Sarah is Passionate About Mentoring Actors.

In addition to holding an MFA in Acting from the Guthrie Theatre/University of Minnesota and teaching at institutions including the University of Minnesota, Portland Community College, Foothill College, The New Actor’s Theatre in New York, and the LEAP Program in the Bronx, Sarah Overman brings a rare, holistic perspective to actor training. Her decades of experience on “the other side of the table” as a Casting Director and Producer in theatre, film, and commercials allow her to offer students real-world insight into the industry.

While at Nancy Hayes Casting in San Francisco, she created the One-on-Ones—individualized mentoring sessions that helped actors demystify the casting process and build actionable career strategies. She has also taught screenwriting to young women at Camp Reel Stories in Oakland and the business of acting to teens at the California Film Institute.

Now, Sarah is pioneering a new actor training method called The Persona Process, a somatic and intuitive approach to performance preparation that helps actors access the limbic system—the center of impulse, emotion, and creative instinct. Drawing on the neuroscience-informed practice of Brainspotting, The Persona Process combines voice, movement, and character activation in a way that is grounded, expansive, and uniquely personal. It is actor training that reconnects the artist to their body, their instincts, and their sense of purpose.

Balancing the business and the art of acting can be confusing and frustrating. Sarah’s mission is to help actors clarify their identity, sharpen their tools, and build sustainable, creative lives. She’s been acting professionally for 30 years and continues to work—so everything she teaches comes from a boots-on-the-ground point of view.

SARAH OFFERS ONE-ON-ONE AND GROUP COACHING SESSIONS. Reach out via the contact page for more information.