Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Chris Saunders. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Chris, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

I have been doing theatre since I was kid, though I went through gaps here and there in my adult life where I didn’t do it for a while. Having started a theatre company in my 40s I often ask myself why I didn’t do this a decade or two earlier so it would be much more established by now. Of course hindsight is 20/20 on everything, but the fact is, I would not have been as equipped to deal with being a leader of this business. I ABSOLUTELY needed the life experience, and the many failures and mistakes that go along with that, in order to have the tenacity, adaptability and compassion that I need in my role as Founding Artistic Director. So I guess what I’m saying, the path is often far from a straight line, but it doesn’t mean it isn’t a legitamite path.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I got into theatre beause I wanted attention. It was that simple. Don’t judge me too harshly, though; I was 12 years old. I’d done little plays before then, but it was around 12 that I realized I really needed to do this full-time. And while I loved learning my lines and playing a character, what really resonated at that age was that I could force someone to pay attention to me and then afterwards they’d compliment me. I’m not even kidding. So my plan was to be a star, not an actor.

As high school progressed, I began to see and read plays beyond the middle school pageants. And I was immediately changed. I remember sitting in my junior year literature class listening to my classmates pretty well mangle ‘Death of a Salesman,’ and I just kept my hands around my face while reading so that no one could see the tears streaming down. I related to Willy Loman so much! I could see myself becoming him if I didn’t stop fixating on trying to be more popular, more well-liked. From that moment on, it was compassion that became my biggest reason for wanting to get onstage. I thought, if people understand where Willy is coming from, then maybe they’ll understand the Willies in their own lives and treat him with a little more compassion and respect.

As I navigated my 20s and 30s with all the ego bruising and disappointments that entails, I was lucky to live in several different cities and encounter so many perspectives. I know this is a very simple sentiment, but I am constantly at a loss at how divided we are in this country when I know how good most of the people are. It’s this duality that lead me to create American Lives Theatre. I wanted to create a space where artists and audiences could reckon with the issues of today that divide us. I don’t want to do “issues plays,” but rather examine how humanity behaves within the turmoil of those issues. I want to ask brave questions and leave the audience talking.

It’s funny how my middle school attention-craving has lead to this. Life is pretty funny.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I only lived in Chicago for a few years, but it was an eventful few years. I got the best acting training there, which in turn completely changed my perspective on my work and career. Also, I had an agent and auditioned for all the theaters and TV shows I ever wanted to. Things were great!

After a few years of this, I felt strangely frustrated. I had made progress in what I got cast in, but I felt a total lack of control in my life. I was bartending, and almost every time I got an audition or callback, I’d have to find someone to cover a shift. Quickly, I began paying people to cover when they tired of doing favors for me. Then I’d quit a job when I could no longer do that, find another one, and repeat the cycle. I kept trying to hang on, as everyone says to do, but something still felt wrong. I was going through all that just to be on a commercial? Just to have a couple scenes in a show I never watched? Sure, the money would’ve been good. But not good enough to change my lifestyle. This was my chosen life, but I realized, after all the years of working to be there, I didn’t want it.

So I moved back to Indianapolis and started my own company. I wanted to do the theatre that I loved. And I realized how impactful that could be. Although it wasn’t Broadway, there is a very good chance that if I did not produce many of the plays I’ve produced in this city, they may never have been seen here. And they’re too important not to be seen! Sometimes you think you want something, but it’s just a little to the left of the actual bull’s eye.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

The Artist’s Way The War of Art
‘Theatre’ by David Mamet
The artistry of Ivo van Hove, David Cromer, Madonna, and Joan Crawford. Yes, I’m serious.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.americanlivestheatre.org/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007046405860
• Twitter: @lives_theatre

Image Credits
Photos by Indy Ghost Light Photography