Savannah Stevenson Becomes President of The Board of Directors at the Sharon Playhouse
By Jackie Markham-Priaulx
From the Spring 2026 Edition of our Curtain Up Newsletter
Savannah Stevenson, who is often seen onstage at the Sharon Playhouse, has stepped into the role of President of its Board of Directors this year. She succeeds a powerhouse president in Emily Soell, who held the role for 10 years and has served on the Board for 20 years. With Savannah’s encouragement, Emily will remain on the Board this year and begin chairing a new Advisory Board as another avenue for community engagement with our beloved Playhouse.
A lifelong theater-lover, Savannah particularly champions regional and community theater as a means of community identity and a vehicle for shared experiences. As a theater-goer and performer, Savannah understands the transformational power of storytelling and knows no better way for a community to build healthy and binding relationships. “At this point, I view theater as the most effective antidote to our addiction to electronic devices, our isolation, and our polarized viewpoints. Gathering to share the experience of a story told through live actors allows us to feel together, to laugh together, and to see each other’s humanity. There is significant social science evidence proving the benefits of having a theater within a community.”
Savannah is originally from Atlanta, Georgia. She was named “Savannah” by her father who grew up in that city. He had a great love for the city of Savannah and as a child she would summer there with her father. Savannah’s parents each loved music and theater; her mother often playing religious hymns on the piano, and her father taking her for visits to the symphony and playing cassette tapes of The Sound of Music during every car ride. The biggest impression on her youth, however, was her time at Clarkston High School outside of Atlanta. Clarkston, Ga is often called “the most diverse square mile” in America and the “Ellis Island of the South.” Her large public high school also served as home to a school for the deaf and there were many sign language interpreters. Due to a nearby refugee resettlement center, hundreds of kids from different countries attended her high school and spoke numerous languages. Indeed, the school was more than 80% people of color, with various traditions from around the globe celebrated under one roof, including music and dance. “I wouldn’t have used these words at the time, but I see now that the sign language interpretations, the mix of cultures and dialects, the myriad dancing–as teenagers, we were each telling stories that were foundational to our budding identities and simultaneously figuring out how these stories intersected in our diverse community”
The diverse music and storytelling she experienced in high school led Savannah to choose Carnegie Mellon University for her undergraduate work. While at Carnegie Mellon she studied voice and theater and performed domestically and abroad after graduation. But it wasn’t long before she began to think practically about life expenses and career trajectory, so she decided to attend law school. “The leap from performing to lawyering isn’t as significant as it seems!” Savannah believes that the cultural storytelling and music she experienced in high school led to her interest in and love for criminal law.
Over an 18 year legal career, Savannah worked at several high profile NYC law firms that specialized in criminal defense before becoming Head of Ethics, Compliance and Risk at Peloton in 2018. She believes that her background in the theater–and specifically her focus on storytelling– helped her succeed as a lawyer. “It was very exciting to be a young lawyer and work on my first criminal trial. My theater education absolutely helped me secure opportunities at my law firm before many of my peers–I understood how to connect with clients, how to weave a narrative out of facts and law, and how to conduct myself in a courtroom. These aren’t things I learned in law school–these are skills I built through theater education.” Surprisingly, Savannah refers to herself as an inherently shy person who sometimes needs to rely on her theater skills to be more outgoing.
Savannah and her family–husband Jon, daughters C.C. (14) and Sylvie (9) are all very active and love the many outdoor opportunities in our community. After being weekenders in the Northwest Corner for 5 years, in 2020 they relocated to Salisbury as full time residents. They spend many weekends skiing at Catamount and surrounding mountains, hiking with their dog, and playing a variety of sports. Jon coaches soccer through Northwest United and coaches ski racing at Catamount.
Savannah’s family was familiar with the Sharon Playhouse as they had attended shows there over the years. She was particularly attracted to the Education and YouthStage offerings for her daughters, both of whom have fallen in love with theater through the Playhouse’s many educational offerings in the summer and its in-school residency programs. Seeing the impact the Playhouse made on her children, Savannah made her first donation to the Sharon Playhouse. “As someone who has worked in theater, I know that ticket sales cover a fraction of the operating budget for any theater. As soon as I saw the value of the Sharon Playhouse in our community, I knew I needed to support it financially in order to get more of the magic I was seeing.” Eventually, Savannah approached Michael Kevin Baldwin, Education and Community Director, about getting involved. In no time at all she became a member of the Board of Directors in 2023 then an Officer in 2024 and now President in 2026. She is passionate about continuing the Playhouse’s growth and sustaining its critical presence in our community.
As for the future of the Playhouse, Savannah is focused on increasing the broader community's understanding of the vital role that the Playhouse holds, and persuading more people to support it. “I want people to understand that the Playhouse brings significant economic activity to our community in the form of job creation, housing rentals, restaurant attendance for more than 10,000 patrons, and more. I want them to know that students who engage in theater are significantly more likely to graduate high school and college. I want them to know that communities with thriving theaters see less aggression and more volunteering. And, as for the business of the Playhouse, we want to revitalize our campus so that it shines as a cornerstone of our community. But without contributions to the Playhouse from our community –at any amount– none of this is sustainable. As a community, let’s commit to making the Playhouse patio a place where we can gather for generations to come.”
Savannah is also active as a member of the Board of Trustees at Indian Mountain School. But it is her work with the Sharon Playhouse that has “restored her sense of self and sense of community,” according to Savannah. “I also love watching kids become the best version of themselves” through theater. “I see their curious hearts open to the world; I see them learn to communicate with others; I see them developing confidence in their voices.”
“There's nothing that compares to the experience of storytelling in a theatrical setting. Sharing laughter, tears, music, and dancing through stories that illuminate our common humanity touches us in a way that builds connection, empathy, and genuine community,” she says.
