Marcos, Portug ...

and

riting Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols. Writing systems do not themselves constitute h ...

features on Corregidor’s infamous

Malinta Tunnel The Malinta Tunnel is a tunnel complex built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers on the island of Corregidor in the Philippines. It was initially used as a bomb-proof storage and personnel bunker, but was later equipped as a 1,000- ...

.” She is also an award-winning poet—her poem “Christus Neger” won first prize at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

—and playwright, winning the Dramalogue Best New Play award for her play ''One Hundred Percent Alive''.

Producing

With over 170 producing credits and a

Tony Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

nomination, Jones’ producing experience spans from

to London with much in between. Her show ''Alice in Wonderland'', directed by

, opened on

in 1982 garnering a Tony nomination. She produced the WNET13 Masterpiece Theatre Production for television. With The Mirror Repertory Company, Jones produced three full repertory seasons, and she continues to work for

and the Greensboro Arts Alliance and Residency today. Her latest production, ''Sinners'' (written by

Joshua Sobol Joshua Sobol ( he, יהושע סובול; born 24 August 1939), is an Israeli playwright, writer, and theatre director. Biography Joshua Sobol was born in Tel Mond. His mother's family fled the pogroms in Europe in 1922 and his father's family imm ...

, dir. Brian Cox), debuted in

in summer 2016 and will be performed in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in March. In a review on Sinners, Boston's Arts Fuse said "This sort of bravery has become very rare in American theater. For far too long, artists and administrators have been arrogantly confident that words such as “truth” and “freedom” mean what they have always meant; confident that the only major political problem theater has left to tackle is that of the issue of equitable representation; confident that all we need to know about enlightenment could be found via staring at our own navels. Our theaters have blinded themselves to the world’s most lethal evils, and have looked for every excuse to ignore its victims. This is why the very fact that Sinners is playing anywhere in America matters."

The Mirror

was founded by Sabra Jones in 1983. The company was created to be an alternating repertory company and included founding members

, and Geraldine Page. Laurance S. Rockefeller was the primary philanthropist behind the company's creation, but other actors and philanthropists like Al Pacino,

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is ...

, and Paul Newman also offered support. The company began at a small, 70-seat theater at the Real Stage Acting School. After receiving positive reviews in the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', the company was moved Off-Broadway to the Theatre at St. Peter's Church. The Mirror Repertory Company presented three repertory seasons. Through the 1990s, the Mirror produced shows in New York and London and the company focused on Arts-in-Education. Today, The Mirror continues to produce in New York, Boston, and Vermont.Editorial Staff
"Brian Cox Named Co-Artistic Director of Mirror Theater Ltd. and Greensboro Arts Alliance."
''TheaterMania'', 29 July 2016.

Performance work

Stage performance

Television and film

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Sabra Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American actresses American directors American producers American women writers Tisch School of the Arts alumni