Aces of Trades: Bite from ‘theater bug’ leads Jennifer Sansfacon to Weathervane Playhouse
NEWARK – She didn’t expect it, but she now believes she’s on the right path.
“As a kid I was pretty imaginative, artistic, driven, and liked being in charge,” Jennifer Sansfacon said. “My parents enrolled me in dance classes at 3, and I ended up dancing for 15 years. Later around 10, my parents enrolled me in art classes because I showed an interest in drawing and painting. When I was in middle school, I tried out for the speech and drama team and really took it on during high school. In other words, I was always doing something related to art. I also would frequently play ‘school’ with my brother and friends. Around middle school, I started to piece together that I wanted to be a teacher for my big girl job, but I didn’t know in what area, except maybe art.”
Today, Sansfacon is artistic director at Weathervane Playhouse.
“My job is to manage the artistic side of the theater,” she said. “I pick the shows we do, hire the actors and designers and help make sure the season is artistically successful.”
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“I realized artistic direction is actually the career path I wanted all along,” she said. “It wasn’t the path I originally planned, and it wasn’t the path I ever really expected, but I think it was the path I was meant to walk.”
Sansfacon grew up in Florence, Kentucky, graduated from high school there in 2002, earned an undergraduate degree in theater and broadcast journalism in 2006 from Franklin College in Franklin, Indiana, then a master’s in lighting and costume design in 2010 from Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois.
“I think I really got bit by the theater bug in high school,” she said. “I was already performing with dance, but I really fell in love with acting through forensics (speech and drama). I was cast as a bit role in ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ my sophomore year and wanted to do more, so I started helping with lighting. I quickly became one of the go-to students for our auditorium to help set up and do all things lighting. I really enjoyed everything to do with theater, but that said, it was generally understood that there was no real career path in theater. So I went to undergrad originally for a double major in print journalism and French, but about halfway through my first semester, I realized I made a big mistake and changed my major to theater and broadcast journalism. I never looked back.”
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Sansfacon taught theater in a few colleges for 12 years, then started as the resident lighting designer at Weathervane in 2008. Since then, she’s also been a scenic designer, costume designer, scenic painter — and more.
“When I started,” she said, “I was looking for a theatre that was fun, inviting and a good place to put down roots. I was also looking for a place to take students, so I could give them their first professional experience in the profession. I stayed because I found a place that felt like home. I loved the people I worked with, the jobs I did, the work we were doing and the productions we were doing.”
Lauren Harvey is executive director at Weathervane Playhouse.
“Jennifer is one of the most passionate individuals I’ve ever met,” Harvey said. “She has a vision and wants to tell a story — and that’s exactly what she does at Weathervane. We’re extremely lucky to have her as our artistic director, and I look forward to seeing how she brings Weathervane’s 2024 summer season to life.”
“I love doing lots of different aspects in theater, and this allows me to do lots of different things,” Sansfacon said. “I also get to mentor young artists as they step out into the professional field.”
“Working in theatre is definitely from the heart,” she said. “You get into it because you want to make a difference. You see the impact theater has on the community and how it gives such joy to the audience. The stories we tell are special, and anyone who gets to work in the theater is so lucky to get to bring their passion to others. How awesome is that?”
Aces of Trades is a weekly series focusing on people and their jobs — whether they’re unusual jobs, fun jobs or people who take ordinary jobs and make them extraordinary. If you have a suggestion for a future profile, let us know at advocate@newarkadvocate.com.
More about Weathervane Playhouse
Weathervane Playhouse is located at 100 Price Road, Newark. To contact, call 740-366-4616 or visit www.weathervaneplayhouse.org.
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Aces of Trades: ‘Theatre bug’ leads Jennifer Sansfacon to Weathervane
