I’m Chris Saunders.

And I do plays.

“The possibility of one moment is extraordinary. And as a director, everyone is on your side: writer, actors, designers, and - most especially - the audience. They all want to be amazed.

What an incredible opportunity that is. And how lucky I am to do it.”

Director ‘Cost of Living’ by Martyna Majok, American Lives Theatre, 2022, Indiana Premiere

Photo Courtesy Indy Ghost Light

Actors: Clay Mabbitt and Olivia Mozzi

To create theatre

is to tell a story,

to direct a story,

and, hopefully,

to reveal.

“The human spirit is a volatile, willful firefly. It’s born from a writer, and it darts from the script, ricocheting from actor to actor. And I guide that firefly into the audience. Not by forcing a path or taming this wild thing, but meeting it where it is. So it can soar and pulse, dispersing its specks of magic. ”

Director ‘The Minutes’ by Tracy Letts, American Lives Theatre, 2024.

Photo: Indy Ghost Light, Actors: Ian Cruz and Len Mozzi

Director ‘Small Mouth Sounds’ by Bess Wohl, American Lives Theatre, 2021

Photo: Indy Ghost Light, Actors: Nathalie Cruz and Jenni White