As a friend of students involved in the theater department, I hear a lot about what is going on with the productions at St. Luke’s. Normally, I listen to a lot of positive and negative feedback. However I’ve never heard as much consistent positive feedback about a teacher as I have about Mr. Sagona, St. Luke’s newest theater director. Because of how highly praised Mr. Sagona was by my friends, I knew I had to interview him for the Sentinel. 

Mr. Sagona started his theater and acting process during college while also getting a Master’s degree in psychology at Seton Hall University. While  there l, he auditioned for an MFA acting program at Brooklyn College. To his surprise, he got into the program and was fortunate enough to study acting under F. Murray Abraham, a famous actor who won an Oscar for his portrayal of Antonio Salieri in the drama film Amadeus (1984). After two years of training with Abraham, Sagona auditioned for a world-renowned acting class run by actress and teacher Uta Hagen. While actors come from all around the world to audition for her class, Hoggins only takes a few students. Though Sagona loved acting, he explained in our interview that “I didn’t like the unpredictability of being an actor – … I wanted to know when my next job was and where my next paycheck was.” At the time, Sagona’s friend was the drama teacher at the Professional Children’s School..

When Sagona’s friend asked him if he’d be interested in being an acting teacher, Sagona wasn’t sure. After all, he’d been exclusively an actor and not a teacher. However, he liked the idea of a predictable paycheck. What Sagona realized after starting his job as an acting teacher was that “teaching acting and being in a rehearsal room with students gave [him] the same feeling of creative expression and satisfaction that acting gave [him].”Sagona remained in that position for 24 years, maintaining his passion for acting by doing one play a year. 

In past years, Mr. Sagona had been looking for a new job opportunity, which he found at St. Luke’s. “I love the students…” reports Mr. Sagona, “…they seem really interested in acting and talented and curious and respectful of the process.” 

So far, Mr. Sagona’s favorite part of his job at St. Luke’s is “being in a rehearsal room with students or being in a class trying to work out what’s truthful about a moment with students. To me, all of us grappling with believability and reality is the best part of my job.” 

Outside of work, Mr. Sagona is a Dad to a 2 year old and an 18 year old.