SARAH O'BRECHT
Director. Actor. Writer.
YouR MOM.
What’s new?
Photo by Sandro Pehar
Into the Woods
At the end of 2025, Sarah had the great joy of Movement Directing Into the Woods with a cast of students from the graduating class at Sheridan College, directed by Avery-Jean Brennan. Photo by Sandro Pehar. Check out the rest of Theatre Sheridan’s 2025-2026 season below.
2025 Cayle Chernin Award finalist
Alongside her Theatre Making Movement partner Stephanie Graham, Sarah was a finalist for the 2025 Cayle Chernin Awards in the Media Arts category. Congratulations to all of the finalists and winners! Looking forward to seeing all of these incredible projects and for continuing the work on our own. We are so excited to expand the horizons of our company and for the future of Canadian musical theatre! To learn more about Theatre Making Movement:
Photo by Dahlia Katz
Legally blonde
Sarah made her directorial debut this year. Well, two debuts! The first was on a new play called Fertility with Light Echo Theatre Company. The play had its World Premiere at Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton before touring to Factory Theatre in Toronto. The second was for musical theatre. Sarah directed Legally Blonde the Musical at Randolph College for the Performing Arts in Toronto, featuring the graduating class of 2025, pictured above in a photo by Dahlia Katz. Please stay tuned for updates on Sarah’s forthcoming directing work!
Aboot the Newfipino
Sarah is a multidisciplinary Canadian artist, currently based in Toronto. She was born and raised on the East Coast of Canada in Saint John, New Brunswick, to a Newfie dad and Filipino mom. (Sarah is the palest half-Asian you will ever meet. Just ask her Lola.) She attended Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts, Broadway Dance Center, American Theater Dance and CAP21 in New York City before graduating a Dean's Scholar from the University of New Brunswick with a BA Honours in English and French and a BEd. in Secondary Education.
Sarah got her start after winning a ticket to Finals Week of So You Think You Can Dance Canada while she was still in school. This led to her move to Toronto after graduating. As a musical theatre performer, Sarah got to fulfill a childhood dream early in her career, performing in Anne of Green Gables at the Charlottetown Festival. She has performed at theatres across the country from Calgary to Halifax. Sarah had the incredible good fortune to be mentored by the incomparable Canadian actor and director Sheila McCarthy. As the final project for the mentorship, Sarah wrote and starred in a short film called Good With Her, directed by Sheila! She went on to write, direct, and produce she her him, a short film starring Aisha Jarvis and CSA-winner Tricia Black, which premiered at the Reelworld Festival. Sarah was the Apprentice Artistic Director of The Musical Stage Company from 2022-2024.
Once she began making her own work, Sarah has found she enjoys wearing multiple hats, dividing her time between directing, acting, TMM, and writing. As an actor, Sarah most recently worked on The Boys, appeared in Drayton Entertainment’s A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, and lent her voice to Andrew Niccol’s upcoming film I, Object. As a creative, she directed the World Premiere of Fertility for Light Echo Theatre, Legally Blonde the Musical for Randolph College, and movement directed Into the Woods at Sheridan College. With her company Theatre Making Movement, Sarah spoke on a panel at The National Centre for New Musicals and produced TMM’s third symposium. Up next, Sarah will be the Associate Director of It’s a Good Life if You Don’t Weaken, a new musical featuring the songs of the Tragically Hip, making its World Premiere at Theatre Aquarius.
When she's not directing and performing, Sarah can be found running after her two boys, juggling writing projects, and guest teaching at Etobicoke School of the Arts. She is honoured (with a “u”) to be part of the incredible arts community in Canada!
