Solo Performance
with Sara Felder
Tuition: $410. Low income folks: $310 (Two spots left.) Help someone else attend: $510. (Two spots left.) Full tuition is due at the time of registration for all classes
Summer 2026 Schedule
The Marsh Berkeley – Sundays | July 12 – August 16, 2026 | 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Public Class Performance – August 16 at 2:00 pm
6 sessions. 3 hours per class.
Class Description
In this fun and rigorous class, we will create a safe place to support each other, take risks and have fun. We will be verbal and non-verbal, do writing and moving, and engage in some inner and outer spelunking. There will be short weekly assignments, and at the end of our sessions, you will be invited to perform your work – a 10 minute piece or a couple of shorter pieces. This class is designed for seasoned performers, those who have yet to enter a stage, and everyone in-between. Our class is richer when people come from different genres of performance and bring different levels of experience. People of all identities are invited to come play and theatrically perform your stories. Bring/Wear: Loose clothing to move around, some water and snacks, notebook for writing, some curiosity, your fears, a measure of openness, a bit of generosity, your full self.
Testimonials from Former Students:
“I’m still basking in the glow, still soaking up and digesting all that happened, and still amazed that I was inspired to create pieces using material I’d been wrestling with for years.” – Ralph H.
“I can create something. WOW. I kept thinking – this is hard, I hate this…and in reality, I loved every minute of it.” – Dorian. G.
“As a teacher, Sara challenged us to craft rich performance pieces under tough limitations of time and media. She showed us how to build from the simplest movements and beginnings. It was an eye-opening and mind-opening experience for students who came from both non-theater and extensive theater experience. “ – Joanna S.
“Sara is amazing. What we learned went beyond performance skills. We learned about humanity.” – Motoko D.
“Got my creative juices dripping off every part of me. AND, I am back in my body with joy!!!” – Heidi E.
About Sara Felder
Sara Felder (she/they) is a performer and educator, who, over three decades, has created a body of work that juggles personal narrative, social justice and circus shtik. A creator of five solo shows, one of her earliest pieces, June Bride, toured to 35 cities in the U.S. and Europe and helped start a grassroots discussion of same-sex marriage before the topic hit national headlines. Her other shows have also toured widely: A Queer Divine meditated on grief, Out of Sight considered family loyalties and political differences, Melancholy: A Comedy dealt with Lincoln’s depression, Shtik! shpieled on Yiddish vaudeville and gender, Class Act shattered the silence around money. These shows are all comedies. And they have all had runs or performances at the Marsh! Sara’s career began in the Pickle Family Circus and as a juggler, she has toured with Joel Grey’s Borscht Capades, the Klezmatics, the Women’s Circus and Jugglers for Peace. They have taught juggling/performance in prisons and half-way houses through the California Arts Council and have “animated democracy” through the Ford Foundation, interviewing Alaskans and creating theatre to combat the homophobic Measure 2 in Alaska. She has earned many fellowships and commissions from places like the Headlands Center for the Arts, S. F. Arts Commission and the Leeway Foundation’s “Transformation Award,” honoring women and Trans artists with a body of work committed to social justice. They have taught in the Theatre Dept. at San Francisco State for twenty years. In her solo performance classes, Sara uses original exercises she developed from years of teaching at the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre and the Ko Festival of Performance in Amherst, MA. She also draws from the work of her teachers and mentors: Augusto Boal, Avner the Eccentric, Ping Chong, Arina Isaacson, Michael Hollinger, Nina Wise. Sara is a white artist from the working-class who presently teaches at Diablo Valley College and lives in a treehouse by a lake in Oakland.
Cancellation Policy
If you cancel before the first session, you will be refunded any tuition amount over $50 that you have paid. Service fees are non-refundable. If you cancel after the first session, you will be refunded half the tuition. If you cancel any time after the second session, you will receive no refund. Cancellations must be made with a Marsh staff person by calling 415-282-3055 or emailing boxoffice@themarsh.org.