Sara Bickweat Penner

Sara Bickweat Penner is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Rochester, part of the School of Arts & Sciences. She holds an MFA from The Actors School/New School for Drama. Previously, she served as an adjunct lecturer of voice and movement at the University since 2018 and taught at Finger Lakes Community College.

Her professional expertise includes voice and speech training for actors and business professionals, acting direction, and theatrical intimacy direction. She is certified by the Intimacy Directors and Coordinators and has trained with Theatre Intimacy Education. Penner has contributed to shaping the University’s International Theatre Program’s consent policies and practices.

Her teaching portfolio includes courses like Acting, Movement for the Actor, The Actor's Voice, Consent and Performance, and Devising for the Theatre. She also oversees acting coaching and intimacy direction for mainstage productions. Penner’s work integrates pedagogical innovation with practical theatre arts training, supported by her 2023-2024 teaching grant.

Awards include a University of Rochester teaching innovation grant. Her career bridges academic instruction with professional theatre practice, emphasizing ethical and technical excellence in performance training.