Sarah Day retires after 40 seasons at American Players Theatre

Aaron R. Conklin, Madison Magazine

After four decades, Sarah Day, one of the most popular actors in American Players Theatre's 47-year history, is calling it a career. The Spring Green company announced her retirement in a press release earlier today.

“Forty years seems like a good time to let go,” says Day, who first appeared as Anne Page, the ingenue from Shakespeare's "The Merry Wives of Windsor," on the Hill Stage in the summer of 1986. "The company now has 18 members. I need to let the next generation go on."

The only child of former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Roland B. Day, Sarah was inspired to pursue theater in part by her father’s deep love for it. Her mother taught history at American University and inspired Sarah’s lifelong interest in the subject.

Day’s modest beginning at APT aligned with the way she often approached her craft — she always appreciated the late 19th-century British actor Ellen Terry, who often spoke about the importance of being “a useful actor, not the one who everyone looks at.” Even though her skill as an actor often drew the audience’s attention, to Day, working in community with her fellow company members always mattered far more.

“As an only child, I found my community at APT,” she says, “I’m just so grateful for the time that I had. I feel so lucky to have been a storyteller for my community.”

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