The History of SARTA
SARTA was founded in 1984 by several members of the acting community, including the current Artistic Director of California Stage Ray Tatar. In June 1988, we became a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Since 2003, SARTA has been operating with an all-volunteer board, and since 2009 we've functioned without paid office staff by leveraging third-party ticket vendors, PayPal, our website, and email marketing to stay in touch with our supporters.
Over the years, SARTA has offered acting classes, audition workshops, headshot days, General Auditions, Theatre Week, and many other events. In 1986, SARTA inherited the ELLY awards and grew it into a massive celebration of the arts, with over 90 awards in both Youth and Adult categories.
As of 2024, the ELLY Awards have been retired - SARTA is working on new programming opportunities to allow for more community engagement and support.
Our Board
The members of our all-volunteer board are dedicated theater lovers and performers who come together to enrich the Sacramento Area theater scene. They work hard to promote theater events in the area, as well as host their own events and workshops!
