After graduating with a BFA in Drama from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Sarah spent a year and a half touring the United States as “Ado Annie” in the original cast of Cameron Macintosh’s acclaimed revival of Oklahoma! In the years that followed, she was incredibly fortunate to continually work in regional theaters across the US and internationally, playing lead roles such as “Eponine” in Les Misérables, “Jo” in Little Women, “Nellie” in South Pacific, “Belle” in Beauty & the Beast, “Trina” in Falsettos, and many more. Her touring life came full circle in 2011 when she hit the road once again with the original US cast of the 25th Anniversary Production of Les Misérables.
Sarah also has extensive experience on the “other side of the table” (so to speak), having served as the Associate Artistic Director of The Active Theater in New York City for several years, as well as the Resident Director for RESPECT: A Musical Journey of Women, which played various theaters across the US for almost a decade. In 2014, Sarah moved to Melbourne, Australia where she worked as a talent agent for five years alongside Ian White at one of Australia’s top agencies, Ian White Management.
In 2005, Sarah started her website design company, Saranya Designs, which includes this very website! That same year, she lost the most influential person in her life: her grandfather Antranig “Andy” Shahinian, to whom she dedicates this website and all of her artistic endeavors.
